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Finally, an effective, realistic education plan Lapid’s plan addresses the most pressing needs and corrects the areas of failure with regard to the three elements needed to succeed in education. Yeshiva Photo: Courtesy Finally! An Israeli political party has declared fixing our education system to be one of its primary campaign issues, along with an impressive plan to address the current failures. Based on the research carried out while studying for my master’s in Education, and on 20 years of administrative and teaching experience, I support the plan proposed by Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid party. I hope that parents and educators throughout Israel will study the plan and do the The plan’s premise is that we need to completely overhaul the education system. Our plummeting to 41st place in the world in math and science and 37th in reading comprehension reflect problems at the core of the education system. Minor reforms cannot correct these deficiencies. With that in mind, Lapid made the Kennedy-esque declaration that in 10 years Israel will be restored to its rightful place among the top 10 countries in the world in Success in education relates to three realms: students, teachers, and actual educational content. The first element of the Lapid plan is a renewed commitment to teachers. This begins with increased salaries so we are no longer the only OCED country in which beginning teachers’ salaries are lower than the average starting salary across the workforce. It continues with significantly improving teacher training and empowering teachers to have more flexibility in how they teach in their classrooms. Principals and teachers must run their schools – not regional boards, and certainly not the Education Ministry. All of the above will create an enthusiastic and motivated teaching corps and we will, no doubt, see a burst of creativity from our talented The second element is a renewed commitment to meeting the needs of every single student in the country. This begins with funding all their educational needs, including extra tutoring and special education It includes spending at least 26 percent more on the needs of children in the periphery, in line with other OCED countries, to close the gaps between them and students in the more affluent city centers. This commitment also demands wheelchair access to all schools, legislating zero tolerance for discrimination in schools and following up with strict enforcement. most significant overhaul, however, relates to the actual education itself, and its current focus on matriculation exams. It is well documented that when the entire aim of a course is to pass the final exam, teachers teach for the test and students are rarely inspired to love these subjects or internalize their lessons. The unfortunate result of the 152 matriculation exam options in the current system is that students are robbed of a true liberal arts education and lose out on the chance for the personal growth which comes from learning Finland, which leads the world in educational achievement, has just five mandatory matriculation exams. The Lapid plan calls for only four: in Hebrew, English, mathematics, and one elective. These subjects include specific informational goals, for which teaching for the tests is However, in other mandatory subjects, such as Bible, heritage, history and science, teachers will be empowered and free to teach in creative ways, as they choose. This will expand their students’ minds and truly inculcate a love for learning and internalizing these subjects. As all educators and parents will agree, a large percentage of students are not interested in a classic education, even when taught in the manner described above. The fact that only 48.1% of students nationwide pass their matriculation exams proves this point. These students are not only incapable of moving on to university but they also have nothing else in hand to enable them to sustain their future families. As a teacher, it pained me to see these students, whom I could identify from the first day of school. They were forced to waste their time in a framework which was not only unproductive but actually damaging to them. Lapid proposes that at least half of the country’s schools become technological, vocational schools, geared to each sector in the same manner as schools are currently designated – secular, religious Zionist and This will enable those non-classical students to flourish and be prepared for life with the tools necessary to earn a living with a professional certificate in hand upon graduation from high school. This will also free teachers to truly inspire the more classic students with a liberal arts education without expending their energy on students who don’t want to be there and simply cannot succeed. One other aspect of Lapid’s plan truly takes our future into consideration. Aside from the core curriculum, the plan calls for special courses and programs geared to breaking down barriers and Religious students must be exposed to the great secular leaders of the state and come to understand that secular Israelis also live with values. Secular students must learn more about the religious and have greater familiarity with their Jewish heritage. In Lapid’s own words, “A student cannot graduate without having had exposure to a page of the Talmud.” wonder where the funding to implement this plane will come from. Lapid’s team includes financial experts who have detailed how funds are already available for these proposals and how even more money will become available through his This is especially true in light of the resources saved by cutting back on matriculation exams and downsizing the Education Ministry’s mammoth regional and national bureaucracy. Lapid’s plan addresses the most pressing needs and corrects the areas of failure with regard to the three elements needed to succeed in education. It provides for relevant, life preparing and life altering curricula and programs while cultivating an atmosphere that will energize enthusiastic and professional teachers. Both of these will produce engaged and inspired students. I hope citizens of Israel are open-minded enough to embrace this plan. If we do, we can buckle up and prepare ourselves for an exciting ride with the actual implementation of this 10-year plan to restore Israel’s educational superiority. This will inspire a new generation of educated and enthusiastic youth prepared to live meaningful and productive lives. The author holds rabbinic ordination from Ner Israel Rabbinical College and a master’s in Education from Johns Hopkins University. He is an author, educator and political activist, most recently as chairman of Yesh Atid in Beit Shemesh. www.rabbilipman.com.

So, my divorce is now official. My marriage of three years, eight months is over. And people love to ask me why we ended it. A cousin, a close friend, my dentist -- they just can't help themselves -- something inside them needs to know. They will pull me aside and whisper, "Vic, what happened, what went wrong? Who wanted it?" And my standard reply is, "It just didn't work out." I used to think that people got divorced because someone had an affair, was an alcoholic, a gambler, a heroin addict. We never had such problems. One of the most difficult parts of my divorce has been accepting that a marriage may legitimately end even if the reasons don't make for a titillating movie of the week or for a fascinating episode of "Oprah." In fact, most marriages end for less dramatic reasons. We had reasons. Our reasons. In addition to a civil divorce, we also had a Jewish divorce, known as a get. This made our divorce official in the eyes of Jewish law, allowing a rabbi to remarry each of us to another Jew. On Oct. 25, 1999, I drove to the University of Judaism to meet with my wife and the Rabbinical Assembly -- a group of rabbis who were to give us our Jewish divorce. Three graying rabbis and a young scribe warmly greeted me as I entered a small classroom. Chalkboards lined the walls. The school setting seemed most appropriate for the occasion. My divorce had become the biggest test of my life. After several minutes of quiet loneliness, the door slowly opened and my wife appeared. I was happy to see her. At the time, I didn't realize -- this would be our final "date" as a couple. She was wearing a pair of hip new glasses I had never seen. Usually, we went shopping for her glasses together. She looked pretty. The Get ceremony was relatively simple. No band played, there were no classy black napkins fancily showing off our combined, glittery looping initials. There were no toasts, no videographers, no best men or bridesmaids. The ending is not as much fun as the beginning. First came the perfunctory paperwork. We gave the rabbis our Hebrew names, our parents' Hebrew names and our dates of birth. A scribe listened on, furiously writing away our marital fate. Then, a rabbi asked us to stand up, face each other and look into each other's eyes. I was unable to stare into my wife's blue-green eyes -- afraid of what I might see. And she was unable to peer into mine. Here we stood, just inches apart, as we had under the chuppah, nearly four years earlier. Today, no glass was to be stepped on and shattered -- only life dreams and "forever" expectations. My eyes settled on my wife's soft, familiar neck and comforting shoulders. My heart filled with a warm feeling of "togetherness" mixed with a sense of ice cold loneliness. Yes, this was a terribly sad situation. But there was one consolation: I was sharing it with my best friend. In one hand I tightly clutched the freshly hand-written document the scribe had just completed, as I repeated Hebrew and English lines after the rabbi. "This is your bill of divorce," I said to my wife. "Please accept this bill of divorce. And with it you are divorced from me -- as of this moment. And you are now free to marry anyone you wish." I placed the document in my wife's outreached, cupped hands, and she symbolically walked four paces as a sign of her acceptance of the divorce. From this point forward, she would walk the rest of her time on earth without me. My wife was a loving, beautiful, precious woman. I thank her for all the warm smiles, sweet laughs and rich life memories she gave me. We never had children or bought a fancy house. We did not grow old and die together. But we did spend a special part of our lives sharing, giving and growing. And that time will be ours forever. The reasons marriages end are as private, personal and often as baffling as the reasons they begin. I will not tell you what was wrong with my marriage. But I will tell you what was right -- and why I will always love the woman who was my wife. TV writer Vic Cohen is single, living in Sherman Oaks and can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org. We welcome your feedback. Your information will not be shared or sold without your consent. Get all the details. Terms of Service JewishJournal.com has rules for its commenting community.Get all the details. JewishJournal.com reserves the right to use your comment in our weekly print publication.

Journalist Asra Q. Nomani, writing in USA Today, is calling for the government to enforce anti-discrimination laws against religious organizations, denying them tax-exempt status if they discriminate against women. She is thinking of her fellow Muslims, but the proposal also would apply to Christians. Her article specifically mentions the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod: As much of the world cheers the rise of democracy in the public square of the Middle East, it’s time that we see the Arab Spring bloom somewhere equally important: mosques. We should start with mosques in the U.S., and the government should help promote democracy in places of worship by denying non-profit tax-exempt status — called 501(c)3 designation — to places of worship that practice gender inequity, just as they can deny tax-exempt status to places of worship that engage in political activity. . . . The IRS has ruled that “tax exempt organizations may jeopardize their exempt status if they engage in illegal activity.” Political activity is covered in the “illegal activity” doctrine. Applying this doctrine in 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that the IRS could deny Bob Jones University tax exemption because of racial policies at the evangelical Christian university (kicking students out for interracial dating). Tax attorneys say the ruling established public policy that tax-exempt organizations can’t racially discriminate in educational institutions.Meanwhile, in 1984, in a case against the Jaycees civic organization, the Supreme Court held that a private organization cannot discriminate based on gender. So far, though, gender rights aren’t protected at places of worship. . . . Who would stand in the way of reform? Catholic churches, for one, and other places that get exemptions in employment law so they can practice gender inequity (think priest jobs). Alan Goldberger, a non-profit attorney in Millburn, N.J., is a former member of a conservative synagogue that integrates women, but he has attended orthodox Jewish synagogues that segregate women and says that it could be “more prudent with public policy” to enforce non-discrimination in places of worship, but the courts “like to stay away from intervening in the affairs of a private organization.” Daniel Dalton, 46, a non-profit attorney in Farmington Hills, Mich., says the IRS has taken the position “it’s not going to look at ecclesiastical, doctrinal issues.” He grew up in the Missouri Lutheran Church, which limits women’s roles in leadership positions. “I don’t understand it. I don’t agree with it,” says Dalton. “But that’s a doctrinal issue.” I understand the difficulties in having the state intervene in worship issues. I believe in a separation of church and state, but I’ve come to the difficult decision that women must use the legal system to restore rights in places of worship, particularly when intimidation is used to enforce unfair rules. We need to realize that if religious freedom is taken away, it will begin with unpopular religions.

Back during his days working in Israel’s mission to the UN, Jeremie Bracka sat in on a lot of meetings between world leaders. He admits that his mind would So much so, that during one particular meeting in 2009 he began imagining Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat in couples therapy Two years later, Bracka’s one-man show, Peres in Therapy born, presented by his company, Smoking Salmon Productions. comedy parodies the Middle East peace process through Bracka’s own experiences as a human rights lawyer in Israel and at the UN. He says that therapy in his show is a metaphor for the peace process and the Oslo Accords negotiations, as mediated by an American therapist. “I think that the idea of therapy in the western sense is a little bit absurd,” he says in a phone interview from New York. “I think there’s something very comedic about [trying to mediate] through From messages getting lost in translation to the disconnect between politicians and what’s happening on the ground, what Bracka calls “the absentminded way international relations are conducted,” he finds The Melbourne native who made aliya in 2007 and lives in Tel Aviv, plays an impressive 20 characters in the show, including his parents (his father is Egyptian and his mother is Polish-born), Shimon Peres, Yasser Arafat, and an “Israeli propaganda machine” he named Shuli Tabuli. Called by one reviewer “Melbourne’s very own Sasha Baron Cohen,” Bracka, who speaks five languages, expertly switches among his voices and characters. He insists that his professional background, which also includes working at the Peres Center for Peace in 2008, as a project manager for Uri Savir, Israel’s chief negotiator at Oslo, clerking for the vice president of Israel’s Supreme Court in 2010, and working in the foreign ministry from 2011-2012, perfectly complements his profession as a comedian and writer. “They’re both very much about using words or language as a means or vehicle for advocacy,” says Bracka, who trained professionally at the National Theater School of Performing Arts from 2001-2002. “I get the audience to believe I’m a credible personality. I think both actors and lawyers are very much advocates.” In transitioning between his characters Bracka says he entirely inhabits each character in his mind as he physically becomes him or her. His Arab and Israeli characters walk and stand differently, more upright or hunched over, but he says it’s their voices that “The different accents drive the characters,” says Politics of the day, sadly, have little effect on them. Not much has changed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the two-year-old show opened, with a cycle of failed American attempts to revive the peace talks, and Bracka says the issues are as raw and fresh as ever. “Whether it’s Kerry or Clinton or Obama or George Bush, we’ve still got the conflict with America doing its best to mediate between two ideological nationalist groups that are unable to reach an agreement,” he says. “The specifics of this week’s events does not in any way take away or detract from the show.”Peres in , which debuted in February 2011 in Melbourne under the title Arafat in , has shown around Australia and in New York. Bracka has renamed the show for its Jerusalem performances at the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel which start Thursday. He says he always wanted to use Peres in the title, but decided that Arafat’s name was more well known internationally. Israeli audiences, he says, will of course recognize the name as well as many more jokes in the show his non-Israeli audiences don’t pick up on. instinctively and intuitively understand the nuances of the show and its politics,” says Bracka. “I think they probably will have a very big appreciation for the show that Jews from the Diaspora do not.” Bracka is looking forward to being more explicit in his performance – “no diluting,” he “It’s like a coming home for the show. I’m very excited to be able to use Hebrew words throughout the show without feeling After his three shows in Jerusalem, Bracka is set to perform at the prestigious United Solo Theater Festival in New York in the fall, where 121 one-man shows from writers from around the world were Bracka says Peres in Therapy , as well as his other original one-man comedies, Lox, Shmocks and Two Smoking Salmons (2005- 2006) and Enough About Me... Let’s Talk About Jew (2007-2008), are profoundly influenced by his parents and Jewish background. “I think that my parents have been instrumental in pushing me through,” he says. As a sixth-generation Australian raised with plenty of Holocaust talk, Bracka says his Jewish identity strongly features in his shows. While his shows have all been in English, Bracka, who is pursuing acting and comedy writing full-time, says he’s ready for a new challenge, now that his Hebrew is better. “I have a dream actually,” he says, laughing: A one-man show in Hebrew about the experience of making aliya, from the moment an immigrant arrives, to trying to acquire a driver’s license, going by the post office only to find that it’s closed and being overcharged by Bracka says he believes Israelis enjoy laughing at themselves and would enjoy the honest reflections from someone speaking their “All that stuff that we know,” he says. “It would be amazing for an Israeli to watch this. I’d be very keen to develop that Peres in Therapy will be performed on July 25, 31 and August 1 at 8 p.m. at AACI, 37 Pierre Koenig Street, Jerusalem. For more info contact (02)

Now targeting young minds… Israel’s propagandists have a training manual that teaches the art of sugar-coating and downright lying so that gullible audiences will easily swallow their poison. Notice how everything Israelis dislike, and everything that thwarts their lust for domination, is now labeled “Iranian-backed”. They’d have us all believe we are in mortal danger from Iran and must therefore huddle together in a collective act of aggression orchestrated by Tel Aviv, Washington and London. The 116-page instruction manual, called the 2009 Global Language Dictionary, was produced by The Israel Project (TIP), which describes itself as “non-partisan” on Twitter but elsewhere says it’s “devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace”. See here for an evaluation: The Israel Project. TIP provides journalists, leaders and opinion-formers with “accurate information about Israel”. Its purpose is to help the worldwide Zionist movement win the propaganda war by persuading international audiences to accept the Israeli narrative and agree that the regime’s crimes are necessary for Israel’s security and in line with “shared values” between Israel and the West. And because God, the Great Real Estate Agent in the Sky, gave them the keys to the Holy Land their abominable behavior is deserving of our support. The manual teaches the propaganda tricks that Israel’s scribblers and drivellers use to try and justify the slaughter, the ethnic cleansing, the land-grabbing, the cruelty and their contempt for international law and UN resolutions, and make it all smell sweet. Here’s a sample slice of hasbara (i.e. pro-Israel propaganda) from the comments to a recent article I penned about the great American journalist Grace Halsell, who fought tirelessly for justice and did so much to expose the nonsense peddled by Christian-Zionism before she died in 2000: Grace Halsell: courageous truthseeker and de-bunker of Christian Zionist doctrine. Pad Dar · Top Commenter There is no place called p-stine. My suggestion for p-stinian sympathizers is that you should visit, find out what it is REALLY like there without anyone from either side telling you. REALLY find out what you are supporting. Me thinks this reader [commenter later edited this to ‘writer’] has *NEVER* visited the place called pstine. But, you should. Israel is all over the book of Revelation. There ARE, in fact, close to 300K Messianis and Christians in Israel. The word of GOD does NOT change, with or without Hagee. God plainly says to ‘bless’ Israel. OF COURSE it matters if their government sticks and that should be reported. But, what this site and millions of others FAIL to do, is narrow it down TO the Israeli govt. But, you don’t, so everyone hates Israelis because of that. Very unfortunate. VISIT P-stine. Especially near S. ISRAEL, close to Sderot and Ashkelon, and WAKE THE HELL UP. There is NO American that I know that wants rockets shot at them on a DAILY basis. But, of course, GRACE (BAD name for an UN graceful person) you don’t report THAT. In the back of my Bible there’s a map of “Palestine at the Time of Our Saviour”. An earlier map of the same territory calls it Canaan. True, there’s also a map showing the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel which came to a sticky end in 597BC. If you go to: Jewish Virtual Library, you’ll see how the Jewish Virtual Library (part of The American-Israeli Co-operative Enterprise) has wiped Palestine off their modern-day map, so let’s hear no more about Hamas or Iran wanting to wipe Israel off the map. There was even a Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem for nearly 100 years, but we don’t make a big fuss about it. In any case, who takes the scribblings of ancient scribes – the hasbara myth-makers of their time – without a very large pinch of salt? Pad Dar gratuitously insults Grace when she’s not here to defend herself, and seems to be saying that Grace never visited the place called “Pstine”. Grace, in one of her own articles What Christians Don’t Know About Israel says: “By living among Israeli Jews as well as Palestinian Christians and Muslims, I saw, heard, smelled, experienced the police state tactics Israelis use against Palestinians. My research led to a book entitled Journey to Jerusalem.” And this tribute to her In Washington Report In Memoriam: Grace Halsell (1923-2000) tells us… In highly acclaimed books such as Journey to Jerusalem and Prophecy and Politics, she described her young years as a Christian and trips to the Holy Land she later took, “disguised” as a follower, with televangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell. She revealed the unsavory relationship between Falwell and right-wing Israeli leaders, reporting, for example, that the evangelical Falwell had been provided by Israel with an expensive private plane. And that, despite the fact that some 15 percent of Palestinians are Christian, Falwell’s American Christian tour groups rarely saw or had the opportunity to talk to Middle East Christians. Or was our hasbara commenter claiming I’ve never visited Palestine? If so, wrong again. The question is, has Pad Dar ever been there? He/she talks of Sderot and rockets. The hasbara instruction manual has the following advice: “Humanize Rockets”: Paint a vivid picture of what life is like in Israeli communities that are vulnerable to attack. Yes, cite the number of rocket attacks that have occurred. But immediately follow that up with what it is like to make the nightly trek to the bomb shelter. Israelis claim 12,000 rockets were fired from Gaza in the 8 years up to the start of Operation Cast Lead. But they never say how many bombs, rockets and shells (including the illegal and prohibited variety) Israel’s F-16s, tanks, armed drones and navy gunboats poured into the densely-packed humanity that is Gaza in the same period. And they are careful not to mention that the township of Sderot, targeted by Gaza’s rockets and therefore a major propaganda asset of the Israeli regime, is built on the ruins of an ethnically cleansed Palestinian village called Najd, whose inhabitants were forced to flee by Jewish terrorists in May 1948. Najd wasn’t allocated to the Jews in the 1947 UN Partition – they stole it at gun-point. There is NO American that I know, or Brit, who would stand for being thrown out of his home by foreign thugs. So if anyone needs to WAKE THE HELL UP it’s you, Pad Dar! Get a grip on the facts. Remember too that Ben Gurion airport, which serves Tel Aviv, was formerly Lydda airport. Lydda, shown on my biblical map of Palestine, was a major Arab town and communications hub during the British mandate and designated Palestinian in the 1947 UN Partition. In July 1948 Israeli terrorist troops seized the town, shot it up and drove out the population. Donald Neff reported The Washington Report: Expulsion of the Palestinians- Lydda and Ramleh in 1948 how, as part of the ethnic cleansing, the Israelis massacred 426 men, women, and children. 176 of them were slaughtered in the town’s main mosque. Of all the blood-baths they say this was the biggest. See also Welcome To al-Lydd District of al-Ramla for lurid details. Out of a population of 19,000 only 1,052 were allowed to stay. The others who survived the murderous onslaught were forced to walk into exile in the scalding July heat leaving a trail of bodies – men, women and children – along the way. Who was responsible for this act of infamy? Israel’s great ‘hero’ Moshe Dayan, who later became defence minister and foreign minister. Next time you touch down at Ben Gurion airport, Pad Dar, you should kiss the ground and say, “Hi Palestine, nice to see you again.” Israel has no right to it at all – it was stolen in a terror raid, just like Najd/Sderot and hundreds of other Palestinian cities, towns and villages. Is this how the Great Real Estate Agent in the Sky hands over the keys to the old kingdom? Today I received another gem from somebody calling themselves ‘Michelle’… Your remarks about “Israel occupying the Holy Land” reflects an embarrassingly ignorance of the facts. Israel is the Holy Land, established 3000 years ago by the Jewish People, verified by the archaeological record and Biblical and Quranic texts, in which Israel appears 2500 times. Jesus Christ is called the King of Israel in the New Testament and an entire chapter in the Quran is devoted to “Bani Israil” The Children of Israel. Your so-called palestinians are merely illegal Arab interlopers most of whom invaded Israel in the early to mid-20th century. The most common “palestinian” surname is al-Masri, “the Egyptian” In fact, Jews are the only indigenous nation ever established in Israel over the course of the last 3,000 years. Fact or hasbara fiction, Michelle? Are you by any chance another one of the hundreds of cyber-scribblers hired and trained by the Tel Aviv lie machine? Meet the hasbara experts The Israel Project among other things offers students a Media Fellowship with 9 weeks training and a stipend of $2500. One of the fellowships is in Web Advocacy and Outreach under Brandon Gray, who has former connections with the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) campaign training institute in Washington. The tasks it covers include - online pro-Israel advocacy by updating TIP’s Twitter and Facebook accounts - Posting TIP videos on Facebook and YouTube - Monitoring anti-Israel Web sites and news outlets TIP’s ‘David Project’ is designed to “educate and prepare college students to assume leadership roles and support their efforts to deliver Israel programs and events to thousands of students on their campuses. Our ground-breaking Israel education curricula and our unique programs are present in more than 130 Jewish high schools and middle schools, laying a foundation for pro-Israel attitudes and advocacy in college and beyond.” Sinister. Imagine the situation in, say, 5 years’ time. The Arabs and Iranians and specifically the Palestinians set their face against media training and communications long ago. They are amateurs, and in the case of the Palestinians not even that. Lazy, shiftless, unresponsive and a closed shop. Writers like me have no access, receive no support. Why do we bother? Good question. It now has more to do with resisting the tide of Zionism that swamps our own country. TIP’s executive director, Marcus Sheff, served in the IDF for 25 years – “the world’s most moral army”. Did he dream that one up, by any chance? He was a prominent spokesperson for the IDF during the second Intifada and the Lebanon War. Today, he trains senior IDF officers in media skills. Josh Block is CEO and president of TIP, and a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute. He’s dead against the Palestinians gaining statehood and wrote in Politico: ( Strategic diplomacy needed on Israel ) that the Obama administration and Congress were right to stand against unilateral recognition of a Palestinian State and must vigorously lobby other countries, large and small, to join in pressuring the PA to call it off. If Palestinians go ahead it would undermine the quest for peace and risk anti-Israel terrorism. Block says another reason for opposing the Palestinian move is that “recognition of this Palestinian government would be the recognition of a terrorist state — given the Hamas-Fatah unity pact…” There are the legal reasons too, he says. “These underscore that the fictional Palestinian state conjured up for the United Nations doesn’t meet international law standards…” Screamingly funny, that, considering that Israeli law falls well short. “…And it doesn’t have defined territory… Perhaps most important, it would be a terrorist ‘state’, ruled by Hamas, which the EU, the United States, Japan, Canada and other countries have designated as a terrorist organization.” The article simply oozes hasbara. Block throws in other reasons such as economic stability and political institutions, reliance on $1 billion from donor states and another $1.5 billion in tax revenue collected [but often withheld] by the Israeli government, and how “the Palestinian Authority is in the midst of a financial crisis”. Those things of course couldn’t have anything to do with the illegal occupation and strangulation of the West Bank and the illegal blockade of Gaza by Block’s nice friends, could it? And isn’t Israel in receipt of billions of American tax dollars disguised as aid? No prizes for guessing that Block is the former spokesman for AIPAC. Stuart Littlewood’s book Radio Free Palestine, with Foreword by Jeff Halper, can now be read on the internet by visiting: www.radiofreepalestine.org.uk Radio Free Palestine series: Posted by Stuart Littlewood on October 18, 2012, With 0 Reads, Filed under Asia, Australia & Oceana, Europe, Middle East, North America, World. 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New Jews, Old Jews by: Schvach Yid A recent blog on the blogsite Jews By Choice at http://jewsbychoice.org/, posted on Dec. 5, 2007 by Chavy Jo, and titled When Worlds Collide: Transitioning, discussed the sensitive matter of ‘fitting in’. This was presented from the perspective of a Jew who has converted to Judaism through the aegis of the Reform Movement. The task appears to be several fold: firstly, holding one’s own while convincing others that one’s new religious identity is legitimate, ie. being Jewish in a non-Jewish environment by people who reject one’s conversion; secondly, finding some solice in light of one’s need to convince others (should this need even exist?); thirdly, convincing oneself of the legitimacy of one’s conversion; and lastly, the family, both ‘new’ and ‘old’. I’ve never converted to another religion. I’ve never considered nor explored this possibility. I’m very comfortable with Judaism and see no reason to even consider straying, but I have had the experience of meeting people who have made the switch to Judaism, with some interesting results. There’s one in particular. As I’ve posted in the past, I grew up summering in a bungalow colony located in the During this visit one of the ladies of my parents’ generation talked about her oldest son and daughter-in-law. The daughter-in-law, a native of the Bible Belt had converted to Judaism decades earlier when she and her Jewish husband married. The Jewish husband was born in It was the daughter-in-law, newly converted to Judaism, who brought Judaism into that family, but in a matter I find most peculiar, she chose to join a havura of like converts to Judaism (in addition to their ‘regular’ synagogue membership; they have raised their children Jewish). I could only interpret this as indicating a sense of doubt on her part concerning her legitimacy as a Jew. Alternatively, she doesn’t want to completely sever her ties with her native religion. Similar problems of ease and self-perceived legitimacy exist for many native Jews, especially ba’alei t’shuva – religiously lax Jews who’ve chosen to go Orthodox. The whole thing is enough to drive a Yid nuts, and it does! But self doubt and beating one’s head against the wall has never done anyone any good – I think. Transitions tend to be tough, especially in the realm of religion. When I first started a new job a decade ago I met a graduate student at work. He greeted me, and as our conversation progressed we discovered our mutual Jewish identity. He told me he was a ‘Conservative Movement Jew’, that his girlfriend was with the Reform Movement, and that each week he baked mini-challot for Shabbos, would I like one. Oh, oh! I knew exactly where he was headed – and without Chabad. Over the next eight years (!) I bumped into him sporadically, but finally he had passed his dissertation defense, and was ready for graduation. And so there he stood in the elevator one fine day, yalmulka on his head, tzitzit hanging over his belt, untrimmed beard, minus his Reform Movement girlfriend. But he wasn't so comfortable; he squeezed himself and pressed the back of his head against But he wasn't so comfortable; he squeezed himself and pressed the back of his head againstthe back wall of the elevator car in an apparent attempt to conceal his yalmulka. He proceeded to inform me of his post-graduation plan. ‘I haven’t decided yet. I’ve been accepted for a post-doctoral fellowship in a lab at No kidding he had to decide. So Chavy Jo of the Jews By Choice blogsite, this is how it goes, for all Jews, convert or native. Get used to it.

by Wyn Hilty I’m Dairy Council intolerant. The American Dairy Association, which also owns the name National Dairy Council, provides educational material and informational kits all about dairy products and the fine dietary properties they offer. They also provide information about lactose intolerance, which is an inability to digest the sugar found in milk and other dairy products, causing all manner of nasty gastrointestinal upsets. Is Velveeta a member of the National Dairy Council? Velveeta is a processed cheese product manufactured by Kraft Foods. See previous note. [Name in credits.] Ladies and gentlemen … Mrs. Loretta Doyle. Loretta Lynn is an American country singer-songwriter with a career that spans five decades. In her concert performances, she is traditionally introduced by an offstage announcer who says, somewhat solemnly, “Ladies and gentlemen … Miss Loretta Lynn.” [Sung.] I was warned as a child … A line from the song “The Woman in the Moon” from the musical A Star Is Born. Sample lyrics: “I was warned as a child of thirteen/Not to act too strong/Try to look like you belong but don’t push, girl/Save your time and trouble/Don't misbehave.” Here in frame 54, Mr. Connally is struck by the bullet. In 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, a local clothing manufacturer named Abraham Zapruder brought his home movie camera to film the motorcade procession. His is the only film record of the assassination and was extensively used by the Warren Commission in its investigation of the president’s death. Then-Texas Governor John Connally was riding in Kennedy’s limousine and was badly injured by the same bullet that struck the president. Let’s go tip some cattle! Cow tipping is apparently a favorite nocturnal sport among rural folks who have consumed between five and seven beers. Opinion is divided on just how prevalent and/or possible the practice is, but your basic cow tipping expedition goes something like this: 1. Chug aforesaid beers. 2. Find a field containing some dozing cows (which sleep standing up). 3. Climb over fence. 4. Sneak up on cow. 5. Push on cow’s side. “Ganj” is short for “ganja,” which is the Jamaican word for marijuana. Now Junior Samples and Lulu Belle make their appearance. Junior Samples (1926-1983) was a cornball comedian/country singer/harmonica player known for his long run on Hee Haw, the country-western variety show that aired from 1969-1992; Samples appeared on the show until his death in 1983. Lulu Belle (real name Myrtle Cooper; 1913-1999) was a country musician who performed for decades with her husband, Scott Wiseman (1908-1981), as “Lulu Belle and Scotty.” Later in life she became a state representative for North Carolina, serving from 1975-1978. I’ve got to be careful of my new jeans because I got them at Pamida. Pamida was a chain of department stores that had more than 175 locations in the Midwestern United States, mostly in small towns. Founded in 1963, the last Pamida stores closed in 2012. The name was a combination of the first two letters in the names of co-founder Jim Witherspoon’s three sons: Pat, Mike, and David. Tonight on ESPN2: Hayloft rope swinging. ESPN is a cable sports channel. ESPN2 began airing in 1993 as a sister station; it focused on younger, edgier sports like snowboarding and BMX racing. When that formula failed, it turned to poker, billiards, and extreme sports. The summer of my German humiliation. Summer of My German Soldier is a novel by Bette Green about a young Jewish girl in Arkansas during World War II, who falls in love with a German prisoner of war being held in a nearby camp. A very special Ziffel family reunion. Fred and Doris Ziffel were characters on the TV sitcom Green Acres, which aired from 1965-1971. The couple (played by Hank Patterson and Barbara Pepper) had an adopted “son,” Arnold the hyperintelligent pig. Television promos promising “a very special” episode of a sitcom or drama are a tip-off that the show will be tackling a social issue, such as underage drinking or eating disorders. Characters will learn a valuable lesson. There will be hugs. Oh, the lunch counter at Tom and Rosie’s diner. Actors Tom and Roseanne Arnold jointly invested in a restaurant in Eldon, Iowa, called Tom’s Big Food Diner. After their divorce, the restaurant closed. [Sung.] Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say … A line from the Christmas song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” first recorded by Gene Autry in 1949. Sample lyrics: “Then one foggy Christmas Eve/Santa came to say/‘Rudolph with your nose so bright/Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?’” Jerry Lee Lewis joins the family for dinner. Jerry Lee Lewis is a musician known for such hits as “Great Balls of Fire,” and also for having married his thirteen-year-old cousin, a scandal that almost ruined his career. Susie drains the last of her Dirty Banana. A Dirty Banana is a shake made with vanilla ice cream and several varieties of liqueur, including banana liqueur. Back home, a Hershey’s truck has overturned and everyone’s getting all the free chocolate they want. The Hershey Company, based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, is the largest chocolate company in the world. In addition to its trademark chocolate bar, the company makes Hershey’s Kisses, Almond Joy, Kit Kats and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, among many more. Uncle Jim’s outta control—we frag him today. “Fragging” is the act of soldiers assassinating their own commanding officer, usually because he is seen as incompetent or leading them into danger. The term comes from “fragmentation grenade” and originated during the Vietnam War, where gung-ho but inexperienced lieutenants were often put in command of platoons of battle-hardened soldiers, a combination that did not lead to confidence in leadership. It's estimated that around 900-1,000 fragging incidents took place in Vietnam, but very few were prosecuted, as they were easily concealed as battlefield errors, sabotage, or enemy actions. Let my people go! From Exodus 8:1: “And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.” Why, Uncle Jim’s even enrolled them in the Posse Comitatus. Posse Comitatus is a radical anti-government movement, the forerunner of the militia movement of the 1990s. Posse Comitatus’s members believe that any form of government above the county level is illegitimate. Many of them refuse to pay taxes or obtain driver’s licenses and argue that U.S. currency is invalid because it has gone off the gold standard. You weren’t there when we had our summer of fun—we went to Mark Two in Orlando! The Mark Two Dinner Theater is an Equity dinner theater in Orlando, Florida. That’s the Edvard Munch painting that wasn’t stolen. In 1994, a version of The Scream, the most famous work by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, was stolen off the wall of the national art museum in Oslo; it was recovered unharmed several months later. Poor Munch is a frequent victim of art thefts; another version of The Scream (there are four total) was taken from a museum at gunpoint in 2004, and three other paintings were taken from an upscale restaurant in Norway in 2005. Looks like Ivan Lendl. Ivan Lendl was one of the dominant professional tennis players in the 1980s, for several years ranked number one in the world. Before retiring in 1994, he had racked up nearly a hundred singles titles, including eight Grand Slam titles, and earned a record $21 million in prize money. You know, this is exactly how Leakey found Lucy. Louis Leakey (1903-1972) was an anthropologist famous for his paleontology work in the Olduvai Gorge, an area in Tanzania. There he discovered bones that appeared to belong to a proto-human, or ape-like person. His work radically altered the body of thought about human evolution, and his conclusion that humanity originated in Africa is now widely accepted. His son, Richard Leakey, is also a well-known paleoanthropologist. That said, the hominid skeleton dubbed Lucy, after the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” was not one of Leakey’s finds; she was discovered in 1974 by American anthropologist Donald Johanson. This is the best Saul Bass credit sequence ever! Saul Bass (1920-1996) was a graphic designer known for his work on movie title sequences; he worked with such renowned directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, and Martin Scorsese. His films include Psycho, Casino, and The Man with the Golden Arm. He also designed a number of corporate logos, including the famous AT&T “globe.” The big Cunha. “The big kahuna” is a slang phrase meaning “the big cheese,” or “a very important person.” It derives from surfer slang, which in turn derives from the Hawaiian word for priest or shaman. Fellas, it’s too rough to feed you. A riff on some lyrics from “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” a 1976 song by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. A number-one hit in the U.S. and Canada, the song commemorates the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore freighter and the longest ship operating in the Great Lakes at that time. On November 10, 1975, “Big Fitz” encountered extreme weather conditions, broke apart, and sank in Lake Superior, killing all twenty-nine crew members. The pertinent lyrics: “When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck/Sayin’ ‘Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya’/At seven p.m. a main hatchway caved in/He said, ‘Fellas, it’s been good to know ya’.” It’s the Exxon Valdez. On March 23, 1989, the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker carrying 53 million gallons of crude oil from Alaska, ran aground on a reef, spilling nearly 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. The captain had been drinking earlier in the day, and the third mate who was on duty when the accident occurred may have been working for as long as 18 hours straight. Roughly 1,300 miles of beach were contaminated, and estimates of wildlife killed by the spill include 250,000 birds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, 22 killer whales, and billions of salmon and herring eggs. Cleanup efforts cost more than $2 billion. [Sung.] I say Brandy, you’re a fine girl … A reference to the song “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass. Sample lyrics: “The sailor said ‘Brandy, you’re a fine girl’ (you’re a fine girl)/’What a good wife you would be’ (such a fine girl)/’But my life, my love and my lady is the sea …’” Chutes and Ladders. Chutes and Ladders is a board game produced by Milton Bradley; it is based on the children’s game Snakes and Ladders, which has been around since at least the 19th century and possibly long before that. I’m glad I brought my bolero jacket. A bolero jacket is a short, tailored women’s jacket kind of like a vest with sleeves, the sides of which only meet at one point. Robert Maxwell: the untold story. Robert Maxwell (1923-1991) was a British publishing tycoon. At one point he owned several book publishing companies, a string of British tabloids, the New York Daily News, and many more companies. However, by the 1990s he was in shaky financial circumstances and used $1.2 billion he secretly siphoned off from employee pension funds and other sources in an attempt to keep his empire from crumbling. On November 5, 1991, he disappeared off his yacht, and his body was recovered from the Atlantic some time later. The official cause of death was a heart attack plus accidental drowning. I’ll just run up to the Lido deck and see what Isaac is doing. Isaac Washington was the bartender on the TV series The Love Boat, which aired from 1977-1986. The part was played by Ted Lange. In Great Britain, a Lido is a swimming pool and the surrounding facilities, or a part of a beach where swimming and sunbathing are allowed. On a cruise ship, the Lido deck is where you’ll find the swimming pool, water slides, Jacuzzis, and the like. Time to visit the poop deck, if you know what I mean. On a ship, the poop deck (from the French word poupe, meaning stern, or rear) is the deck that forms the roof of the cabin toward the back end of the ship. Wait, you forgot Tallulah Bankhead! Lifeboat is a 1944 movie starring Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968) as one of the survivors of a German U-boat attack. The film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The crews of wine and roses. The Days of Wine and Roses is a 1962 film starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick as a couple torn apart by alcoholism. Oh, no, they forgot the piano! The Piano is a 1993 film starring Holly Hunter as a woman who refuses to speak, and who communicates only through the music she plays on her piano. At the beginning of the film, Hunter’s new husband abandons her piano on the beach, where it is claimed by their neighbor (played by Harvey Keitel). Tonight: love in the landing at Normandy! On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces launched a major assault on Hitler’s forces in France with an amphibious landing on the beaches in Normandy: D-Day. Many of the beaches where the Allied troops waded ashore were heavily fortified by the Germans, and casualties were horrendous. A furious fight raged through northern France for the following two months, concluding with the liberation of Paris in August. Hey, a counter worker from Long John Silver’s. Long John Silver’s is a chain of fast-food fish restaurants founded in 1969. It has more than 1,200 locations worldwide. Linguine is a kind of pasta, a little wider than spaghetti, but not quite as wide as fettuccine. This might also be a nod to a scene in the 1968 comedy The Odd Couple, starring Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison and Jack Lemmon as Felix Unger. The dialogue: Oscar: Now kindly remove that spaghetti from my poker table. Oscar: The hell’s so funny? Felix: It’s not spaghetti, it’s linguine. [Oscar picks up the linguine and throws it violently against the wall.] Oscar: Now it’s garbage. Unfortunately, they landed on Bikini Atoll in 1947. Bikini Atoll is a small atoll in the Pacific, part of the Marshall Islands. After World War II, it was chosen as the site of nuclear bomb testing by the United States, and this decision was announced to the 150 or so natives living on the island. They were relocated to a nearby, smaller atoll, where they nearly starved to death. The government continues to give them financial restitution and, after a poorly planned relocation back to Bikini in the 1970s that led to birth defects and illness, the U.S. settled with them for $150 million. The international Nuclear Claims Tribunal awarded the islanders more than $500 million, compensation the United States has thus far declined to pay. Back on the atoll, meanwhile, more than twenty nuclear tests were conducted between 1946 and 1958. Great plan. Look, can we just go to Red Lobster? Red Lobster is a chain of seafood restaurants with hundreds of locations across the country. It was founded in 1968 by Bill Darden. On his resume, Robert Reed listed this as The Tempest. The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare about a group of seafarers washed up on a remote island ruled by a sorceror, Prospero. Ooh, she’s a Breck Girl. The Breck Girl was an advertising icon for Breck shampoo, first appearing in 1937 and launching Breck’s first national advertising campaign in 1946. There were numerous Breck Girls over the years; actress Kim Basinger was even a Breck Girl early in her career. Sounds like James Galway’s bringing up the rear. James Galway is an Irish flute player who has enjoyed an extremely successful performing career, one of the first flautists to succeed as a soloist. He got his start in the Berlin Philharmonic in the 1970s but quickly struck out on his own. I’m here to tell you about Mutual of Omaha. Mutual of Omaha is an insurance company based in Nebraska. It is best known as the sponsor of the long-running TV series Wild Kingdom, which aired from 1963-1988 and was revived on the cable channel Animal Planet in 2002. The original show featured grandfatherly host Marlin Perkins and his virile sidekick Jim Fowler unironically decked out in safari jackets as they scoured savannahs and swamps in search of wild animals to annoy. Kicks just keep getting harder to find. A line from the 1966 song “Kicks,” originally written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil for Eric Burdon and the Animals, but Burdon turned it down and it was instead recorded by Paul Revere and the Raiders. It was a top ten hit in the U.S. and a number one hit in Canada. Sample lyrics: “And don’t it seem like/Kicks just keep gettin’ harder to find/And all your kicks ain’t bringin’ you peace of mind.” And Fudge Stripes. Fudge Stripes are a brand of cookies, consisting of shortbread covered with stripes of chocolate. They are manufactured by Keebler. An odd production of Blithe Spirit. Blithe Spirit is a comic play (and later a movie) by Noel Coward (1899-1973), about a man who is haunted by the ghost of his dead wife. Oh, Oscar, Oscar, Oscar. An often-repeated line from the television series The Odd Couple, starring Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. The show ran from 1970-1975. There’s a two-drunk minimum in this film. A riff on “two-drink minimum,” a common policy in many nightclubs, comedy clubs in particular, which dictates that patrons, in addition to whatever cover charge or ticket price they may have paid to get in, must also purchase at least two drinks. In recent years, safety concerns over mandating alcohol consumption have led to a “two-item minimum,” which allows patrons to purchase appetizers or soft drinks in place of booze. Because you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The slogan “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” was used in 1980s commercials for Head & Shoulders shampoo. And he looks terrific in a gingham skirt. Gingham is a kind of dyed fabric used in clothing, particularly women’s dresses, that was popular during the American westward expansion of the 19th century. Checked or plaid gingham is best known in popular culture: Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Mary Ann in Gilligan’s Island (CBS, 1964-1967) both wore checked gingham. We’ll leave a light on. In 1986, the Motel 6 chain began running a series of commercials featuring Tom Bodett that used the tagline “We’ll leave the light on for you.” The campaign proved phenomenally successful, running for 15 years. Did you bring Paxil? Paxil, or paroxitene, is an antidepressant medication, one of the so-called serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), of which the most famous is Prozac. It is also used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder and social anxiety disorder. And see what the boys in the back room will have. “See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have” is a song by Frederick Hollander and Frank Loesser. It has been performed by Diahann Carroll, Marlene Dietrich, and Della Reese, among others. Sample lyrics: “See what the boys in the back room will have/And tell them I’m having the same/Go see what the boys in the back room will have/And give them the poison they name.” Eva Braun’s bed and breakfast. Eva Braun (1912-1945) was the mistress and briefly the wife of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. She first met him in 1929 when she was 17 years old and began living with him in 1936. She remained with him throughout World War II and finally married him in a brief ceremony the day before the two of them committed suicide rather than be captured by Allied forces. White Shoulders is a women’s perfume manufactured by Evian. He looks like an Easter Island statue. Easter Island is a small island in the south Pacific. It was inhabited by Polynesian settlers for hundreds of years, but sometime in the 16th century the civilization underwent a drastic decline due to deforestation and overpopulation on the tiny island. However, they left behind a significant cultural achievement in the numerous moai, or large stone statues, that crowd the island’s coastline. More than 800 statues have been recorded, and probably more fragments remain to be discovered. Today the island is home to about 3,000 inhabitants. We’ve got the thing … we should probably … with the thing … Possibly a reference to a scene in the 1977 Woody Allen movie Annie Hall. When Allen’s character Alvy Singer and Dianne Keaton’s Annie Hall are invited to a party by singer-songwriter Paul Simon (playing a character much like himself), Alvy demurs, saying to Annie, “We’ve got that thing … you know … the thing …” And I’m still Victor Buono. Victor Buono (1938-1982) was a portly actor known for his work in such films as Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte. He also had a recurring role as the villainous Count Manzeppi on the TV series The Wild Wild West. It’s Rob and Laura’s bedroom. Rob and Laura Petrie were the main characters on The Dick Van Dyke Show, which aired from 1961-1966. The parts were played by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore, respectively. In a prime example of the absurdity of network censorship at the time, their bedroom sported separate twin beds; even though they were supposed to be a married couple with a child, the censors felt any suggestion that they slept together would be too shocking for viewers. Lucy and Ricky Ricardo also had separate beds in I Love Lucy (CBS, 1951-1957). Interestingly, back in 1947 on the Dumont network, on the show Mary Kay and Johnny, the title couple shared a bed. It's unclear why later executives got so squeamish. It’s the boys from the camp across the lake. In the 1961 Disney movie The Parent Trap (starring Hayley Mills … and Hayley Mills!) and its 1998 remake (starring Lindsey Lohan … and Lindsay Lohan!), the big social event of the girls’ summer camp is a dance with “the boys from the camp across the lake.” Looks like Liberace’s in there. Wladziu Valentino Liberace (1919-1987) was a flamboyant entertainer who enjoyed his greatest success in the 1950s, when he had his own television series. His trademark was the elaborate silver candelabrum perched on top of his piano. Indiana nerd and the temple of dork! Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 film starring Harrison Ford as the intrepid adventurer; it was a sequel to the wildly successful 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. “So?” Soo. –Si. From the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide: "This is a reference to a bit from The Jack Benny Show, performed by Jack and Mel Blanc. It would go a little something like this: ‘What’s your name?’ ‘Cy.’ ‘Cy?’ ‘Si.’ ‘What do you do?’ ‘Sew.’ ‘Sew?’ ‘Si.’" What happened was just this. The wind began to twitch. A line from the song “Munchkin Land,” from the 1939 movie musical The Wizard of Oz. Sample lyrics: “It really was no miracle/What happened was just this/The wind began to switch/The house to pitch/And suddenly the hinges started to unhitch.” This is where they kneel down with Kissinger. Henry Kissinger was the secretary of state under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and was one of the major architects of Nixon’s Vietnam War policy. After Nixon made the decision to resign the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal, in a famous moment he asked the Jewish Kissinger to kneel with him in prayer. Cadavers for Algernon. Flowers for Algernon is a 1966 novel by Daniel Keyes about a mentally disabled man who is chosen as the subject of an experiment to increase his intelligence. The experiment works, but soon he feels his newfound intelligence slipping away. Come on, it’s just a Jaycees haunted house! The Jaycees, a.k.a. the United States Junior Chamber, is a nonprofit group founded in 1920 to help give young people the skills they need to succeed in business. They also do a great deal of charity work. The wall is covered with Issey Miyake clothing. Issey Miyake is a Japanese clothing designer known for his high-tech designs. Steve Allen, P.I. Steve Allen (1921-2000) was the original host of the Tonight Show, appearing from 1953 to 1957. “P.I.” is probably a reference to Magnum, P.I., a TV detective series that aired from 1980-1988. I know, we’ll throw Gatorade at them! Dumping a cooler full of Gatorade on top of a coach’s head is a tradition in football, a practice evidently started by a couple of players for the New York Giants back in the 1980s. It is referred to as “The Dunk.” Okay, Mr. Villechaize, come along, we’ll get you back to your room here. Hervé Villechaize (1943-1993) was an undersized actor who became famous for the line “De plane! De plane!” on the TV show Fantasy Island, which he appeared on from 1978-1983. He became depressed and worked very little after leaving the series, ultimately killing himself in 1993. Wonder what he scores on the Myers-Briggs inventory? The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a personality test developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, during the 1940s. The test ranks people according to certain characteristics, such as introvert/extrovert, sense/intuition, thinking/feeling, and so forth. It is often used in leadership training seminars, marriage counseling and such, but it is not well regarded in academic circles. Claussen kosher ladies. Never cooked. Always crisp. Claussen is a brand of pickles produced by Kraft Foods. They boast that their pickles are never cooked and always kept cold so they have a “crisp crunch.” Went a little too far with the dermabrasion. Dermabrasion is a cosmetic surgery procedure in which the surgeon scrapes off the outer layers of skin with a motorized brush or burr; it is used to diminish the appearance of scars and fine wrinkles. Comedian Jackie Mason has had tremendous success on Broadway with a string of one-man shows. He has also appeared in TV shows and movies, including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Jerk. This is one of Jeff Smith’s weirder shows. Jeff Smith (1939-2004) was the host of a cooking show called The Frugal Gourmet from 1973-1997. He also wrote a string of cookbooks under that name. Now, the Basques are one of the finest people … they do wonderful things with organ meat … An imitation of cooking show host Jeff Smith (see previous note). Long before Peter Billingsley, there was this guy. Peter Billingsley is an actor and producer who got his start as a child actor; his most famous role is as Ralphie Parker in the 1983 classic A Christmas Story. Ty-D-Bol really works. Ty-D-Bol is a toilet cleanser/disinfectant manufactured by Sara Lee Corporation. It was developed in 1958 by Harry O’Hare Sr. We all dress like Shirley Valentine. Shirley Valentine is a 1986 play by Willy Russell, a one-woman show about a British housewife who jets off to Greece, where she finds romance. In 1989 it was made into a movie starring Pauline Collins. The secretary will disavow any knowledge of our actions. A paraphrase of the statement that ended the tape-recorded instructions on Mission: Impossible every week. The actual line: “As usual, if any of your IM team is killed or captured, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.” “The first thing we do …” Let’s kill all the lawyers. “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers” is a line from the William Shakespeare play Henry VI, Part 2. Arrrrh … I dreamed I went to Manderley … arrrrh, Jim boy. A paraphrase of the opening line of Daphne du Maurier’s romantic novel Rebecca, which was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” Also an imitation of Long John Silver, the scurvy pirate in the Robert Louis Stevenson adventure novel Treasure Island. Dating at the College of St. Catherine. The College of St. Catherine is a Catholic women’s college in Minneapolis-St. Paul. It was founded in 1905 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. It looks like President Bush! –I’m telling you, honey, Barbara’s got eyes like an eagle. George H.W. Bush was the forty-first president, serving from 1989-1993. After a series of government appointments, he was nominated as Ronald Reagan’s vice presidential candidate. He won election after Reagan left office, but he lost to Bill Clinton four years later. His wife and first lady was Barbara Bush. “Dean and Sondra have had time to get into the jungle.” You think they’ll bungle? “Bungle in the Jungle” is a song by Jethro Tull. Sample lyrics: “Let’s bungle in the jungle/Well, that’s all right by me/I’m a tiger when I want love/But I’m a snake if we disagree.” Never wear a Speedo. Speedo is an Australian manufacturer of swimwear, specializing in swimwear for athletes. Its trademark short, tight men’s briefs were introduced at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne and quickly became popular worldwide. Hey, he's got an Ugly Stik! The Ugly Stik is a line of fishing rods manufactured by Shakespeare Fishing Tackle. (Thanks to Erik Topp for this reference.) The new Banana Republic mature form expands with you. Banana Republic is a chain of upscale casualwear stores owned by the Gap. It started as a largely catalog operation in 1978 and employed a somewhat kitschy jungle motif; when Gap bought the stores in 1983, it phased out the safari theme. Here’s your towels, Hartley. See note on Elliot Carlin, above. Uh, let’s see … which room had the rumaki? Rumaki is an appetizer, consisting of chicken livers and water chestnuts wrapped in bacon. The trademark catchphrase of Fozzie Bear, one of the Muppets on The Muppet Show, which aired from 1976-1981. (Thanks to Erik Topp for this reference.) I shouldn’t let Brian Epstein dress me. Brian Epstein (1934-1967) was the manager of the Beatles, credited by many as the man who made their stunning success possible. He died young of an accidental drug overdose in 1967, and after his death the band rapidly started to unravel, ultimately breaking up in 1970. The lion’s looking at me, Hartley. See note on Elliot Carlin, above. Look at that up there—it’s a coelacanth on the wall. The coelacanth is a prehistoric fish that can grow as large as two meters long and 175 pounds. Its fossils are found widely from the Devonian period up to the end of the Cretaceous, at which point it was believed to have gone extinct—until a fisherman pulled one from a river in South Africa in 1938. Welcome to my production of Tru. Tru is a one-man show about the author and socialite Truman Capote, written by Jay Presson Allen. Mammy! Mammy! I’d walk a million miles … A reference to Al Jolson’s signature tune, “My Mammy.” Sample lyrics: “Mammy, my little Mammy/I’d walk a million miles/For one of your smiles/My Mammy! Oh oh oh …” During my Montclair moment. Montclair is a brand of cigarettes; I believe the phrase “Montclair Moment” comes from their advertising, but I have as yet been unable to confirm this. I’ve got a GED. GED stands for General Educational Development—the standardized test for people who never graduated from high school; passing the GED is equivalent to earning a high school diploma. The Roger Maris museum. Roger Maris (1934-1985) was a right fielder for the New York Yankees in the 1960s. He is best remembered for having broken Babe Ruth’s record for most home runs in a single season, an achievement that had stood for thirty-four years. Maris held the record until 1998, when it was superseded by Mark McGwire. Fifty monologues for male actors. Fifty Great Monologues for Student Actors is one of many books of its type, offering selections of dramatic or comedic scenes young actors can perform for auditions or to “develop their instrument.” And so does Hilton Kramer. Hilton Kramer (1928-2012) was a cultural critic who served as the art critic for The Nation and later for The New York Times. In 1982 he founded The New Criterion magazine and served as its editor in chief. It’s called Captain Eo. Captain Eo is a short film starring Michael Jackson and Anjelica Huston. It debuted at Epcot Center in 1986. This your drunk, Hartley? See note on Elliot Carlin, above. Is that Alf on the wall back there? –I hope so. Alf was a TV sitcom about a wisecracking alien that moves in with a suburban family (the letters ALF stood for “Alien Life Form”). It aired from 1986-1990. Except for Minnie Pearl. Minnie Pearl was the stage name of actress Sarah Colley (1912-1996), who toured with the Grand Ole Opry beginning in 1940. Her trademark entrance line was “How-dee!” She retired from performing in 1991 after suffering a stroke. The Mugwumps were … The Mugwumps were a group of dissident Republicans who bolted the party in the presidential election of 1884. They voted for the Democratic candidate, Grover Cleveland, rather than support the Republican nominee, the corrupt James “Slippery Jim” Blaine. Cleveland was subsequently elected. Tonight, in the Hollywood Palace! The Hollywood Palace was a TV variety show that aired from 1964-1970. Hosted by a different guest every week and broadcast from the El Capitan theater in Los Angeles, the show featured such performers as the Rolling Stones and the Jackson 5 (in their first national television appearance). Let’s look at Mr. Owl. Possibly a reference to the long-running series of ads for Tootsie Pops, in which a cartoon owl was asked, “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?” It’s Meow Meow Kitty! Meow Meow Kitty was one of the characters in the Neighborhood of Make Believe, from the children’s TV show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood (1968-2001). I slapped Ann B. Davis once. Ann B. Davis (1926-2014) was an actress best known for playing housekeeper Alice Nelson on the TV series The Brady Bunch, which aired from 1969-1974. (The Brady Bunch, of course, starred Bloodlust’s Robert Reed as Mike Brady.) [Sung.] Whe-he-he-he-here is love? Probably a reference to the song “Where Is Love?” from the musical Oliver. Sample lyrics: “Where is love?/Does it fall from skies above?/Is it underneath the willow tree/That I’ve been dreaming of?/Where is she?/Who I close my eyes to see?” I could make play suits for the children! In The Sound of Music, the governess, Maria, makes a set of play clothes for the Von Trapp children from a set of curtains. (Thanks to Erik Topp for this reference.) Not the Ming spittoon! The Ming dynasty that ruled China began in 1368 and lasted until 1644. It is renowned for its decorative porcelain, which characteristically emphasized blue and white designs. Ming vases have sold for up to $10 million apiece. Damn you all to hell! A famous line from the 1968 film Planet of the Apes. Now fly, monkeys, fly! A riff on a classic scene (and the source of nightmares for generations of children) in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, and its frequently misquoted dialogue. As legions of flying monkeys disperse from the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West on their mission to capture Dorothy, the Witch urges them on, shrieking “Fly, fly, fly!” The line is often misquoted as “Fly, my pretties, fly!” [Hummed.] Wicked Witch theme. This is the theme for the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. Brian Benben is an actor best known for his lead role on the HBO series Dream On. Ostensibly a comedy, the show was largely an excuse to showcase a series of attractive guest stars having sex with Benben. Soul Train is a pop music television program with an African-American slant, featuring dancers wiggling away to the latest hits. It first aired in 1971 with longtime host Don Cornelius. "Tony?" I lied. A reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger's line in the 1985 movie Commando: "Remember, Sully, when I promised to kill you last? I lied." (Thanks to Bill Hiers for this reference.) John Steinbeck in Of Mice and Murder. John Steinbeck (1902-1968) was a Nobel Prize-winning author known for his works about rural laborers, such as The Grapes of Wrath and Tortilla Flat. Of Mice and Men, originally published in 1937, is a story of two itinerant laborers, one of them mentally slow, who inadvertently get caught up in a murder and become the targets of a lynch mob. Rail, rail against the dying of the … “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” is a famous line from the Dylan Thomas poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” It would be ironic if the tree of death got Dutch elm disease. Dutch elm disease is a fungus that attacks elm trees, killing them sometimes within a month. It is spread by the elm bark beetle, which carries the fungus spores on its shell. Cagney and Lacey—the attractive years. Cagney and Lacey (1982-1988) was a TV show about two policewomen (played by Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly). Both Gless and Daly got quite stout when they grew older. The Snoop Sisters—the early days. The Snoop Sisters was a 1972-1974 TV series starring Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick as two mystery writers who find themselves trying to solve real-life crimes. Where angels go, trouble follows. Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows is a 1968 film about a group of Catholic schoolgirls on a trip from the East Coast to the West Coast. It starred Rosalind Russell and Stella Stevens. Come on, we have to find the secret to bock beer. Bock beer is a type of lager originating in Munich, a strong beer with plenty of malt. “Oh.” Mein papa. “O Mein Papa” is a song from the German musical Feuerwerk (Fireworks). An English-language version recorded by Eddie Fisher was a number-one hit in 1954. Sample lyrics: “Oh, my papa, to me he was so wonderful/Oh, my papa, to me he was so good/No one could be so gentle and so lovable/Oh, my papa, he always understood.” Hey, boulya’s done. “Boulya” is a slang term for crack cocaine. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! Amongst our weaponry are … A line from the “Spanish Inquisition” sketch on the BBC comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus. The full line: “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise … surprise and fear … fear and surprise … Our two weapons are fear and surprise … and ruthless efficiency … Our three weapons are fear, surprise and ruthless efficiency … and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope … Our four … no … Amongst our weapons … Amongst our weaponry are such elements as fear, surprise … I’ll come in again.” So, you want hush puppies or rice pilaf with your lobster? Hush puppies are balls of fried cornmeal, a popular side dish in the American South—the name came from big outdoor fish frys, and the practice of cooking up chunks of excess cornmeal batter and feeding them to the dogs to make them stop barking. Rice pilaf is a side dish involving rice cooked in a seasoned broth, usually with onions and spices, which may also include any number of other ingredients such as chopped vegetables, fruits, nuts, meat, or fish. Bob Packwood goes a-courtin’. Oregon Senator Robert Packwood served in the U.S. Senate from 1969 to 1995. He resigned his office in 1995 after the Senate Select Committee on Ethics recommended his expulsion due to a series of explosive sexual harassment charges, in which more than two dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct ranging from kissing to forceful groping. Hey, Jondor, has my latest Ted Nugent bow-hunting magazine come yet? Ted Nugent is a hard-rock guitarist known for such hit albums as Cat Scratch Fever and Double Live Gonzo. He is equally well known for his right-wing political views, pro-gun advocacy, strong anti-drug stance, and love of hunting. In 2001 he was re-elected to the board of directors of the National Rifle Association. Look, John the Baptist! John the Baptist is a Christian saint and is regarded as a prophet by Muslims as well. Christians consider him the forerunner of Jesus Christ. In the New Testament he is a preacher who encourages his followers to confess their sins and be baptized. According to the Gospels, he was imprisoned and beheaded by King Herod. I think it’s Charlie Callas. Charlie Callas (1924-2011) was an actor and comedian who appeared in The Snoop Sisters and High Anxiety, among many others. Come on, play Old Testament prophet with me! The Old Testament is the first part of the Christian Bible. Believed by most Christians and Jews to be the Word of God, it is a collection of writings by ancient Israelites. Next year, let’s just go to Branson, Missouri. Branson is a city in southwestern Missouri. Starting in the 1930s, the city began consciously to position itself as a tourist attraction; it is now considered the “family-friendly Las Vegas” because of its many attractions, which are located along a neon-lighted “strip.” It is particularly known for its musical acts, which consist largely of country and bluegrass. Featured acts include Ray Stevens and The Osmonds. [Sung.] The night they invented champagne … A line from the song “The Night They Invented Champagne,” from the musical Gigi. Sample lyrics: “The night they invented champagne/It’s plain as it can be/They thought of you and me/The night they invented champagne/They absolutely knew/That all we’d want to do/Is fly to the sky on champagne …” It turns out Rosebud was a sled. And The Crying Game? The chick had a … –Hey! Hey! “Rosebud” was the enigmatic last word of Charles Foster Kane in the movie Citizen Kane. It was in fact the name of the sled he owned as an innocent boy. The Crying Game is a 1992 film about a guilt-ridden IRA terrorist who becomes involved with the girlfriend of a slain soldier; the woman (spoiler alert) is actually a transsexual man. Chivalry, in case a woman comes by. Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618) was a popular English courtier during the reign of Elizabeth I. A famous though apocryphal story has him laying his cloak over a mud puddle so that the queen might cross it without dirtying her shoes. The defiant debs. The Defiant Ones is a 1958 film starring Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier as two escaped convicts who, chained to each other, must learn to work together to evade capture. Both Curtis and Poitier were nominated for Best Actor Oscars for their work in the film. Oh, this is the Osterman weekend. The Osterman Weekend is a novel by Robert Ludlum about a TV reporter who discovers that his weekend guests may be KGB agents. It was made into a movie starring Rutger Hauer in 1983. Visit the La Brea Tar Pits. The La Brea Tar Pits are a tourist attraction in Los Angeles, an open pit where asphalt bubbles to the surface from the large petroleum deposits under the L.A. Basin. The pits have proved a treasure trove of preserved fossils from the prehistoric era, including mammoths and saber-toothed cats. An imitation of Señor Wences (real name Wenceslao Moreno; 1896-1999), a Spanish ventriloquist who made frequent appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. He was known for his comic banter with a hand puppet named Johnny and a puppet hidden in a box who went by the name of Pedro. He died in 1999 at the age of 103. Let me baptize you just once! See note on John the Baptist, above. Robert Reed is Buford T. Pusser in Prancing Tall. Walking Tall is a 1973 film loosely based on real-life sheriff Buford Pusser, played by that slab of Southern-fried meat, Joe Don Baker himself. It spawned two sequels with Bo Svenson in the Baker role as well as a short-lived TV series, also starring Svenson. Reduce, recycle, reuse. “Reduce, reuse, recycle,” also known as the three R’s, is one of the central slogans of the environmental movement. The Kraut is a lonely hunter. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is an autobiographical novel by Carson McCullers, about the lives of a group of people in a Southern town who become involved with a deaf-mute named John Singer. In 1968 it was made into a movie starring Alan Arkin. [Hummed.] “On, Wisconsin!” This is the fight song of the University of Wisconsin, Kevin Murphy's alma mater. (Heartfelt thanks to Neal Stidham for this reference.) Damn the torpedoes, please. “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” is a famous order given by Union Admiral David Farragut during the Civil War battle of Mobile Bay, when his ships began to falter while entering a heavily mined area (mines at the time were called torpedoes). On his orders, the ships succeeded in entering the bay and the Union fleet won the battle, shutting down the Confederacy’s last major port on the Gulf of Mexico. He’s a regular Sacagawea. Sacagawea was an Indian woman married to a French-Canadian trapper, Touissant Charbonneau, who was hired to act as an interpreter for Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition. Sacagawea accompanied her husband on the journey. She wound up serving as a de facto guide for the explorers and helped them deal with the Indian tribes they encountered en route to the Pacific. [Sung.] Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles … A line from the German national anthem, “Das Lied der Deutschen” (“The Song of the Germans”). The tune, written by Joseph Haydn, was used as the anthem from 1922 through the end of the Nazi era; the current government uses the third verse of the song as its anthem. Sample lyrics: “Deutschland, Deutschland über alles/Über alles in der Welt …” (Germany, Germany above all/Above all else in the world …”). Look at this—Lucas McCain’s armoire. Lucas McCain was the main character of the TV western The Rifleman, which aired from 1958-1963. The part was played by Chuck Connors. I’m the NRA. “I’m the NRA” is an advertising slogan for the National Rifle Association, the powerful gun lobbying group. Scooby-Doo: the motion picture. Scooby-Doo was the name of the anthropomorphic dog who first appeared in the animated TV series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, which aired from 1969-1972. He was voiced by Don Messick. The show spawned several dozen series, TV movies, videos, and, yes, live-action feature films—but when this episode was written, the very notion of a major motion picture about Scooby-Doo qualified as a joke. I think I’ll settle in with some Erma Bombeck. Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) was a humorist who had a popular syndicated newspaper column for decades. She tended to write about the stresses of family life, including raising children. Maybe a little schnitzelbank for dinner? “Schnitzelbank” is an old German drinking song. Sample lyrics: “Ist das nicht dein schnitzelbank?/ Ja, das ist mein schnitzelbank/ Ohhhh, du schoene/Ohhhh, du schoene/Ohhhh, du schoene/Schnit-zel-bank!” (“Isn't that your carving bench?/Yes, that is my carving bench/Oh, you wonderful carving bench!”) Those darn Menendez boys. In August 1989, brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez shot and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion. At first the two brothers claimed they had been at the movies when their parents were killed; later, they admitted to the killings but claimed they were acting in self-defense after years of physical and sexual abuse. Prosecutors argued the true motive was Jose Menendez’s $14 million fortune. The first trial ended in a hung jury; at the second trial the two young men were convicted of first-degree murder. In 1996 they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A reference to Show 424, Manos, the Hands of Fate. No cookies, not now, not ever, never! A reference to an old skit on The Andy Williams Show (1969-1971), called the “cookie bear” skit, in which a guy in a bear suit would try various tactics to get Williams to give him a cookie. Each skit ended with Williams shrieking, “No cookies! Not now, not ever, never!” [Sung.] But a cave is not a home … A reference to the Luther Vandross song “A House Is Not a Home.” Sample lyrics: “A chair is still a chair, even when there's no one sittin' there/But a chair is not a house and a house is not a home/When there's no one there to hold you tight/And no one there you can kiss goodnight …” Ladies and gentlemen, Spalding Gray! Spalding Gray (1941-2004) was a performance artist whose works consisted of him sitting at a table and telling a story in a long monologue. His works included Swimming to Cambodia, Monster in a Box, and Gray’s Anatomy. He committed suicide in 2004. [Sung.] Clap on! A riff on commercials for The Clapper, an electrical switch that makes household lamps—or any device plugged into it—turn on or off in response to loud noises, such as clapping. In the late 1990s, commercials for The Clapper took on a pop culture life of their own—the low budget and ubiquitous TV ads featured people happily clapping to turn on their lights or turn off their TV, accompanied by a jingle singing: “Clap on! Clap off! The Clapper!” The jingle was actually borrowed from a jingle in a 1980s commercial for Sine-Off cold medicine. See note on Al Jolson, above. He’s regained his sangfroid. Sangfroid (French for “cold blood”) is the state of keeping your cool in the face of trying circumstances or danger. Yes, I call that one Lutheran Love. Lutheranism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that follows the teachings of 16th-century reformer Martin Luther. Early Lutherans frowned on dancing and other secular, depraved activities; modern Lutherans are considerably more relaxed. There is a high concentration of Lutherans in the American Midwest and Upper Plains states. Linc. Julie. Over there. Linc Hayes and Julie Barnes (played by Clarence Williams III and Peggy Lipton, respectively) were two of the hip young police narcs on the TV series The Mod Squad, which aired from 1968-1973. (The third was Pete Cochran, played by Michael Cole.) We didn’t steal no bike, neither. A reference to Show 514, Teenage Strangler. Should have had a tech rehearsal. In theater, music performances, and film and TV production, a tech rehearsal is a rehearsal that concentrates on lighting, sound effects, pyrotechnics, and any mechanical riggings for stage sets or performers. David Letterman is a late-night talk show host known for his offbeat sense of humor. His eccentric talk show career began in 1980 with The David Letterman Show, an Emmy-winning morning program that aired on NBC for one season. In 1982, NBC launched Late Night with David Letterman, which aired after The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He remained there until Carson’s retirement and a highly public kerfuffle with NBC about who would be taking over The Tonight Show. NBC went with frequent guest host Jay Leno, and Letterman decided to jump ship to CBS when his contract ended. He started The Late Show with David Letterman in 1993 and remained there until he retired in 2015.

On Christmas Eve, as we were driving to drop off the Cabbage with her Mom, I said to Michael "It's the first night of Hanukkah. We should light a menorah!" He narrowed his eyes and said "We should light a menorah!" We dropped the kid off and then headed to Walgreens to buy a menorah except Walgreens didn't have any. So then we went to World Market, but they didn't have any menorahs either. World Market doesn't seem so 'worldly' now. Finally, we walked next door to Target and they had menorahs tucked over on an end cap between stationary and birthday wrapping paper. We bought a menorah and some candles and while Michael drove us home, I did some research on how we're actually supposed to light the candles. We got home and set up our little menorah. Michael lit the shamash candle and then I said the blessings before he lit the first candle of Hanukkah. Then we looked at each other with giant grins on our faces. This felt important and relevant. Soon after I posted a picture of our menorah, Chad sent me a text asking me if Michael is Jewish. I sent a reply of 'nope' and then explained that we just felt that lighting the menorah was something we would do this year. As the days past and I posted more menorah pictures, I had several people say to me "I didn't know you were Jewish!" Again, I would explain that I am not Jewish and that lighting the menorah was our way of honoring other religions during this Holiday season. Michael even talked about getting a calendar that listed ALL the holidays and trying to celebrate every single one throughout a year. Charles, our friend who is about to be ordained as a priest, reminded us that this was an overwhelming idea because there are SO MANY HOLIDAYS. So we put a hold on that thought. For eight days, we said blessings and lit the candles on the menorah. When we traveled, we took the menorah with us. We included all of those we stayed with in lighting the menorah. Blessed are you, our G-d, King of the Universe who sanctified us with his commandments, and commanded us to kindle the Chanukah lights. Blessed are you, our G-d, King of the Universe who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time. Each night, I spoke those words as I watched Michael light one candle and then another. It was a moment of each day where we had to pause. It was a moment of each day where we had to stop and say "it's time to light the menorah." and it made us more mindful. It gave the holiday and the time spent with family and friends more of something I'm not sure of. Maybe tangible? Meaningful? Respectful. Important. This may be the beginning of a yearly tradition. Maybe next year we add on until we are recognizing all of the different religions. Do you know the story of Giordano Bruno? He was an Italian Dominican friar who lived between 1550 and 1600. He continued Copernicus's work and proposed that stars where distant suns and that the universe is infinite. Of course, the Roman Inquisition didn't care for this and had Bruno executed for heresy. During his trial it is said that Bruno defended his theories by saying that God is infinite and therefor the universe must be infinite. He declared to the Roman Catholics that "their God was too small." He was burned at the stake on February 17th, 1600. Lighting the menorah each night reminded me that I grew up in a religion whose God is too small, too exclusive, a religion very much like the many other exclusive religions. Yet, by taking a moment to understand other religions we begin to understand more about each other and it is apparent that we all want to believe in something greater than ourselves. Isn't that proof that God is indeed infinite and not confined to one book or another?

The White House has officially approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s exception for one new settlement for the Jews made homeless by the destruction of Amona. The United Nations, the PA, and anti-Israel NGO’s wasted no time in condemning the move. The Israeli Cabinet unanimously approved on Thursday night the creation of a new settlement for the families displaced by the court-ordered destruction of Amona. This is the first new Jewish settlement the Israeli government has approved in Judea or Samaria since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993. Prime Minister Netanyahu promised a new settlement in December to the residents in return for them evacuating their homes in the Benjamin region peacefully. This came as the resolution to a 12 year court battle initiated by Peace Now, a foreign funded anti-Israel NGO based in Israel, which claimed that a small portion of the settlement was built on vacant Arab owned land. A previous attempt at partial evacuation in 2006 saw 10,000 police and IDF troops facing 4,000 protesters. The new settlement will be built nearby in the Shilo Valley. A US official told the Jerusalem Post on Thursday, “We would note that the Israeli prime minister made a commitment to the Amona settlers prior to President Trump laying out his expectations, and has consistently indicated that he intended to move forward with this plan.” “Going forward, and as we move into more detailed discussions regarding the possibilities for advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace, the Israeli government has made clear that Israel’s intent is to adopt a policy regarding settlement activity that takes President Trump’s concerns into consideration,” the US official added. At the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu informed the cabinet that he intended to accommodate President Trump by not approving new settlements and by less expansion of existing settlements. “The Secretary General has consistently stressed that there is no Plan B for Israelis and Palestinians to live together in peace and security. He condemns all unilateral actions that, like the present one, threaten peace and undermine the two-state solution,” Dujarric said. The two-state solution will require the destruction of communities, displacing approximately 420,000 Jews, roughly 42 times more than lived in Gush Katif when it was destroyed in 2005. This figure does not include 300,000 Jews living in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinian Authority has set as a precondition to negotiations. No Palestinians will be displaced by the plan, which Prime Minister Netanyahu described as ethnic cleansing. Senior Palestinian legislator, Hanan Ashrawi, condemned the announcement of Trump’s support to the pres on Friday, saying it was a continuation of “systematic policies of settler colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing, showing a total and blatant disregard for Palestinian human rights.” “Israel is more committed to appeasing its illegal settler population than to abiding by the requirements for stability and a just peace,” Ashrawi said. Peace Now, the NGO responsible for the destruction of Amona was unsympathetic to the residents being relocated to owner-less land, responding in words that closely echoed those of the Palestinian Authority. “By giving in to settler pressure, Netanyahu is leading Israelis and Palestinians to a reality of one state and apartheid,” the NGO wrote on its website.

Abrahamic / Middle Eastern Christianity What Is a Religious Sect? Religious sects are often confused with cults and other extreme groups Share Flipboard Email Print Salt Lake Temple, Utah. Witold Skrypczak/Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images Abrahamic / Middle Eastern Christianity Origins The Bible The New Testament The Old Testament Practical Tools for Christians Christian Life For Teens Christian Prayers Weddings Inspirational Bible Devotions Denominations of Christianity Christian Holidays Christian Entertainment Key Terms in Christianity Catholicism Latter Day Saints View More By Ashley Crossman Ashley Crossman Sociology Expert Ph.D., Sociology, Arizona State University B.A., Sociology, University of Colorado at Boulder Ashley Crossman is a sociologist who has specialized in the statistical analysis of health and well-being since 2007. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on January 15, 2020 A sect is a religious group that is a subset of a religion or denomination. Sects typically share the same beliefs as the religion that is their foundation but will have marked differences in some areas. Sects Versus Cults The terms "sect" and "cults are often used interchangeably, but this is incorrect. Cults are small, extreme groups, and are often marked by corrupt leaders and intense, manipulative, or unethical practices. Sects are not cults, in most circumstances. They are just religious offshoots of other groups. But because of how often the two terms are confused, many people who belong to sects describe themselves as being part of a small denomination, to avoid negative stigma. Examples of Religious Sects In history, religious sects have been at the center of new movements and radical changes. One early example was the Nazarenes, a group made up of Jesus' followers after his death. While they were initially considered a Jewish sect, the Nazarenes have become known as the first Christians. Today, sects are still prominent. One of the most well-known is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, more commonly referred to as Mormons. The Mormon sect eventually evolved into its own denomination of Christianity and continues to increase in followers. Sects are often subsets of religions due to their perceived need for reform. As the sect grows, it becomes more established, builds a congregation, and becomes more accepted into the mainstream. At that point, it becomes a denomination. Modern Christian Sects Christianity has the largest number of sects. In the past, Christians associated sects with heresy and blasphemous beliefs, but in recent years, sects have become more respected for their beliefs. A Christian sect is recognized as separate from the core religion over certain beliefs and practices. Within the Catholic Church, there are many sects that operate separately but still consider themselves Catholic: Community of the Lady of All Nations: Founded in 1971, this sect believes that its founder, Marie Paule Giguere, is the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary. This differs from the Catholic belief that reincarnation is not possible and that Mary was assumed into heaven. Palmarian Catholic Church: The Palmarian Catholic Church does not recognize the current papacy as valid and infallible, splitting with the Roman Catholic Church. They have not recognized the authority of the Pope since the death of Pope Paul VI in 1978. Modern Islamic Sects Islam also has a number of religious sects that deviate from Islam's traditional teachings. There are two core groups, but each one has several sub-sects as well: Sunni Islam: Sunni Islam is the largest Muslim sect, and differs from other groups in the matter of the prophet Muhammad's successor.Shia Islam: Shia Islam believes that Muhammad did appoint a successor, in stark contrast to the Sunnis. While sects are often used to describe extreme religious views, many sects are peaceful and simply differ with a denomination over some particular issues. As time passes, many become accepted as mainstream denominations. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Crossman, Ashley. "What Is a Religious Sect?" Learn Religions, Aug. 27, 2020, learnreligions.com/sect-definition-3026574. Crossman, Ashley. (2020, August 27). What Is a Religious Sect? Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/sect-definition-3026574 Crossman, Ashley. "What Is a Religious Sect?" Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/sect-definition-3026574 (accessed May 23, 2022). copy citation Watch Now: Which Are the Most and Least Religious Countries?

An island so small but so unique and captivating! THE ISLAND WHERE LIGHT WAS BORN.. The island of Delos, in whole is considered an archaeological site, although only 1/6 of it has been excavated. The only people allowed to live there, are the guards and the archaeologists and they are also the only ones allowed to swim in the waters of its bays, because…once upon a time, they were all ancient ports. Delos, is the mythical birthplace of two Ancient Greek Gods, Artemis-Goddess of hunting and wild animals and Apollo – God of Light, harmony, music, oracle and beauty. This barren little island in the middle of the Aegean Sea, inhabited since the mid 3rd millennium BCE, turned into one of the most important religious centres for the ancient Greeks and later on into one of the most famous trade centres in the Eastern Mediterranean. It’s believed, that at least since the 9th cent. BCE, the Apollonian Sanctuary was established and Greeks from all over the Greek world gathered there for hundreds of years, so as to worship the God of Light , Apollo. The importance of the sanctuary brought in fame and wealth to the island. From the 3rd and 2nd century BCE an amazing city of trade was developed and by the 1st cent. BCE, under Roman rule at that point, it is estimated that approximately 30.000 people lived on the island. Unique events occurred during this island’s existence in history. Under a law established in the 5thcent. BCE , Delos became an island on which nobody was allowed to die or give birth on . Also, it was a Greek city state never destroyed by war until its final destructions in 88 BCE and 69 BCE. During your visit or tour, you will walk through the most well excavated residential areas, dating back to 3rd, 2nd and 1st century BCE , where you will see beautiful mosaics, amazing water cisterns, walk past and in what would have once been shops, workshops and homes (the House of Dionysus, the House of the Trident ect). You will reach the Theatre, which could have seated approximately 6500 people. As the island became a cosmopolitan market place, not only did its markets and shops fill up with goods from faraway lands, but with the merchants and the sailors came Gods and Goddess from far away lands and cultures. On Delos there are remains of temples dedicated to Egyptian and Syrian gods, gods from Beirut and remains of the one of the oldest Jewish synagogues of the Diaspora, dating back to 2nd-1st century BCE. However, it’s also recommended you head towards the more spiritual side of the island, the Sanctuary of Apollo, which may not be so well preserved, but it was for sure magnificent in its time. You will walk down the Sacred Avenue so as to reach the Sanctuary and then past what has remained of Temples, Treasuries, bases of votive statues and of course the largest marble base of all, belonged to the magnificent marble statue of Apollo, the Colossus of the Naxians, which was 9metres (29 feet) high and his base weighs 32 tones. Last, but not least, amongst the hundreds of things to discover in this ancient city, one cannot miss the famous Terrace of The Lions, offered to the island by the city state of Naxos around the end of the 7th cent. beginning of 6th cent. BCE .These marble Lions (today, replicas on the site as the original ones have been moved into the museum of Delos) are considered the “symbol” of Delos and were considered the guards of the Sacred Lake, where it was believed that the twin Gods were born. Delos ,was considered so important in the Ancient Greek World , that the group of islands you are visiting, have been named Κυκλάδες-“Kyklades”, (Κύκλος=circle), the Cyclades, as it was believed that they all formed an imaginative circle around this special Island… The island, where as it was believed, Light was born! Sailing past it or even better walking through the ancient city will for sure take you back into time. NOTE : For the ones who want to take a step further and see more of the treasures bought out into the light during the excavations, there is also a museum on the island, which houses amongst other objects, a rich and beautiful collection of Ancient Greek and Roman statues. Walking though its halls ,the uniqueness and development of ancient Greek and Roman Sculpture is brought to life before you…and one can observe how a hard and lifeless material like marble , was somehow magically transformed into such intangible qualities as poise, mood, and grace…

Ruach 5773, the seventh edition in the amazing Ruach series, brings to life the spirit, energy, and vibrancy of the Judaism that lives and breathes in the camps, youth groups, and synagogues of the Union for Reform Judaism. After Moses shattered the first set of Ten Commandments, destroying them with the Golden Calf, he placed the broken fragments in the Aron Hakodesh (Holy Ark) alongside the new tablets. From this the Talmud teaches, "Respect the aged, because the fragments ... This sixth installment in the ongoing and hugely popular Shabbat Anthology series includes 32 eclectic tunes that highlight the best and most current music written specifically for congregational Shabbat worship. The 168-page songbook features all compositions in Piano/Vocal/Guitar format,... This sixth installment in the ongoing and hugely popular Shabbat Anthology series includes 32 eclectic tunes that highlight the best and most current music written specifically for congregational Shabbat worship. This beautifully produced recording includes full renditions of all 32 songs,... Yoga Shalom is a unique worship experience that brings together body, mind, and spirit for an extraordinary prayer service. Combining the two powerful spiritual disciplines of Jewish worship and yoga practice, Rabbi Richard Address has devoted his career to helping transform synagogues into caring communities. Now, in his most personal work to date, he explores how the notion of a caring community can be transformative for individuals, particularly baby boomers struggling Discover programs that offer innovative ways to reinvigorate Outreach in your congregation, including imaginative full spectrum Outreach programs, engaging conversion candidates, a new model for interfaith couple... Often referred to as "the Schubert of Yiddish Art Song," Lazar Weiner was one of Transcontinental's most prolific and respected composers, and one of the most active Jewish musicians of the 20th century. More than the centerpiece of Purim celebrations, Esther is unique in the biblical canon, and raises as many questions as it reveals answers. It is a rich source for text study, at Purim and throughout the year. The Ruach Series delivers the hottest new Jewish rock tunes. This year, the celebrated compilation celebrates its 10th anniversary alongside the 50th anniversary of the Religious Action Center, with a focus on songs of a social action theme.

Skip to main content More Search Options A member of our team will call you back within one business day. Einstein Healthcare Network’s Victor Center for Jewish Genetic Diseases raises awareness of Jewish genetic diseases and provides affordable genetic counseling and screening for healthy individuals at risk of being carriers. Carrier screening is very important because one of five Ashkenazi Jews is a carrier of a mutation of one of these Jewish genetic diseases. The Victor Center educates the community to the importance of screening through Jewish community education programs and college campus outreach. Visit the Victor Center website for detailed information on the screening process, Jewish genetic diseases, and Victor Center programs in Philadelphia, Miami, and Boston. If you are interested in getting screened at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, organizing a community screening, or coordinating an educational program, contact our Outreach Coordinator at 215-456-8722. Click here to leave the Einstein Healthcare Network website, and enter the Victor Centers for Jewish Genetic Disease national site. or Browse Names A-Z

Honey Bars4 Reviews “These bars are made without butter.” - by Rosina Original recipe yields 2 - 4 dozen - Combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Beat eggs in a large bowl until thick and lemon colored. Beat in honey and almond extract. - Gradually add in dry ingredients blending well. Stir in dates and almonds. Spread evenly in a 13 x 9 inch greased pan. - Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) 12-15 minutes until lightly brown on top. Cool 2 minutes in pan. Cut into bars. When cool, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Amount Per Serving (48 total) - 64 cal - 1.5 g - 12 g Based on a 2,000 calorie diet Reviews (4)Rate This Recipe "My boss is Jewish, and when Jewish holidays come I like to fix something special for him and his family. My boss and his family loved them. In fact my boss and his 8 year old daughter were scolded f..." See moreor sneaking off with them and not sharing. I did have to bake them longer then the 15 mins, it was closer to 25-30 minutes. I did try them while I was putting the gife basket together and they were wonderful. But everbody has enjoyed them, great recipe. Thank you." "I like that these have no added fat. The texture still has that characteristic, almost rubbery feel of no-fat baked goods, but the honey adds moistness and gives the bars a very nice flavor. Like th..." See moree other reviewers, I had to bake these for a full 30 minutes before they were done." "I made this recipe last night, mainly because it had a low calorie, fat and carb count. I modified it a little by using toasted, sliced almonds, and dried cranberries and dried pineapple instead of da..." See moretes. It is strong in almond flavor, but I love almonds, so no problem for me. I think this recipe could be easily adapted for biscotti, so I may try baking them again to try that." Fruit and Honey Cookies Just swipe to see more like this.

DECEMBER 10, 2016 THERE’S A PARADOX at the heart of science fiction. The most basic aspiration of the genre — its very essence, really — is to transcend time and place. Not just to predict the future, but to imagine things that are totally foreign to human experience. How would an alien life form have evolved, compared with those on Earth? What will human society look like 10,000 years from now? What is artificial intelligence, anyway? SF tries to imagine the unimaginable, to comprehend the incomprehensible, to describe the indescribable, and to do it all in entertaining, accessible prose. But SF, like everything else, is also a product of its time. Jules Verne’s tales of trips around the globe and voyages to the center of the Earth reflected the scientific optimism of the late 19th century, before World War I blew open technology’s dark side. During its midcentury golden age in the United States, the pulpy genre cheered on the rising economic and military dominance of the United States, forecasting an American empire that stretched to the stars. Not long after, New Wave authors like Philip K. Dick, Samuel R. Delany, and Ursula K. Le Guin wrestled with the social and political upheavals of the 1960s and ’70s, from Cold War paranoia to the Civil Rights Movement, second-wave feminism, and the drug culture. What kind of stories the Trump era might inspire is still unknown, but they probably won’t be cheerful. Stanisław Lem, the Polish novelist, futurologist, literary theorist, satirist, and philosophical gadfly, tried mightily to free his work from the shackles of the present. In dozens of novels, short stories, essays, metaliterary experiments, and futurological treatises, he attempted to imagine everything from a living ocean that could read human minds (Solaris) to a swarm of nonbiological mechanical insects (The Invincible) to a supercomputer many times more intelligent than its human creators (Golem XIV). In his 1964 book Summa Technologiae, Lem mocked writers whose works were merely historical fiction recast in the future — “corsairs and pirates of the thirtieth century.” It’s easy to find targets for Lem’s criticism; most SF movies are exercises in wish fulfillment, projections of a space-age Columbus in search of a final frontier. For Lem, science fiction meant thinking harder and imagining more. But even Lem could not transcend his own history. Born in 1921 in Lviv (then called Lwów as part of the Second Polish Republic), he survived World War II, served in the Polish resistance, and lived for most of his life under Polish Communism. In his work, he turned repeatedly to themes reflecting those experiences, including the role of chance in determining fate, the oppressive bureaucracy of authoritarian regimes, and the possibility of a runaway arms race that escapes human control. Ironically, Lem’s effort to think outside of history often provides the best descriptions of the period he lived through. Lem died in 2006, having lived to see many of his ideas come true. Yet today he has fallen into quasi-obscurity, at least in the English-speaking world. Not even in his heyday did he have the cachet in the United States of writers like Isaac Asimov or Robert A. Heinlein. But Lem was phenomenally popular in Eastern and Central Europe. According to a recent estimate, his books have been translated into more than 40 languages and have sold almost 40 million copies, and he was repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Prize. By all measures he was one of the most successful writers of the 20th century. Ten years after his death, there continues to be a steady drumbeat of interest in Lem. A film adaptation of his novella The Futurological Congress (1971) was released in 2013; the first full English translation of Summa Technologiae, by Joanna Zylinska, appeared in 2014; and three new books on Lem have been published in the last two years, all of them written or edited by literary scholar Peter Swirski, the most prominent Lem expert in the world. These include Lemography: Stanislaw Lem in the Eyes of the World (2014), a collection of critical essays co-edited by University of Alberta professor Waclaw M. Osadnik; Stanislaw Lem: Selected Letters to Michael Kandel (2014), a collection of Lem’s correspondence with his English translator; and Stanislaw Lem: Philosopher of the Future (2015), a collection of Swirski’s own pieces. All of these books illuminate Lem’s writing and thinking, from his opinions on literary contemporaries to his views on the Nixon administration. Most importantly, they illustrate the complex relationship between Lem’s future-facing novels and the turbulent period in which they were produced. Among science fiction writers, Lem was one of the most creative and intellectually bold. But even he couldn’t escape his time. In his 1975 memoir Highcastle: A Remembrance, Lem described his younger self as chubby and bookish, an only child doted on by his parents, an intelligent loner who enjoyed poking through his father’s collection of medical textbooks. Lem’s father, Samuel Lem, was a well-to-do laryngologist who provided his son with books and toys, a French governess, and a manual Remington typewriter that Lem used for the rest of his life. He gave his son a weekly allowance of 50 groszy, which Lem spent entirely on halvah. As he got older, Lem developed other hobbies, such as buying bits of “electrical-mechanical junk” at a local flea market. Like many children he was given to magical thinking, imagining that these scraps possessed their own independent lives. “I believed […] that inanimate objects were no less fallible than people,” he reflected in Highcastle. “And if you had enough patience, you could catch them by surprise.” Lem’s sympathy for inanimate and mechanical objects later showed up in his portrayals of robots and other forms of artificial intelligence. These beings, he wrote, were created by humans but were “crippled even before they were born — right on the drawing board.” As a teenager Lem put his collection of mechanical flotsam to work in a series of inventions that he designed and sometimes attempted to build. There was a solar-powered airplane “shaped like a parabolic mirror”; an oar that looked like an umbrella; “a bicycle without pedals, which you rode like a horse”; an electromagnetic cannon; a dozen different kinds of perpetual motion machines; and the already-existing differential gear. He also designed a rocket that, he later noticed, was similar to the German V-1s that were about to wreak havoc all over Europe. In high school, Lem developed another hobby, inventing a fictional empire entirely out of documents: identity papers, passports, licenses, warrants, passes, authorizations, seals, permits, vouchers, and payable-to-bearer certificates, some of which were in code and required intricate keys to decipher. In Highcastle, he described this activity — what we would now call “world-building” — as an unwitting preparation for his literary career: “Ignorant of the rules of writing, I strengthened the setting, the atmosphere, not describing any person or scene directly.” Such habits showed up in novels like Solaris (1961), which featured an entire chapter on the fictional field of “Solaristics,” as well as in other books where he went on long tangents devoted to fictional scientific developments. “I surround myself […] with the literature of a future, another world, a civilization with a library that is its product, its picture, its mirror image,” Lem wrote in “Chance and Order,” a 1984 essay in The New Yorker. For Lem, thinking about the future didn’t just mean telling a story but describing an entire society. Lem didn’t immediately aspire to become a writer, however. After graduating from the Karol Szajnocha Gymnasium in 1939, he followed in his father’s footsteps and enrolled at the Lwów Medical Institute. It was not good timing. When the German army occupied the city in 1941, the university was closed, and Lem went to work as a gopher and welder for a German scrap shop. He later joked that he risked being accused of resistance activity because he was such a bad welder, but in fact Lem did work for the Polish underground, smuggling in his overalls ammunition and radios from a Luftwaffe depot. These activities were especially dangerous because Lem and his family were Jewish — though they lived as completely assimilated Poles — and avoided imprisonment in the city’s ghetto only by obtaining forged identity papers. Nonetheless, Lem had several close brushes with death. In His Master’s Voice, a 1968 Cold War novel about a mysterious message that arrives from outer space, an émigré scientist named Saul Rappaport tells how he once expected to be killed during a mass execution, but was inexplicably set free. The narrator of that novel, Peter Hogarth, is a cynical mathematician whom Lem once identified as his closest fictional stand-in. But in a 1972 letter to his American translator, Michael Kandel, Lem admitted that the experience related by Rappaport was his own: “In 1941, when the German troops marched into Lviv, I was going to be shot dead — barring one extra element […] everything described in the book is true.” Although his immediate family survived, the rest of his relatives were killed in concentration camps. Near the end of the war, after the city had been reoccupied by the Soviet Army, Lem returned to his medical studies. But Lwów, which had been part of Poland, now became part of Soviet Ukraine, and the Lems were repatriated to Cracow. Whereas the family had once been well off, they were now impoverished; at age 71, Samuel Lem was forced to go back to work, and the family was reduced to living in a one-room apartment. In Cracow, Lem completed medical school, but because doctors were then being drafted into the Polish army for life, he decided to forgo graduation. Instead he got a job as a scientific research assistant at Jagiellonian University, where he taught courses and reviewed scientific publications for a journal called The Life of Science. He also became interested in cybernetics and taught himself English by reading the work of mathematician Norbert Wiener. In an essay in Lemography titled “Lem Redux: From Poland to the World,” by Swirski and Osadnik, the authors quote filmmaker Tadeusz Konwicki, who recalls Lem from the period wearing “a Jagiellonian University medical school cap” and old-fashioned knickers, “a certain sign of his provincialism.” Lem also started writing, contributing short stories to a magazine called New World of Adventures. These included a serialized novel called The Man From Mars that presaged his later preoccupation with the fundamental impossibility of communicating with alien life. Although the novel was never published in English, a small part of it was translated by Swirski in 2009 and appears in Lemography along with other selections of Lem’s early works. In the excerpt, an unnamed narrator is whisked off the street in a case of mistaken identity and is introduced to a secretive cabal whose purpose is unknown. Although Lem hadn’t yet arrived at fully formed ideas, he had already mastered the art of suspense. Despite his early promise, life was fraught for the young writer. In 1950, he lost his job at the university, and in 1951 was briefly expelled from the Polish Literary Guild because he had not yet published a book. His first bona fide novel, a non–science fiction trilogy titled Time Not Lost, was completed in 1948 but not published until 1955, and not in an uncensored version until 1975. In its first section, translated into English in 1988 as Hospital of the Transfiguration, Lem portrayed a young Polish doctor working in a psychiatric hospital at the time of the German occupation. When the Nazis take over, the doctors must decide whether to risk their lives trying to save their patients or to protect themselves. Lem’s eventual success was thanks to an event that could have come straight out of one of his stories. In 1950, during a trip to the mountain resort of Zakopane, he made the acquaintance of “a rotund gentleman who turned out to be the director of a state press.” This chance meeting resulted in the publication of The Astronauts (1951), Lem’s first successful novel. The book — a small fragment of which is available in English in Lemography — is about an expedition to Venus in the early 21st century, following the discovery of alien remains at the site of the Tunguska explosion. When the astronauts reach Venus, they discover that the native population has mysteriously destroyed itself on the eve of launching an attack on Earth — a grim foreboding of species-wide self-destruction. Lem resisted the novel’s translation, along with the rest of his early works, given its naïve depiction of a technologically advanced utopian society. But The Astronauts was a hit, and it paved the way for Lem’s literary career. After censorship and a rewriting process that Lem referred to as “mild brain washing,” his Time Not Lost trilogy appeared, as well as The Magellan Nebula (1955), another utopian first-contact novel that has remained mostly untranslated. In 1953, he married medical student Barbara Lesniak, and a few years later moved with her into a spacious house in the picturesque suburb of Klíny, where he would live for most of his life. In his New Yorker essay, “Chance and Order,” Lem described his writing regimen from the period: “I usually get up a short time before five in the morning […] When I was younger I could write as long as my stamina held out; the power of my intellect gave way only after my physical prowess had been exhausted.” This work ethic resulted in an impressive output. Between 1956 and 1968, he wrote at least 17 books, four of which appeared in 1961. If Lem has become synonymous with Polish SF, it’s because for years he was a one-man industry, churning out a library’s worth of books all by himself. Compared to most science fiction writers, Lem’s thinking was both disinterested and far-reaching. In works like the nonfictional Summa Technologiae, he explored the possibilities of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and genetic engineering, comparing technological advancement to biological evolution. Just as evolution had no moral agenda, he argued, technological developments were neither inherently good nor bad, but followed their own internal logic. Unlike most would-be prophets, who predict the future with warnings of dystopia or promises of a better tomorrow, Lem approached the subject without a moralizing tone. But in his fiction Lem did explore the pitfalls that the future might hold. His experience living under German occupation impressed on him the role of chance in life and the ease with which that life could be snuffed out. The absurdities of authoritarian communism and the perils of the Cold War further illustrated the danger humanity posed to itself. Worst of all, the construction of oppressive ideological systems seemed to occur through processes that its participants were unable to prevent, or even fully understand. Following the end of World War II, Poland fell increasingly under the sway of the Soviet Union. Although Stalin assured the allied powers that the country would be governed by a democratically elected coalition, in 1948 the communist Polish United Workers’ Party seized power, and in 1952 they proclaimed the People’s Republic of Poland under Stalinist Prime Minister Bolesław Bierut. Poland was never annexed by the USSR — one of the democratic opposition’s few victories — but in practice it remained a satellite state of the Soviet Union. And, as in the USSR, communist ideology wasn’t restricted to politics. At its General Congress in 1949, the Polish Writers’ Union announced its support for the Party’s program of socialist realism, essentially declaring literature to be subservient to political goals. For Lem the crackdown on free speech was an obstacle, but not a life-threatening one. Early novels like The Astronauts and The Magellan Nebula were favorable to communism, predicting its success on both social and technological fronts. Although he later disavowed those works, they were, he wrote, a product of their time — a choice of “historically untenable optimism” over “skepticism that was […] apt to turn into nihilism.” Even as he grew more daring, his books were rarely blocked from publication. Despite Soviet influence, Poland avoided the worst of Stalinist repression, and during the period of liberalization that followed Stalin’s death and Poland’s October Revolution, writers like Lem were increasingly free to publish what they liked. That freedom had its limits, however, and Lem took care to present his criticisms as SF. To his credit, it was a flimsy disguise. In one story, from the 1971 collection The Star Diaries, a cosmic adventurer named Ijon Tichy visits a kingdom governed by a rogue computer and populated by human-hating robots. When Tichy goes to investigate, he discovers that all of the robots — and even the computer itself — are actually people in costume. In another story, Tichy discovers a planet where the people are trying desperately to live underwater. “[A]fter the network of canals and reservoirs had been completed, the bureaus refused to disband themselves and continued to operate, irrigating Pinta more and more,” one of the characters explains. “The upshot was […] that what was to have been controlled, controlled us.” In both cases, the allusions to Stalinist conformism and paranoia were clear. While The Star Diaries took the form of lighthearted parables, Lem’s most substantial work depicting a totalitarian society was Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, a 1961 novel about a post-apocalyptic future that reads like a cross between Kafka and Lewis Carroll. The book is preceded by an introduction, purporting to be from 3,000 years in the future, telling the history of a predigital catastrophe in which all of the world’s paper was destroyed by a space-borne catalyst. One of the few exceptions to the great “papyralysis” was a memoir kept safe in the bowels of the “Third Pentagon,” a hermetically sealed building deep under the Rocky Mountains. The memoir, told in the first person by an unnamed “Agent,” describes its author’s wanderings through “The Building,” fruitlessly trying to discover his “Mission” while stumbling across one bizarre scene after the next. As he wanders from office to office and official to official, he becomes lost in the building’s maze of conspiracy and intrigue. One character tries to convince him that everything he encounters is actually in code. Another tells him that every agent is really a double or triple or quadruple agent, and that the forces of the Building have over time completely switched places with an antagonistic “Antibuilding.” In this nightmare world, truth and falsehood have become meaningless, and anything could mean anything else. Although the novel is set in the United States, and the Building is described as the last holdout of American capitalism, the bureaucracy gone mad is clearly a satire of communism. As Swirski writes in Philosopher of the Future, the backward-looking frame narrative describing a historical papyralysis was actually a later addition, tacked on “under the pressure from the Polish censors who wanted to deflect the novel’s satirical overtones onto the decadent West.” But like Stalin’s totalitarian regime, the Building assumes for its inhabitants the semblance of an omniscient power, where every detail seems like the intentional expression of an infallible system. As Lem explained in a 1972 letter to Kandel, “Once you assume that such perfection EXISTS, you see it everywhere […] It was precisely such faith and not any kind of torture that led the accused to confess to the most absurd acts during the infamous trials.” These ideas evoke comparisons to Orwell, and to the British novelist’s famous depiction of Stalinism in 1984 (1949). But in his letters to Kandel, Lem claimed that Orwell had gotten Stalinism wrong. Whereas Orwell described his dystopian regime as “a boot stamping on a human face — forever,” Lem argued that communist oppression was not a sadistic evil pursued for its own sake but a natural result of turning state ideology into dogma. Similarly, Lem critiqued Hannah Arendt’s analysis of totalitarianism, writing that “she made out these systems to be fruit of strictly intentional evil.” Rather, he writes, “Stalin’s times concocted a myth, never concretely or cogently expressed, of the state as a machine that was not only perfect, but also omniscient and omnipotent.” For Lem, the tragic consequences weren’t the result of premeditated cruelty, but the logical outcome of turning politics into faith. Lem may have been critical of the Soviet Union, but that didn’t mean he had a positive view of the West. “Say, one country permits eating little children right before the eyes of crazed mothers,” he wrote to Kandel in 1977, “and another permits eating absolutely anything, whereupon it turns out that the majority of people in that country eat shit. So what does the fact that most people eat shit demonstrate […] ?” In other words, just because life behind the Iron Curtain was bad, that didn’t make the United States good. For Lem the world wasn’t divided between good and evil, but between bad and even worse. Starting in the late 1960s, Lem turned away from conventional SF in favor of experimental works of literary and cultural criticism. These included books like The Philosophy of Chance (1968), in which he attempted to produce an empirical form of literary theory, and the Borgesian A Perfect Vacuum (1971) and One Human Minute (1986), in which he reviewed nonexistent books. While Lem’s literary experiments displayed a playful dexterity, his cultural criticisms were often clichéd, focusing on the West’s supposed vulgarity, tastelessness, and excess. In a 1992 interview with Swirski, he commented on the exploding number of TV channels, calling them “simply appalling. It is like having two thousand shirts or pairs of shoes.” While Lem’s main argument was about the unmanageable explosion of media, neither TV channels nor an excessive wardrobe seems like humanity’s greatest crime. If Lem didn’t think much of American popular culture, neither did he have much esteem for its literature. In his letters to Kandel he singled out books like Saul Bellow’s Humboldt’s Gift (1975), which he called “utterly worthless,” and Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow (1973), which he proclaimed a “demented dud.” But he reserved his greatest scorn for American science fiction, which he attacked as “pseudo-scientific fairy tales” and “hyped-up trash,” among other insults. When the aggrieved Science Fiction Writers of America revoked his honorary membership in 1975 over an article titled “Looking Down on Science Fiction: A Novelist’s Choice for the World’s Worst Writing,” Lem expressed his satisfaction to Kandel, commenting that “to me the opinion of morons is worth exactly nothing.” Later it turned out that the English title of the piece was an inaccurate translation of the German, but Lem’s views were clear enough. Lem’s criticisms may have been curmudgeonly and, as Swirksi suggests, rooted in his frustrated desire for greater American recognition. But to Lem the country also represented dangers that we are only now beginning to appreciate. He foresaw dystopia not only in resource-starved wastelands, but also in technological prisons of pleasure and excess. “The idea would be to expand the gamut of pleasurable sensations to the maximum, and perhaps even to bring into being […] other, as yet unknown, kinds of sensual stimulation and gratification,” he wrote in His Master’s Voice. This possibility became the premise for The Futurological Congress, in which humanity becomes trapped in a pharmacologically induced paradise, unaware of its own looming extinction. Most presciently, Lem understood that even mundane varieties of information could be disastrous in overwhelming quantities. What happens, he asked in His Master’s Voice, when “the technologies of information have led to a situation in which one can receive best the message of him who shouts the loudest, even when the most falsely?” Or, as he wrote in the same novel, “freedom of expression sometimes presents a greater threat to an idea, because forbidden thoughts may circulate in secret, but what can be done when an important fact is lost in a flood of impostors […] ?” Facebook and the deluge of fake news sites didn’t exist when Lem wrote this, but their creation wouldn’t have surprised him. The future of the United States, he wrote to Kandel, is “dark, most likely.” In his 1986 novel Fiasco, one of his last major works, Lem described a group of astronauts flying to Quinta, “the fifth planet of Zeta Harpyiae,” where they hope to make contact with an alien civilization. Quinta isn’t the only other inhabited planet in the galaxy; the universe is actually bursting with life, the astronauts believe. But unlike most extraterrestrials, which are either too primitive to bother with or too advanced to detect, the Quintans are still in an intermediate stage. On a scale from single-celled organisms to transcendental super-beings, they are close enough to humans for communication to take place. This idea — a “window of contact,” as Lem called it — was a useful premise for an SF novel, and it solved a bigger problem as well. In 1950, on his way to lunch at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi posed a famous question. Given the age and size of the universe, it seems likely that life exists on other planets. And since much of that life would have been around longer than we have, some of it should be technologically advanced. So why haven’t we found it? Or why hasn’t it found us? According to Lem’s answer, there may be intelligent life, but given the narrow window during which contact is possible, and the interstellar distances that have to be overcome, the chances of communication are vanishingly low. The question of alien contact isn’t just about aliens, however; it’s also about humanity. As an intelligent species develops, Lem theorized, it eventually outstrips the capacity of its natural environment to sustain it. At that point, it reaches a crisis: either it manages to overcome its environmental limitations, or it collapses. If the reason we haven’t found other civilizations is because they’ve destroyed themselves, or have retreated into a dark age, that doesn’t bode well for our own future. But if it’s because they’ve passed successfully through the bottleneck — the “singularity,” if you will — and emerged transformed on the other side, who knows what our future may hold? Lem considered any effort to make accurate predictions a fool’s errand — “Nothing ages as fast as the future,” he once wrote — but he did try to think rigorously about the paths our civilization might take. At first technology is applied toward our environment, he argued, as we enter the Anthropocene era on Earth. But eventually it is turned toward the human organism itself, leading to a stage of existence that is as yet unpredictable. “Man remains the last relic of Nature, the last ‘authentic product of Nature’ for an indefinite period of time,” he writes. But “the invasion of technology created by man into his body is inevitable.” Most importantly, Lem viewed biological evolution and technological development as part of the same process. Following Norbert Wiener’s formulation that there exist in the universe “islands of locally decreasing entropy” — that is, areas of space-time that tend naturally toward greater complexity and organization — Lem posited that evolution was not just a biological process guiding life on Earth but a phenomenon that could include any form of matter or energy. While these islands might sometimes result in biological life, they might also result in other kinds of complex systems, including our own creations. “Who causes whom?” he asked in Summa Technologiae. “Does technology cause us, or do we cause it?” Or, as he put it more pointedly in His Master’s Voice, “The roles are now reversed: humanity becomes, for technology, a means, an instrument for achieving a goal unknown and unknowable.” Of course, there is no guarantee that any Earth-based society will reach this point. Perhaps, as Lem suggested in The Futurological Congress, we will simply drug ourselves out of existence. Premature efforts at “auto-evolution” may go horribly awry. Right now runaway climate change, natural disasters, resource shortages, and nuclear war seem like the most likely doomsday scenarios. As Lem warned in an essay titled “Weapon Systems of The Twenty First Century or the Upside-down Evolution,” our tendency toward conflict may prompt us to invent ever more intelligent weapons, until they slip from our control and lead to ultimate disaster. Instead of successfully exiting the window of contact — or entering a new one — we might die on the threshold, a victim of our own advancement. The possibilities for our demise are endless. Perhaps, however, we will yet emerge on the other side of the unfolding crisis. What the world will look like then, we don’t know. Both the planet and our bodies may be transformed. Even for science fiction writers like Lem, a post-singularity world is difficult to imagine. But if we’re lucky to make it that far, we’ll be at the beginning of another great stage of life in the universe. And if we’re very lucky, some of us may yet live to see it. Ezra Glinter is the editor of Have I Got a Story for You (2016), an anthology of Yiddish fiction in translation. His writing has appeared in The Paris Review, The New Republic, and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications.

Q: What sets the Bible apart from any other inspired or spiritual book? A: The Metanarrative. The Bible is not a bunch of tiny stories about people and morality. It’s one story about God’s plan for redemption through His Son Jesus Christ from Genesis to Revelation. We see pictures of His coming throughout the Old Testament: Adam and Eve (Genesis 3) - When Adam and Eve eat from the tree, God covers up their sin with a blood sacrifice of an innocent animal. Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22) - When Abraham is called to sacrifice Isaac, the father leads the son up the mountain, with the son carrying the wood of the sacrifice on his shoulder. The father takes with him the knife of sacrifice and the fire of judgment. Joseph (Genesis 37-50) - When Joseph, the beloved son of his father who is hated by his Jewish brothers, is sold into slavery, he is elevated to second-in-command and delivers life to the Egyptian Gentiles in the midst of a famine. The Jews and the Gentiles are reconciled through him. Time and time again, with each piece of the Old Testament puzzle fitting together, we’re left with one picture: Christ. Q: Could man write the Bible even if he would? A: There is no way a man could come up with every story—four thousand years apart—and fit them together in perfect continuity to form one story of the triune God in perfect harmony. Regardless, man would never write about a plan for redemption that has nothing to do with him. And through the metanarrative of the Bible we know redemption has completely to do with the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross on our behalf. Chad Hampsch is the Vice President of the Kanakuk Institute.

Newspaper Page Text The Daily Argus. THURSDAY, SEPT.. 10, 1885. KiTer Bipleti. The Sidney will be up Saturday afters noon. The river is rising rapidly as a result of heavy rains north. The flagship Tittslmrg, of the Diamond Jo fleet will land in the morning on her way to St. Louis. The Diamond Jo line will sell tickets from now until October 27 to St. Louis and return for one fare $4.25 for the round trip to persons attending the great fair the first week in October. Hebrew Fast. The Jewish new year, 5,646, or "Rosh Ilashona," in Hewbrcw, began last even ing at 6 o'clock and will end at the same hour Friday. Ten days later comes the days of atonement, or in Hebrew "Yum Kipur." These two festivals are strictly observed by reformed as well as orthodox Israelites all over the glolie. Temples and synagogues are crowded during the days and Imsiness and other avocations are generally suspended, especially on the day of atonement. The services on oSuw Year's day are of a high and solemn char actor, and the feast is celebrated by all Israelites. Hars Again. There is a great deal of excitement in Muline today over the revival of the lli-nry Mirs case. Il has lieen given cir culation that Mars is In-fore the niand jury in hopes of finding indictment aguinst the parlies who gave him a coat of tar and feathers some months since and the ruumr has awakened a. spirit of indignation widen will end, it is stated, in a puriUlinient no less serious than the one w in rein he played a principal part l ist June. Molineites are ioud in their denuncia tion of States Attorney Entrikin, who, thev claim is particularly friendly with Mars, conducting a very weak prosecu lion against the negro when he was tried for his illegal offense, and now quite act- ive in scouring the town for witnesses to testify against the party who tared and feathered Mars. By bringing the case into the circuit court the county will be put at considerable expense, and as it is claimed that Mars' trial was little better than a travesty on justice, it would seem proper that the case, with all its mistiness, should be dropped What ever is done, Moline is entitled to the name of being the wickedest spot in Rock Island county. STILL OUT. Miners Refusing to Work. Comparison of the Wages Earned Here and in the East An Unset tled Condition In the Upper End of the County. All is quiet in the region of the miners' strike, in the east end of the county to day, but no work is being done. The proprietors of the mines, while dealing with the strikers civilly, refuse to accede to their wishes, claiming they are unable to pay 4 cents a bushel tor extracting the coal at the present price. On Tuesday it as stated in the Akous that the only mine in operation in the "upper end" was that of the Silvis Bros'., but such a pros'. ure was brought to bear on their men that all but one had quit yesterday. The men refused to strike, but simply stopped work, and took their tools home. They feel that their employers have treated them fairly, giving them work all the year around, and allowing them suflicient to make a comfortable living without any particular exertion. They have received their wajres in cash on the loth of every month, and are allowed the privilege of drawing whatever is coming lo them at any time during the month. The firm supply's them with powder at a moderate price, simply keeping it as an accoinm dilation or the miners. The other mines are ops crated on atioul the same plan, the men making anywhere from 2 to $4 per day. In the present quiet and depressed con dition of everv class of trade, the action of the miners seems to lie unfortuate. If, as it is claimed by the propne- Court Callings. The attention of the ciicuit court is still occupied with the hearing of the case of the Town of Canoe Creek vs John Mc Eniry, ct al, commenced Tuesday. ednesday morning Judge Smith granted a decree of divorce in the case of Julia Ohlweiler vs George Ohlwcilcr The couple were married four years ago and drunkenness and abuse has been tli nature of the husband's conduct since. CIVIL CAUSES. 9 Trespass: Elienezer E. Hood v Jno. M. Iletickcr, continued. Debt: Matthew T. Johnson v Burrows & Armagost, continued for service. Case: Mary Ann Hill v Bortner & Swensson, continued at plaintiffs costs Attachment: Merchants' Exchange Na tional bank v S. L. Waite, dismissed costs paid. Appeal by defendant: City of Rock Isl and v Albert Litlig, dismissed, with pro cedento to justice ol tne peace. Assumpsit: Baker it Clark vW. & J.B Coe. Default, clerk assess. David Scars, ct al., v Kixk River Navigation & Water Power Co., default and judgment for plaintiff for '2,(Mi3.29. David Sears, et al., v the National Paper Co., defaul and clerk assess. IN CHANCERY. 9 Divorce: Anna C. Thordenherg B. M. Thordenherg, default and set f hearing (order dated Nlh). Julia Ohl weiler v George Ohlweiler. hearing. Foreclosure: Margaret Kohn v Isaac Epstein, et at; default as to all defend ants. P. L. Mitchell v John Moore, ct al; Master's report filed and approved and decree of sale. Abraham Friek v Mary Aimquist, etal; default and reference t Master. At the Altar. At the First Baptist church, at 7:30 last evening, in the presence of a larjre gathering of invited friends, Mark A Liloyd and Miss Maggie A. liewis were made man and wife. Rev. J. II. Wright officiating. The bridal couple were at tended by Miss Mary Moran and M E. E. Lloyd. The newly married coupl proceeded immediately al the close of the ceremony, to the residence of Mrs. M Bremian, at the corner of Twenty- sixth street and Fourth avenue, where a reception was held and elegant wedding supper was served. rich array of choice and appropriate pres ents greeted the happy pair, of which the following is a full list: Set of parlor furniture. Miss Lucy Ca bin; silver water pitcher, Agent McKib ben anil employes of American Express ollice; silver butler dish, Messrs. I la wh it Hill; silver napkin rings, J. 0 Hwtler; set of solid silver teaspoons, Mrs P. L. Cable; dinner set, 150 pieces, M and Mra. 1$. T. Cubic; dozen ice cream dishes and large dish. Miss Margot Postlewaitij groceries, etc E. E. Lloyd, Moline; flour bin full, Mrs. M. E. Lloyd, Moline; hard coal heating stove, Milton E. Lloyd, Moline; bedding, from the bride's mother; quilt, Mrs. Hampson, Coal Valley; bed spread, Miss Polly Shield; table cloth. Miss Mary Moran; table cover, Miss li. Shea. The bride is well known in this city, having been for a number ot years an at tendant to Mrs. F. L. Cable. The groom is in the employ of the American Express company here, mid has hosts of friends who rejoice with him in his good fortune. Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd have gone lo house keeping ut 2104 Third avenue. ' Bed lien Attention. O. San Kec Trilic, No. 15. improved order of Red Men. All brothers are re quested to meet at the Wigwam, Friday evening, at 7 o'clock, Sept. 11th, for the purpose of going to Davenport to visit Oseoca Tribe No. 0, tors, the miners can make a very com fortable living at the prices now offered, we think it would be far better for them to go to go to work, at all events for the present. Winter is rapidly approaching, and unless these men take the opportuni ties now offered them, it is much to be feared that we shall see a considerable amount of suffering among their fami lies in the very near future. As a matter worth the consideration of miners in this district, we publish below an account of the pitiable condition of the miners and their families in the great coal region of Pennsylvania. When tempted to grumble at his own hard fate, it is well for a man sometimes to look around him and com pare his condition with that of some of his fellow men The causes of this poverty arc happily of a nature which render it improbable that the workers in our coal fields are likely ever to be afllicted in the same way or to a like extent. Thank God. the time is very remote when a dweller in this state will have to work and support his family on 75 cents a day. But if reckless strikes are indulged in the average earn ings of a man who can, when at work, easily make $2 a day are very quickly pulled down to 70 cents and less. We do not mean to say that our miners have struck recklessly, but we do desire to raise a warning voice against this constant tendency to strikes Small points of dif ference can so readily lie settled by arbi tration or mutual agreement that we hope the day is not far distant when these petty strikes may be looked on altogether as things of the past The story ot the Pennsylvania miners and its causes is given as follows in the New York Hun. It is unnecessary to search long deeply for the cause of the discontent of the laborers. In the coal and iron re gions a man's wages range from If 14 to f'Mi a month. The best paid iron miners are making about $14, and the best paid coal miners about The prevailing rale of wtges in the iron mines is seventy cents a day. The amount of money which each individual has lor iood.cloth ing, medicine, anil all necessaries, count ing three adults to a family, a man, h wife and three children, ranges from ten to thirlyfoiir cents a day. A miner has worked for from ten to twenty days in the iron and aulhracite legions, and it the ha'f or the two thirds time which makes the rate of wages meaningless. Rents are high. A man whose monthly income is $10, pays tt (or rent, and in some places rents run up to $15 and f 30, rive dollars a month is the amount charged generally by the companies for tne tenements winch tney own. What ten cents a day means is shown all over the mountains of Pennsylvania The houses in which the miners live arc usually no better shanties than are to be found in the outskirts of any one of our great cities. They have two or three roorts each. The front one is literally the living room. There are done the cooking, washing, and eating, and often the falher and mother occupy it for sleeping room. A rag carpet is rarely seen. J ne nouses are almost never painted, but are left to blacken with the accumulating coal dust of years. There are, of course, model villages, like Senas tor Cox's, at Dauphin, where the houses are while, and where there are gardens But in such a town as Scranlon, the workingmen's houses are built in long ugly rows. Dirt prevails, for to keep clean seems a hopeless task. The dwell ings have no gardens, the streets are not shaded by trees. The houses, some of them so wretched in appearance as to in cite uuthrift, crowd upon roads that are black with coal dust. Scranton and al most every other large town in the coal regions has plenty of ground back on the hills, where the workmen's cottages might be built, and where each house might have a tut of garden, but either the work men prefer the begrimed consolidation of a town, or else the operators find it more convenient to have their miners live to gether in barrar . -. Almost every rum ing community u.u a "shanty town" and it is there the laborers and miners are to be found, These people. living thus in dwelling! without a single attractive feature, eat scanty and unwholesome food. Ten cents a day will not command much in the wav of meat, and the men do not have much besides the cheapest kind of vegetables. The ordinary dinner in a miner's hut consists of potatoes and cabbage. thrifty man will keep a pig, and if he can get a piece of ground will raise potatoes and cabbages, lie is sure then, through the winter, of a barrel of pork and an the company store is maintained. This institution has recently been made illegal by the legislature of Pennsylvania, but the corporations find means ot evading the statute. Four or five of the leading stockholders, for instance, will own a store and put in an agent to manage it. A commission is paid to the agent, or tne store building, owned by the company or operator, is leased for from 112,000 to 20,000 a year. The property is worth actually from $300 to 400 rental. This large sura represents prospective pronts, less a fair sum for the agent's services. These stores charge from 15 to 30 per cent more than is charged by the regular vallage storekeepers, and the agents do their best to tempt the men and their families to extravagant expenditure. A miner's credit is good until his monthly earnings are exhausted, and, though the law of the state requires that all wages shall be paid monthly in United States money, there are mining places where othing is received by the men at the end of each month but a receipted bill for rent, for the sharpening of tools and for goods bought at the store. A large num ber of suits are now pending to test the validity of these receipts, some of the workmen having sued a corporation for wages, notwithstanding the payment of the store bills by the company. On the trial the suits were decided in favor of the workingmen. A good many tricks are resorted to by the stores for the pur pose of increasing the bill. If a miner wants a load of hay it is the practice to haul it for him in installments, the store charging for each hauling. Miners have been ordered to "lay on for several davs because they were a few dollars ahead of the store, and have been compelled to re main idle until their indebtedness at the store equalled the sum due them from th company. Other exactions are charged against the operators. It is said that they are unfair in weighing coal. In the anthartic re gions mining is paifl for by the day, so many carloads being required for a day s work. The miner is fined for a certain percentage of slate in a car. and dis charged when the amount of slate is in excess of the coal. His helper or slave suffers with him. In the bituminous re gions the coal Is paid for by the bushel, and seventyssix pounds constitute a bush el. The weighing boss determines for the company, and the check weigher for the men. 1 he law requires that the men shall have this check weigher, and they pay him from their earnings. But at many mines this law is also evaded, am the men charge that they are cheated by the weighing boss, and that for them a ton sometimes means d,000 pounds. 1 he men are paid only for the coal that does not pass through the screen, although the company sells all that is se.nl to the sur face. Three weeks' psy is kept back as a guarantee that a man will keep his con tract, so that a new hand works seven weeks before receiving a cent of pay This is a good thing for the company store. A miner who complains is drop ped, and he discovers that his name is known at the neighboring mines, and that he cannot get employment in the vicinity The men say that the operators keep black list of the men who are dissatisfied The Agrii-nltnral Display nt the Coe FairEffects of the Bad Weath erAttendance, Entries, Amusement, Etc TUG COB FAIR. Port Byron, Sept. 9. The weather being inclement, people did not turn out as they otherwise would on the first day, but a number of entries were made. On account of this it has been decided to hold over another day, consequently today Wednesday is the first day. Early this morning people be gan flocking in to make entries and get their eating booths and- refreshment booths ready to cater to the inner man. TI11C GROUNDS are in a fine condition, looking more like picnic ground. The grounds proiwr are covered with green grass and lays high and dry, the wet weather having no ffeel on them. Entries are coming in fast. There is a fine display of thoroughbreds and grade llolstcin and Jersey cattle. 1 he horse department is crowded. Some of the fin est horses in Rock Island countv are here on exhibition, both of thoroughbreds and grades. The department of gram and farm products is well represented. A great many varieties of wheat, corn, oafs and barley were brought in this morning. FAOU.U, HAM. has been trimmed and hung with ever green festoons and looks gay and festive 1 he exhibits of fancy work are the best ever made in the hall, then? is also FRUITS OF THE SEAS0S. y THE CBS I. r v fine exhibit, of pastry, and so on. pies, cakes, bread iioktH'i:i.ti;hai. ha contains a fine assortment of apples ami fruits of all kinds. A part of it is Ink en bv Wendl, the furniture man ot Port Byron, whose display is grand. The officers of this fair are the most whole hearted, ambitious, go-ahead men that ever had control of an exhibition of this kind. THK OKFH'KRS A1SK: President A. F- Ilollisier. Vice President F. S. Gates Secretary A. Saddoris. , CorresiMindintr Secretary W. W. Pear soil. Treasurer L. S. Pearsoll. The programme is: Wednesday 2 p. in. Running race citizens purse. Thursday 10 a.m. Novelty runnin race, purse $20; 1st quarter $2, 2nd $6, Ird $15, 4th Ifti; a to entry and 4 to go 1 p.m. Ladies diiving double team. : r. m. Annual address. 3 p. m. Trot ting race horses owned in lbx:k Islam county, purse $50; 1st $25, 2nd $15, 3rd $10; 5 to enter and 4 to go. Friday 10 a. m. Running ace, open to all, purse $40; 1st $20, 2nd 12 50, A S7.a0; bos', 3 in 5. 11a.m. liest car riage team in harness. 1 p. m. Exhibi :30 BRIEF LETS. Damson plums, at Lamp's. Silk hats, very fine, at Liberman's. Dr. McCandless, dentist, corner Third avenue and Twentieth street. tf Robt. Ryan, of Ayer, Ontario, Canada, is in the city. Advertise in the half-cent-a-word col umn of the Arous. It will pay you. Girl wanted- 619 Twenty third street steady place, good wages. Fine northern spy apples, at Lamp's Money to loan on chattels 228 Mai street, Davenport, Iowa. Quite a delegation went up to the Coe fair today. Justice S. F. Cooke has returned from his visit to Iowa. New style hats, coming daily, at Liber man s. Miss Hamilton, of Orion, was in the city yesterday on her way to Hampton to visit her sister, Mrs. H. O. Norton. Mrs. Ellen McKisscn, of Blue Grass, Iowa, is visiting her grand-daughter, Mrs. F. W. Means in this city. Don't fail to see the Hindoo booth. lu dia curiosities and persons in India cos tumes at the rink next Thursday evening. Dr. J. W. Stark, Dentist. 1722 Seconi avenue. dlvr. The new 5 and 10 cent store is attract ing a large trade. Rare bargains cau be found therein. At the annual meeting of the Western United Underwriters' association in Chi cago yesterday, W. B. Ferguson, of this city, was reelected secretary of the asso ciation. A. II. Liitt has purchased A. E. Knick erbocker's saloon on Second avenue, and Messrs. Ilengsller and West will run it for him for the present. Mr. John Blocklinger now enjoys life in a cozy house owned by himself, and which was erected about a month ago on Sev en I h avenue. The Union does not refer to the board of supervisors, as "supes" any more. The funereal form i9 very polite since the board recognized his paper out of courte sy, more than for any other reason . E. P. Reynolds, Jr., has changed hie location from the extreme rowdy west to the neighborhood of Dubuque, where he will help boom the work contracted for by E. P. Reynolds & Co. One of the most conspicuous signs in the city is the new sign of David Don's, which be has just put up. The letters are large plain and neat. Mr. R. M. Sweet ney was the artist. The grandest entertainment of the seas on will be given this evening by the las dies of the First M. E.Kchurch. Everybody is invited. Admission only 10 cents. Chicken pie and all the delicacies of the season will be served. Remember the place, the skating rink. Yesterday, John McCabe, whose home is anywhere, everywhere and nowhere went into John Dressen's saloon, corner of Seventeenth street and First avenue and attempted tp get off with two coats, but Officer Butler intercepted him and locked him up in the county jail. The grand jury will take charge of his case. Pnhile Botice Found In Coal Valley, a pocket book containing some money and some valu able paper. Owner can have same by proving property and paying for this no tion of thoroughbred cattle in ring. n. Special premium $20 violin to best boy rider under 12 years, by D. Roy Bowlby. 5 p. m. Foot race. Saturday 11 a. m. Fat. mans race Balloon ascension on every afternoon by Prof. Gomes, of hpringfield, Hi. COK KOTKS. W. W. Pearsoll has a fine heard o Holstein cattle on exhibition, fourteen numlier, among which is the celebrated bull Do Valk. sired by De Valk W. II. 15 No. 160. dam. Adelaina Patti. This eel brated animal was imported in ISM Mr. Pearsoll has some two year old heif ers which he thinks are hard to beat, some of them giving twenty-four quarts milk daily. Mr. 1'earsoll lin-eds none but thoroughbreds. If vou want fim stock, give him a call. S. D. Wainwright would beg leave t. call the attention of the cattle raising pub lie to his celebrated bull "Jim,'' sired bv an imported Holstein and darned by threesfoiirths blood. "Jim" is so near full blood that many looking at him don know but what he is. Mr. Wainwrigh can lie seen on the grounds. The Coe school matter between Distrii No. 14 and the new District No. 11, ha: been satisfactorily adjusted. The new aistrict will proceed to erect a new selioo' house nt once. L. S. Pearsoll returned from Rock lsl and last night, and his pleasant counti nance was seen on the grounds this morn ing. The Port Bvron band discourses swee music to the mortals present. This ban has played at. this fair four years in se cession. The Woman s Christian lemperam Union has erected a tent for the dislri billion of temperance literature. Mr. Colgrove has been hired to tear the winter term of school. other of sauerkraut. But the great ma jority of miners have to buy their food, tice. Jacob Sthasksokskl and it is very expensive, especially where 1 coal valley, sept, iu, ibbs. TR.iL CHURCH. it tenor Improvement" Which Have BeenMade During the Summer nnths A Benefit Concert. A Feed Mill for GMng alkjislTF The interior of the Central Presbyterian church on Second avenue, opposite the court house square, has been greatly beautified during the summer months, and will be opened for the first time to the congregation and to the public next Tuesday evening, on the occasion of a concert to be given for the benefit of the church. The enternrising ladies of the congregation have done all in their means to improve the interior decorations, and well have they succeeded. The contract for this work was let to Mr. F. A. Lun dahl, of Moline, and the task, which he has about completed, is indeed a credit to bis artistic skill. The background of the walls ami ceil ing is a delicate blue tint. There a dark brown dado extending around the interior of the edifice, above which are beautifully exe cuted designs. On the ceilings bes tween the rafters are variegated panels. while in the arch wav back of the pul pit and organ is a skv blue, soft- ned by the representation of distant- clouds. The entire woodwork, pews, pul pit, doors and rafters have lieen finished n a cherry line, and the beveled edges f the rafters have been touched with genuine gold leaf. The woodwork on the organ has been changed incolor from ish lo cherry, and the pipes have lieen painted in blending tints. The hulies of the church who have as sumed the burden of Ihis uiidertakin are deserving of the funds.or a )ortion of them al least, necessary for the work; consequently A FINE CONCKRT will lie given next lucsday evening, on tne lirst church warming alter tne im provements. The following programme will be car ried out: Piano Solo Mr. liowlliy Viuarieiie, "Marci oeweniiini; kijjiu," '!k Duett, "Niclit in Vi-nice," I.nc-lulon Miss I'li-a-ants and Mr. huocke iolin Soto Mr. brhillinsi-r, Mule (Juaru-lte "Xiijlit Song"' Abl AW Oiiirtelte Vimrl.tte. 'l):iy break" Parke Choir Piano Nlo Mr. llowlliv Solo, "Lctft-Ile" Walson Mr. Kr.itz I no "Tlie Manners" Kaudeiw Miss Ptea:ints. Messrs. knorke and I'ooke Mule Ouarlelle, The Toast" Z-k-IIii- AlU Ouarlelti- (Jimm-ite "The Waltz" Yflirel Choir I ne regular cnoir of the church, com posed of Miss Belle Pleasants, soprano Miss Jessie Bogue, alto; Mr. A. Corns, tenor, and Mr. J. K Cooke, basso, S. T. Bowlhy, accompanist, assisted by Prof L. G. Kratz, Mr. L. E. Knocke, Henry Schillinger, (violinist), and the Abt quar- uiie, consisting oi Messrs. i:u. Meyer, 1st tenor; H. E. Downer, 2d tenor; E. G Peck, 1st bass, and J. S. Altman, 2d bass of Davenport. - J pea Aw CeucerT" -iffTTs Rock Island Arsenal band will give a grand open air concert in Franklin square next Saturday evening, Sept. 12 The following programme will be carried out: r-Airr FIRST. . Oram! March Palmer House. i. Overture, No-prise, it. Sunlit jiolka. Cornet solo. hyO. 11 Frerkmm. 4. Concert wallzes. 5. Serenade lo Mamie. FABT SECOND. ti. Oollinirwood. or step. V. Medley ov; rture, by ,Iohn B: -hi. S. Sweetheart polka Comet eido by O Krt rk-ou. W. IMiel, cnrnel and baritone, by ieore an tony ineni, wiui nana accompaniment 10. i;al,,ps. t it. in ami Cyclone, tioou Nifih I . SUPERVISORS' PROCEEDINGS Reoular Skit. Tkiim. A. D. 1S85. (Official Heport.i 8KCONI) DA V. Sept. 9. Board met pursuant to ad journment. Present all the members ex cept Siqiervisor Pearsall. In the absence of the chairman Sujiervisor Vieriech was chosen chairman pro teni. The miiiul.es cf yesterday's proceedings were read and approved . On motion the clerk wns directed to issue an order to the county treasurer to receive from Thomas Campbell the sum of $7.50. collected from John Stein. The matter of repairing the road to the county burying ground and removing its rubbish from said grounds and making other necessary repairs.was refered to the committee on poor with Miwer to act. Supervisor Cozaii moved that the mat ter of furnishing transportation for John Livingston to the Chicago Eye and Ear Infirmary lie referred to the overseer of the oor of Moline, and that be use his own discretion in the matter; carried. 8iijervisor Bowman moved that a com mittee of three be appointed to confer with II. C. Cleaveland. in relation to vis iting the state charitable institution at Jacksonville; carried. The chairman ap pointed as such committee Supervisors Bowman, Campbell and Burrall. The committee on public expenditures submitted the following report, which on motion was received and adopted: Your committee of public expenditures claims wpuld beg leave to report that they have examined all claims presented before them, and recommend the pays ment of the following, and that the clerk be directed to issue orders for the several amounts to the several claimants, toswit: W 3 Boon- IS On Stewart & Motitj; 3ti (a CPSwausnn Ttl Hciiillinger & T.. tt M Yerbory 73 55 C O Knell US 80 K 1 Uas Co ) (HI Sclilemiuer & O . . Ii5 lf Klcctrice Light Co 58 TO Cramptun & Co.. 73 96 Total ,.v fstts 5 E. H. Bowmam, , Johk Babton, , Th m as Smart, Com . Board adjourned until tomorrow morn ing at 9 o'clock, Low Bates. Agent John F. Cook, of the C. It. I. & P., has (he following to snv to the geuen public: TheC. R. I. & T.. railway will st-ll round trip exclusion tickets from this point to Chicago, Sept. 14, 15, 10, 17, 1 and 10th. Bound trip rate including ad mission to exposition, $7.10. Hard Coal Market rea coal, n-i.w; grate ami egg, !fi.7a range, nut and No. 4, $8.00 ikt ton screened and delivered- all best quality of anthracite. Extra cartage charged on orders oi less umn one ton. lilaclisniitli s eaol. Connellsville coke and charcoal l'.tOo Second avenue. E. G. Frazek. Attention, Knights! n. i aui i-ionge .no. iu(, j. ot i, met in regular convent ion Friday even ing at. 7:30, sharp. The cheapest place in the three cities to have your boots and shoes repaired or made, is at the Central Shoe Store. Scrofula diseases manifest themselve in the spring Hood's Sarsaparilla clean es the blood, and removes every taint o! scroiui:i. REMEMBER -That by far The Largest and Fines -STOCK OF- kkkit itrrr hn Nim-rrn itrrr i ki i" o n n una mil t ii ii k k k KK 1) DKRR N N Nil T II 11 RRR KR I' 11 UK H N N N 1 1 T I) IT K KR K HO K UN NNI1 T VV R KKKK -AND- nO A RRR PPP KKK 1TTT SS8S ! O AA R RP PI'. T O AAA R RP K T 2 tx it: a AR, RP f.F.V. T -Is to be found at- '8KS C. C. KNELL'S Wholesale Dealer in PFFFL OOO V CRRRR F L OOUURR F L OOUURR F L O OU UR R FF L O OU URRRR F L OOU URR FLO OU UR R F L OOUURR F LIXIX OOO UUU B H KKFF F F F FF F F F F Ml III U l.I.I.I.I. umv K JOHN STEECKFUs lt-3-coily RASMUSSEN'S CARD. In calling attention to the fact that we have refitted and n-ili-c,,,.,,, , Studio, making it not only the most complete but decidedly tin- ,. '''"' est in this vicinity. We also wish to call attention to our display"' r " Photographic work, all recently produced and containing many nm". ' pleasing positions and effects of light and shadow, varying in sizo miniature up to 16x!20 inches. We have been assured by old '"'& tent critics that' it is by far the finest display ever made in this citr'"" artistic success is largely due to the fact that wo make a greater -(j excel than to undersell, and we bring to our aid such ex-rienee as ' gathered from 17 year of continuous service (having begun our graphic career as a mere boy in 18(17, since which time we have nut UT'' months either bv sickness or vacation) our lore' pviiHrii-n,-.. , n ' '! . ' n iiiiiiiii-s i, , a ...ickstlntu tl.n inili.irlimna if ortmtitx ..(Y.tnta in 1I...... .. - 1. . " u im riinm ia tfltiwl with a mnaa if nwnaanrioa innuiulinir.,r ....... .J " " - .,, nunc Hull l, , ustrades, stone and rustic bridges and fences, boat, rocks, pond cum' ' .nuiii iiiiirn, BimiHiiin, Biidiin, nmi vmiciy oi oai K-grotltli-; t...: ...I. I.. I.... . i, -ii.: ii,. .. cumin, inoit; nouut-M, rnwra, oi wuni, i.ue iucitiio f noio-mireuil Suvs ..iii.iIImI in uni- T-,11.,- in fliio tri-itiitir Itnt Wtk ul.iinl.. matter easily demonstrated) that no gallery in tbi.4 contains oik- h:l)f amount of our instruments; we don't boast that they were t molit in ., r nant sale and used by predecessors for 25 years. On thk costi;ai-'v irmtriimpnlu urii if the blips!, imimivnil m-ilea -mituniit,,, n.n - " - - - - i -iiui-iil- mi.,,,.,, V.,;,.,l...,.,.l..- I'..-. o.,,. --.l ll.illnuiTiil, Inal.nli.iin,.,.. I CKI.KKRATKD LbNSKS CANNOT BK FOUND IN ANV Gau.KIIV IN I'll is Cliy ,,. nnue A il.tn..,! ial-i a llwt l..,c ..! i,.il 1....... I - 1 -"'"- f--'m 10 tin. in .--v vi ,1.1 iini-uicili. aim WUSlrlVI' )n . the advertisement by the excellence of our work. In order to better satisfactory results, every patron is given a show of three or fnur V tives, ditlerent positions, and all of these proofs are shown, ami stu.nl.l improvements suggest themselves, resittiugs will gladly lie mute charge. Gallery corner 18th street antl 2nd avenue, Kock Isl;nl. mnr-ft-dwly lit. GRAND OPENING -OF- FALL STOCK OF ft Carpets and Oil Cloths. Styles and prices never equalled. Everybody nioiv than isfied. Don't fail to call and examine our stock. CORDES & KANN. Nos. l.W and 1508 Second Ave., Rock Isk N. B. Chamber and Parlor 8ta a specialty. Mclntirc & Co., Will place on their counters Monday Morning, June '2-2, a tine line of Summer Silks in de sirable shades at the verjr low cost of 34 CENTS PER YARD. These Silks were bought at a sacrifice from a large concern who had too many. No such opportunity has been offered this season. Every yard worth from 40e to 6(c. and we wish customers to exam ine silks sold elsewhere before calling. - New and elegant line nt , . just opened in new anil n ble colorings. White Goous are moving nicely. In !'.v! season has been om M several years, which le;iJ . ; c i i .. . wi-a incii, ,tir lit , i-i on White goods. I5Call and examine. MCINTIRE & CO.. Healer in all kinds or SCHOOL BOOKS, Stationery, Confectionery, Choice Cigars, Toys, Etc., On fourth Avenue between Twentieth and Twenty-first Sis. HOCK IV- Jacob ril,h;y. Dealer ami Iniiorter in Marble and Granite Monuments. t-Spee.ial Designs furnished on application. CorrtsMindence solii -iteL Works and Office on East 17th St., opposite 1. 0.. i25"1 Rock Island, ii' J. T. DIXON, MERCHANT TAILOR. And Dcalci in Mens' Fine Woolens, ..diy 1706 Second avenue YESBURY, Plumbing, Steam and Gas Fitting, Knowles' Strain Pumps, Inspirators and Ejectors. Wroucht, Cant and XjmA Pipe. Pipe Fitlln? and Flra. Gomls of eTi-ry il.-M riiiliim: Hi""1 ind Parkin of all klndr; llrainTile and Sewer Pipe. Ofliceand Shop 1314 Third Ave., HOCK ISLAM'- H- i nly-17-dly RICHARD F. WITT, Licentiate in pharmacy, SUCCESSOR TO F. M. WIJEATON, DBALKK IN P U' B E DITTOS, And Toilet Preparations, Corner 2nd Ave., and 17th Sis- tr

Late Sunday night, Iran’s top religious leader praised the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah for launching attacks on Israel. “The [Israelis] want Lebanon to be a meat in their mouth, but the powerful Hezbollah has prevented their dream from being realized.” Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech on Iran’s state-controlled news. “The crimes and the atrocities in the recent weeks in Palestine and Lebanon have proved again that the existence of Israel in this region is an evil and cancerous being and an infected tumor,” he added. Meanwhile, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami hailed Hezbollah as “a radiant sun that emblazons and warms the all Muslims and free nations, including the Palestinians,” Iran’s Fars news agency reported. “What is going on in Lebanon today eliminates all the possible doubts about the necessity for the powerful presence of the resistance movement in that country,” Khatami was quoted as saying. The Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar stressed that Israel would “regret its crimes once [the] Muslim states resort to action,” according to the Fars report. Najjar condemned the Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian and Lebanese people, accusing Washington of indulging Israeli escalation. He also warned Israel of the consequences of invasion into Syria. In an obvious show of unanimous support for the terrorists, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also expressed support for Syria. “Iran [is] standing by the Syrian people and Israel [will] face unimaginable losses if it attacks Syria.” “We have offered and will still offer Syria and Lebanon [military] and humanitarian support,” he added. On Saturday, the Israeli army said that it had bombed the no-man’s land laying between Lebanon and Syria. But Israel’s head of military operations General Gadi Azincot told a news conference in Jerusalem that Syria was not an objective. Israel launched its offensive Wednesday on Lebanon in retaliation for the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerillas. Over 700 rockets have been fired on northern Israel by Hezbollah since the intense and escalating battle broke out. It’s no secret that Iran wishes to see the Jewish State annihilated. It’s been a constant theme for that terrorist-supporting nation. However, many American observers appear surprised that France said it is sending Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to Beirut to express support for Lebanon’s government and solidarity between the French people and the Lebanese. De Villepin did not offer any praise or sympathy to Israel, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with Frances history of anti-Semitism. During the Nazi occupation of France, the French police and security forces were more than willing to help the Nazis round up Jews to send them to the concentration camps. In fact, the French were so good out apprehending Jewish people, the Nazis allowed them to operate practically unsupervised by the Gestapo and the SS. Even in unoccupied France, under the Vichy government, Jews were rousted by the French police and military as a symbol of their allegiance to the Third Reich. But French anti-Semitism didn’t end with their liberation from the Nazis. France has a track record of opposing Israel at every turn and voting for every United Nations resolution condemning Israel. In fact, according to United Nations observers, the UN has passed more resoultions condemning Israel than they have any other country including Iran, Cuba, North Korea, etc. And the Israel-haters could always count on the French vote. In addition, the French have been experiencing a great deal of civil unrest on the part of their Muslim population, and France’s leftist President Chirac was slow to act when riots broke out within the Islamic community and spread into the heart of Paris. It’s believed de Villepin trip to Lebanon is a symbolic gesture of solidarity with France’s own Muslims. Some may point out that in France, there is a very thin line between solidarity and appeasement; just as there’s a thin line between appeasement and cowardice — appeasers and cowards. ”’Jim Kouri, CPP, is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he’s a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed “Crack City” by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com. He’s also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He’s appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com. Kouri’s own Web site is located at”’ http://jimkouri.us ”’HawaiiReporter.com reports the real news, and prints all editorials submitted, even if they do not represent the viewpoint of the editors, as long as they are written clearly. Send editorials to”’ mailto:Malia@HawaiiReporter.com

No Person or Journey Is Ever Perfect In his quirky book series Anecdotes of Painting in England, the flamboyant 18th century art historian and littérateur, Horace Walpole, recalls the story of Oliver Cromwell’s first encounter with the artist Sir Peter Lely, who had been engaged to paint Cromwell’s portrait after he became Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland — after having deposed King Charles I and authorized his execution. Convention demanded that portrait painters improve the appearance of their subject, so that the less attractive aspects of their features would not be recorded for posterity. In particular, monarchs and political leaders expected to appear younger and better looking in any portrait commissioned for public display. But apparently Cromwell, a devout Puritan, was not interested in any convention based on vanity. “Mr. Lely,” he said, “I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all; [make sure that you include] all these roughnesses, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me, otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it.” The bemused artist went ahead to paint a rather unflattering depiction of Cromwell, and as a result, the expression ‘warts-and-all’ found its way into English idiom. Our modern culture is no less obsessed with perfection. Computer airbrushing enables photos of models and movie stars to be retouched before publication, altering their appearance by improving skin tone, erasing acne and warts, and even changing body shapes. But the effects of such enhancements and the false reality these transformed images project have turned out to be a problem. A Daily Mail article in 2008 reported that magazine editors were “being urged to curb the use of airbrushed models … after an inquiry into the health of models found that unrealistic images on posters and in glossy magazines created an unhealthy and impossible ideal for women.” And it’s not just looks. The demand for perfection has also invaded the world of politics and business. Oliver Cromwell shrewdly understood that the British monarchy’s downfall was in part because of the false image of flawlessness it had projected, an image that was shattered when it became clear that King Charles was far from perfect. By allowing Lely to paint him exactly as he was, Cromwell subtly conveyed the idea that he was just an ordinary guy, with warts, scars, and bad hair, and could therefore make mistakes just like any other ordinary guy who might find themselves appointed Lord Protector of England. If only our contemporary media could take a leaf out of Cromwell’s book. Our culture demands that all heroes have to be paradigms of perfection, while anyone who is not perfect is by definition a villain — so much so, that any good they do is totally negated by the fact that they are evil. This view of the world is a ‘tale as old as time’ — originating in ancient pagan culture that built up heroic gods whose munificence and faultlessness could never be questioned or doubted, while evil was the purview of designated bogeymen. Judaism utterly rejects this notion, and our greatest heroes often struggled, while our most glorious moments were often tainted by tragedy. Most remarkably of all, this is exactly the way the Hebrew Scriptures present it all. The contrast between pagan perfection and the Jewish embrace of defects and challenges is at once stark and theologically refreshing. After all, if someone like Moses struggled, and if everything good that happened to the Jewish nation also involved arduous moments, there is hope for all of us, especially when we can see a reflection of our own roller-coaster lives in these Biblical personalities and narratives. And nowhere is this contrast better demonstrated than in the portion of Yitro, when the pagan priest Jethro comes to join his son-in-law Moses in the Sinai wilderness, after hearing of the miraculous events that resulted in the redemption from Egypt. The portion begins by telling us that Jethro heard all that God had done for Moses and the Israelites, namely how He had brought them out from Egypt. A few verses later, after Jethro is reunited with Moses, we are informed that “Moses told his father-in-law everything that God had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and all the hardships that had befallen them on the way, and how God had delivered them.” This is puzzling. Why did Moses give his father-in-law information he had already heard? Surely it was precisely the story of all that had happened which motivated Jethro to abandon Midian in the first place? The first rebbe of the 19th century Radomsker Hasidic dynasty, Rabbi Shlomo Hakohen Rabinowicz, picks up on the differences between the description of what Jethro had heard and what Moses later told him. Jethro heard about all the glory — the airbrushed version of the story with the happy ending. And while he may have heard about some suffering, once everything was over it was only the victory that mattered — at least in Jethro’s pagan version. But when Moses related his version of the story, it wasn’t just about the happy ending — the Jewish version also included the suffering of the Egyptians, and the hardships the Israelites had to endure to get to where they were now. In other words, it is not only the end that counts, because that goal will never be reached without all the warts along the way. Indeed, the struggles involved in grappling with and ultimately overcoming evil are an integral part of God’s plan from the beginning, and in the Exodus story, were predicted as part of the covenant made with Abraham centuries earlier. After Moses finished his account, the Torah tells us (Ex. 18:9): “Jethro rejoiced over all the kindness that God had shown Israel.” The Radomsker Rebbe notes that the word “vayichad” — an unusual word to use for ‘rejoice’ — can also mean ‘unify.’ The idea this conveys is that Jethro had a eureka moment after hearing Moses’ version, and he understood that the correct approach is to see the whole picture — warts-and-all — as the ultimate truth. No person or journey is ever perfect, and paradoxically, it is this imperfection that is the ultimate form of perfection.

Jewish World Review February 12, 2010 / 28 Shevat 5770 Bipartisanship Equals Single-Payer-ship By David Limbaugh http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | It's not a good idea for Republicans to accept President Barack Obama's invitation to a "bipartisan" health care summit, because it would not advance acceptable health care reform. The only thing it likely would advance would be Obama's propaganda message — and, thus, his socialist agenda. Everyone knows Obama wouldn't be considering such a move if the American people had not so resoundingly rejected Obamacare. From the very beginning, he has approached this issue more as a dictator than one interested in hearing genuine input from the other side. Nor has he shown good faith, having broken his cynical promise to televise the debates on C-SPAN and having misrepresented his plan in a number of particulars. When called on the C-SPAN pledge, he glibly replied that most of the process has been televised in regular sessions of Congress and committee hearings, knowing full well that's not what anyone understood him to mean when he made his promise. He has been as highhanded and dishonest in dealing with this issue as he has been with any other, which is quite a mouthful. He has ridiculed Republicans for their alleged obstruction and for not offering ideas of their own, when it was Republicans who first called for bipartisan talks last May and who did offer alternative plans, which Obama summarily rejected. He looked us straight in the eye and told us, disingenuously, that in his plan, there would be no federal funding for abortion, no rationing, no interference in the doctor-patient relationship, no forcing people out of their private plans, no bill that was not budget-neutral, no single-payer plan and no decrease in patient choice with his public option. As he waltzed unannounced into a news conference after failing to make himself available for one for some seven months, he proceeded, as usual, to decry "the political posturing that often paralyzes this town." I wonder whether he considers himself a participant in such posturing. After all, no modern president has ever engaged in the kind of incessant sniping at his predecessor or his opponents that Obama has. None has failed to take responsibility for his own actions the way Obama has. None has debased a State of the Union address to "call out" his political opponents. If he wouldn't even square with us in his short statement on the proposed "bipartisan" health care summit, why should we expect him to in the meeting itself? When he announced that he is "going to continue to seek the best ideas from either party," what were other members of his administration saying? One White House official told The Washington Post, "This is not starting over. Don't make any mistake about that." And Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that Obama will "absolutely not" reset the legislative process. "I think he sees this as a step to actually accelerating the process forward," she said. "He wants a bill at his desk, and he sees this as kind of closing the loop and let's go." He views this, just as he did his appearance at the Republican retreat, as an opportunity to use Republicans as a prop, to depict them as partisan obstructers of his magnanimous plan to save our health care system. Obama says the American people are demanding bipartisanship and "a seriousness of purpose that transcends petty politics." I don't think so. And I don't think his primary concern is what the American people want. If he were truly listening to the people, he would hear their rejection of Obamacare and the rest of his socialist agenda. He would heed the freshly released Rasmussen poll showing that 61 percent of Americans want him to drop health care reform. Yes, the American people have spoken, but what they're demanding is not bipartisanship. Rather, they want him to cease and desist from his socialist schemes. Indeed, bipartisan compromise in this case would likely be very detrimental to America's best interests. What Obama means by bipartisanship is that he be allowed to proceed with his plan to expand government control over health care with the fewest possible cosmetic changes necessary to con Republicans into signing on — a ploy right out of the Saul Alinsky street agitation playbook. Any bipartisan action on this bill would necessarily result in further government control over health care and move us ever closer to a single-payer system. Yet the only way to improve our health care system is to roll back, not increase government's role. It follows, then, that no reform at all would be vastly superior to so-called bipartisan reform. Seriously, does anyone believe that Obama will agree to any plan that includes market reforms? Of course not. Republicans — on behalf of the American people — should just say "no!" Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. David Limbaugh, a columnist and attorney practicing in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Comment by clicking here. Bankrupt: The Intellectual and Moral Bankruptcy of the Democratic Party BANKRUPT! Thatís what the Democrats are when it comes to new ideas, or to defending America, or to doing anything more than protecting their own narrow political interests. Exaggeration? Hardly. Bestselling author David Limbaugh quotes Democrats to devastating effect as a party that has reduced its mind and heart to the level of intellectual and moral bankruptcy. In this startling new book, Limbaugh shows just how far the Democratic Party has fallen, and why there is little prospect of redemption. © 2008, Creators Syndicate Bankrupt: The Intellectual and Moral Bankruptcy of the Democratic Party BANKRUPT! Thatís what the Democrats are when it comes to new ideas, or to defending America, or to doing anything more than protecting their own narrow political interests. Exaggeration? Hardly. Bestselling author David Limbaugh quotes Democrats to devastating effect as a party that has reduced its mind and heart to the level of intellectual and moral bankruptcy. In this startling new book, Limbaugh shows just how far the Democratic Party has fallen, and why there is little prospect of redemption. © 2008, Creators Syndicate

RSVP: (213) 765-2106 or firstname.lastname@example.org Over two millennia, the Jewish esoteric tradition has played a role in shaping Western metaphysics and mysticism. Kabalistic teachings have informed fields of thought and practice as varied as alchemy, numerology, dream interpretation, astrology, amulets, divination, healing, and altered consciousness. Judaism has had a mixed relationship with the occult. Scattered throughout the Hebrew Scriptures are undeniable incidents of magic—from Joseph’s proclivity for interpreting dreams to Moses’ copper serpent amulet used to heal snake bites, and from Saul’s meeting with the necromancing Witch of Endor to Isaiah and Ezekiel’s ecstatic visions of the Divine. Yet, both Biblical and Rabbinic sources also contain warnings against the use of such arts, generally forbidding consultation with fortunetellers, soothsayers, or mediums. In this exhibition, art works by Joshua Abarbanel, Gary Baseman, Ellen Cantor, Steven Wolkoff and Karen Frimkess Wolff explore the complex encounter between Judaism and magical, mystical, and folkloric practices. The exhibitions title draws inspiration from the popular magical incantation: “Abracadabra,” which likely derives from the Aramaic phrase a’bra k’dabra, meaning, “As I speak it, so I create it.” The exhibition begins with a cabinet of curiosities, displaying examples of herbs, an amulet, and other materials thought to have healing powers. This case offers a glimpse into the complex world of magic, ritual, and healing. Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis lists all items displayed in The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism. Joshua Abarbanel explores the use of Hebrew letters to invoke magic using one of Jewish folklore’s best known stories in his Golem (2013). Abarbanel’s Golem, just like the original created by Rabbi Loewe of Prague, was molded out of clay and then covered with what appear to be dozens of alef’s, mem’s, and tav’s. The letters combine, making up both the life-giving word “emet” and the death-bringing word “met”, both crucial to the magical process of bringing the Golem to life and controlling him. Similar to Rabbi Loewe, Abarbanel grew cautious about the power of this incantation, and created a hidden second step of the activation process, in order to keep his creature at bay. Gary Baseman (also pictured above) delves into the real and imagined histories of generations past, interpreting the Holocaust and its lasting effects on culture and identity. While visiting the Ukraine and Poland in 2012, Baseman heard numerous stories of Jewish history in Eastern Europe, including many that seemed to him to contain fairytale elements. In turn, Baseman creates his own “mythical homeland” full of characters that are at once adorable and fearsome. Ellen Cantor’s breathtaking series “Prior Pleasures,” is displayed in the spiritual space. In this series, the artist recalls the joy of reading fairytales and classic childhood books. Drawing from her personal collection, and using multiple images in camera, the artist photographed the books’ end pages, illustrations, and text to create the illusion of reading the book and seeing the drawings simultaneously. Steven Wolkoff uses a method of painting he developed where he creates three-dimensional piles of words out of acrylic paint. For this exhibition, the artist layered the word mitzvot, 613 times—honoring the six hundred and thirteen commandments contained in the Torah. Wolkoff, like Abarbanel, explores the power of sacred letters and numbers to fill words with power and mystery. Karen Frimkess Wolff explores the use of folklore and mythological storytelling in her powerful drawings and paintings. In “Escaping Goat,” she explores the ancient Yom Kippur ritual of releasing a goat to “Azazel” (Leviticus 16:8-10). Scholars have long debated Azazel’s true identity—with some believing it to be a pagan demon or even Satan himself, while one Talmudic source intriguingly suggests that it might be the Serpent that tempts Eve in Genesis 3. As the goat is sent off into the mysterious wilderness, the viewer is left behind to engage in their own search for redemption. Anne Hromadka, Exhibition Curator

BRUSSELS (JTA) — A little over a year after a French court forced Twitter to remove some anti-Semitic content, experts say the ruling has had a ripple effect, leading other Internet companies to act more aggressively against hate speech in an effort to avoid lawsuits. The 2013 ruling by the Paris Court of Appeals settled a lawsuit brought the year before by the Union of Jewish Students of France over the hashtag #UnBonJuif, which means “a good Jew” and which was used to index thousands of anti-Semitic comments that violated France’s law against hate speech. Since then, YouTube has permanently banned videos posted by Dieudonne, a French comedian with 10 convictions for inciting racial hatred against Jews. And in February, Facebook removed the page of French Holocaust denier Alain Soral for “repeatedly posting things that don’t comply with the Facebook terms,” according to the company. Soral’s page had drawn many complaints in previous years but was only taken down this year. “Big companies don’t want to be sued,” said Konstantinos Komaitis, a former academic and current policy adviser at the Internet Society, an international organization that encourages governments to ensure access and sustainable use of the Internet. “So after the ruling in France, we are seeing an inclination by Internet service providers like Google, YouTube, Facebook to try and adjust their terms of service — their own internal jurisprudence — to make sure they comply with national laws.” The change comes amid a string of heavy sentences handed down by European courts against individuals who used online platforms to incite to racism or violence. On Monday, a British court sentenced one such offender to four weeks in jail for tweeting “Hitler was right” to a Jewish lawmaker. Last week, a court in Geneva sentenced a man to five months in jail for posting texts that deny the Holocaust. And in April, a French court sentenced two men to five months in jail for posting an anti-Semitic video. “The stiffer sentences owe partly to a realization by judges of the dangers posed by online hatred, also in light of cyber-jihadism and how it affected people like Mohammed Merah,” said Christophe Goossens, the legal adviser of the Belgian League against Anti-Semitism, referring to the killer of four Jews at a Jewish school in Toulouse in 2012. In the Twitter case, the company argued that as an American firm it was protected by the First Amendment. But the court rejected the argument and forced Twitter to remove some of the comments and identify some of the authors. It also required the company to set up a system for flagging and ultimately removing comments that violate hate speech laws. Twitter responded by overhauling its terms of service to facilitate adherence to European law, Twitter’s head of global safety outreach and public policy, Patricias Cartes Andres, revealed Monday at a conference in Brussels organized by the International Network Against Cyber Hate, or INACH. “The rules have been changed in a way that allows us to take down more content when groups are being targeted,” Cartes Andres told JTA. Before the lawsuit, she added, “if you didn’t target any one person, you could have gotten away with it.” The change went into effect five months ago, but Twitter “wanted to be very quiet about it because there will be other communities, like the freedom of speech community, that will be quite upset about it because they would view it as censorship,” Cartes Andres said. Suzette Bronkhorst, the secretary of INACH, said Twitter’s adjusted policies are part of a “change in attitude” by online service providers since 2013. “Before the trial, Twitter gave Europe the middle finger,” Brokhorst said. “But they realized that if they want to work in Europe, they need to keep European laws, and others are coming to the same realization.” According to Komaitis, the Twitter case was built on a landmark court ruling in 2000 that forced the search engine Yahoo! to ban the sale of Nazi memorabilia. But the 2013 ruling “went much further,” he said, “demonstrating the increasing pressure on providers to adhere to national laws, unmask offenders and set up flagging mechanisms.” Still, the INACH conference showed that big gaps remain between the practices sought by European anti-racism activists and those now being implemented by the tech companies. One area of contention is Holocaust denial, which is illegal in many European countries but which several American companies, reflecting the broader free speech protections prevalent in the United States, are refusing to censure. Delphine Reyre, Facebook’s director of policy, said at the conference that the company believes users should be allowed to debate the subject. “Counter speech is a powerful tool that we lose with censorship,” she said. Cartes Andres cited the example of the hashtag #PutosJudios, Spanish for “Jewish whores,” which in May drew thousands of comments after a Spanish basketball team lost to its Israeli rival. More than 90 percent of the comments were “positive statements that attacked those who used the offensive term,” she said. Some of the comments are the subject of an ongoing police investigation in Spain launched after a complaint filed by 11 Jewish groups. But Mark Gardner of Britain’s Community Security Trust wasn’t buying it. “There’s no counter-speech to Holocaust denial,” Gardner said at the conference. “I’m not going to send Holocaust survivors to debate the existence of Auschwitz online. That’s ridiculous.”

The biological, psychological, moral, and economic destruction of this majority of normal people is a "biological" necessity to the pathocrats. Many means serve this end, starting with concentration camps and including warfare with an obstinate, well-armed foe who will devastate and debilitate the human power thrown at him, namely the very power jeopardizing pathocrats rule.An almost-but-not-quite CIA coup in Iran, the spread of the Franken-flu, the US Empire's continued military agression in the Middle East and the courting of trouble with North Korea all should be enough to remind us that suffering is the daily bread of millions of people on our planet. - Andrew M. Lobaczewski, Political Ponerology: A Science on The Nature of Evil adjusted for Political Purposes As often happens in life, when it rains - it pours. The month of June was a smashing one indeed; the mysterious loss of an Air France transcontinental flight provides a clue about the stage of the cycle of history that we are in. This detail is important enough to occupy the first place in our monthly analysis. Falling from the Mystery bookshelf: Air France who (or what?) dunnit? broke up in the mid-Atlantic in bad weather. However, the weather was not severe enough to prevent other flights to make it through the same area. Although not impossible, it would be a strange occurrence if an advanced airplane commanded by experienced pilots crashed due to entirely foreseeable meteorological conditions. So, the mainstream media dropped that explanation rather quickly and instead focused mostly on the pitot tubes which supposedly gave false readings, as well as conflicting reports about the instrumentation. They are also postponing more detailed explanations until the doomed flight's black box is recovered from the ocean floor, which is looking increasingly unlikely. Authorities who are aware of the real cause of the demise of Flight Af447 will undoubtedly be content to leave the matter as an insoluble mystery. Just as June was coming to a close, a Yemen Air Airbus 310 crashed into the Indian ocean. In this instance eyewitnesses were able to dispel any idea that a cometary fragment was involved, but coming on the heels of the Air France crash, we leave open the idea that there was a hidden hand involved. If the Yemen Air crash can be blamed on mechanical failure of the plane, then the conclusion that the Air France crash was also due to mechanics can more easily be made. Indeed, it seems that the powers that be have gone into overdrive recently to close the book on the Air France event in a way that avoids any uncomfortable ideas: Doomed Air France plane was not destroyed in flightThe proof that the aircraft did not break apart in mid air is flimsy at best and includes the fact that one of the cockpit walls has been found deformed. A large part of the crew rest room has been found and impact marks [on it] indicated that something came from the bottom up to the top. Invesigators also found life jackets that had not been inflated suggesting that the the crew and passengers had no time to implement crash measures. PARIS (Reuters) - The state of the wreckage from Air France flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, which crashed on June 1 with 228 people on board, suggest the plane was not destroyed in mid-air, French investigators said on Thursday. Alain Bouillard, who leads the investigation on behalf of France's BEA air accident board, said the search for the flight recorders, or black boxes, from the Airbus A330 aircraft would continue until July 10. These claims come despite previous findings, including bodies stripped of clothes (ripped off in mid air) with multiple fractures of hips, arms and legs, that the aircraft probably DID break up in mid-air. A spokesman for Brazilian medical examiners told The Associated Press on Wednesday that autopsies revealed fractures on an undisclosed number of the 50 bodies recovered so far. The official spoke on condition he not be named due to department rules.But then later on we are treated to this: "Typically, if you see intact bodies and multiple fractures - arm, leg, hip fractures - it's a good indicator of a midflight break up," said Frank Ciacco, a former forensic expert at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. "Especially if you're seeing large pieces of aircraft as well." The pattern of fractures was first reported Wednesday by Brazil's O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, which cited unnamed investigators. The paper also reported that some victims were found with little or no clothing, and had no signs of burns. The BEA concludes the analysis: "Observations of the tail fin and on the parts from the passenger (galley, toilet door, crew rest module) showed that the airplane had likely struck the surface of the water in a straight line, with a high rate vertical acceleration."As if no one would notice the story morphing. There is also this interesting point: The bodies of about 30 victims recovered were all clothed and relatively well preserved. At this time of the investigation the BEA still did not have access to the autopsy results, the report states It remains unclear how or where passengers died, Mr. Bouillard said, partly because French investigators still don't have access to autopsies being performed in Brazil. A BEA spokeswoman said that Brazilian police wouldn't give BEA medical experts access to autopsy reports, although the agency doesn't know why. She said it is unclear when the BEA will gain access, and that a French doctor had returned home after traveling to Brazil. So we have some very conflicting reports on the state of the bodies, withholding of data and in general, a story that just doesn't add up. But the fact is that ALL of these details can be explained IF the overhead cometary fragment explosion hypothesis were taken into consideration. So what are the chances of that happening? As regular SOTT readers know, that facts and observations from the 'edge' of an event often point to a solution. Anyone can speculate, but the most likely cause of the demise of AF447 becomes clear, and would be clear to investigators, if they were to pay attention to a key piece of information: Spanish pilot saw 'flash of white light' when French plane went missing As Joe Quinn explains, we are not suggesting that a space rock hit the aircraft directly. Rather, it is more likely that it exploded at a certain altitude, similar to what took place over Tunguska in 1908. The shock wave caused by such an explosion would have serious consequences for any aircraft flying within a radius of several hundred kilometers of the explosion. Read also here for a very interesting discussion about the fact that even a small cometery fragment explosion would generate an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP). The effect of an EMP anywhere in the area would be consistent with the scrambled readings from Flight 447's instrumentation just before it was lost. So, did a meteor bring down Air France 447? Even one of our favorite disinfo sources, Discovery, seems willing to entertain the thought, although with the usual disclaimers of "remote possibility": Did a meteor bring down Air France 447? Obviously for any given flight the chances are very, very small that a meteor will bring down an airliner, but as Hailey and Helfand pointed out in a letter to the NYT in 1996, the correct question to ask is this: "What is the probability that, for all flights in history, one or more could have been downed by a meteor?" They concluded that there was a 1-in-10 chance that this could happen . . . let's use their logic, brought up to date somewhat, for 2009, for Flight 447.But, as always, it pays to do a little digging. The cited quote is exactly thus: To the Editor:It is interesting that we have been repeatedly told that the chances of people being hurt by space rocks is too small to be worth any consideration - yet some are openly discussing the possibility now? And isn't it funny that even when the question is posed, it is spun in such a way as to make it a matter of mere probability and therefore 'bad luck'? Perhaps we too would be satisfied with the 'unlucky' explanation, if it were not for the fact that we have been tracking fireball reports from around the world for years, and it is very clear that such events are on the rise. The odds of a meteor's striking T.W.A. Flight 800 or any other single airline flight are indeed small. However, the relevant calculation is not the likelihood of any particular aircraft being hit, but the probability that one commercial airliner over the last 30 years of high-volume air travel would be struck by an incoming meteor with sufficient energy to cripple the plane or cause an explosion. Approximately 3,000 meteors a day with the requisite mass strike Earth. There are 50,000 commercial airline takeoffs a day worldwide. Adopting an average flight time of two hours, this translates to more than 3,500 planes in the air; these cover approximately two-billionths of Earth's surface. Multiplying this by the number of meteors per day and the length of the era of modern air travel leads to a 1-in-10 chance that a commercial flight would have been knocked from the sky by meteoric impact. No such calculation of the probability of a rare event can be taken as proof of cause. But it is essential to pose the problem correctly in order to obtain an estimate that can be used in determining whether or not the hypothesis is worth considering. We believe the meteor or cometary fragment impact theory deserves more considered attention. New York, Sept. 17, 1996 The writers are professors of, respectively, physics and astronomy at Columbia University. Military Hush-Up: Incoming Space Rocks Now Classified Why would the Pentagon deny scientists access to data about the incidence of fireballs in our atmosphere? What exactly is there to hide? Deliberate occurrence or 'act of god', it's curious how these events seem to work in the favor of the Powers That Be: Key figures in global battle against illegal arms trade lost in Air France crash Amid the media frenzy and speculation over the disappearance of Air France's ill-fated Flight 447, the loss of two of the world's most prominent figures in the war on the illegal arms trade and international drug trafficking has been virtually overlooked.Other 'high strangeness' indirectly connected with the Air France crash includes: Pablo Dreyfus, a 39-year-old Argentine who was travelling with his wife Ana Carolina Rodrigues aboard the doomed flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, had worked tirelessly with the Brazilian authorities to stem the flow of arms and ammunition that for years has fuelled the bloody turf wars waged by drug gangs in Rio's sprawling favelas. Also travelling with Dreyfus on the doomed flight was his friend and colleague Ronald Dreyer, a Swiss diplomat and co-ordinator of the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence who had worked with UN missions in El Salvador, Mozambique, Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Angola. Both men were consultants at the Small Arms Survey, an independent think tank based at Geneva's Graduate Institute of International Studies. The Survey said on its website that Dryer had helped mobilise the support of more than 100 countries to the cause of disarmament and development. 14-year-old hit by 30,000 mph space meteorite Woman who missed Flight 447 is killed in car crash Could it be the Universe's way of making it known that this is one sphere the PTB will just have to accept they have no control over? All possibilities are open. Finally, sometime in June this video of a fireball was filmed in France. It looks like a meteorite, but then again it is moving so slowly that it could have been something entirely different, although still very much out of the ordinary: With all the other drama going on around the world, don't forget to keep your eyes on the skies . . . Political events are best understood in context. In 2003 Bush and the gang of neocons that pulled his strings went to war with Iraq with 'proof' that predictably turned out to be false. Since then, the US Empire and its Israeli advance guard have focused on Iran. Appearances aside, the election of Obama did not change much in this respect. The claim of Iranian 'nucular' weapons is getting very old at this stage and it clearly was insufficient to convince enough Iranians to back a CIA coup in their country, despite the hundreds of millions of US tax dollars that were spent on the effort. For more context don't miss Niall Bradley's recent analysis. The role of the Western mainstream media was key in the effort to oust Ahmadinejad. While the coup (otherwise referred to as a 'color revolution') developed, western audiences needed to be repeatedly told a few lies and half-truths. Contrary to what the public was hypnotized to believe would happen, we have learned that There was no mass murder by government forces, Mousavi wasn't killed or put under house arrest, the phones weren't shut down, the cell phones weren't shut down, Twitter wasn't shut down (although it is being heavily manipulated by the neocon forces; it's amusing how we heard about Twitter being shut down over . . . Twitter), the internet wasn't shut down (although all information systems were slowed by the massive propaganda battle being fought by the neocons), the protests, some very violent, are being allowed to continue. All the Zionist rumors were, as usual, bullsh*t.There were indeed people killed - the question is who killed them and in what circumstances? A Press TV correspondent reported Monday that as the protesters were beginning to disperse at sundown after a peaceful rally, unidentified gunmen fired shots into the crowd. The shooters were reportedly not in uniform.Given that unidentified shooters in a crowd could be anyone, we are left to wonder which party had more to win from the death of innocent protestors in Iran. Ahmadinejad's government or the American government that has been threatening Iran for years? The reality is that the reports of violence primed the minds of the Western public for that one tragic image that would forever brand Ahmadinejad State radio said on Tuesday that the attackers were trying to vandalize public properties. Several people were also injured in the incident. s government as evil. Media martyrs student's last breath in latest piece of gushing psy-war propaganda Her name was Neda Salehi Agha Soltan and she was a philosophy student. But the manner of her death has turned her into an instant, global symbol of the Iranian regime's brutality. This innocent woman aged 26 was shot in the chest during running battles between opposition protesters and Iranian security forces in Tehran on Saturday. Since then, a grainy, 40-second video showing her final moments, blood streaming from her nose and mouth as a man implores her not to die, has ricocheted around the world on YouTube, blogs and social networking sites. Her poster has begun to appear on walls around the capital. There is even talk of trying to rename the street where she died. "People start weeping every time you mention her name," one man told The Times. The authenticity of the video, and the source of the bullet, cannot be verified independently but that hardly matters any more because millions of Iranians and hundreds of millions of others around the world firmly believe the story to be true. The millions hypnotized by the images were egged on, of course, by the Twitterati who oddly enough, were spared being off-line during election week for routine maintenance. The delay was a direct request from the US Government. Mysteriously, while there were few twitters, there were literally thousands of tweets. Happily someone made a few interesting observations: Were these legitimate Iranian people or the works of a propaganda machine? I became curious and decided to investigate the origins of the information. In doing so, I narrowed it down to a handful of people who have accounted for 30,000 Iran related tweets in the past few days. Each of them had some striking similarities -Even if those with eyes to see understand this was just another psyops, the potential beneficiaries are milking it for all it's worth: 1. They each created their twitter accounts on Saturday June 13th. 2. Each had extremely high number of Tweets since creating their profiles. 3. "IranElection" was each of their most popular keyword 4. With some very small exceptions, each were posting in ENGLISH. 5. Half of them had the exact same profile photo 6. Each had thousands of followers, with only a few friends. Most of their friends were EACH OTHER. Why were these tweets in English? Why were all of these profiles OBSESSED with Iran? It became obvious that this was the work of a team of people with an interest in destabilizing Iran. The profiles are phonies and were created with the sole intention of destabilizing Iran and effecting public opinion as to the legitimacy of Iran's election. I narrowed the spammers down to three of the most persistent - @StopAhmadi @IranRiggedElect @Change_For_Iran I decided to do a google search for 2 of the 3 - @StopAhmadi and @IranRiggedElect. The first page to come up was JPost (Jerusalem Post) which is a right wing newspaper pro-Israeli newspaper. JPost actually ran a story about 3 people "who joined the social network mere hours ago have already amassed thousands of followers." Why would a news organization post a story about 3 people who JUST JOINED TWITTER hours earlier? Is that newsworthy? JPost was the first (and only to my knowledge) major news source that mentioned these 3 spammers. The son of the late shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, was Monday carrying in his breastpocket a photograph of the slain protester known as Neda said to have been killed in the Tehran protests.How touching, except that the iconic photo (which he did not display) is of the wrong woman. As for the tears, psychopaths are adept at mimicking human emotions, so no surprise there. "I have added her (Neda) to the list of my daughters. She is now forever in my pocket," Pahlavi told AFP fighting back tears, after calling at a press conference for Western media and governments to stand strongly alongside the protest movement in Iran. The former crown prince of Iran took from his left breastpocket photographs of his wife, Yasmine, and three daughters, Noor, Iman and Farah, and, in the same clutch of images, one of a veiled Neda. He held them up silently, and stammered an apology for having tears in his eyes. Let's have a look at a much more plausible explanation: Iranian police say Neda's death was a 'prearranged scenario'Neda's death is a tragedy. What makes it even more evil is that she was a random victim, picked simply for possessing sympathetic qualities (young, well-educated, female) which would "play well" to the existing prejudices of the target Western audience. The Iranian ambassador to Mexico Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri is right to suspect a different reason for her death. "My question" he said "is, how is it that this Miss Neda is shot from behind, got shot in front of several cameras, and is shot in an area where no significant demonstration was behind held?" His conclusion - which should be obvious to anyone by now - is that the CIA, MI6 or the Israeli Mossad may have been responsible. Likewise, a Pakistani general put two and two together and declared that the US is interfering in Iran's affairs. The reaction from Washington? Obama falsely claimed that any CIA Involvement in Iran was "patently false". In this context, it was a bit embarrassing for Obama that the infamous Israel lobbyist and neocon Paul Wolfowitz called for US interference in Iran. Not to worry Wolfie, it's obvious that it's already under way. Iran's Police Chief says the mysterious death of Neda Aqa-Soltan, who became a symbol of post-election street rallies in Iran, was a 'prearranged scenario'. Neda, 26, was shot dead on June 20 in an alley away from the scene of clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Tehran. Mir Hussein Moussavi? Would the Iranian people not be better off under his rule. We don't think so. Although he is universally depicted as a "moderate", when Moussavi was Iran's prime minister under Ayatollah Khomeini, he "presided over a regime far more oppressive than Ahmadinejad's", in the words of Professor As'ad AbuKhalil. Furthermore, Mr. Man of the People may have been involved in the Iran-Contra affair - which is most likely why he was selected for the role. Then again, the western media only needs to stick its labels on people repeatedly until they become 'truth' and all history is forgotten. Even very recent history. While the same media is deriding Iranian complaints of interference in its affairs, even as the CIA admits to having agents in the country lavishly funded for this purpose, we only have to look back to January to see that the CIA was planning a "soft revolution" under the cover of establishing "scientific and cultural contacts between Iranian and U.S. nationals." The CIA tried to attain its goals by taking advantage of people-to-people contacts, joint studies, efforts to share scientific experiences, and other similar projects... The soft revolution plan was carried out through "NGOs, union protests, non-violent demonstrations, civil disobedience... and (efforts to) foment ethnic strife"It's interesting that Mr Mousavi "is currently the president of the Iranian Academy of Arts and is a member of the High Council of Cultural Revolution." He and his followers need not be privy to the whole plan to play their assigned role in the deception. One man who certainly knows a lot more than Mousavi is Reza Pahlavi who effectively foretold the methods used to bring about regime change on behalf of US and Israeli interests in a startling interview he gave three years ago. Stressing the crucial role foreign media would play in destabilising the regime's authority, Pahlavi said: And I'm talking about a blitzkrieg of media supporting, like the BBC did before the revolution, which was practically announcing the night before where there would be a demonstration the next day. This is not myth, it is fact.The revolution Pahlavi is talking about is the "Islamic Revolution" of 1979 which toppled his father's reign. The BBC assisting in the overthrow of the Shah? Surely not! Yet when you track the historical data there is evidence to suggest that Ayatollah Khomenei was installed in Iran by the CIA and MI6. The "October Surprise" - timed to release US hostages just as Reagan was inaugurated - as well as the Iran-Contra affair are testimony to nefarious cooperation on some level, in spite of public enmity between the US and Iran. This time around the BBC has again been instrumental in shaping Iranian minds towards accepting a change of management, launching BBC Persian in January in time for the June election. While it's difficult for us to accurately guage its effects in stirring up trouble within Iran, in terms of moulding world opinion, its benefits are plain to see. And so to close this section, we would like to present a jewel of contemporary journalism as manufactured by the BBC, that bastion of objectivity and neutrality - not! You see, in their desire to open our eyes to the fantasy of 'popular and spontaneous' Iranian revolution - and perhaps convince Iranians they don't really want Ahmadinejad to govern them - they decided to take some 'artistic license' of sorts with a certain picture of a demonstration in Iran. The original picture shows Ahmadinejad waving to a crowd celebrating his re-election. But the BBC published a photo that was edited to show only the crowd, along with the following caption: Behold the evidence: vindicated. Just as happened following the Twitter Revolution in Moldova, a recount of votes was ordered. But guess what? Ahmadinejad won by a bigger margin than first thought! He still faces a monumental challenge to fend off the agents of destruction festering within Iran and attacking his country from without. The end of the affair? Unlikely [*Irish slang for a 'not very nice person'] It was the orchestration of the 911 event however, that confirmed the edict that the US could never be unfaithful to Israel, no matter how insane Israel's behaviour would become. And fearing that Israel would spill the beans on the US government's complicity in the murder of their own citizens on 9/11, the US has supported and defended Israel's genocidal actions ever since. This little recollection of the affair brings us to the month of June, where in the US we saw more clearly than ever that the Obama administration will faithfully follow in the steps of the Bush government. After his speech in Cairo, where Obama supposedly tried to bridge US/Muslim relations but blatantly failed (out of the fullness - or emptiness - of the heart the mouth speaks), he was able to insure that US policy towards Israel will not change. Yes, Obama paid lip service to the call to halt the settlement process in the West Bank, but even that was too much for Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who loudly rejected any such move. And no, we were not surprised to see Obama sign a $106 billion war-spending bill into law later in the month, a few days after Congress approved $80 billion to fund the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; in other words, the murder of the very Muslims Obama tried to snake-charm earlier in his speech. Note also that $1.4 billion is allegedly set aside for "foreign aid" in Pakistan, which in reality translates to more civilian deaths, as we will see below. Add to the military funding the Pentagon-released statistics showing that "with Barack Obama as commander in chief, there has been a 23% increase in the number of 'Private Security Contractors' working for the Department of Defence in Iraq in the second quarter of 2009 and a 29% increase in Afghanistan," giving a total of 250,000 hired killers. It seems that when Obama spoke of change he really meant it! It is also clear that 'peace' means that same thing to Obama as it does to Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu, who paints his own paramoralistic picture of the concept: If we get this guarantee for demilitarization and necessary security arrangements for Israel, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people, we will be willing in a real peace agreement to reach a solution of a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside the Jewish stateAdd to that Lieberman's assertion about the illegal settlements: It's not a main issue in our region . . . If I try to compare what happens now in Iran and what happens in Afghanistan and in Pakistan to the problem of the settlements, it's very clear what . . . must be the priority of the international community .Liberman's comment highlights at least one of the agendas of the focus on Iran and Afghanistan and Pakistan: to distract from the ongoing genocide in Palestine. If we look at the US/Ziocon's ideas for a three-state-solution, where the West Bank and Gaza Strip each "pursue confederation with its respective contiguous Arab neighbour", Jordan and Egypt, we get an idea of the future that awaits the defenceless Palestinian population: more division, control, suppression and total disregard of their basic human rights. Now, did the above in any way give you an indication that the Obama government is changing its stance towards the Zionist regime? We didn't think so. We too found it comical when member of the Israeli Knesset for the Likud party, Yossi Peled, called for Israeli sanctions against the US, over this "shift in American policy, which he believes has become hostile to Israel"! Looking deeper into this tiff however, it becomes clear that Obama's vacuous diplomatic speech, his calls to bring to a close illegal settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land and his "applying pressure" to end the siege of Gaza, might have sounded too insensitive to Israeli ears, unaccustomed as they are to such "harsh demands". Between the lines of Peled's laughable threats for retaliation against the US though lies the 9/11 blackmail card, especially in light of the news that 41 US counter-terrorism and intelligence agency veterans are currently challenging the official 9/11 account. So while all of this might seem suggesive of a burgeoning schism in the relationship between the two countries, the truth is that - even if it wanted to - the US government won't be able to break free from the clutches of the Zionist cabal. What one Palestinian American writer and International Relations analyst suggests, quoting the context of the speech Netanyahu recently gave (allegedly written 13 years ago by people who came to be known as Neocons), is that Israel is attempting to forge a "new basis for relations with the United States" and be an "equal partner in the building of the 'New Middle East' in which Israel is its own superpower". The reality however is that Israel is already acting as the only superpower in Middle East, defining its own pathological reality which then spreads to the rest of the world as it threatens its neighbours, all the while receiving humongous amounts of US dollars in military aid so it can continue murdering the Palestinians and whoever it deems a "threat to its existence". The Good War With a "notorious psychopath" now in charge of the US military in AfPakistan, it's no surprise that the slaughter of innocents in Obama's war has increased. Psychopaths let loose: CIA's Operation Phoenix redux McChrystal is a hired gun, an assassin, a man known for committing war crime atrocities as head of the Pentagon's infamous Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) - established in 1980 and comprised of the Army's Delta Force and Navy Seals, de facto death squads writer Seymour Hersh described post-9/11 as an "executive assassination wing" operating out of Dick Cheney's office.Sounds like just the man for the job then. His resume shows contempt for human life and the rule of law - a depravity Conrad described in his classic work, "Heart of Darkness": the notion of "exterminat(ing) all the brutes" to civilize them, and removing lesser people to colonize and dominate them by devising battle plans amounting to genocide. The Obama administration gave him carte blanche authority to choose his staff for their assigned mission - expand the Af-Pak war with more troops, funding, stepped up counterinsurgency, targeted killings, and secret drone and other attacks against any targets he chooses in either country. He'll also have more political control, possibly with a Washington-appointed civilian authority to run the Afghanistan government day to day, making Hamid Karzai more of a figurehead than currently. Obama's war aims amount to 'pacifying' the Afghan/Pakistan border areas through scorched earth terror, targeted assassinations, and as much mass killing as it takes to prevail. McChrystal, one observer said, "comes from a world where killing by any means is the norm and a blanket of government secrecy provides the necessary protection." Despite the developing carnage, the governments of Iran and Pakistan managed to conclude 14 years of negotiations to begin a 2,100 km pipeline project they hope will bring natural gas from Iran to Pakistan. Billed as the 'Peace Pipeline', the project naturally works against everything the international oil cartel and its agents are pushing for in the region, not least their rival pipeline, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline. This was concluded before violence infected the streets of Tehran following the presidential elections of June 12th and despite the Pakistani regime facing assault from all quarters: Friday prayers blast kills 40 in PakistanA Taliban commander who blew the whistle on Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud's links with CIA and Mossad was silenced in Pakistan, while former Pakistani president Musharraf chimed in saying that Mehsud was behind Bhutto's assassination. Pakistan hotel blast: death toll rises to 15 Officials: 50 militants dead in fighting in Pakistan's tribal region Pakistan: At least 34 militants 'killed in northwest' But wait a minute! Isn't Mehsud supposed to be dead? Taliban defectors: US, Israel funding militants Two militants' leaders who defected from the notorious Taliban chief in Pakistan have revealed that their comrade was pursuing a US-Israeli agenda across the country.If the CIA drones aren't targeting the enemy, then who are these 'militants' that the US, NATO and lately, Pakistani forces are allegedly hunting down? A prominent militant leader, Turkistan Bittani, who broke away from Baitullah Mehsud, called him "an American agent". Mehsud, a warlord in his late 30s, has claimed responsibility for dozens of devastating string attacks on both civilians and security forces throughout the feared region. Moreover, Baetani emphasized that Mehsud was being funded by US and Israeli intelligence services for brainwashing innocent youths. The insurgents' chief has recruited several teenagers who have carried out dozens of suicide attacks on Pakistani mosques and educational institutes over some past months. Baetani also noted that al-Qaeda and Taliban's leadership was never targeted in the dozens of US drone strikes in the country's troubled north-west region. Another defector, Qari Zainuddin, said that Mehsud had established strong links with Israeli intelligence services which were destabilizing the nuclear-armed country. "These people (Mehsud and his men) are working against Islam." The real vs the fake Taliban This is where the whole problem lies; we haven't, as yet, been able to differentiate between what I call the "real" Taliban who solely focus on fighting the occupation forces in Afghanistan, and the "fake" Taliban, who are working on a hidden agenda of the United States and its ally, India, to disintegrate Pakistan. I call them fake, because it was during Musharraf's nine-year rule, whilst we considered ourselves an American ally, that the secret agencies of United States, India, Britain and Afghanistan established their hold throughout the length and breadth of Pakistan by setting up an extensive espionage network of their own, which recruited and subsequently released thousands of trained operatives garbed in the cloths of "Taliban" into the Pakistani territory.Thanks to successful conditioning led by the US media, like al-Qaeda, the Taliban has become a dread word, a name that dooms its holders to the depths of immorality. Step outside of the doctrinaire thinking however, and we see that there are in fact two 'Talibans': one a series of militias spanning multiple ethnic backgrounds and whose members supposedly ascribe to fundamentalist Islamic notions of global jihad against the infidels; the other an increasingly resilient resistance movement legitimately defending its people from brutal assault and foreign occupation. From this aspect, the AfPak War is really a war against the impoverished Pashtun people whose nameless country is the mountain region straddling Afghanistan and Pakistan's contemporary, artificial border. The US has carried its assault on the Pashtun over into Pakistan because its objective is to "colonize and dominate them by devising battle plans amounting to genocide." The Pakistani government has little choice but to play ball as the 'fake Taliban' unleashed and manoeuvred by Western (and Indian) intelligence agencies ratchets up its terrorisation of Pakistan's cities. This can be substantiated by the accounts of many journalists covering the war in the north western border of Pakistan, which suggest that the 25,000 strong fighters led by Baitullah Mehsud are not only highly trained but also have state-of-the-art weapons at their disposal. Now one wonders that where does the unabated supply of money and latest war gadgetry come from? Moreover, the ease and impunity with which Baitullah and his loyalists address the journalists from their cell phones without being traced down by the modern tracking technology is mind boggling, to say the least. This is the question that troubles a thinking mind that how come a person on whom there is bounty of million of US dollars, and who is known to be freely moving around in the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, get away scot-free from the wrath of US drone attacks? In order to quell misgivings like this and to bring home the point that US is not playing a double game with Pakistan, a series of cosmetic drone attacks on Baitullah's territory have recently been carried out, in which no serious damage has been done to TTP's [Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan] infrastructure. Some perspective may be in order here: You may recall that in April, headlines screamed that the "Taliban are 60 miles from Islamabad". Secret Intelligence-inspired projection, in the form of media 'commentary', implied that the crazed jihadists were hell-bent on capturing all of Pakistan and wresting control of the country's nuclear arsenal. That is a very unlikely scenario because, as we've seen above, what motivates the Taliban-as-Pashtun-resistance is not conquest of a country whose border they have always perceived as an artificial construct, but simply the defence of their own people from foreign invaders. Despite initially granting some autonomy to the remote Swat valley in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the Pakistani government has since fallen into line behind the US confluence of Taliban-as-jihad-loving-terrorists with Taliban-as-resistance-movement and proceeded to engage the Pashtun resistance from the south, demonstrating with ease that no Taliban of any description could overcome the scale of the Pakistani army in open battle. A failing war in Afghanistan has persuaded American policymakers to generate a make-believe caricature of the Pashtuns, the dominant ethnic group in Afghanistan. For all practical purposes, the Pashtuns are now subsumed under the title of the Taliban. The caricature is simple and compelling: It highlights the Taliban as the paramount enemy without ever mentioning the Pashtun resistance to the eight-year old occupation of Afghanistan. The Taliban fighters are presented as religious brutes addicted to oppression and violence, who wish to impose a barbaric version of Islam under which there is no concept of individual freedom, particularly for Muslim women. To further distort the Pashtun resistance in Afghanistan, the Taliban are co-equated with the Al-Qaeda, an undefined terrorist group allegedly scheming to detonate weapons of mass destruction, particularly against the United States. Burqas, floggings, and beheadings are accentuated to paint a repulsive caricature of the Taliban. In this caricature, no mention is made that the American bombings of villages, extra-judicial killings, torture, and secret prisons have failed to subdue the Pashtuns in one of the poorest countries of the world. Nearly 41 million Pashtuns live on both sides of the border; around 13 million in Afghanistan and twice as many (28 millions) in Pakistan. Concentrated in geographically contiguous regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Pashtuns live in big cities, small towns, and remote villages. Kabul, Kandahar, Peshawar, Swat, and Quetta are their big cities. Going back thousands of years, the Pashtuns are united through culture, dialects, and traditions. Most have embraced the Sunni sect of Islam. Like other cultural groups, however, the Pashtuns have fused Islamic laws with their pre-Islamic honor code, known as the Pashtunwali. Pashtunwali is the unwritten Pashtun Code that regulates social behavior and interactions with foreigners. This Code belongs to the Pashtuns, not just to the Taliban. Hospitable and gracious, the Pashtuns go out of their way to respect and protect guests and strangers. Invaders, however, are killed without mercy. Nang (honor) is the founding principle of the Pashtun Code. Khushal Khan Khattak (1613-1689), a Pashtun warrior and a poet, summed up the nang principle in decisive words: "Death is better than life when life cannot be lived with honor." Badal (revenge) is the integral part of honor. Badal requires that insult be avenged with insult, death with death, and no price is too high to seek revenge. Until the revenge is taken, the Pashtuns are restless, anxious, and uncomfortable with themselves. Forgiveness is available if the injury were unintentional. No forgiveness is rendered to invaders and occupiers. No enemy is too strong to deserve any exception to the Pashtun Code. Brits, Sikhs, Moguls, Russians, and Americans, whoever violates the Pashtun Code faces an unremitting resistance until badal has been consummated. Mighty armies have perished in the land of the Pashtuns. Since 2001, Pakistan has been resisting the pressure to join the American war against the Pashtuns. A war against the Pashtuns of Afghanistan is also a war against the Pashtuns of Pakistan, and vice versa. No concept of the nation-state or territorial integrity could separate the Pashtuns across the border - certainly not when the Pashtun lands have been invaded and occupied. No vilification of the Taliban could similarly separate them from their Pashtun tribes, even if the Taliban subscribe to a strong religious ideology. For the Pashtuns, the Taliban behavior is deeply rooted in nang and badal of the Pashtun Code. The divide and rule policy practiced in Iraq, which pit Sunnis against Shias and Kurds against Arabs, cannot work against the Pashtuns. Discounting the Pashtun Code, Americans continue to ignore this writing on the wall. Why the Taliban won't take over Pakistan "The Americans have become paranoid about Pakistan," says Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani military general. "They are losing their objectivity, and I think they need a reality check." The 'Taliban' in Swat Valley: army of The Secret Team A Pakistani source (Ahmed Quraishi) reported on June 16, 2009 that Pakistan's military has submitted proof of a large amount of US military weapons recovered from dead terrorists - claimed to be Taliban by the western mainstream media.The Pakistani government is effectively assisting the imperial plan to splice Pakistan along the above ethnic lines. As millions of displaced Pakistani Pashtuns starve while enmeshed in the carnage wrought by his military's offensive in the Swat valley, the best their President can do for them is plead with the Americans to avoid deploying death drones against funeral processions. On June 7, 2009, Asian Tribune also reported that RAW [Indian Intel], MOSSAD and CIA are behind the foreign insurgency in Swat and Malakand. Retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters (US National War Academy), a military analyst at the Pentagon, proposed the Balkanization of the Middle East in his article titled Blood Borders - he advocated the incorporation of the North West Frontier Province into Afghanistan and the creation of a sovereign Free Baluchistan, carved out of Baluch areas of Pakistan and Islamic Iran. Pakistani Baluchistan is estimated to hold 25.1 trillion cubic feet of gas and 6 trillion barrels of oil. The New York Times (February 1, 2008) published Selig Harrison's article Drawn and Quartered. Selig Harrison, who is with a think tank created by the Israel Lobby (Center of International Policy in Washington) - predicted Pakistan's breakup into three sovereign entities along ethnic lines: Pashtunistan (comprising Pashtuns of NWFP and Afghanistan); Free Baluchistan (a federation comprising Sindh and Baluchistan); and Pakistan (comprising the "nuclear armed Punjabi rump state"). expects a heavy fighting season ahead," while a billion dollars has been earmarked for a gargantuan fortress in Islamabad. Oblivious to the writing on the wall, the Yankees are swarming the region secure in the knowledge that accountability is non-existent and a compliant US population will keep the money flowing. Other major projects are planned for Kabul, Afghanistan; and for the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Peshawar. In Peshawar, the U.S. government is negotiating the purchase of a five-star hotel that would house a new U.S. consulate.The shadow war in Balochistan "This is a replay of Baghdad," said Khurshid Ahmad, a member of Pakistan's upper house of parliament for Jamaat-e-Islami, one of the country's two main religious political parties. "This (Islamabad embassy) is more (space) than they should need. It's for the micro and macro management of Pakistan, and using Pakistan for pushing the American agenda in Central Asia." A new, US mega-base in the "desert of death" in Helmand province, in southern Afghanistan, will soon be operational. The base happens to be a stone's throw from the Iran-Afghan border, and just across the border from Pakistani Balochistan. It's the ideal, strategic base for an extended, tri-border (Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan) General David Petraeus-coined counter-insurgency splash.Deadliest Ever Pakistan Drone Strike Provokes . . . Silence? Lara Logan on CBS' 60 Minutes explained to Americans how these drones of death 'search and destroy': Right now, there are dozens of them over the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan. Hunting down insurgents every minute of every day. The fight for the 'pilot' is on the video screen . . . The trigger is pulled in Nevada.Jeremy Scahill is rightly revolted: I think that this is sick. Where you turn war, essentially, into a videogame that can be waged by people half a world away. What this does, these drones, it sanitizes war. It means that we increase the number of people that don't have to see that war is hell on the ground. We are indiscriminately killing civilians, according to the UN Human Rights Council. A report that was just released this week by the UN says that the United States is indiscriminately killing civilians in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. That should be a collective shame that we feel in this society. And yet we have people calling it the good war. 'The good war' masking a shadow war which the Obama administration pretends doesn't exist. Spectacular waste of money and lives in a time of global economic meltdown. Detached from reality at every level, how much longer can Americans keep up this charade and let the pathologicals run amok? Dancing with North Korea Popular Japanese daily, Yomiuri , on the 18th of June reported that "North Korea may launch a long-range ballistic missile toward the U.S. state of Hawaii in early July", siding the Japanese ministry and US intelligence. Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, responded by saying "we are in a good position should it become necessary to protect American territory" and "secured" US borders by increasing missile defence in Hawaii In our last Connecting the Dots installment, we proposed that "North Korea may well have a defense agreement with Iran and Syria and perhaps even Hezbollah", based on observations that North Korea's bombastic behaviour ramps up whenever the US/Israel/UK trifecta sound their war drums in the Middle East. Given the current hostile rhetoric against Iran, North Korea's timely threat supports this possibility, reminding the US that there may be two fronts to any Israeli/US war against Iran. And could this thesis hold any merit? But in its much advertised effort to become a nuclear power, North Korea is actually displaying more sanity than first meets the eye. The Pyongyang leadership seems to know something about US global policy that our own policymakers and pundits have overlooked. In a word, the United States has never attacked or invaded any nation that has a nuclear arsenal.W.T.H.? The culling of the herd continues on the BBM. Psychopaths cannot abide the qualities of nurturing or creativity. They must either twist these qualities to their own ends, or destroy them. Being inherently lazy, their targets are invariably the weak and vulnerable. Starvation is a time-tested tool for removing "useless eaters". You can even dress it up in fancy science and call your weapon GMO's: Priest: GMOs are going to create famine and hunger The point of the recent "Failure to Yield" report from the Union of Concerned Scientists is that the increase in yield in crops over the last 25 to 30 years has come from conventional breeding. It has nothing to do with GMOs at all, or very little. This report was just published two weeks ago. I would consider it a very objective study. It looks at soy, at corn, at canola, and so on. There's no increase in yields at all, which there was in the Green Revolution, so it's quite different.12 Million Children Face Hunger and Food Insecurity In The US My main concern, however, is giving this control to corporations. For example, 60 percent of lettuce in the United States is now controlled by Monsanto. This is frightening. In the 19th century, all kinds of securities and exchanges agencies were created to move in on monopolies. Of course, those were monopolies on things like telephones. Now they want to build a monopoly on food. That, mind you, is precisely what they're after. Feeding the world is about distributing food to those who need it, or distributing land so that people can grow their own food. I always give the example of Brazil. It's now the fourth largest exporter of food in the world, mainly animal feeds for Europe and America, and yet 35 to 36 million people go to bed hungry there every night. Even if GMOs did increase the yield, is that extra food going to go to the people who need it? The reality is it won't, because Monsanto is not the St. Vincent DePaul Society. They're out there to make a big profit. They want to get monopoly control, and they make no bones about that. Feeding America based its analysis on federal Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Census Bureau data from 2005 to 2007 - classified officially as the peak of the last economic recovery period.South Asia hunger back at 1960s famine levels As with poverty, homelessness, bankruptcy figures, and many other measures, the rates of food insecurity documented by the study plainly reflect the deterioration of living standards working class households have seen over the past five years. In the years since the 2005-2007 period, food insecurity has rapidly widened along with unemployment and wage cuts. Feeding America found that for the period preceding the onset of the economic crisis, in 11 states, more than 20 percent of young children were at risk for hunger. Louisiana, with 24.2 percent, had the highest rate of child food insecurity, followed closely by North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Idaho and Arkansas. In California, the study found 1.6 million children were food-insecure on average in 2005-2007. Texas averaged 1.47 million food-insecure children for the period. No state had less than 10 percent of its child population exposed to hunger. Sparsely populated North Dakota registered the lowest rate, with 10.9 percent. 1.02 Billion People Hungry: One Sixth Of Humanity Undernourished, More Than Ever Before World hunger is projected to reach a historic high in 2009 with 1,020 million people going hungry every day, according to new estimates published by United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).Sometimes, nature provides a timely crop disaster: The most recent increase in hunger is not the consequence of poor global harvests but is caused by the world economic crisis that has resulted in lower incomes and increased unemployment. This has reduced access to food by the poor, the UN agency said. "A dangerous mix of the global economic slowdown combined with stubbornly high food prices in many countries has pushed some 100 million more people than last year into chronic hunger and poverty," said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf. "The silent hunger crisis - affecting one sixth of all of humanity - poses a serious risk for world peace and security. We urgently need to forge a broad consensus on the total and rapid eradication of hunger in the world and to take the necessary actions." Killer fungus spells disaster for wheat A wheat disease that could destroy most of the world's main wheat crops could strike south Asia's vast wheat fields two years earlier than research had suggested, leaving millions to starve. The fungus, called Ug99, has spread from Africa to Iran, and may already be in Pakistan. If so, this is extremely bad news, as Pakistan is not only critically reliant on its wheat crop, it is also the gateway to the Asian breadbasket, including the vital Punjab region.But man is very competent on his own when it comes to the exploitation and destruction of his fellow creatures: By Design: Of Hunger and Human Trafficking Alas, the problem is now compounded, as UN food officials declared on June 19 that hunger around the world has reached an unprecedented threshold of 1 billion; that is one in six people. The alarming increase of 100 million hungry children, women and men from last year's estimates is blamed on the economic recession. While international institutions are efficient at recognising such problems, proposed solutions often lack sincerity, and frankly, any sense of urgency.How Did 100,000,000 Women Disappear? "A hungry world is a dangerous world," said Josette Sheeran of the World Food Programme. "Without food, people have only three options: they riot, they emigrate or they die." They also become fresh products in markets ready to exploit those whose very survival is at stake. When Julia, from the Balkans was 8 years old, she was taken along with her sisters to a neighbouring country, where she was sold to beg. She was beaten every time she failed to return with a certain amount of money. The term "missing women" was coined in 1990, when Indian economist Amartya Sen calculated a shocking figure. In parts of Asia and Africa, he wrote in The New York Review of Books, 100 million women who should be alive are not, because of unequal access to medical care, food and social services. These are excess deaths: women "missing" above and beyond natural mortality rates, compared to their male counterparts.Autogenocide: the cause of death for most victims on this meat-grinder of a planet. Women who are dead because their lives were undervalued. His research began a flutter of activity in academic circles and by 2005, the United Nations produced a much higher estimate for how many women could be "missing": 200 million. "Why would there be excess mortality of, let's say, 45-year-old women versus 45-year-old men?" asks economics professor Kevin Milligan. "And what they find is . . . they have the same set of diseases, they just seem to die more frequently. The explanation that seems most consistent with that is differential access to health care. And so that's a really striking finding." Anderson says that lack of health care is likely a big part of the problem, but that there are numerous cultural and social factors at play that can be difficult to pinpoint. In their "elementary accounting exercise" published this February, Anderson and Ray began to plot the causes of excess death in 2000 by age group, and produced some interesting figures. In sub-Saharan Africa, the dominant source of missing women was HIV and AIDS, the cause of more than 600,000 excess female deaths each year. In China, Anderson says, most of the 141,000 excess female deaths by injury were suicides, making China the only place in the world where women are more likely than men to kill themselves, often by eating pesticides used for crops. And in India, a category called "injuries" yielded ominously high figures: 86,000 excess deaths in the age group 15-29 in 2000 alone. Anderson has done extensive research in India, and says the numbers beg the question of exactly how many deaths were so-called "kitchen fires" - often used to mask dowry-related killings, the result of a new bride being tortured by her new family until her parents pay their debts. Boo-flu: Fear Level 6 (let pandemic profiting begin!) 1918 pandemic. Now we learn that the very scenario we're facing today is no spontaneous act of nature but calculated by design: Is it merely a coincidence the Pentagon would propose in 1996 a deadly flu pandemic for 2009 when live H5N1 avian flu viruses are discovered in vaccines produced by a Baxter International plant in Austria?"Suddenly" a new strain of influenza showed up in an outbreak in Mexico where (how convenient), a flu vaccine factory has just opened. The World Health Organisation changed its own guidelines for defining a pandemic in time to declare this current round of mild flu a "pandemic," then incrementally raised its risk assessment. "The fact that Baxter mixed the deadly H5N1 virus with a mix of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses is the smoking gun," writes Paul Joseph Watson. "The H5N1 virus on its own has killed hundreds of people, but it is less airborne and more restricted in the ease with which it can spread. However, when combined with seasonal flu viruses, which as everyone knows are super-airborne and easily spread, the effect is a potent, super-airborne, super deadly biological weapon" of the sort proposed in Air Force 2025. Finally, it should be noted that Walter E. Boomer, a retired former four-star General and Assistant Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, sits on the board of directors of Baxter International. Of course, this is not definitive evidence the military controls Baxter or is behind the "accidental" contamination of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses with the H5N1 virus at its laboratory in Austria. It is highly suspicious, however. Baxter International has had a relationship with the military since 1941, when its blood-collection devices were the only ones that met the specifications of the U.S. Armed Forces. WHO consults emergency flu committee This culminated with the WHO announcing the risk posed by the H1N1 virus as "Pandemic", the first time in 41 years such an assessment was issued, on the same day that the Pentagon announced it would cease publication of the tracking of NEOs (Near Earth Objects). The media dutifully supplied requisite doses of fear throughout June: US passes million swine flu cases Scottish Swine Flu Patient Dies; First Death Outside Americas Swine flu 'could infect up to half the British population' And all this propaganda for what? A project this big has to have some payoff. Well, for one, there's lots of money to be made by the likes of Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis and Roche Holding AG, who's flagship product,Tamiflu, just happens to have connections to Donald Rumsfeld. Big Pharma can always count on Government to be a very good customer. Republic of Ireland, population 4 million, orders 8 million vaccines Australia orders 10 million H1N1 vaccines - step right up! Ka-Ching! AstraZeneca cashes in with $90 million swine flu vaccine orders The Goverments cash in too because a crisis is always a prime opportunity to extend their power and reach: Readying Americans for Dangerous, Mandatory Vaccinations The Project BioShield Act of 2004 (S. 15) became law on July 21, 2004 "to provide protections and countermeasures against chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents that may be used in a terrorist attack against the United States by giving the National Institutes of Health contracting flexibility, infrastructure improvements, and expediting the scientific peer review process, and streamlining the Food and Drug Administration approval process of countermeasures."Sarkozy's Secret Plan for Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccination In other words, the FDA may now recklessly approve inadequately tested, potentially dangerous vaccines and other drugs if ever the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) or Defense (DOD) declare a national emergency, whether or not one exists and regardless of whether treatments available are safe and effective. Around $6 billion or more will be spent to develop, produce, and stockpile vaccines and other drugs to counteract claimed bioterror agents.[....] The HHS web site also says the Secretary may:"issue a declaration....that provides immunity from tort liability (except for willful misconduct) for claims of loss caused, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from administration or use of (vaccine or other pharmaceutical) countermeasures to diseases, threats and conditions determined by the Secretary to constitute a present, or credible risk of a future public health emergency...."The industry-run US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notoriously rushes inadequately tested drugs to market, putting their efficacy and safety into question, and turning those who use them into lab rats. It includes everyone if a mass vaccination is ordered on the mere claim of a public emergency - no proof required. Canada to Vaccinate Entire Population Kids may get field tested with swine flu shots first as schools turned into shot clinics Swine flu shot campaign could involve 600M doses While we can expect the media to sustain its promotion of the vaccination agenda, there will always be lone voices in the wilderness countering the lies and reminding us that we've been here before: But there is more than just money and power at stake here. Sickness is a more 'socially acceptable' way than war to deal with "excess population" (that would be you and me). Buried in a report from 2004 we find this little item: A UNICEF campaign to vaccinate Nigeria's youth against polio may have been a front for sterilizing the nation. Dr. Haruna Kaita, a pharmaceutical scientist and Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, took samples of the vaccine to labs in India for analysis.Inoculations - The True Weapons of Mass Destruction Using WHO-recommended technologies like Gas Chromatography (GC) and Radio-Immuno assay, Dr. Kaita, upon analysis, found evidence of serious contamination. "Some of the things we discovered in the vaccines are harmful, toxic; some have direct effects on the human reproductive system," he said in an interview with Kaduna's Weekly Trust. "I and some other professional colleagues who are Indians who were in the Lab could not believe the discovery," he said. A Nigerian government doctor tried to persuade Dr. Kaita that the contaminants would have no bearing on human reproduction. "...I was surprised when one of the federal government doctors was telling me something contrary to what I have learned, studied, taught and is the common knowledge of all pharmaceutical scientists -- that estrogen cannot induce an anti-fertility response in humans," he said. "I found that argument very disturbing and ridiculous." If you peruse the reports of victims of flu you will notice the caveat that they also suffered from "underlying conditions" that severely compromised their immune systems. The best protection is knowledge. A little education, detoxification, and real food can go a long way: Avoid Flu Shots, Take Vitamin D Instead (or Cod Liver Oil) What's Missing From Every Media Story about H1N1 Influenza New Study: Probiotic Strain Boosts Immune Response to Flu Virus Your Mind is Your Best Weapon against Any Flu You can find many more articles in the SOTT archives, which you can access using the search function at the top of the page. Garden Variety Insanity Given the insanity we witness from the top echelons of our nations, it is no wonder that we see it reflected in local community as well. The proliferation of macro-social evil is mirrored by the pathological behaviour of those among us: both are characteristic Signs of the Times. We note once again that the victims for the most part are women and children. Here's a small sample from the month of June: Sad: Former Southern Baptist Convention officer says Tiller murder answer to prayer Oregon: Mother indicted in children's plunge from bridge Florida: Foster kids get mood-altering drugs without orders or consent Man used craigslist to find man to rape his own wife Arrest warrant issued for Daniel James Murray, man 'on a mission to kill' President Obama Oregon woman charged in death of pregnant woman Phoenix tot brain dead after being thrown to floor Indiana: Indicted eye doctor, wife found dead at his office Psycho cat serial killer: Florida teenager arrested over pet deaths Welcome to the Police State: Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper brutal attack on paramedic Ohio teen sentenced in parking lot noose attack on a Hispanic boy New York: Psychopathic man impersonated dead mother for six years US, Virginia: Murder-Suicide in Axton claims 3, injures 1 Gunmen fire on group of Detroit teens, wounding 7 Russian Man Kills 5 and Self in Far East Shooting 'Little Khyra Ishaq so starved by parents she was like a famine victim' UK: Mercedes executive killed by partner after affair discovery UK: Mother 'unable to pay school fees' drowned son, 11 Greece: Priest, Church officials tricked ailing man to a half million euro 'gift' Psychopathic tactics spread: UK suspends 6 officers after waterboarding reports UK: Boy, 15, 'beat toddler to death' Australian couple starved daughter, 7, to death Bolivia arrests 8 Mennonite men accused of raping more than 60 women at their farm community Crashes & Collapses Aware that our organic universe communicates with us through symbolism and allegory, here at SOTT.net we keep our eyes open and note any spikes and patterns that emerge in the data coming through each month. The theme has been observed before, but the undeniable signal of crashes and collapses was strong this month, heralded of course by the sudden and catastrophic Air France disaster: Tank cars blow up in Illinois derailment, 1 killed Washington Subway Crash Kills 6, Injures 70 Intersting "coincidence": Among Metro Deaths in DC Is Retired General Who Ordered Scramble of Fighter Jets During 9/11 Germany: 3 US soldiers die in highway crash Three killed in light-plane crash in Northern Ireland UK: RAF crew killed in mid-air crash Three people rescued from collapsed building in Moscow Attack plane crashes in north Russia, both pilots survive Block of flats collapses in China Freight train derails, kills 6 in Italy Australia: Chopper crashes into Dreamworld car park Yemeni plane crashes off Comoros, 150 on board Israel: Two planes nearly crash at Ben-Gurion Airport due to glitch Sky traffic jam Every month we are seeing more and more reports of strange objects in the sky. Inexplicably (or not?), the Pentagon has removed access to satellite images which would help identify objects entering Earth's atmosphere. One would almost think confusion if not downright concealment, was the goal. Regardless, sightings still pour in, whether UFOs, Fireballs or even Others. Lately, there have even been reports of Thunderbirds in our skies. In any case the solar system seems to becoming more crowded in general too, and there's no reason to think the BBM will avoid the consequences. Mars/Jupiter: Two new Asteroids spotted Fireballs . . . Australia: Update - No answer on mystery fire starter The mystery fire on Hazle Marland's Gaeta property is still burning - just like the questions about what started it.India: 'Object that fell from sky was a meteorite' On Friday emergency crews rushed to Mrs Marland's property after reports something had fallen from the sky and started a fire. Crews were quick to rule out the possibility of a plane crash, but speculation about the cause goes on. "It's still a mystery, there are a lot of rumours floating around but because it is so inaccessible I really don't think that we're ever going to get to the bottom of it," Mrs Marland said. US: Meteor lights up the sky over Arizona US: A Blue Fireball US: Fireball in Texas night was likely a meteor, expert says Australia: Perth, Western Australia - A Large Bright Light and a Fireball . . . UFOs . . . England: My UFO Experience: Weird Shaped UFO Sighted Over Liverpool! Relaxing in St James Cemetery today, 23rd of April 2009, I was reading the local paper. Suddenly something caught my eye and I looked up to suddenly see, this thing. I could not even begin to describe what it looked like. It was not disc-shaped, but sort of reminded me of some sort of weird-shaped starfish. It was completely black, and moved very very slowly in the sky.England: Eastbourne, East Sussex - Large 'Fireball' Moving Horizontally It was low and big and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. One other thing was that as I was viewing this thing, there where no sounds of birds at all. It moved across the sky by flipping over on itself, like a coin would move when tossed in the air. At first I thought it was some sort of giant seagul, as there where gulls in the sky at the time. But looking at this, it was something completely and utterly strange. I tried to get a picture of it, as I had my camera at the time, but could not get a focus no matter how hard I tried. I watched it move toward the Anglcan Cathedral, Liverpool, and then it headed toward the city centre and the Tower restaurant. UFO again Videotaped over Bratislava, Slovak Republic England: Twenty UFOs fly in formation England: Beeston, Nottingham - Object Looked Like it was on Fire England: Bridgwater, Somerset - A Ball of Fire England: Ilford, Essex - Two Flaming Objects . . . and Other Critters US:"Lizard Man" returns? US: Land O'Lakes nurse investigates Bigfoot sightings Spain: The Bigfoot of the Pyrenees US: A Ghost in the Building Malaysia: 'Mysterious spirit' haunting housing estate Japan: Perplexing tadpole discoveries spread beyond Ishikawa Ireland: 'Panthers', 'leopards' and 'pumas' sighted in fields throughout Ulster Of Trust and Humanity Time and again, here at SOTT, we have pointed out how the actions of pathocracy are spreading like cancer, infecting all aspects of our lives. While our little blue home is undergoing dramatic changes, so are we, and it would have been so much simpler and natural if we could all come together and used our creativity, intelligence and talents to go through these difficult times. The psychopathic minority however made sure that we remain divided among ourselves making ruling us an easier task. Like the cancer treatments that remain hidden from those who really need them in order to reclaim back their vitality, even very lives, so have the treatments of psychopathic infection been buried and put out of sight, along with knowledge of the disease. Yet, "nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest; Neither anything hid, that shall not be known and come abroad" - Luke 8: 17. If you read SOTT and attend the Forum discussions, you know there are treatments and there is knowledge available, because others have consistently fought against the system make it so. But unless we take the information and apply it in our own lives and act upon it, the information is useless. The change we want to see in our world must begin within ourselves. Laura Knight-Jadczyk recently wrote: As I said, we evolved to trust one another - but that was a world where others were trustworthy. We live in a different world now. The cheaters in our world have evolved ways to induce us to trust them, but we can tell by our stress that we are going in the wrong direction, we are in mortal peril. But still, to get anything done at all, we must trust. And to figure out who to trust, we need to rely, again, on the network of observations from many observers. Again, we are not talking about getting a lot of emotional viewpoints, but rather perceptions and assessments of the shared, Primary Reality - what is REAL "out there" and what really seems to work, to explain things, and has internal consistency over time. Those who are able to accomplish this task of rebuilding social connections based on the new evolutionary standard of accounting for pathology in the equations, will evolve. Those who do not evolve will perish. That's what I see from where I sit right now. United we stand, divided we fall. All for One and One for All.

Did you know there is a soccer club in Chile called Club Deportivo Palestino, founded by palestinian immigrants? The club was founded on 20 August 1920, when they participated in a colonial competition in Osorno. It was founded by a group of Palestinian immigrants, the name of the club reflects the origin in Chile’s Palestinian community. In 1952 the Federación de Fútbol de Chile set up the first professional leagues. Palestino was accepted into the Second Division, which they won to ascertain promotion to the Primera División. I didn’t, until today. But check out the design of their shirts featuring the number 1. The Jewish community in Chile certainly has. The Jewish Community of Chile expressed outrage and indignation with the Palestinian Sports Club, and the latter included a full map of the territory Israel-Palestine in her uniform, excluding the existence of the Jewish state. In its account of Twitter , the lawyer and former council president, Gabriel Zaliasnik , said designing the tricolor jersey, which ranks number 1 as the basis for insertion, is an act of irresponsibility on the part of the leaders of the football team. But I guess we shouldn’t be surprised by anything in the soccer world these days. Please help ensure Israellycool can keep going, by donating one time or monthly

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Carrying on the conversation from here, with some repetition… God was gracious and forgave or overlooked the sins both of Jews and pagans who believed in the new future vouchsafed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Both Jews and Gentiles, therefore, like Abraham, were “justified” by faith in something (Rom. 3:27-4:25; 5:1). They were not justified by Jesus’ death as a propitiation for their sins; they were justified because they believed something about Jesus’ death and resurrection. So in principle it could be said that Gentiles were justified on account of their faith in—among other things—Jesus’ death as an atonement for the sins of Israel. The question then was: on what grounds might Jewish and Gentile believers participate in the future life of God’s people? This was an important question for all concerned because the future of God’s people was in jeopardy. But it was a question in a different way for Gentiles inasmuch as hitherto they were debarred from participation as Gentiles by the Jewish Law. For Jewish Christians, therefore, the death of Jesus could quite reasonably be seen as a propitiation or atonement for the sins of Israel (Rom. 3:25). Jesus suffered the punishment—destruction by Rome—that Jerusalem would suffer within a few decades. Daniel 9:11-12 is again worth quoting—it supplies the eschatological logic behind Paul’s argument about the atoning significance of Jesus’ death: All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. When Jesus died, however, Gentiles were not part of this people; they were Gentiles; it was not their sins that was bringing the wrath of God on Israel in the form of invasion and war. So in historical terms it makes no sense to say that Jesus’ death was an atonement for the sins of Gentiles. The Gentiles were a problem for first century Israel for quite different reasons. For Gentile Christians, who did not share the Jewish back story, the historical death of Jesus for the sins of Israel was also the event that removed the barrier of Law-observance that kept the uncircumcised from participation in that community of people which was called to serve the living creator God (Eph. 2:13-16; cf. Col. 1:20). The narrative distinction is not always apparent, granted, when Paul mentions the death of Jesus. But I suggest that when we read Paul, we should keep in mind that he speaks as a Jewish apostle, on behalf of redeemed Israel, to Gentiles who have subsequently been included in this community and who therefore must share in its dying and living with Christ. So for example, in Galatians 1:4 he says that Jesus “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age”. By “our” he does not mean “humanity’s”; he means Israel’s sins—and the Galatians, or the Gentile believers among them, have become part of that unfolding eschatological narrative. I would read Romans 4:25; 5:9-11; Ephesians 5:2 in the same way. Christ died for Israel, therefore he died for all who have subsequently been included in redeemed Israel; therefore all share in the resurrection life of the redeemed people (2 Cor. 5:14-15). 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9-10 do not speak of propitiation. Jesus died historically for his people; Gentiles have become part of that people by their faith in the eschatological significance of his death and resurrection; therefore, they will saved from the wrath to come. Paul says that “our passover was sacrificed, Christ”. The historical redemption of God’s people took place when Jesus died; now that “festival” is to be properly celebrated by the church (1 Cor. 5:7-8), including those Gentiles who have been grafted into the promises made to the patriarchs. The death was for the sins of Israel (there was no “passover” for Gentiles); but Gentiles now participated in the celebration. In Ephesians 1:7 and Colossians 1:13-14 Paul speaks about the historical event by which part of Israel, at least, had been redeemed. The clause “having washed out the written document that stood against us with its legal demands (tois dogmasin)” (Col. 2:14) is difficult to interpret, but it is not a reference to propitiation. Arguably the point is roughly the same as in Ephesians 2:15, where en dogmasin also occurs: the thought is that the death of Jesus transcended the division between Jew and Gentile, perhaps by disarming the rulers and authorities (2:15). So I stick to my view that the death of Jesus meant different things for Jews and Gentiles. For Jews who were already the people of God it was an act of atonement for the long history of rebellion that was bringing the nation to the brink of catastrophe. For Gentiles who were justified and forgiven by their extraordinary faith in what YHWH was doing, it meant that they could participate in this redeemed people through the Spirit; they were not required to keep the Law.

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For Immediate Release Tonight the inaugural class of JDC/PresenTense Kaet Fellows will pitch and present their new social entrepreneurship ventures to Moscow's thriving Jewish community. After five months of intensive training and incubation, the ventures will be presented to a group of more than 100 local Jewish community leaders, philanthropists, and others at Moscow's Strelka Institute. A first in Moscow, such launch nights have been hosted by PresenTense in New York, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and 7 other sites this season. "Thanks to the fellowship, I've learned valuable new tools for developing my project. More importantly, I've met interesting people, in a great atmosphere. My main wish for the future, is to see the results of my own efforts, and to see what future cycles of Kaet bring to the Jewish community," said Yochanan Kossenko, a Kaet Fellow, whose venture is an interactive database of Moscow‚s Jewish cemeteries. The Moscow-based Kaet Fellowship -- a collaboration between PresenTense and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) -- brought a group of young Jewish entrepreneurs together five months ago to build on the fervent need for Jewish community social innovation in Russia. Especially poignant 20 years after the fall of communism and its attempts to eradicate Jewish culture, ventures range from those focusing on Jewish education, Jewish parenting, needs of Jewish seniors, Jewish art and culture, among other areas. "We're incredibly proud to have played a role in the fostering the innovation and enthusiastic dedication of these, and other young Jews, in Moscow. As Russia's Jewish community continues to develop its special brand of Jewish life, the work of the Kaet Fellows will lead the way and present an exciting new phase to the Jewish story here," said JDC CEO Steven Schwager. The Kaet Fellows engaged in a holistic program made up of seven interconnected modules and a curriculum based in cutting-edge business and entrepreneurship theory, developed by PresenTense. Guiding the fellows through this process were local professional mentors, personal coaches, and a steering committee (three of whom served as personal coaches). Additionally, special case-study sessions were led by volunteers from a wide variety of backgrounds, bringing business experience and know-how to the world of Jewish innovation. "I am delighted to be attending the launch of Kaet's inaugural class of fellows," said Aharon Horwitz, co-founder of PresenTense. "These individuas are inspiring the Russian Jewish Community and world as part of Jewish innovation month, in which over 113 new ventures will launch in 9 communities in the U.S., Israel, and Russia." The fellows and ventures being pitched tonight include: Arkady Baranovsky, a 34-year-old author, has created a theater group -- Volniy Debyut ("A premier of freedom") -- to help rehabilitate former Jewish prisoners through theater. The website is http://freedebut.weebly.com Naomi Nalogina, a 21-year-old student, is developing a Jewish hostel -- Jewstel -- in Moscow where Jews can spend Shabbat and socialize. The website is www.Jewstel.com Sergey Novikov, a 29-year-old high-tech expert, is creating a informal musical education center for adults, youngsters, and children, where a no-frills approach to musical education will stand against Russia's traditional classical music education programs. the website is www.musicgiraffe.ru Inessa Sinkevich, the 34-year-old head of a Jewish kindergarten, is opening a portal for Jewish moms with discussion forums, advice articles, and tutorials on "how to be a Jewish mom." The website, Jmoms, can be found at http://jmoms.ru Olga Lovinskaya, a 33-year-old jewelry distributor, is developing an educational center for children and adults rooted in the Israeli approach to childcare and education. The website is http://detiuchat.ru Yochanan Kossenko, a 27-year-old rabbi, is forming an online database of Jewish cemeteries in Moscow where relatives from anywhere around the world -- using interactive maps -- can post memories and details of loved ones who have died and order grave cleaning, repair services, and kaddish readings, among other opportunities. The website is www.pamiat.org Evgeniy Kerbel, a 35-year-old headhunter, is building Koach Adam, a website dedicated to connecting Jews job hunters with Jewish business owners looking for Jewish employees. The website is http://koahadam.ru Olga Dukor, a 29-year-old journalism professional, is working on a photography school/course, that teaches Jewish values through the photography of historical places in Moscow, or holiday-related themes. In the future, the course will develop into a photo exhibit on Jewish tradition. The website is www.jphotos.ru Evgenia Mazurova and Kira Belelubskaya, 34 and 45-year-old local JDC welfare department employees, are working on Serbriniy Dom ("Silver Home"), an initiative that will train families and businesses working with the elderly by educating them on aging issues and challenges, as well as the best practices for working with and caring for seniors. The website is www.serd.org.ru The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization. JDC works in more than 70 countries and in Israel to alleviate hunger and hardship, rescue Jews in danger, create lasting connections to Jewish life, and provide immediate relief and long-term development support for victims of natural and man-made disasters. For more information, please visit www.JDC.org. PresenTense is upgrading the Jewish people’s operating system by growing the next generation of social entrepreneurs. We build Community around expressing and sharing new ideas, enable Creativity to refine those ideas, and train Pioneers to launch their ideas into successful ventures. PresenTense is currently operating in 12 different communities worldwide, and in the past 5 years helped launch over 150 new ventures shaping the future of the Jewish people.

Wired 10.12: A Prayer Before Dying A Prayer Before Dying THE ASTONISHING STORY OF A DOCTOR WHO SUBJECTED FAITH TO THE RIGORS OF SCIENCE – AND THEN BECAME A TEST SUBJECT HERSELF. By Po Bronson THE THIRD-MOST ODDS-DEFYING, EYE-POPPING DISCOVERY IN THE LIFE AND WORK OF ELISABETH TARG, MD In July 1995, back when AIDS was still a death sentence, psychiatrist Elisabeth Targ and her co-researchers enrolled 20 patients with advanced AIDS in a randomized, double-blind pilot study at the UC San Francisco Medical Center. All patients received standard care, but psychic healers prayed for the 10 in the treatment group. The healers lived an average of 1,500 miles away from the patients. None of the patients knew which group they had been randomly assigned to, and thus whether they were being prayed for. During the six-month study, four of the patients died – a typical mortality rate. When the data was unblinded, the researchers learned that the four who had died were in the control group. All 10 who were prayed for were still alive. THE FOLLOW-UP STUDY A lot of studies had investigated the effect of prayer on healing, but they were methodologically sloppy and their findings couldn’t be replicated. In July 1996, Targ began a confirmation study, one with a larger sample and a more exacting protocol. It is widely acknowledged as the most scientifically rigorous attempt ever to discover if prayer can heal. By this time, triple-drug therapy for those with AIDS had begun, and quite miraculously AIDS patients stopped dying. So rather than just measuring mortality, the replication trial also tallied the occurrence of 23 AIDS-related illnesses that appeared during the six months of the study, from ulcers to encephalitis. Forty patients were recruited. They filled out questionnaires, had photos taken, and signed consent forms that indicated they had a 50/50 chance of being prayed for by faraway psychic healers. They were free to pray for themselves and have family and friends pray for them as well – the trial design assumed everyone would get a “baseline” amount of prayer from loved ones. Their blood was drawn, and a computer matched them to a statistical twin – a counterpart with a similar CD4+ level, age, and number of previous AIDS-related complications. The computer randomly assigned one of each pair to a control group and the other to a treatment group. The photos of those in the treatment group were sent to 40 healing practitioners, ranging from rabbis to Native American medicine men to bioenergetic psychics. These healers performed their rituals one hour a day for six consecutive days. Each week for 10 weeks they rotated, so each test-group patient received distant healing from 10 practitioners. The healers kept logs and were not paid. They never met the subjects in person. The photos of the control group were kept in a locked drawer. Six months later, the data was unblinded. THE SECOND-MOST ODDS-DEFYING, EYE-POPPING DISCOVERY IN THE LIFE AND WORK OF ELISABETH TARG The research results showed that the subjects who were not prayed for spent 600 percent more days in the hospital. They contracted 300 percent as many AIDS-related illnesses. That’s a pretty sensationalistic way of saying those who were prayed for were a lot less sick. Here’s the somewhat less-sensational way of framing the results: The control group spent a total of 68 days in the hospital receiving treatment for 35 AIDS-related illnesses. The treatment group spent only 10 days in the hospital for a mere 13 illnesses. This begs all sorts of questions, which we will get to, but for the moment, consider the following: The chance of this occurring randomly is less than 1 in 20, meaning it is statistically significant. There was no placebo effect. For the patients, being less sick didn’t correlate with believing they were being prayed for by the psychic healers. Not even close. Nearly 55 percent of both groups imagined or guessed or believed they were being prayed for – and they did no better than the others. Targ had a pedigree. She graduated from Stanford Medical School, did her residency at UCLA, and, at the time of the study, was an assistant professor of psychiatry at UCSF. The study, while controversial, eventually passed the scrutiny of peer review and was published by the Western Journal of Medicine. Targ was news. She appeared on Good Morning America and Larry King Live and was written about in Time. She instantly became a star in the New Age community – not as famous as doctors Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, and Larry Dossey, but more respected because of her scientific rigor. Although few doctors have read the study or know its details, it has achieved renown and is routinely cited – not as proof that prayer works, exactly, but as evidence that there’s some connection between spirituality and healing. THE VARIOUS QUESTIONS THIS BEGS Is the “prayer effect” even theoretically possible? Are these psychic healers who I think they are? How did a reputable doctor come to risk her reputation studying the paranormal? What could be more odds-defying than this? IS THIS EVEN THEORETICALLY POSSIBLE? Targ refused to speculate. Her position: Use the scientific method to find out if an effect exists before trying to analyze how it works. For years, no one knew how morphine or aspirin worked – just that they were effective. The understanding came later. She presented her data dozens of times at conferences but never offered a hypothesis. She enjoyed its mystique, its unknowable nature. Even in private, she almost never let herself be drawn into these discussions. Her coauthor on the study, Fred Sicher, a psychologist, is an enthusiastic believer in the prayer effect, and he would get into long arguments with their biostatistician, Dan Moore, who took the role of skeptic. Targ never joined in. Her boyfriend, Mark Comings, was a theoretical physicist. He felt that an eight-dimensional universe could explain how a healer in Santa Fe could influence a patient in San Francisco: In our ordinary three-dimensional world, healer and patient appear far apart, but in one of the as-yet-unmeasurable extra dimensions, they’d be in the same place. Targ would shake him off – speculation wasn’t for her. She had patients to care for. Although other people invoked her work as proof of God, Targ thought of it as proof of only one thing: that this should be studied more. WHO ARE THESE PSYCHIC HEALERS? The usual wackos – but experienced wackos. On average, they had 17 years’ experience, and each had treated more than a hundred patients from a distance. Many had graduated from a bioenergetic healing school on Long Island run by Barbara Brennan, a former NASA physicist. They had a variety of religious backgrounds, from Jewish to Christian to Buddhist to shamanist; however, their method of prayer was not an appeal to a higher power. Rather than ask God for help, the healers were directed to send positive healing energy, to direct an intention for health and well-being to the subject. The point was to test the ability of a person to affect another remotely, in a one-to-one relationship. Wackos at the other end of the religious spectrum frequently interrupted Targ’s speeches at conferences, sometimes by shouting vitriol, sometimes by asking accusatory questions. They would shadow her through restaurants, sit down at her dinner table, lecture her on how the power of faith is not to be subjected to the rigors of science, how God is not to be questioned. They were afraid she might succeed, and reduce their god to a physics phenomenon. They were equally afraid she might fail, and discover nothing’s there. REALITY CHECK QUIZ Here is a list of expert quotes from articles that have been written about Targ: “Elisabeth is our hero. She’s a wonderful, groundbreaking researcher.” – Dr. Mitchell Krucoff, Duke University “Medical research has shown that people who believe in God or in prayer generally fare better than those who don’t. What remains unproven is whether prayer itself makes a difference.” – Dr. Herbert Benson, Harvard Medical School “Nobody would dispute that for a great many people, religion provides comfort in times of distress, medical or otherwise. But there is no really good, compelling evidence that there is a relationship between religious involvement and health.” – Dr. Richard Sloan, Columbia University Question 1: Based on these quotes, what would a reader of an ensuing article likely conclude? a) That most doctors think her research is a bogus waste of time and money. b) That doctors are evenly divided but open-minded about the prayer effect. Question 2: Which is closest to the truth, a or b? WHAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT HER UPBRINGING “She had more permission to be psychic than anyone in history,” proudly offers her father, Russell Targ, who in the 1970s conducted CIA-funded experiments in extrasensory perception at Stanford. Subjects in his lab attempted to describe objects hidden inside boxes and tried to get better at it through repetition, as if it was a learnable skill, like riding a unicycle. During the Cold War, his psychics would sit in a chair and calm their minds until they received visions and diagrams of certain military bases in Russia. Russell had an ESP machine, an early computer that asked subjects which of four colors they thought would randomly appear onscreen. Targ began training on the machine at age 10. When she played hide-and-seek with a girlfriend, Targ would attempt to find her by means of clairvoyance. She was expected to call out what was in her Christmas presents before opening them; if she guessed incorrectly, her father teased her: “What’s wrong with you?” “I expected her to be intelligent, polite, and psychic,” says Russell. He was a force. He was famous. He had helped invent the laser while at Lockheed. Her uncle was the world chess champion, Bobby Fischer. Greatness was assumed. And Targ was exceedingly bright. By the time she entered Palo Alto High School, she’d already skipped two grades. At 12, she was helping a Stanford researcher stick electrodes into monkey brains to examine hemispheric specialization. That’s also when she conducted her first human experiment: demonstrating that left-handed people make more spelling errors than right-handed people. At 13, she tested crayfish feeding reflexes. In high school, she cofounded the debate team. “Truth through dialog” was her motto. She graduated from high school at 15, in 1977. Fluent in Russian – as well as French and German – she got a job in a psychology research department at Stanford, translating studies from the Soviet Union. Since Russia was an atheist country, parapsychology didn’t carry the religious taboo it did here, and she was exposed to a lot of it. In her first semester at Pomona College, she conducted a study that took her father’s favorite experiment – attempting to describe objects hidden inside boxes – and subjected it to double-blinded, randomized scientific rigor. This time, neither subject nor experimenter knew what had been placed in the box. Her teacher hated it; she transferred to Stanford. To her best friend, Janice Boughton, Targ simply seemed open-minded, influenced by those Russian studies she’d translated. “Parapsychology was her hobby, as if she played the trombone.” During college, she would fool around with notions of being able to manipulate events in the near future. She called it Associative Remote Viewing. Hoping to be awarded grants for her research, she would associate that grant with an ordinary object, such as a vase or a teddy bear; then she and her friends would visualize this vase or teddy bear frequently, believing that the visualization would make the desired outcome more likely. She used a variation on this method when she got accepted to Stanford, and later, when she and Comings were trying to find an affordable house in San Francisco. She also put a lot of stock in her own intuition and dreams. All through her life, she had a recurring dream in which a birthday cake with 42 candles appeared (once, it was 42 birthday cakes). Targ became convinced this was a sign that she would die. At 42. Next year. 2003. All of which raises the question: Does her backstory as an ESP hobbyist make us regard her work with some suspicion? It has to – in the same way that her Stanford Medical School degree affords her legitimacy. The whole point of randomized, double-blind trials is to eliminate bias. On TV, Targ presented herself as just another medical researcher, but if she spent her entire life in search of the paranormal, it’s not surprising that she eventually found traces of it. HER ONGOING STUDY Targ originally chose to study AIDS because it was a “gnarly disease,” medical science’s greatest riddle. During the AIDS pilot study, one of the patients developed brain cancer. Amazingly, this patient did not die and eventually made a full recovery. As it turned out, he had been in the treatment group – he had been prayed for. Fred Sicher, Targ’s coauthor, reminded her of this patient after a confirmation study was completed. Although AIDS was no longer a death sentence, brain cancer still was. Could a healer 1,500 miles away really shrink a brain tumor? Targ learned all she could about a type of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme. In 2000, she applied to the National Institutes of Health’s Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine for $1.5 million to cover two 150-patient trials – one on brain cancer, and another confirmation study on AIDS. The NIH had never granted money to study distant healing. But people with brain cancer were dying, and nothing seemed to work. Her grant was approved. The data from the trials will not be available for at least three years. Her work is a linchpin in the history of scientific research; if these trials find a prayer effect, it will open the door to much more. If they fail to find one, this kind of research will retreat beyond the fringe. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT BRAIN CANCER Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant of cancers. For those with a grade-4 tumor, survival rates are uniformly poor. Only 2 percent live more than three years. The average lifespan from diagnosis is 12 months – and that’s for patients who receive surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Without intervention, patients live about six months. GBM is one of the rarest cancers. In the US, about 7,000 people die from it every year. (Far more develop cancer of the brain as a result of metastases originating in some other organ, but that’s different.) With GBM, it’s not the brain’s neurons that are cancerous, it’s the cells that feed and physically support them – the neuroglial cells. The tumor can double in size every 10 days. It is the cancer we understand the very least. We have no clue what causes it or who is likely to get it. Chemotherapy offers scant hope. The most recent drug enlisted to fight brain cancer is Temodar. In clinical trials, Temodar slowed the progression of some GBM tumors, but its effect on life expectancy was insignificant. ABSOLUTLEY THE MOST ODDS-DEFYING, EYE-POPPING DISCOVERY IN THE LIFE AND WORK OF ELISABETH TARG Targ was 40. She’d always wanted a family. She and Comings made plans to get married, in May 2002, and in March she took a leave from research to begin in vitro fertilization treatments. After the first round of eggs were implanted in her uterus, she began to notice that it was hard for her to pronounce words containing the letter b; one morning, in the mirror, she noticed that the left side of her face had gone slack. The usual line of diagnosis would suspect a stroke – yet she felt fine. She’d never had a physical malady – not even bad eyesight or a single cavity. Could it be a symptom of the IVF? She went to the emergency room, not wanting to take chances. They said it was nothing. It persisted. She was scared. They took an MRI of her brain. “Call back for the results tomorrow.” She called. They asked her to come in. “Bring your boyfriend.” Targ could read the MRI herself. She’d become an expert. She knew exactly what to look for, exactly what she was looking at. In her brain, small star-shaped cells were dividing. It was a coincidence of infinite implausibility. HOW BAD WAS IT? The tumor appeared to be small and near the skull – it would be easy to remove. Her doctor thought it might be diffuse astrocytoma, a survivable type of brain cancer not as deadly as glioblastoma. Reason to hope! Spread the word! But this is science, which always looks twice. She went back to the hospital for a high-resolution MRI. This MRI showed the tumor mass near the skull was connected by a tendril to a larger lesion in the thalamus, several twisted layers down, which would be impossible to remove without cutting Targ’s brain in half. Her cancer was upgraded from grade 2 to grade 4. Mitchel Berger, her surgeon, wanted to operate immediately. Five days after the initial diagnosis, she was wheeled into surgery at UCSF, where Berger spent six hours performing the craniotomy. Much of the tumor could not be excised. When she woke up, her close friends and family were crowded around her bedside. They hugged her, stroked her, showed no fear. They told her not to worry. Her fellow researchers joked that they would make her the poster girl for their cause. Of course she would pull through. She was their leader. Then Berger came in and told her that the tumor was, indeed, GBM. It would take a miracle to keep her alive. He recommended she begin radiation treatments. She considered it. She went home, to the house she shared with Comings in Bernal Heights. Her voice was two octaves higher – “like Marilyn Monroe on helium,” she joked, and so she rented a bunch of Marilyn Monroe movies. Otherwise, she seemed miraculously fine. She responded to email and talked on the telephone in the afternoons. Each morning, she followed a disciplined schedule to get her energy flowing: 6 am, qigong; 7 am, yoga; 8 am, walk; 9 am, meditation. One night, 10 days after the surgery, Targ came down to the living room, where Comings was working. She sat in his lap and cried as she told him her fear: “Knowing where this tumor is located, there’s a good chance I will end up with thalamic pain syndrome. It’s the worst thing one can possibly get.” Two days later, the early symptoms began. Pain on her left side. Needing a lot of assistance to walk, then needing a wheelchair. She could no longer see the computer screen, let alone focus her eyes – indication the tumor had reached the optic nerve, which runs through the thalamus. She went to the hospital, and another MRI revealed that the tumor was spreading in great long tentacles over the corpus callosum, from the right brain to the left. Berger described it as “galloping,” and he insisted she begin five-day-a-week radiation immediately. This time she relented. WERE THE HEALERS SHE BELIEVED IN ANY HELP? They tried. Word of Targ’s illness had spread worldwide. Web sites kept track of her progress and made it seem that she would survive. Healing circles everywhere prayed for her. On Wednesday nights on a hill above Silicon Valley, friends and followers gathered in prayer. Many had never met Targ, but they knew her work and thought of her as their patron saint. They had fought off death themselves, or they had lost loved ones, and had felt the power of prayer in their own battles. Her bedroom turned into a circus. Healers from everywhere showed up wanting to help. It was rarely peaceful and quiet. There was Phillip Scott, a Lakota sun dancer who burned sage; Nicolai Levashov, a Russian psychic who waved his hands; Harriet Bienfield, an acupuncturist with rare Chinese herbs; Desda Zuckerman, an energy worker who used techniques inspired by the ancient methods of the Miwok peoples. The reverend Rosalyn Bruyere phoned often, trying to get on Targ’s schedule. And, of course, there was her father, Russell, urging her to meditate, calm her mind, go to that place. Targ tried. She didn’t believe that any particular one of these healers had the power to cure her, but she believed in the general notion that her life was in the hands of a mystical force. She knew her medical doctors had practically no chance of saving her life. We are optimistic beings – we choose to live – and our hope has to vest in something. In the future, there may be a breakthrough in screening procedures and chemotherapy regimes so that brain cancer is somehow treatable. But that future is no help today. To science, Targ is just a data point. On the value of her life, on the possibility of saving it, science faded into a mute bystander. So she put her faith in these healers, and some tried to take advantage of it. One was a man who claims to be the last existing Druid. Targ felt he really had a gift. Now she needed him. But he was stuck in France, recently deported. He offered to help if she would clear up his INS problems; then he wanted Comings to get him a job at the NSA in counterterrorism. Then he called again; this time, he offered to help for free, if Targ would convince another family to pay him $250,000 to save their dying loved one. Nicolai Levashov urged Targ not to have radiation. He argued that it was killing her healthy brain cells. The radiation was painful; it left purple burns on her scalp. She dreaded the late-morning sessions. Levashov insisted he had been able to stop the cancer telepathically and isolate it inside a membrane. An MRI showed the tentacles had retreated; this was almost certainly due to the radiation, but Levashov claimed credit for it. His words finally won her over. One morning, she woke up and announced, “That’s it. I’m not going to submit myself to the fire-breathing dragons.” She picked up the phone, called the radiology department, and told them, “I feel like you’re burning me at the stake!” She stopped going. A week later, the pain worsened, and she checked herself into the hospital. Now admitted, Targ would receive radiation whether she liked it or not. So one morning, the orderly arrived at her room to wheel her to radiology. Targ was wearing a Viking hat over a gold foil wig and waving a staff that had once belonged to an African shaman. She pronounced, “I am going to slay the dragons!” The orderly didn’t recognize her. “Who are you?” “I am a psychiatrist on the staff of this hospital!” she stated proudly. Why did she join the circus? As the cancer progressed, Targ felt increasingly guilty that she was letting the movement down. Forget the year and a half most people get. Her charts told her she had only months. To send all the healers away would signal the end of hope. So she let the circus go on, even though its zaniness brought chaos rather than peace. She ate her miserable macrobiotic gruel, and she meditated as best she could despite the excruciating pain. There was a poster on the wall in her hospital room on how to go about adopting a baby. She read it in tears, knowing even if she survived they would never let her adopt. So she and Comings decided to get a puppy. And they had the wedding exactly as planned. On May 4, she and 150 of the Bay Area’s parapsychology royalty converged in Tiburon, on waterfront land owned by the Audubon Society. She could barely walk down the aisle. She’d had a craniotomy and was missing her hair. Her wedding dress had to be refit twice because she’d lost so much weight. The left side of her face was not working properly. Yet she sat nobly and beamed. When most people get married, there’s a part of the ceremony about always sticking together, for better or for worse. Targ’s worse was already upon her. There would be no honeymoon. Making a lifetime commitment in the face of that tragedy left no eyes dry. Back at the hospital, she wore her ring proudly. She had one friend with whom she let her guard down, let herself be a normal dying person. When her friend walked into the room, they would both burst into tears. “What are we going to do!?” they cried. “I’m craving chocolate,” Targ once confessed to her friend. “Sneak me some?” “Why? Jesus, if you’ve only got four weeks, don’t make it torture. Enjoy what you can.” “I don’t want them to know.” She was supposed to be macrobiotic. Her friend became angry. There was too much pressure on Targ to be that poster girl. Targ didn’t think of it that way. She was a doctor. She knew her bounds: When someone is about to lose a loved one, never deny them their faith. Even if you are that loved one. WHAT TOO FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT TARG’S FAMOUS AIDS STUDY That her study had been unblinded and then “reblinded” to scour for data that confirmed the thesis – and the Western Journal of Medicine did not know this fact when it decided to publish. Her famous study was not, as its reputation suggests, designed to measure the number of AIDS-related illnesses. Targ and Fred Sicher had targeted their study to measure mortality but were caught off-guard by triple-drug anti-retroviral therapy, which became common practice one month into the six-month trial. When biostatistician Dan Moore broke the randomization code to unblind the data, it told them nothing – since only one patient had died, the data was meaningless. Moore brought Targ and Sicher into his office and showed him the data on his computer. Moore thought this new triple-drug therapy was nothing short of a medical miracle, the triumph of science. It was saving lives! But Targ and Sicher didn’t want to see it that way. Targ asked him to crunch the numbers on the secondary scores – one a measure of HIV physical symptoms, the other a measure of quality of life. These came out inconclusive; the treatment group didn’t score better than the control. Not what they wanted to find. In dismay, Targ called her father. He calmed her down, told her to keep looking. She had Moore run the mood state scores. These came out worse – the treatment group was in more psychological stress than the control group. Same for CD4+ counts. Targ flew down to Santa Fe to attend a conference at a Buddhist retreat run by her godmother. When she called back to Moore’s office, Sicher answered. Moore was crunching the last data they had, hospital stays and doctor visits. “Looks like we have statistical significance!” Moore announced. Sicher told Targ, who turned and yelled out to her friends and the conference. Later that week, Moore met with an AIDS physician at California Pacific Medical Center. This doctor thought distant healing was bogus but agreed to give advice. He remarked that the length of hospital stays wasn’t very meaningful. Patients with health insurance tend to stay in hospitals longer than uninsured ones. He pointed Moore to an important AIDS paper that had been recently published. It defined the 23 illnesses associated with AIDS. He told Moore they ought to have been measuring the occurrence of these illnesses all along. Moore took this list to Targ and Sicher. There was only one problem. They hadn’t collected this data. They gathered the medical charts and gave them to their assistant to black out the names of the patients. This done, Targ and Sicher began poring over the charts again, noting the data they hadn’t previously collected. Since Sicher had interviewed many of these patients (up to three times), Moore worried Sicher could recognize them just by the dates they came to the hospital and what they were treated for. Sicher admitted he could (there were only 40). He had also seen which group each patient was assigned to, treatment or control, but he swore he didn’t remember and maintained he was therefore impartial. (Sicher remembers this differently. He insists he couldn’t recognize the patients from their charts and never knew which group each was in.) Targ told her boyfriend she was worried about Sicher’s impartiality, but she took him at his word, even though Sicher was an ardent believer in distant healing, by his own frequent admission. He had put up the money himself for the pilot study ($7,500), had paid for the blood tests. He had a vested interest in the outcome. This isn’t what science means by double-blind. The data may all be legitimate, but it’s not good form. Statisticians call this the sharpshooter’s fallacy – spraying bullets randomly, then drawing a target circle around a cluster. When Targ and Sicher wrote the paper that made her famous, they let the reader assume that all along their study had been designed to measure the 23 AIDS-related illnesses – even though they’re careful never to say so. They never mentioned that this was the last in a long list of endpoints they looked at, or that it was data collected after an unblinding. I learned all this from Dan Moore and confirmed it with Mark Comings. Moore seemed unaware how explosive his version of the story was. “I was always troubled over the sifting it took for the data to hold together,” he said. “I think Fred and Elisabeth missed the real story, which was the difference between medical science and alternative medicine. Triple-drug therapy was literally saving lives. We were only looking at secondary things.” With this information, I reread the paper with an awe for how carefully they chose their words. Only with the benefit of this hindsight do holes emerge, ones that had been clouded by the scientific language and statistical commentary. David Spiegel, who runs the PsychoSocial Research Lab at Stanford, was the primary reviewer of Targ’s paper for the Western Journal of Medicine. Targ’s work, he said, deserved its reputation as the best-designed study measuring distant healing. Then I told him about the procedural flaws. “I’m even more troubled by the multiple endpoints than the unblinding,” he said with increasing concern. “It’s a little post hoc. Normally, we accept the standard that a finding must have less than a 1-in-20 chance of randomly occurring. When you’re on your third or fourth attempt, it’s much more likely a 1-in-20 event will occur, so the standard has to be higher. You divide the alpha by the number of attempts, thus 1 in 60, 1 in 80, et cetera. There was no indication of this recast standard.” Spiegel continued: “It does change her work considerably. It puts it into more of an exploratory study, rather than a confirmatory study. It would be wrong to say it’d been proven.” WELL, WHAT ABOUT THE PILOT STUDY, IN WHICH THOSE WHO DIED WEREN’T “TREATED” WITH DISTANT HEALING? Age was a confounding variable. Most of the 20 participants were in their mid-twenties to early thirties, but four were older. Three in their late thirties, and one in his sixties. Those oldest four patients died. They were all in the control group. In other words, the study provided fairly convincing evidence that if you had AIDS back in the mid-1990s, the older you were the more likely you were to die. WHETHER THE DETERIORATION OF TARG’S HEALTH MADE THE SLIGHTEST DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLE’S CONVICTION THAT PRAYER WORKS Not at all, because people who devote themselves to the thin line between life and death don’t just measure “healing” as saving a physical body. Those who’ve watched a lot of people die learn to find their victories in good deaths. Your body might be dying, but you can still repair your relationships, old emotional wounds. You can restore parts of your personality that you had let wither. You can become a better person, even as your body goes. Targ was one of the first people to know that she would die quickly. Gradually, people around her came to accept this. Even those who had never met her became fairly sure something was up, because there were no more encouraging updates posted on the Web site that tracked her recovery. And they continued to pray – to heal her soul – so that she might die with the kind of peaceful bliss and tranquility she desired. Even if she couldn’t live, they wanted her to die rightly, to be a poster girl for the right kind of death. At peace, not in pain. In the arms of those who loved her, not in the cold clutches of hospital care. To let go freely, to embrace the other side when she was ready. More generosity: They all wanted to be a part of her death, and she gave this to them. They moved Targ from her hospital to a farm in Portola Valley that had been important to her mother. She stopped the radiation. When she was suffering, she would telephone her godmother, Joan Halifax, a Buddhist priest, and receive ministry. With a few weeks to go, she was troubled by her inability to meditate. She cried out to a friend, “My mind hasn’t quieted!” A week later, she could only communicate through hand squeezes and eye blinks. She’d tapered off her pain medication but was not in pain. It was possible that her pain center was being affected by the cancer. It was also possible that her soul was becoming detached from her body, getting ready to depart. “Do you know it’s me?” her friend Adrianne Mohr asked. Two squeezes. Yes. “Is it busy inside your head?” One squeeze. No. “What’s going on? Is it getting spacious?” “Are you there again?” “Babe, you’re there.” She’d always preferred situations that couldn’t be explained – she liked the mystery. Targ’s research was designed not to find answers but to force us to behold the inexplicable, to admit our limits of narrative. And in her death, she succeeded grandly. She gave us an incomprehensible mind-bender – how can it be only coincidence that a doctor who did not believe in coincidences was afflicted by the very cancer she was studying? WILL HER RESEARCH LIVE ON? Targ’s colleagues are seeing her work to completion. The brain cancer study has been taken over by Andrew Freinkel, and her third AIDS study by John Astin. Both doctors are sympathetic to the cause and are still enrolling patients at California Pacific. AFTER ALL, IT’S HARMLESS, RIGHT? With complementary medicine, the usual assumption is “If it helps, great – it can’t hurt.” But it can. Consider the Russian psychic Nicolai Levashov. He urged Targ to cease radiation treatment and then convinced Comings that the cancer was no longer killing her; it was the necrotic cancer tissue, Levashov insisted, that was poisoning her body. It had to be cut out or she would die. Comings wasted the last month of his wife’s life on a wild goose chase, desperately calling every brain surgeon in the country, begging them to perform this surgery. In her final week, he made an appeal to the tumor board at Stanford. He gave them her MRIs and medical charts. The board met on Thursday; they made a decision but didn’t call until the next morning. “We’re sorry,” he was told. “We’ve looked carefully at it. We disagree with what you’ve been told. The tumor growth is killing her. We can’t do the surgery.” “You’re too late anyway,” he returned. “She died last night.” The time for miracles had run out on Elisabeth Targ. It was a scary moment for the uninitiated, her lungs suddenly gasping for air, trying to hang on, hyperventilating, nearly barking, spasming for more than half an hour. But this literal last gasp is how most die, and Comings knew this, so as he held her in his arms he felt relieved that she would soon be free of the illusion that is this world. He didn’t call the coroner right away. He laid her body out on her bed, and the next morning, friends gathered around her and circled in prayer. They took photographs. It helped them, somehow, to see her resting in peace, and they wanted a picture to remind them later, when they would inevitably struggle with the tragedy of a life cut short. The aura of mystery that always surrounded Targ did not end at her death. She died at 11:11 pm, exactly 111 days after she was diagnosed. The meaning of that numeric alliteration was just beyond their reach, but it titillated, as Targ’s work always had. And then talk turned to those dreams of birthday cakes with 42 candles. Elisabeth Targ died two weeks short of her 41st birthday. Not evidence of anything, but too close to just ignore, too close not to ponder. Contributing writer Po Bronson (pbronson @pobronson.com) is the author of What Should I Do With My Life? (2003). © 1993-2004 The Condé Nast Publications Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1994-2003 Wired Digital, Inc. All rights reserved.

With Adam Weinberg Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center February 12, 2011 On Saturday night, the Adrienne Arsht Center was transformed from world-class concert hall to new-age synagogue as Matisyahu and his guitarist Adam Weinberg went unplugged for a packed house. A sold-out concert presented by Jewish non-profit group Birthright Israel NEXT South Florida, it was an intimate couple of hours with this Hasidic Jewish musician, blurring the lines between a coffeehouse open mic night and a Q&A talk show setting. The show started 20 minutes late as Matis was still observing Shabbat, which also made him miss sound check several hours earlier. So when he and Weinberg took over the stripped-down stage, it was as impromptu as a college talent show. Mic check and guitar-tuning aside, the crowd was hyped to get the gig started. To start, the pair played an acoustic rendition of "Dispatch the Troops." However, Matisyahu forgot the words. Thankfully, a member of the crowd pulled up the lyric sheet on his trusty iPhone as Matis thanks him and technology. And that's how the mood was set for the night -- simple, funny, serious, open, spiritually uplifting with heavy doses of audience participation. It was obvious: Matis wasn't scared of taking questions from the crowd and playing without a setlist. The show flowed like it was just you and him. He simply showed off his sense of humor, deep religious beliefs, and massive musical skills. If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters. SHOW ME HOW You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in! Hearing Matis sing acappella was nothing less than a spiritual experience. His voice soared, on point and pure, never once faltering. And then during the song "One Day," Matis showcased his unbelievable beatboxing skills. Really, the performance made you wonder whether you were listening to a drum machine or human vocal chords. Anyone who was present at last night's show witnessed something magical. Many walked away with a sense of peace and pride. Matis is one hell of a musician and he is also one hell of a spokesperson for the next Jewish generation. During the night, he encouraged everyone, Jews and non Jews alike, to visit Israel. And when singing his song "Jerusalem," it was apparent that his experience visiting the homeland left a lasting impression, not only on his faith but also on his music.

A multicultural work force is one wherein a company's employees include members of a variety of ethnic, racial, religious, and gender backgrounds. Whereas past eras in American business saw few examples of multiculturalism, most of today's small business owners and corporate executives recognize that attention to the challenges and opportunities associated with the growing trend toward culturally diverse work forces can be a key factor in overall business success. "A combination of work force demographic trends and increasing globalization of business has placed the management of cultural differences on the agenda of most corporate leaders," wrote Taylor Cox Jr. "Organizations' work forces will be increasingly heterogeneous on dimensions such as gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality. Potential benefits of this diversity include better decision making, higher creativity and innovation, greater success in marketing to foreign and ethnic minority communities, and a better distribution of economic opportunity. Conversely, cultural differences can also increase costs through higher turnover rates, interpersonal conflict, and communication breakdowns." TRENDS IN CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN AMERICA The United States has always been an immigrant culture. Aside from Native Americans, the entire population has immigrant origins. The traditional view toward immigrants was that they would wish to assimilate to the dominant Anglo-Saxon population of the nation's earliest colonial settlers. According to the traditional view, however, the assimilation process was never expected to be total. Each group would add a distinguishing contribution to the overall national culture so that in time the myriad immigrant groups would alter the cultural norms of the rest of the nation in subtle ways. This philosophy was summed up in the notion of the country as the "American melting pot." But this conception of the nation was predicated on the willingness of the immigrant—and the demands of the dominant culture—to discard or at least sublimate unfamiliar cultural practices and attitudes, especially in work place settings. Additionally, during some periods, certain groups were deemed to be unable to assimilate no matter how much they were willing to bury their cultural differences with the dominant culture. A variety of peoples have been victimized by this attitude over the years, including African Americans, Asian Americans, and members of the Jewish religious faith. The Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, however, had a direct effect on the assimilationist norm of the melting pot. It changed the view of the United States as a single culture welcoming those different from the dominant norm only if they would only drop their ethnic or cultural distinctiveness. The double standard as applied to certain groups of Americans came under scrutiny; the belief in integration into a dominant norm was questioned. Assuredly, such reexamination took place within the long-dominant native-born, white, non-Hispanic community. But perhaps the most significant impact of the Civil Rights movement was that immigrants and distinctive native-born minority groups began, as Stephen Steinberg argued in The Ethnic Myth, "to affirm their right to a separate identity within the framework of a pluralist nation." The re-examination of the desirability of the domination of the work force by a culturally monolithic norm led to laws that required businesses to provide culturally diverse groups with greater opportunities to enter the work place. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for example, made it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, or religion. Equal opportunity for employment allowed for the entry into the American work force of increasing numbers of individuals from cultural groups that had historically been victims of discrimination. This, in turn, led groups that had attempted to assimilate to question their decision to subsume their own cultural values to the dominant norm. Thus, even within the historically favored white community, ethnic groups began to see benefits in returning to—or at least not hiding—their own cultural differences. Finally, as longstanding barriers to integrated work forces crumbled, increasing numbers of companies came to recognize both the business value of multicultural work forces and the negative repercussions associated with an inability or unwillingness to accommodate such demographic changes. TODAY'S CHALLENGES Not all people in organizations value diversity. As a rule, people are most comfortable with those like themselves and emphasizing diversity may undermine that comfort level. Diversity tends to breed new approaches to old practices and long-standing problems. Individuals in organizations may find such change troubling. Moreover, individuals with strong prejudices against certain groups may find rapidly changing demographics in the work force threatening either because they find change itself disquieting or because they hold a position they feel they might not be able to maintain if groups historically excluded from their work place are allowed to compete in an unhindered way for their positions. Given such realities, R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. indicated in Beyond Race and Gender that companies need to go beyond simple recognition of cultural diversity to active diversity management: "Managing diversity is a comprehensive managerial process for developing an environment that works for all employees." Diversity management is an inclusive process since all employees belong to a culture, including those from the organization's traditionally dominant cultural group. Thomas indicated that diversity management must not be viewed as "an us/them kind of problem to be solved but as a resource to be managed." Anthony Carnevale and Susan Carol Stone, authors of The American Mosaic, have emphasized that valuing diversity involves "recognizing that other people's standards and values are as valid as one's own," and note that for most organizations, valuing and managing diversity requires nothing less than cultural transformation. This is a prodigious task, for it requires people—especially those of the dominant culture—to let go of their assumptions about the universal rightness of their own values and customary ways of doing things and to become receptive to other cultures. In this regard, cultural diversity in the work place mirrors many of the same issues at play in the realm of international business. In international business inter-actions, people who have learned differing conceptions of normative behavior are forced to suspend judgment of one another. Cultural norms shift relative to language, technological expectations, social organization, face-saving, authority conception, nonverbal behavior and the perception of time. Taylor Cox Jr., an expert in the field of organization behavior, cited three primary organization types in the realm of cultural diversity development. Most U.S. businesses, he indicated, generally fall within one of the three models. The first of these types, called the monolithic organization, is characterized by a homogeneous work force composed primarily of while males with few women or minority men in management positions (although he contended that this type of organization can exist in any situation where one "identity group"—blacks, Hispanics, etc.—is dominant). Moreover, many of these organizations feature high levels of occupational segregation, with women and minority men concentrated in lower-paying occupations. This environment, noted Cox, makes it a practical necessity for women, minority men, and foreign nationals who do enter the organization to accept the organizational norms already in place (which of course were put together by white males). Cox pointed out that, ironically, "one positive note [of the monolithic organization] is that intergroup conflict based on culture-group identity is minimized by the relative homogeneity of the work force." But he also noted that since this organization type generally places little importance on the integration of cultural minorities, discrimination and prejudice is likely to be prevalent: "Aside from the rather obvious downside implications of the monolithic model in terms of under-utilization of human resources and social equality, the monolithic organization is not a realistic option for most large employers in the 1990s." But Barbara Jorgensen observed in Electronic Business Buyer that it can be difficult for owners and managers to turn such organizations around, especially if they are big and their work force is entrenched: "Managing diversity is a lot like implementing quality: it's tough to define and it requires a massive culture change. You can't even apply statistical process control to it." The second organizational type is the plural organization. Cox contended that this model is an improvement over the monolithic organization in several important respects: "It has a more heterogeneous membership than the monolithic organization and takes steps to be more inclusive of persons from cultural backgrounds that differ from the dominant group." Examples of such initiatives include hiring and promotion policies that may give preference to minorities, training on equal opportunity issues, and reviews of compensation systems to ensure fair treatment of all workers. These improvements also spur greater levels of social interaction between members of different backgrounds, and greater identification with the organization among minority members. But many companies that have such precautions in place maintain management teams with little minority representation, an indication that principles of multicultural management have not infiltrated all levels of the company. And Cox suggested that this "affirmative action approach to managing diversity" has spurred charges from white males that such policies "discriminate against white males and therefore perpetuate the practice of using racioethnicity, nationality, or gender as a basis for making personnel decisions…. This backlash effect, coupled with theincreased number of minorities in the organization, often creates greater inter-group conflict in the plural organization than was present in the monolithic organization." The third organizational type described by Cox is the multicultural organization. Primary characteristics of this kind of organization include integration of minorities into all structural levels of the company, including management/executive positions; integration of informal/social networks of the business; absence of prejudice and discrimination; and a mindset that not only accommodates diversity (a hallmark of the plural organization) but also values that diversity. KEYS TO EFFECTIVE CREATION AND MANAGEMENT OF A MULTICULTURAL WORK FORCE Experts indicate that business owners and managers who hope to create and manage an effective, harmonious multicultural work force should remember the importance of the following: * Setting a good example—This basic tool can be particularly valuable for small business owners who hope to establish a healthy environment for people of different cultural backgrounds, since they are generally able to wield significant control over the business's basic outlook and atmosphere. * Communicate in writing—Company policies that explicitly forbid prejudice and discriminatory behavior should be included in employee manuals, mission statements, and other written communications. Jorgensen referred to this and other similar practices as "internal broadcasting of the diversity message in order to create a common language for all members of the organization." * Training programs—Training programs designed to engender appreciation and knowledge of the characteristics and benefits of multicultural work forces have become ubiquitous in recent years. "Two types of training are most popular: awareness and skill-building," wrote Cox. "The former introduces the topic of managing diversity and generally includes information on work force demographics, the meaning of diversity, and exercises to get participants thinking about relevant issues and raising their own self-awareness. The skill-building training provides more specific information on cultural norms of different groups and how they may affect work behavior." New employee orientation programs are also ideal for introducing workers to the company's expectations regarding treatment of fellow workers, whatever their cultural or ethnic background. * Recognize individual differences—Writing in The Complete MBA Companion, contributor Rob Goffee stated that "there are various dimensions around which differences in human relationships may be understood. These include such factors as orientation towards authority; acceptance of power inequalities; desire for orderliness and structure; the need to belong to a wider social group and so on. Around these dimensions researchers have demonstrated systematic differences between national, ethnic, and religious groups." Yet Goffee also cautioned business owners, managers, and executives to recognize that differences between individuals can not always be traced back to easily understood differences in cultural background: "Do not assume differences are always 'cultural.' There are several sources of difference. Some relate to factors such as personality, aptitude, or competence. It is a mistake to assume that all perceived differences are cultural in origin. Too many managers tend to fall back on the easy 'explanation' that individual behavior or performance can be attributed to the fact that someone is 'Italian' or 'a Catholic' or 'a woman.' Such conclusions are more likely to reflect intellectually lazy rather than culturally sensitive managers." * Actively seek input from minority groups—Soliciting the opinions and involvement of minority groups on important work committees, etc., is beneficial not only because of the contributions that they can make, but also because such overtures confirm that they are valued by the company. Serving on relevant committees and task forces can increase their feelings of belonging to the organization. Conversely, relegating minority members to superfluous committees or projects can trigger a downward spiral in relations between different cultural groups. * Revamp reward systems—An organization's performance appraisal and reward systems should reinforce the importance of effective diversity management, according to Cox. This includes assuring that minorities are provided with adequate opportunities for career development. * Make room for social events—Companysponsored social events—picnics, softball games, volleyball leagues, bowling leagues, Christmas parties, etc.—can be tremendously useful in getting members of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds together and providing them with opportunities to learn about one another. * Flexible work environment—Cox indicated that flexible work environments—which he characterized as a positive development for all workers—could have particularly "beneficial to people from nontraditional cultural backgrounds because their approaches to problems are more likely to be different from past norms." * Don't assume similar values and opinions—Goffee noted that "in the absence of reliable information there is a well-documented tendency for individuals to assume that others are 'like them.' In any setting this is likely to be an inappropriate assumption; for those who manage diverse work forces this tendency towards 'cultural assimilation' can prove particularly damaging." * Continuous monitoring—Experts recommend that business owners and managers establish and maintain systems that can continually monitor the organization's policies and practices to ensure that it continues to be a good environment for all employees. This, wrote Jorgensen, should include "research into employees' needs through periodic attitude surveys." "Increased diversity presents challenges to business leaders who must maximize the opportunities that it presents while minimizing its costs," summarized Cox. "The multicultural organization is characterized by pluralism, full integration of minority-culture members both formally and informally, an absence of prejudice and discrimination, and low levels of inter-group conflict…. The organization thatachieves these conditions will create an environment in which all members can contribute to their maximum potential, and in which the 'value in diversity ' can be fully realized."

Barney’s Version, which has just won Paul Giamatti his second Golden Globe, has been a long time coming. Director Richard J Lewis, who hasn’t made a feature since 1994 but has a CV bursting with episodes of CSI, has been attached to the project for some twelve years, during which time the screenplay passed under the pens of five writers (including Mordecai Richler, the author whose bestselling novel, starring versions of himself and his wife, inspired the film). When I spoke to Rosamund Pike after last night’s exclusive screening of Barney’s Version at the Tricycle Theatre, she opined that “[this] was the film Richard has always been waiting to make.” The wait, it must be said, has been eminently worthwhile. Barney Panofsky (Giamatti) is not the man he once was. Drinking and smoking like a singed, balding sponge, making incoherent 3am calls to his ex and rapidly losing interest in the crappy soap opera which his company produces, he is inclined to ruminate on the sixty-something years of his life and, in particular, the moments which led to his single and unhappy existence – his third wife (Pike) has remarried, his children despair of him and he keeps forgetting where he’s left his car. Through an extended series of flashbacks intercut with the increasingly fragmented reality of Barney’s present-day life, the audience is let into his unique version of the events which led him to enter and leave three different marriages, lose his best friend and be accused of murder. As Barney’s adult life replays eccentrically across the screen, the encounters which dictate its direction are all emphatically female in nature. There’s the mad artist Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), who Barney meets in Rome and marries in a hurry when she claims to be pregnant with his child, then wealthy (but unnamed) Jewish heiress ‘the second Mrs Panofsky’ (Minnie Driver), a ‘suitable choice’ whose strait-laced parents are horrified by hard-drinking Barney and his irreverent ex-cop father Izzy (Hoffman). However, both wives are simply rehearsals for Barney’s eventual meeting with Miriam, a guest at his second wedding who captivates him from the word go and whose unseen presence dominates his deeply unhappy second marriage. The phone call Barney makes in the first scene has already revealed that she will become his ex-wife by the time the two narrative timelines converge, so all that remains is to find out exactly how he managed/will manage to woo and subsequently lose her. It’s complex, all this time business. In fact, if there is to be any criticism of Barney’s Version (and there is practically no need) then it must be on the subject of time. At a slightly self-indulgent 132 minutes, the film could easily have lost 15% of its running time without plot or character development having to take a hit – perhaps the inevitable consequence of a veteran TV director suddenly having one long show to make instead of thirteen short ones. Having said that, the extra length is certainly not wasted – the progression Barney’s life is skilfully realised with meticulous and gradually altered sets, letting the mise en scène tell as much of the story as the actors, who are phenomenal almost without exception. It was a particular pleasure to see Dustin Hoffman, who would have nailed the lead role thirty years ago, atoning for the Fockers series with such indomitable wit and charm However, the ultimate plaudits must go to the two leads. Paul Giamatti’s pitch-perfect performance, which charts his character over thirty-someodd years, is extraordinarily realistic (there’s some superb work with prosthetics) and will inevitably provide his career with another boost reminiscent of the one it received post-American Splendor and Sideways. Meanwhile, English actress Rosamund Pike (whose accent is, it must be said, bloody good) balances Giamatti’s shambolic Barney with her elegant and polished Miriam, an absolute gift of a part who was, thank goodness, never once degraded by a quick shift into siren or vamp territory. At the screening which I attended, a woman just behind me stood up and enthusiastically praised Pike for her extraordinary depiction of “my mother”. The woman was Mordecai Richler’s daughter, and her enthusiasm was well founded – managing to address themes of loyalty, loss, ageing and filial as well as romantic love whilst retaining a pulsing comic vein throughout, this is an endlessly beautiful film.

In the last post I looked closely at the details of Dr. John Gee’s critique of Dr. Paul Owen’s essay in the most recent volume of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (JBMS). In that post I dealt especially with (1) Gee’s misrepresentation of Owen’s essay, (2) his lack of understanding of 2 Esdras/4 Ezra, and (3) how Gee’s response shows a lack of thoroughness in checking historical sources in making his critique of Owen’s paper. I promised at the beginning of that post that in a second part I would discuss Gee’s lack of awareness of the field of intertextuality in general. More specifically I will first describe Owen’s essay and how he understands the parallels, then I will contrast that with how the essay is portrayed by Gee’s statements. I will discuss the parallels between 2 Esdras/4 Ezra and 1 Ne. 13-14 in the context that they are placed in Owen’s essay, at the same time bringing his piece into dialogue with the broader field of intertextual studies. Bringing 2 Esdras/4 Ezra into Dialogue One of the most significant contributions of Owen’s essay is that he brings the Book of Mormon (BM) into dialogue with an apocryphal work. As will be seen further below, although Owen is not the first to note the general connections, he is the first to bring the two texts into dialogue by noting specific parallels. Studies on the parallels between the BM and the Apocrypha have been very limited, relegated mostly to the realm of polemical literature. Owen invites the reader to critically explore these parallels in many different ways after first making the connections. At the beginning of his essay Owen notes that within 1 Ne. 11-14 there are “thirteen apocalyptic visions in which the future mysteries pertaining to the Lamb and his church are disclosed to Nephi…” He then details specifically which verses throughout chs. 11-14 constitute the vision of the tree of life, the vision of the virgin mother, and so on. After noting the literary structure Owen explains the “arguments and contributions” that he will make in the paper to the discussion of 1 Ne. These include: the main role that the great and abominable church will play is in corrupting the Old Testament (OT); 1 Ne. supports the idea that the OT was bigger at one time than it is now, including both public and private texts; “the Jew” highlighted in 1 Ne. 13-14 is Ezra; “In all likelihood some sort of literary relationship exists between 1 Nephi and 2 Esdras in the Apocrypha”; among others. These points will have direct bearing for understanding the sections of Owen’s paper that discuss the parallels. Owen goes into a detailed discussion of the “vision of the great and abominable church” in 1 Ne. 13:1-14:8, then the “vision of the mother of harlots” in 1 Ne. 14:9-17, and finally the “vision of John the apostle” in 1 Ne. 14:18-30. This overview provides a clear understanding of the narrative setting of these visions, and how they connect to one another. Owen claims that “the author of 1 Nephi employs apocalyptic conventions in relaying the content of these visions.” The benefit of employing these conventions is the fact that the symbolic or mythical overtones of the section can repeatedly find new meaning and interpretation. In order to discern the identity of the great and abominable church, Owen claims that 1 Ne. 13:7-9 holds the key. “These verses emphasize the financial power and worldy prosperity of the great church, which destroys the saints “for the praise of the world” (v. 9),” and “The saints are destroyed when they are allured and attracted by the visible pomp and circumstance of the worldly church.” This church is set in history as it is described as corrupting the scriptures “after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (1 Ne. 13:26). Owen asks what the identity of this church is and concludes that it is postapostolic and slowly exercises control over the contents of the earlier Jewish texts. He argues that this represents a form of Christianity in the Roman Empire after the time of Constantine. In a footnote Owen explains how he disagrees with Stephen Robinson in his essay “Early Christianity and 1 Nephi 13-14,” in identifying the great and abominable church with Christianity post-313 CE. They disagree because Robinson views the scripture that is to be corrupted by the false church as the New Testament (NT), whereas Owen sees it as the OT including other now lost apocryphal works that were in circulation and used by the “wise” up to the death of the apostles. There are several considerations that support Owen’s thesis over Robinson’s. First, the angel describes to Nephi in 1 Ne. 13:23 that the future bible “is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many…” The brass plates that Nephi took from Laban contain many more texts than will be included in the bible in the future. As Rex C. Reeve, Jr. put it (in the same publication as Robinson), “The brass plates were comparable to, but more complete than, our current Old Testament down to about 600 B.C.” Later in the same publication Robert J. Matthews comments on the contents of the brass plates as described in 1 Ne. 13: This explanation gives us to understand why the Bible in its reduced form–the Protestant and Catholic versions of the seventeenth century–is smaller than the plates of brass, as noted in verse 23. This comparative expression by the angel gives us a clue as to just how much has been “taken away” and lost to our present Bible. The plates of brass contained a record beginning with the five books of Moses down to Jeremiah–only a portion of the time period of the Old Testament and none of the New–yet the reduced version of the whole Bible–the Bible with which we are acquainted, containing both the Old and New Testaments–is “not so many” as the record on the plates of brass. According to 1 Ne. 13 there is a large portion missing from the bible that was there originally. This brings me to my second point that various individuals throughout the BM are aware of some of these texts. They are explicitly alluded to and even occasionally quoted at length. A good example of this is found in Jacob 5, where part of the now lost writings of Zenos, the “allegory of the olive tree,” is brought to light. The writings of Zenos are referenced twelve times altogether, and another ancient prophet Zenock is five times. There is yet another prophet, Ezias (different from Isaiah), who is named once in Hel. 8:20. The text of the BM is aware of several of these writings that were included on the brass plates that are not included in the present OT. From the text itself the focus of the corruption of scripture is on the books that are thought to be inherited by the apostles, and among those are known records of scripture that are now lost. It is not the text of the NT that is corrupted, as Robinson has argued; rather it is the earlier version of the OT. Owen’s paper then focuses on identifying the specific Jewish individual who dictates “the book” in 1 Ne. 13:21-23. In 1 Ne. 13:23 the book/bible is referenced as “proceed[ing] out of the mouth of a Jew.” Elsewhere this figure is referenced as “the Jew” (13:38; 14:23), and the reader is left to question who exactly this is. Owen points out how “this Jew’s primary role is that of an oral dictator of scripture.” It seems then that the identification of this Jewish individual fits well with the role of Ezra in Neh. 8, when he reads the Torah aloud for seven days. The connection with Neh. 8 does not fully answer the role of “the Jew” in 1 Ne. 13. Owen points the reader’s attention to 2 Esdras/4 Ezra, and makes several connections between this text and 1 Ne. 13-14. It is important to note that although Owen is the first to connect this section of the BM with 2 Esdras/4 Ezra, he is not the first to bring the two traditions together. In their edited commentary on the BM George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjödahl made this connection long before Owen, and they have never been considered as anything other than faithful LDS researchers. First published in 1955, Commentary on the Book of Mormon has long been out of date, largely due to the fact that Sjödahl had completed most of his contribution to the commentary on the BM when he died in 1939. Years later his son in law, Philip C. Reynolds, took both the manuscript Sjödahl left behind and combined it with notes from his father, George Reynolds’, research to create this commentary. Not only was it written years before publication (Reynolds died in 1909), it was also edited and published 60 years ago. The two commentators were well known for their research in the church toward the late 19th and early 20th century. The details of their commentary will be discussed further below to show how they highlight the four options Owen proposes for understanding the connections he makes between the BM and 2 Esdras/4 Ezra. It is important to note that the connections that Owen draws between the two texts are primarily thematic. He does not draw tight lexical connections between the two texts, but instead sees similar themes linking them together. Rather than quoting the connections in their entirety here, it is easier for the reader to see them in full in Gee’s blog post discussing the parallels here. For ease in finding Owen’s parallels, in each of the numbered sections only the first quotation is from Owen’s essay. Owen notes how in 2 Esdras Ezra’s community only has access to the “public canon,” or twenty-four books. Only the wise have access to the broader canon that includes the seventy inspired texts. He draws a parallel here with 1 Ne. 13:39-40, where the records that are not included in the Protestant or Catholic bible today are said to come forward to “establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them.” The BM is among the hidden texts that come forth to restore the plain and precious truths that had been lost from the earlier version of the bible. Owen finds this fact all the more striking in reference to 2 Esdras 12:37-38, where Ezra is told to write everything down in a book and hide it. The writings in the book would be kept hidden except for the wise among the Jews. For Owen these connections open up the possibility that the BM and other texts revealed in the latter-days (not limited to the current LDS standard works) are a restoration of the contents of esoteric texts that were passed on to the “wise” in times past, at least until the death of the apostles. Subsequently, in the centuries following the writing of the New Testament…these texts were suppressed by the false church (through destruction and corruption), leaving the saints without that ancient collection of apocryphal wisdom necessary to see the plain and precious things in the Hebrew scriptures with adequate clarity (1 Nephi 13:40-41; 14:23). According to Owen there are several ways to explain these parallels: (1) coincidence, (2) Nephi could have prophetically seen the “role of Ezra, as accurately described in 2 Esdras,” (3) Joseph Smith (JS) or an associate could have read the KJV and known through a book or cultural knowledge, or (4) “the BM could be viewed as a restoration of an ancient Christian apocryphal text, which itself made use of earlier Jewish sources.” For Owen, the first option is null due to the numerous parallels he lists between the texts. That solution also does nothing to help explain who “the Jew” is in 1 Ne. 13-14. The second option has more support logically, as it could be argued that since Nephi never explicitly calls “the Jew” Ezra he may have written prior to Ezra’s lifetime. If Nephi had written after the fact then you would expect him to include Ezra’s name. This option also falls short for Owen because it cannot explain the connections between the two texts either, and seems to only be necessary if one has a prior commitment to the historicity of the narrative of the BM. In Owen’s mind, “This cluster of shared features points to (but does not secure) a literary connection of dependence.” Even though Owen does not find number 2 convincing, this is exactly how Reynolds and Sjödahl understood the parallel they saw between these texts. Beginning on page 125 and ending on 127 in volume one of their commentary, Reynolds and Sjödahl make the following note for 1 Ne. 13:23: Verse 23. It proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. The book which Nephi saw was the Old Testament, and more especially the Law, also called the “Torah,” as given to the world by Ezra…Among the Jews there is a saying, something like this, “If the Law had not been given by Moses, Ezra was worthy, and by him it would have been given. And Christian authors, such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and others actually thought that the Old Testament had become lost during the Babylonian captivity, and that it was restored through Ezra, by divine revelation…We can now understand why the Prophet Nephi sees the ancient Scriptures proceeding from the “mouth of a Jew.” His prophetic vision was fulfilled in the year 444 B.C. This description offered by Reynolds and Sjödahl of the relationship between 1 Ne. 13-14 and 2 Esdras/4 Ezra fits Owen’s option 2 very well. They view Nephi as prophetically envisioning the restoration of the bible after the exile by Ezra the scribe, who fits the description of “the Jew” in 1 Ne. 13-14 perfectly for them. Owen disagrees with their understanding of the connection, but Owen and Reynolds/Sjödahl agree that Ezra is “the Jew” as described in 1 Ne. 13-14. Owen believes that we are only left with options 3 and 4. For him option 3 would provide a simple, straightforward way of understanding the textual evidence, excluding the difference between the BM and the KJV’s “box trees.” I have already dealt with this point in the previous post, and have shown that the printed editions of the KJV that included the Apocrypha and notes also had a marginal reference explaining that box trees were “box tables to write on.” This, along with the fact that the context of 2 Esdras 12 and verse 44 provide an adequate explanation, negates the various ways that Owen tries to explain how JS and his associates could have known what was meant in 2 Esdras. They had ready information within their copies of the King James Bible copies. If one is inclined to agree with option 3, then there is further evidence for having this understanding. Owen does not agree with option 3 though, as Gee and others would seem to think. He agrees more with option 4. Option four is analyzed by Owen, in which he claims that an apocryphal Christian text written prior to the death of the apostles and the publication of 2 Esdras (ca. 90-100 CE) could explain the literary dependence he notes in his essay. The context of the false church in 1 Ne. 13-14 is that of a state-sponsored church that has suppressed parts of the bible. As Owen notes, this “could not have been warranted prior to AD 313, when Constantine began to give Christianity protection and patronage.” Owen wonders if JS could have restored an ancient Christian text, itself based on earlier Jewish sources, in the dictation of the BM? Owen would not find the parallels between the BM and 2 Esdras/4 Ezra surprising if this was the case. Owen makes several suggestions for Latter-day Saint thought if option 4 is accepted. He says that (1) it would allow for traditional LDSs to maintain that Moroni showed the plates to JS, although the plates derive from heaven and not the ancient Americas, (2) it would also allow for LDSs to maintain JS’s claims of heavenly visitations, and that (3) the BM is an authentically ancient text, but compositionally it is located historically in a different place and time. This position also (4) takes seriously the last mentioned date of the BM as 421 CE, and also (5) allows for the updating and editing of the BM by JS when the contents were passed to him from the angel. Owen also thinks that (6) this option better explains the parallels between the BM and the History of the Rechabites, as explained by BYU Professor of Law John Welch. This also (7) allows for the BM to be viewed simultaneously as “modern and fictional, on the one hand, and miraculous and inclusive of authentic material on the other.” Option four also brings the BM more in line with contemporary LDS scholarly understandings of the Book of Abraham, the Book of Moses, and D&C 7. (8) Owen suggests that this would relieve LDS apologists of the burden of discovering a determinate New World setting for the BM, and (9) it would go along with 1 Ne. “that apocalyptic revelation typically repeats and amplifies the content of previous divine disclosures…” Owen concludes with option 4, favoring it more strongly than any of the rest of the options. To him this one has the most explanatory power, and seems to bring together the widest range of positions on the origin of the 1 Ne. 13-14. There are aspects of his theory that everyone can agree with, which is very important in academic discussions of a highly controversial topic, especially a new book of scripture like the BM. Dr. Gee discusses the parallels that Owen draws attention to in his second response to Owen’s paper. He does nothing to set the context, or discuss how Owen is defining the parallels. Rather, he explains how he has “had research notes on these parallels since mid-December last year but…puzzled with how to present them…” and simply states that “Paul Owen sets the following texts as parallel.” In the wider field of intertextuality it is important to define what is meant by terms like “parallel,” “echo,” and “quotation.” It might seem to the average reader that these terms are rather straightforward, but that is not the case in academic studies. The literature that discusses this field has consistently grown each year over the last fifty years. Although Owen does not define his use of “parallel” in his essay, it becomes apparent in his discussion of option 4 above that his definition of parallel fits somewhere between John Hollander’s definition of “echo,” and T. L. Donaldson’s definition of “strong genealogical parallel.” Hollander describes a “kind of rhetorical hierarchy” between quotation, allusion, and echo. Quotation is the most explicit and at the top of the list, whereas the other two are more fragmentary or periphrastic. For Hollander, “in contrast with literary allusion, echo is a metaphor of, and for, alluding, and does not depend on conscious intention. The referential nature of poetic echo, as of dreaming…may be unconscious or inadvertent, but is no less qualified thereby.” Since Owen views the BM as a restoration of an earlier Christian text, it is possible that this version echoed an earlier Jewish version of 2 Esdras/4 Ezra before it was redacted by Christian hands. This would explain the connection to 1 Ne. 13-14 as it stands today, with its lack of tight lexical similarities. If Owen’s argument is to be followed, the state of the relationship between both texts today is probably understood better when described as a “strong genealogical parallel.” This is defined by Donaldson as “a direct, straight-line influence from one element of the parallel to the other; one religious tradition has been directly influenced by, or has clearly appropriated something from, the other at this point.” In Owen’s essay there are no close lexical links to draw upon between 1 Ne. 13-14 and 2 Esdras/4 Ezra, so we cannot discuss quotation, allusion, or echo as the text now stands. Since there are several parallels that are pointed out by Owen, it would be possible to see these parallels as arising from an earlier connection that these two texts would have shared. If JS is restoring an ancient Christian apocryphal work, then the themes of restoration of scripture (particularly esoteric or secret texts) could have easily been utilized by the author(s) of 1 Ne. 13-14. Gee has no introductory remarks for his reader about what is meant by the term “parallel,” and so it is assumed throughout Gee’s comments that “parallel” simply means that JS and scribe simply copied straight out of a KJV of 2 Esdras while working on the text of the BM. This obviously doesn’t hold up once Owen’s essay is understood in full, especially when the reader understands Owen’s fourth option for explaining the literary connections. This means there are connections between these two texts that date well before JS himself. Gee’s assumption of what Owen means by parallel, rather than sticking to Owen’s essay, dictates the way he understands each of the connections Owen makes. Gee also shows a lack of understanding the field of intertextuality, which would have assisted him in understanding Owen’s thesis even more. This will be seen below. For the first parallel noted by Owen Gee states that “Owen’s argument cannot possibly hold.” For him the fact that “Ezra lived about five centuries earlier” is enough to simply dismiss the connection. He fails to realize that these are parallels, not a chronological history. They share themes that tie them together. Besides that fact, 1 Ne. states that the record that “proceed[s] out of the mouth of a Jew,” which is equated with the OT and Ezra by Owen and Reynolds/Sjödahl, leaves the mouth of the Jew “contain[ing] the plainness of the gospel of the Lord…Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles…And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles…there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book…” (1 Ne. 13:23, 25, 26, 28). Owen’s argument, although not completely dependent on a “chronological” reading, actually coheres with the chronology as presented in 1 Ne. Ezra would restore the OT in a post-exilic setting, and then thousands of years in the future JS would also need to restore many of these lost books, especially the BM. It needs to be emphasized, though, that the parallel between the two texts as argued by Owen is based on the theme of restoration. Gee also makes the point that in 2 Esdras/4 Ezra the scriptures are completely destroyed, whereas in 1 Ne. the scriptures remain but need to be restored. This is inaccurate because it does not follow either the BM text or Owen’s argument. Owen is arguing that there are books that are completely lost to the OT, in both 2 Esdras/4 Ezra and 1 Ne. 13-14, which will need to be restored. Gee thinks that Owen has not read the BM carefully enough, but not only does the BM quote some of these lost texts (as noted earlier in this post), the BM is aware that it is a part of these lost books that will later become part of the canon. While we could all use a little more understanding in regards to the BM, Gee’s comment about Owen’s reading of the BM is off base. Owen’s second parallel is then quoted and commented on by Gee. Gee focuses again on “whether a record of any kind survives,” continuing to miss Owen’s point. The connections are thematic, the theme of the destruction of the OT during the Babylonian exile, and then the restoration and hidden nature of several texts at one time included in the OT, is taken up by 1 Ne. 13-14 to explain what would happen once the “state sponsored” Christian church comes into power post-313 CE. For the third parallel Owen argues that “The restoration of scripture will be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit.” In this case he cites 2 Esdras 14:22, 40 and 1 Ne. 13:37, 39, which both discuss the role of the Holy Spirit in restoring these ancient texts. Although Gee notes how both of these texts discuss the importance of the Holy Spirit, he downplays the connection by stating “Nephi sees that his own record will go among the people and that “other books” would come “forth by the power of the Lamb.” For the Book of Mormon, Jesus (the Lamb) and the Holy Ghost are not the same thing.” Gee follows Owen’s statement until Gee’s last sentence. He seems to think that “by the power of the Lamb” simply means by Jesus only, without any action of the Holy Spirit. In only the next chapter of the BM it is apparent that the “power of the Lamb” is the Holy Spirit. 1 Ne. 14:14 says, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb…” Gee’s statement that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are not the same thing in the BM is irrelevant because Nephi is not talking about Jesus when he references the “power of the Lamb” in 1 Ne. 13:39. He misrepresents not only Owen’s essay, but also the BM in this case. For Owen’s fourth parallel Gee again refers to how “Joseph Smith (or an associate) has somehow read about “box trees” and somehow transmitted them into brass plates. That is even more miraculous than being handed actual plates of gold and thinking of plates of brass.” The issue of the “box trees” in the KJV of 2 Esdras has been discussed already in Part I of this response, and therefore does not need to be discussed again. However, it does need to be stressed that Gee misrepresents what Owen is actually arguing in relation to “box trees.” He offers the example that Gee alludes to only as a possible solution (option 3), not the solution. It is difficult to decide how to approach Gee’s response to Owen’s fifth parallel. This was probably one of the most surprising to me, and painful to wrap my mind around. Owen says that “Ezra (the recipient of the revelation) is to dictate the contents of these books to chosen scribes (2 Esdras 14:24). So also Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon (cf. 2 Nephi 3:17; 27:9-10).” In 2 Esdras/4 Ezra 14:24 Ezra is told to take five named scribes with him because they “are ready to write swiftly” (KJV). The connection is made to these BM passages because 2 Ne. 3 is a prophecy of JS, as is 2 Ne. 27 (=Isa. 29) as well. Both of these texts have always been traditionally understood as referring to JS and the translation process of the BM. Gee completely flips this LDS interpretative tradition on its head when he says, While Ezra has a number of scribes to write for him, the passages cited from the Book of Mormon never mention scribes. In one of them Moses is provided with a spokesman because he could not speak well. The other has a book being given to a man but no scribe is mentioned. The two book of Mormon passages are connected with known biblical texts (Exodus and Isaiah). It is both surprising and troublesome that Gee would take this interpretive route. To the reader who does not look the passages up in the BM it seems that Gee is making a good point. What do these texts have to do with 2 Esdras/4 Ezra at all? But this is why Gee’s statements are troublesome. Very few of his readers will check the sources. These BM passages are explicitly about JS, and the context requires the relationship to the scribes of the translation of the BM. In the chapter heading of 2 Ne. 3 we are told “Joseph in Egypt saw the Nephites in vision–He prophesied of Joseph Smith, the latter-day seer; of Moses, who would deliver Israel; and of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. About 588–570 B.C.” Although Joseph (of Egypt) does prophesy of the work that Moses would do, the relevant verses in this chapter that are noted by Owen are specifically about “a Moses,” not the Moses (v. 17). This Moses will be given “power unto him in a rod,” reminiscent of the early version of D&C 8 where Oliver’s gift was “the gift of working with a rod” (“sprout” instead of rod in the earlier version). The context requires that this “Moses” figure is interpreted as JS, and it is said that he will not be “mighty in speaking,” but God “will make a spokesman for him” (2 Ne. 3:17). He will “deliver the words of the book unto another” (2 Ne. 27:9), but these words will not include the sealed portion of the BM (cf. 2 Ne. 27:10a). Both of these chapters in the BM have always been understood as prophecies of JS and the interactions he has with the scribes, primarily Oliver Cowdery, during the translation process of the BM. The connection that Owen makes between 2 Esdras 14:24 and 2 Ne. 3 and 27 is not as strained as Gee makes it appear. In responding to Owen’s sixth parallel Gee again misrepresents the essay. He focuses specifically on the ratio of what is held back in the hidden writings that Ezra is to produce compared to the ratio of what is sealed in the golden plates (one-third to two-thirds, respectively). This has nothing to do with Owen’s argument, as the exact ratios do not matter when the theme of hidden literature is parallel. Gee fails to realize that Owen is here, due to the context of the BM passages, arguing that there is a section of the golden plates (i.e. the sealed portion) that will remain hidden from the world the same as the seventy books that Ezra would keep hidden. Gee could have understood this correctly if he had read the passage of the BM that Owen cited more carefully. Owen connects 2 Esdras 14:26, 45-46 with 1 Ne. 14:26, 28. Unfortunately, Gee misread the BM passage as 1 Ne. 13:26, 28, which he then cites in full. This is a completely different context than 1 Ne. 14, which leads Gee to wrongfully question, “Is Owen trying to argue that God is the great and abominable church?” If Owen had cited 1 Ne. 13 we might plausibly ask that question, but he wasn’t. Instead, he cited 1 Ne. 14. In this passage Nephi describes writings that “are sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel” (v. 26). In this context, God has commanded certain texts to remain hidden. It is surprising that Gee did not catch himself reading the wrong chapter. He cites the correct chapter, 1 Ne. 14, when he quotes Owen’s essay, but then failed to turn to the correct chapter when he made his comparisons. Gee claims that Owen “has misread 4 Ezra/2 Esdras” in Owen’s seventh parallel, where he states that “In order for God’s people to have all the wisdom they need, they must have access both to the public and the esoteric texts dictated by Ezra…” (Owen, 92). Gee argues that Owen has misread the text because in 2 Esdras/4 Ezra “God’s people (or at least the common people) have no need to “have access both to the public and the esoteric texts dictated by Ezra.”” To Gee this is in “stark contrast” to what we find in the BM passage cited by Owen. In the BM the hidden scriptures “refers to those that God will bring forth in the latter days…[and] are given “to all kindreds, tongues, and people.”” In 2 Esdras/4 Ezra 14 seventy of the revealed books are kept secret. It is important to keep in mind, as Michael Stone has pointed out, “that these books, the esoteric ones, are also those which contain saving knowledge.” Although exactly what books are included in the seventy is unclear, many scholars think that the author of 2 Esdras/4 Ezra viewed his book as a part of that group. This is hinted at in 2 Esdras/4 Ezra 12:36-38, where “In that passage Ezra is commanded about the secret transmission of the teaching of the eagle vision. The language used to denote the vision and its transmission is exactly the same as the language used by chapter 14 to describe the transmission of the secret writings.” 2 Esdras/4 Ezra serves, then, as a part of this esoteric tradition, which was important so that “they which will live in the latter days may live” (4 Ezra 14:22, KJV). In the same way, the text of the sealed scriptures or “last records” that are mentioned in the BM will be revealed in the last days for all those who wish to live. In reference to the author of 2 Esdras/4 Ezra, his community needed these hidden records for salvific purposes. The knowledge and wisdom that was held in them would save them in the end. This theme of salvation is also found in the BM text, as the “plain and precious” things are removed from the bible people stumble, “insomuch that Satan hath great power over them” (1 Ne. 13:29). The parallel is much closer than Gee allows in his representation of the text. Owen’s eighth parallel could have been more explicitly stated. He simply says that, The scribes who wrote on the tablets “wrote what was dictated, using characters that they did not know” (2 Esdras 14:42 NRSV; “they wrote the wonderful visions of the night that were told, which they knew not” KJV). So also the Book of Mormon (cf. 1 Nephi 1:2; Mosiah 1:2; Mormon 9:32). To those who are not familiar with the phrase “characters that they did not know” in a post-exilic Israelite context it would be understandable to state as Gee does that “One crucial difference is that while Ezra’s scribes might not have known the characters they were using, the Book of Mormon scribes had all learned them the hard way.” The phrase “characters that they did not know” actually alludes to the Aramaic script that was employed in the post-exilic period, rather than the original paleo-Hebrew. This is also discussed by Stone in his commentary on 2 Esdras/4 Ezra, where he states that, “This is also related to the traditions that set the introduction of the square Aramaic script into the period of Ezra. This is known to the Rabbis and to Jerome and perhaps preserves actual historical memory.” Ezra’s scribes did not simply not understand the characters, they were characters they had learned in a foreign land. They also “learned them the hard way.” This goes along well with the passages that Owen cites from the BM. Although they write in the Hebrew language, the “reformed Egyptian” script are the “characters that they did not know.” Although Owen could have more explicitly stated this in citing the parallel, a reader familiar with 2 Esdras/4 Ezra and early Rabbinic and Christian writers would be familiar with what Owen meant. Gee only gives a passing comment to Owen’s ninth parallel. He fails to include verse 41 of 2 Esdras/4 Ezra 14, which continues to emphasize the mouth of Ezra. Gee simply writes off the parallel with the statement that, “This is a silly argument. Owen teaches (or used to teach) Hebrew. He should recognize this Hebrew idiom (which is also used in other ancient languages).” Because Gee fails to adequately address the parallel and describe why he discards it, it is difficult to fully engage with his reasoning. It can only be noted that the emphasis on the mouth of Ezra in 2 Esdras/4 Ezra 14 does find a parallel to the emphasis on the mouth of “the Jew” in 1 Ne. 13-14. This is the only parallel noted between the two texts in this instance. Owen’s last parallel, number ten, could have been worded more explicitly as well. It seems that the connection he was making between 2 Esdras/4 Ezra 14:5-6, 21-22 and 1 Ne. 14:24-26, 29 was that of the revelation of esoteric writings to an ancient individual, then the revelation of these secrets to a more contemporary author (according to the time of the text). Instead, he simply states the parallel as, “What was previously revealed to Moses is now freshly disclosed to Ezra.” This causes Gee to focus on the difference between the characters in each text. Second Esdras/4 Ezra has Moses as subject, and 1 Ne. has the apostle John as subject. As Gee puts it, “The Book of Mormon refers not to Moses but to John. Nephi refers to an angel, but Ezra never does.” Gee continues to interpret Owen’s parallels through the lens of exact textual borrowing, which Owen clearly states later in the essay that he does not accept. He offers it as a possible solution, option 3, but he does not think that is the best way to understand the parallels. This parallel is presented by Owen to connect the theme of revelation of esoteric doctrine once lost, but restored in the “latter days,” which is found in both the traditions in 2 Esdras/4 Ezra and the BM. The author of 2 Esdras/4 Ezra believed himself to be in the latter days, and the BM is supposed to be revealed and translated in the latter days. Gee claims that Owen’s argument here only works if one assumes his conclusion, and therefore it is circular reasoning. I suggest that Gee is assuming too much about what exactly Owen is concluding. A closer reading of his essay, especially Owen’s sustained argument for option 4 in understanding the relationship of these two texts, would help Gee to understand Owen’s parallels. It is again, as I pointed out in my first post, unfortunate that Gee has misread and badly misrepresented Owen’s essay. Gee takes Owen’s piece as “sleight-of-hand” and an error in the editorial process. Even if one does not agree with Owen’s overall argument in the last half of his paper, that there are strong literary parallels between the books of 2 Esdras/4 Ezra and 1 Ne. 13-14, his essay should at least deserve the respect of a careful reading. The general parallels that he sees between these passages were also noted by two LDS scholars in the past, and they saw the work of Ezra restoring the OT as a fulfillment of Nephi’s prophecy. Although I do not believe myself that every single parallel is as tight as they could be, I found Owen’s paper to be highly thought provoking and insightful especially when I took full consideration of the kinds of parallels he was making (i.e. thematic). I found his conclusions surprising and fascinating. Owen argues that the text of the BM is primarily divine in origin, and ancient in writing, even if he does not think that a historical Nephi wrote 1 Ne. In any case, LDS scholars and interested lay readers alike would do well in the future to not follow the kind of approach that is found in Gee’s two-part response. Although one does not have to conclude the same as the author of every single essay written in the JBMS or any other journal, the arguments presented at least deserve the respect of a close and charitable reading, engaged in a professional and kindly manner. Unfortunately, in my opinion Gee has misrepresented Owen’s essay in a very unprofessional, and non-scholarly way. The first to make the general connection between 1 Ne. 13:23 and ancient Judeo-Christian beliefs about the role of Ezra in restoring the Old Testament (OT) after the Babylonian exile was Reynolds and Sjodahl in their commentary on the Book of Mormon. See the Utah Lighthouse Ministry’s discussion here. There have been reviews of and responses to this work by Latter-day Saints, but none of these have taken the parallels seriously. Owen contributes to this by not only noting a connection not made explicitly prior to his essay, but leaves the possibility of how the parallels came to be open to various lines of interpretation. The implicit connection made by Reynolds and Sjodahl will be discussed further on in the post. Paul Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture: A Thematic Analysis of 1 Nephi 13-14,” in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies Vol. 23 (2014), 81. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 82. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 83-87. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 87-88. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 88-89. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 89. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 90. Stephen E. Robinson, “Early Christianity and 1 Nephi 13-14,” in Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, eds., The Book of Mormon: First Nephi, The Doctrinal Foundation (Provo: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1988),177-191. Rex. C. Reeve, Jr., “The Book of Mormon Plates,” in Nyman and Tate, eds., The Book of Mormon, 103. Robert J. Matthews, “Establishing the Truth of the Bible,” in Nyman and Tate, eds., The Book of Mormon, 205. The allegory is also mentioned in 1 Ne. 10:12-14; and 15:12-18. See 1 Ne. 19:10, 12, 16; Jacob 5:1; 6:1; Alma 33:3, 13, 15; 34:7; Hel. 8:19; 15:11; and 3 Ne. 10:16. See 1 Ne. 19:10; Alma 33:15; 34:7; Hel. 8:20; and 3 Ne. 10:16. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 91. George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjödahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon (7 vols.; ed. Philip C. Reynolds; Salt Lake City: Deseret Press, 1955). See James R. Clark’s book review of the Pearl of Great price commentary by the same editor and commentators in BYU Studies, Vol. 7, No. 1 (1966), 83-84. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 94. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 94. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 95. Emphasis in the original. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 97. John W. Welch, “The Narrative of Zosimus (History of the Rechabites) and the Book of Mormon,” in Noel B. Reynolds, ed., Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins (Provo: FARMS, 1997), 323-374. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 98. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 99. T. L. Donaldson, “Parallels: Use, Misuse and Limitations,” Evangelical Quarterly 55 (1983), 200. John Hollander, The Figure of Echo: A Mode of Allusion in Milton and After (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981), 64. Hollander, The Figure of Echo, 64. Donaldson, “Parallels,” 200. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 92. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 92. See this for more details. Michael E. Stone, Fourth Ezra: A Commentary on the Book of Fourth Ezra (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990), 439. Stone, Fourth Ezra, 439. Stone, Fourth Ezra, 440. Owen, “Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture,” 93. Cf. Stone, Fourth Ezra, 439-440.

Hey there friends and thanks for your patience on getting the next blog to you. With Globetrotters, meetings, and preaching this week I was both exhausted physically and mentally to prepare a blog. So, I'm going to have to stress us out a bit by posting a few today to catch us up so we can stay on track to read the last day together on September 20th. Fortunately, the readings for the next few days are pretty short and can be done in less than 10 minutes each. However you decide to study and "catch back up" I hope you find blessings of growth in your discernment. Thank you again! Today we continue to walk through the book of Hebrews, which as a reminder, is the first epistle we've read so far that is addressed to a Jewish audience rather than a gentile audience. The author of Hebrews is pleading with Jews that are skeptical of Jesus to believe that this new covenant is superior to the one they have followed while still paying respect to its place and purpose for a time. Scripture to Read Questions to Consider What significance or purpose is the author trying to make by suggesting Jesus is greater than Moses? (Hint: What books is Moses credited with authoring?) In your own words: How is Jesus greater than the other prophets? How can you apply today's reading to your life? - Commentary - The Epistle to the Hebrews is often a study in contrasts, and Hebrews 4:12-16 is no exception. In a passage that sets a chilling warning immediately before a great comfort, it is God and the audience’s relationship with him that unites the disparate sections. He, ever judge, can also be experienced as the giver of grace. The terrifying word Hebrews 4:12 and 13 are the culmination of the warning the author has been articulating since the third chapter of this sermon (3:7ff). He desires that his listeners do not replicate the lack of trust displayed by the generation of Israelites who had to wander in the wilderness. God still holds out a place of rest (4:9) if the contemporary descendants of Abraham (2:16) will only keep their hearts tender and free from sin. Whereas vs. 12 is so easily quotable and applicable to all of Scripture, studying its setting in Hebrews reminds the reader of the verse’s seriousness. Here the author compares the word of God to a sword with a sharp blade on each side capable of cutting through bone. Even more terrifying, as it cuts through physical bodies, it can also cut through the human spirit exposing the inner workings of the heart. Just as the animal prepared for sacrifice has its neck stretched back before the point of the blade (4:13), so is everything in creation exposed before the eyes of God. We, he reminds his audience, are a part of this creation, so we are poised under God’s searching word. We will have to give an account of our lives and our hearts. The author has created a multifaceted picture with his use of the term logos. The “word” of God is living and active — terrifying, in fact — and to this logos, all creation, including the author and his congregation, will have to render a logos, an account. Hence, the author of Hebrews seems not to be employing a Johannine Logos. He never, in fact, personifies the logos as equated with Christ. Instead, most often, logos is that which God speaks (Hebrews 2:2; 4:2; 5:13; 7:28; 12:19; 13:7, 17) and here the speech of God is so active that it is able to expose and see all things. He intends his discussion of the word of God to create sobriety. God is speaking to us (1:2); therefore are we ready to stand before his exacting and exposing word? What is the state of our hearts? Are they free from sin? Are they ready to trust in God fully? I can’t help but think his imagery is meant to scare here. Based on other things he says about the audience (5:12), my sense is that this audience may not have had great confidence at this point. The sympathetic priest Therefore, the author throws them a rope. Grasp this, he says: our confession. What have they confessed? That Jesus, the man born into the tribe of Judah (7:14) is in fact the Son of God. He is also the great high priest who serves God in heaven itself. The author proceeds to draw out a vital implication of this confession. This mighty high priest who stands before the face of God is at the same time the high priest who can completely understand the weaknesses of the audience. If they were nervous or ashamed at the prospect of their hearts being laid bare before God, they now hear that One who is God’s own Son understands their weaknesses. His level of understanding, moreover, is not simply academic. He experiences the difficulties that weakness brings because he, too, has experienced temptation and testing in all ways as they have. The author’s language is rather broad and inclusive here. Whatever weakness, whatever secret sin of the heart, whatever lack of trust the word exposed, Jesus, too, has faced. Nevertheless, his participation in weakness is similar to theirs, not the same. His encounter with temptation is homoi, not homo, for he, in his struggle with all variety of weakness, never succumbed to sin. That is how he is able to have passed through the heavens and serve as priest in the very presence of God. He is exactly the kind of priest they need in the situation in which they find themselves. Standing before a God who has spoken to them, whose speech revealed their whole being, who is awaiting a response, the members of the audience who can say nothing in defense of themselves proclaim allegiance to and dependence upon the mediator who sits at God’s right hand. The author wants them to grasp this idea: “Jesus is sympathetic to my situation, but he is not stuck in it. He understands why I made the decisions that I did, but he did not make them.” Their confession of him transforms their stance before God. Whereas fear would be expected, now they can come in boldness. They approach the same living and active God, but now they also know his throne is one of grace. The God who knows all about them, who could demand their lives, gives mercy, favor, and help right when it is needed. Two experiences, one God It would be tempting to turn this warning and comfort into a good cop/bad cop narrative. God is about to punish you, but nice Jesus steps in and convinces him otherwise. This bifurcation, however, does not fit the text for several reasons. First, Jesus is, as the author states, the Son of God, and though the nuances are as precisely articulated as they will be in later centuries, the author has gone to great lengths to proclaim the divinity of Jesus in the first chapter. The Father and the Son are different persons, but they are both God and therefore are never at cross-purposes with one another. Second, it follows that both Father and Son speak the word that exposes the heart and both Father and Son sit on the throne that offers grace and help. The shift occurs because the Father sent the Son to be the great high priest. The details of why this shift can occur have yet to be worked out in the sermon, but this passage provides an important fulcrum. God knows the hearts of all. The question remains for his readers: Are you holding fast to the God-priest who not only knows those hearts, but has done something to cleanse them forever? (Copied from Working Preacher from October 11th 2015. All credit to the original author, Amy L.B Peeler. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-28-2/commentary-on-hebrews-412-16-3) Praying the Hymns Our prayer for today is hymn 336 in our Hymnal - "Of All The Spirits Gifts to Me" 1 Of all the Spirit's gifts to me, I pray that I may never cease to take and treasure most these three: love, joy, and peace. 2 The Spirit shows me love's the root of every gift sent from above, of every flower, of every fruit, that God is love. 3 The Spirit shows if I possess a love no evil can destroy; however great is my distress, then this is joy. 4 Though what's ahead is mystery, and life itself is ours on lease, each day the Spirit says to me, "Go forth in peace!" 5 We go in peace, but made aware that, in a needy world like this, our clearest purpose is to share love, joy, and peace.

December 9, 1999 Nazi in the Catskills Now it turns out that the owner of one of Ellenville's most popular bungalow colonies is a suspected Nazi war criminal. Federal prosecutors charged last month that Mykola Wasylyk, 76, had served as an armed guard in two SS slave-labor camps in his native Poland during World War II, after receiving training at the notorious Trawniki SS training camp. The U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal court on Nov. 18 to revoke Wasylyk's U.S. citizenship, saying he lied about his war crimes when he came here in 1949. It sounds like a scene out of some drugstore thriller, but for attorney Eli Rosenbaum it's just another day's work. Rosenbaum, 46, heads up the Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations (OSI). That's the unit in charge of hunting down former Nazi war criminals and getting them sent back where they came from. This is a strange moment in Nazi-hunting. On one hand, there's more work than ever. Researchers are still digesting evidence newly available from Soviet archives post-Cold War. Huge battles loom with Germany, which is resisting taking back deported Nazis, and with Japan, which hasn't begun to acknowledge its war crimes and help prosecutors. At the same time, there's growing cooperation between Nazi-hunters and the new crop of international war-crimes prosecutors. Much of the expertise at the Bosnian and Rwandan war crimes tribunals comes from government Nazi-hunters. Last month the Senate voted to expand the OSI's mandate and put it in charge of chasing down modern-day war criminals, including Serbs and Rwandans. If the House agrees, the OSI will be in business for a long time to come. And yet, Nazi hunters say, it seems lately the world can't get its attention away from Nazi gold, Nazi art, Nazi bank and insurance looting and other assorted Nazi plunder. Folks forget that people like Eli Rosenbaum are still out there hunting real Nazis. Rosenbaum joined the OSI as a Harvard law student intern when the agency was first set up in 1979. He's been there almost continuously ever since. He now heads a staff of 33, including 11 lawyers and eight professional historians who comb archives for evidence. The job has brought Rosenbaum into contact with some pretty awful characters. They shot and clubbed Jews, herded them into gas chambers, worked them to death, or supervised others who did the dirty work. A few were senior Nazi officials, but most were concentration camp guards and Nazi police goons. They came from Germany and Austria, Lithuania, Poland, Croatia, Ukraine. The OSI found them living new lives in Cleveland and Chicago, Tampa, St. Louis and Brooklyn, not to mention Ellenville. They're all frail old men now. Inside a courtroom they tend to look tiny and lost. But they fight back like tigers. One died after a shootout with police outside his Kansas City home in 1997, just after the OSI filed charges. Another pulled a gun once on Rosenbaum. Two committed suicide when charges were filed. Many beat deportation by dying of old age first. "Our major opponent now is Father Time," says Rosenbaum. Technically, the OSI doesn't prosecute anyone for war crimes. It can only take civil action to strip someone's U.S. citizenship after proving that they committed war crimes and lied about it to immigration. Then they're sent home, hopefully to face prosecution, though few have. Some return to heroes' welcomes and live out their lives in peace. They even get their monthly Social Security checks uninterrupted, if they leave before being deported. Still, OSI is the most successful Nazi-hunting organization in the world, bar none. Over the years it's investigated 1,500 persons and taken action against about 110. Sixty-three have had their citizenship revoked and 52 have been kicked out of the country. Eighteen cases are now in court, and 260 people are under investigation. Four new cases have been filed since August alone. And at a time when nearly every federal government operation is under budgetary siege, Congress recently raised the OSI's $3.7 million annual budget to $5.5 million so it could speed up its work. By contrast, Great Britain dissolved its war-crimes investigation unit this fall after bringing three cases and winning just one. Australia dissolved its war-crimes unit in 1994, having failed to convict or deport a single war criminal. Canada's war-crimes unit is mired in local controversy and hasn't filed a case in several years. Austria hasn't prosecuted a war criminal since the 1970s. Germany is about to convert its war-crimes investigation office into a research archive. "We're speeding up while Europe is shutting down," says Rosenbaum. "Europe has basically abdicated its moral and legal responsibility." The record isn't perfect. OSI's biggest foul-up to date was John Demjanjuk, the Cleveland steelworker identified as the notorious Treblinka guard "Ivan the Terrible." He was deported in 1986 to Israel, where he was publicly tried, convicted and sentenced to die. But Israel's Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1993, saying he wasn't the camp guard named in the indictment. The mix-up prompted a sharp rebuke by a federal judge, who claimed outside influences -- apparently Jewish groups like the Anti-Defamation League -- were improperly influencing OSI decisions. OSI got the allegation withdrawn, and last spring it refiled Demjanjuk's case. But the black eye hurt. OSI's critics -- there are many, particularly in the Ukrainian-American and Baltic-American communities -- say hunting Nazi war criminals has become a pointless vendetta. They often depict the OSI's suspects as patriots who cooperated with Germany to fight off Russia. More often they simply claim it's time to lay the past to rest. Rosenbaum doesn't buy it. "We need to send a message to would-be perpetrators of crimes against humanity that if they dare to act on their pernicious fantasies, there is a real chance that the civilized world will pursue them, if necessary to the farthest corners of the earth, if necessary for the rest of their lives," he says. Yes, even to the Catskills. J.J. Goldberg writes a weekly column for the Jewish Journal.

Left-wing zealots and Ron Paul cultists frequently raise the prospect of dark Jewish conspiracies to bend the free world to Israel’s sinister will, but such conspiracy-mongering is awfully hard to square with the pervasiveness of Jewish support for the anti-Israel Left. Today’s example is Fania Oz-Salzberger, an Israeli academic who, on The Daily Beast, incredibly enough claims Israelis should hang their heads in shame over their government’s recent skirmish at sea with aspiring Muslim terrorists: Raiding ships in international waters (bound for Gaza, I know) loaded with food (and a large supply of knives, I know), and shooting a bunch of Israel-haters (who really went for the kill when the soldiers jumped onto the deck, I know), is not a part of my civil contract with my government. Security? No thanks; you have just stretched the concept a few nautical miles too far. Here’s the thing: Unsavory protesters disguised as humanitarian “peace activists” do not deserve to be shot. If Messrs. Netanyahu and Barak think they can use my taxes and deploy my defense forces in this way, I can only hang my head in genuine embarrassment. The army in which I served, which will soon enlist my children, is only good for one thing: to fight those who are aiming a gun at me. Not those who dislike me, demonize me, or hope to see me dead. Only the gun-wielders. The author alludes to the not-quite-altruistic motives of the Turkish flotilla crew, but the full extent of their “unsavory” background cannot be understated. The flotilla had links to known financers of terrorisme, and many of the individuals aboard reportedly had their own jihadist ties. We know they attacked first, and did so viciously. Oz-Salzberger can pontificate all she wants about how the character of the “victims” is immaterial, but that’s obviously not true; it speaks directly to whether or not the Israelis have a right to control who brings what into Gaza, and whether or not they’re justified in keeping lethal force (and, er, not-so-lethal force) on the table. Until the professor supplements the hand-wringing with germane facts, the answer remains a resounding “yes” on both counts. Elsewhere at the The Daily Beast website, Andrew Roberts counterbalances the hysteria with sanity, pointing out that blockades are entirely legitimate military measures (also legal, by the way) and that the Gaza blockade pales in comparison to the devastation imposed by blockades during World War II, and reiterating the magnitude of the threat Israel faces: Consider that Israel, at a total population of 7.3 million, is under one-fortieth the size of the USA, at over 300 million. Now consider that Hamas and Hizbollah have fired over 6,000 rockets into Israel since 2007. Now multiply 6,000 by 40, and try to consider what any American President—even Barack Obama—would not have done if Canada were to have fired nearly a quarter of a million rickets at America over the past three years, killing tens of thousands of innocent American citizens and ignoring every warning to stop? Blockade? There’d have been a full-scale invasion years ago, and anybody suggesting that under those circumstances America should start dealing “with both wings of the Canadian national movement without preconditions” would be rightly written off as an appeaser or traitor. This is not, as Israel-hating smear-blogger Andrew Sullivan asserted, a case of Israelis killing people “because they don’t like them.” Even if the passengers weren’t bad guys, they still made the decision to respond to a known blockade in a war zone with hostility—signs either of a death wish or grade-A Darwin Award material. Nobody ignorant of the stakes, the dangers, and the potential consequences had any business there to begin with, and the IDF has too much on the line to coddle every idiot who gives indications they might be a threat, however inadvertent (which, again, these guys most certainly were not). That the commandos were armed with paintball guns demonstrates the pains to which Israel goes to avoid needless deaths. Never mind; Oz-Salzberger knows who the real victims are: The Israeli-Egyptian siege of Gaza was wrong, and must end. All civilian goods should be allowed in, the seriously sick should be rushed to Israeli hospitals, and laborers and students must be searched, airport-style, and let through. Rocket-shooters deserve response by kind. The obnoxious Hamas cannot be pressured into disappearance by making Gaza’s hapless denizens suffer. An honest Israeli should apologize to every innocent Gazan, even if Gaza’s leaders and other Palestinian terrorists will never beg pardon for their numerous Israeli victims. Human decency is not a bargaining chip. It’s an odd sort of “siege” in which the five ships prior to this one get allowed through without incident. The truth is that there’s no dearth of peaceful goods in Gaza (indeed, “When, earlier today, the IDF brought the cargo from the ships to Rafah to transfer it to Gazans, Hamas … refused the shipment”), but they’ve also got plenty of weapons. (Dennis Prager has more insight on Jewish concern for Palestinian welfare—and how the Palestinians return the favor— that demands widespread attention.) If this is what passes for an “Israeli patriot” on the Left, I’d hate to see their idea of an Israeli traitor.

Outgoing US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday defended last-ditch Obama administration action against Israeli settlements, saying that it “really was important for us to make a statement and frankly ignite a debate. And I think that debate is now on.” Kerry appeared to be referring to Washington’s decision to withhold its veto in the United Nations Security Council last month, allowing an anti-settlements resolution to pass, and a recent wide-ranging speech at the State Department skewering the settlements as a central obstacle to peace. In an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Kerry said Israeli policies on settlements are a “recipe for permanent insurgency, permanent conflict” with the Palestinians. The interview — Kerry’s last before the Friday inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump — came two days after a peace summit in Paris, during which the highest-ranking US diplomat called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reassure him there would not be any followup action to the gathering of 70 countries and that Washington would oppose any further political action at the Security Council. Kerry said Sunday that the United States had negotiated at the Paris summit to prevent Israel being treated unfairly. The conference ended with a mild joint declaration on both sides to keep the two-state solution alive, a formulation hailed by Israeli officials. Netanyahu had unleashed a furious attack on the Obama administration after Resolution 2334 cleared the council. The prime minister has accused Washington of drafting and advancing the resolution, allegations the US administration has rejected. Kerry on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to the settlements, accusing Israel of “eating up” large portions of the West Bank. “We saw a process taking place whereby the West Bank is slowly and steadily being eaten up,” Kerry told interviewer Thomas Friedman of The New York Times, “where municipal boundaries of settlements are being expanded, well beyond the settlement buildings themselves. “Most of the West Bank has been reserved for the exclusive use of Israel. That’s not a Palestinian state,” he added. As a result, “it really was important for us to make a statement and frankly ignite a debate. And I think that debate is now on,” Kerry said. Doubling down on his criticism of what he maintains is an emerging de facto binational state, Kerry continued: “Let me say to my friends in Israel: You cannot be a unitary state and be democratic and Jewish at the same time. You can’t do it. “That’s a recipe for permanent insurgency, permanent conflict. And unfortunately, in the majority of the cabinet has already declared they don’t believe in two states. But the majority of Israelis do believe in two states. The majority of American Jews believe in two states. And so all we’re trying to do is preserve what is the broadly accepted remedy for this conflict, that has been accepted by people all over the world,” he said. Kerry said that as secretary of state, he had spent more than 300 hours talking to Netanyahu about peace. The two have had “real moments,” Kerry said, adding that they considered each other “friends.” He said he warned Netanyahu that he was “changing the peace map,” and “doing it unilaterally.” He recalled tell the prime minister that “if you continue to do that, you’re going to have trouble also with us because our credibility is on the line. We can’t say we’re against settlements and then turn around and turn away from an effort to try and do something about it while you continue to build.” During the interview, Kerry also cast doubt on the administration of Donald Trump moving to quickly reverse some of the Obama administration’s diplomatic achievements. “I just don’t believe” it, Kerry said. If, for example, the Trump administration tried to dismantle the Iran nuclear agreement, Kerry said, he would bet that other countries that helped strike the deal would move to keep it, leaving the United States as “the odd person out.” “We’ll have injured our own credibility,” he said. Agencies contributed to this report.

2 edition of Description of H.R. 4823, the Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act of 2002 found in the catalog. Description of H.R. 4823, the Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act of 2002 |Other titles||Description of HR 4823, the "Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act of 2002"| |Contributions||United States. Congress. Joint Committee on Taxation| |The Physical Object| The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill to help Holocaust survivors and the families of victims obtain restitution or the return of Holocaust-era assets, JTA reported. Year book of the Scottish Congregational Church. Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act New letters of David Hume Cast, in order of disappearance Price volatility in the silver futures market Go for It! (Images) 5th International Symposium on Seismic Reflection Probing of the Continents and their Margins Wulfstan manuscript containing institutes, laws and homilies. Reciprocal coal with Canada would give the New England states cheaper fuel history of the 33rd Division, A.E.F. Women of Ideas Days of Winter Kobzar of the Ukraine Practical mechanical engineering Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act of - Amends the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of (Public Law ) to make the sunset provisions inapplicable to sectionwhich excluded from income, under the Internal Revenue Code, specified restitution payments received by persons (or heirs) persecuted by Nazi Germany, its allied or controlled countries, or any. H.R. (th). To repeal the sunset of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of with respect to the exclusion from Federal income tax for restitution received by victims of the Nazi Regime. This Description of H.R. 4823 may be cited as the ‘Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness The Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act of 2002 book of ’. SEC. REPEAL OF APPLICABILITY OF SUNSET OF THE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND TAX RELIEF RECONCILIATION ACT OF WITH RESPECT TO EXCLUSION FROM FEDERAL INCOME TAX FOR RESTITUTION RECEIVED BY VICTIMS OF NAZI REGIME. Get this Description of H.R. 4823 a library. Description of H.R. the. Material Type: Document, Government publication, National government publication, Remote-sensing image, Internet resource. H.R. - Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act of (Rep. Shaw (R) Florida) The Administration strongly supports House passage of H.R. which will ensure that victims of the Holocaust and their families are permanently relieved of the unfair burden of taxation of restitution. Description: Description Of H.R. The "Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act Of " Submitted On: J File Size: Kb File Type: pdf By Year; Estimating Methodology; Macroeconomics; Tax Expenditures; Bluebooks; President's Budget. A farm bill, for instance, might contain provisions that affect the tax status of farmers, their management of land or treatment of the environment, Description of H.R. 4823 system of price limits or supports, and so on. Each of these individual Description of H.R. 4823 would, logically, belong in a different place in the Code. Description Of H.R. The "Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act Of " JCX (J ) Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R."Repealing The Sunset Related To The Expansion Of Adoption Benefits". (th). A bill to repeal the sunset of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of with respect to the exclusion from Federal income tax for restitution received by victims of the Nazi Regime. Ina database of bills in the U.S. Congress. The Senate on November 20 approved, by unanimous consent, a measure to repeal the sunset of an exclusion from federal income tax for restitution received by Holocaust victims. The Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Bill (Sen ) makes permanent the provision originally included in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of DESCRIPTION OF H.R.THE the Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act of 2002 book RESTITUTION TAX FAIRNESS ACT OF ” Present Law Exclusion from Federal income tax for restitution received by victims of the Nazi regime. The restitution payments stem from World War II and are part of an on-going program by nations and industries that benefited from the forced labor or property confiscation of Nazi-era victims to compensate the Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act of 2002 book victims. or by calling TAX-FORM (). The Holocaust Era Asset Restitution Taskforce or Project HEART was a Holocaust restitution project that was created by a decision of the Israeli Government to locate Holocaust victims and their heirs and the property that was taken from them during the Holocaust and to assist in obtaining restitution for that property. Holocaust Restitution is the first volume to present the Holocaust restitution movement directly from the viewpoints of the various parties involved in the campaigns and settlements. Now that the Holocaust restitution claims are closed, this work enjoys the benefits of hindsight to provide a definitive assessment of the movement.5/5(1). DEFINITION of Holocaust Restitution Payments. Holocaust Restitution Payments is money paid by the governments of Germany and Austria to partly compensate victims persecuted by Nazi Germany or its allies. In addition to c;aims for persecution, restitution payments are also made to compensate for lost housing, destroyed businesses and liquidated bank : Will Kenton. Jun H RES On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree P Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that improving mens health through fitness and the reduction of. Holocaust Restitution & Reparations: How to File a Restitution Claim Insurance Claims. The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims handles insurance claims of Holocaust victims, survivors and their heirs or beneficiaries. For claim forms and more information, call toll-free in the United States, () Compensation and Restitution for Victims of the Holocaust Ambassador Edward B. O’Donnell, Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Remarks at the Claims Conference Board of Directors Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York, New York J Introduction. I am honored to have been asked to address the Claims Conference Board of Directors. Some Measure of Justice: The Holocaust Era Restitution Campaign of the s (George L. Mosse Series in Modern European Cultural and Intellectual History) [Marrus, Michael R., Schabas, William A.] on *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Some Measure of Justice: The Holocaust Era Restitution Campaign of the s (George L. Mosse Series in Modern European Cultural and Cited by: 9. Start studying Chapter 25 Section 3: The Holocaust. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Shown Here: Introduced in House (10/13/) Holocaust Victim Insurance Relief Act of - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Commerce jointly to establish a central public registry containing records and information relating to insurance policies of living and deceased victims of the Holocaust, to be known as the Holocaust Insurance Registry. Tax Exemptions United States. Restitution payments paid to a Nazi victim, his or her heirs or estate, are not subject to federal income tax. See IRS Publication at page This exclusion includes payments made by a foreign government, the United States, or any foreign or domestic entity. Certain types of interest earned on these payments is also excluded from income tax, but this. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was established as an independent Federal establishment of the United States by Public Law94 Stat.October 7,as amended, codified at 36 U.S.C. seq. (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”). The Act was amended by Public Law95 Stat. taxation enacted in Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act, Sec. (News release includes actual text of law). This provision of the law originally had a "sunset clause," but was extended indefinitely under the the "Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act of " -- see this link. See also IRS Publication (see page. Holocaust Reparations — Income. Holocaust Restitution Payments are monies paid as compensation to victims who were persecuted by Nazi Germany or its allies. Restitution payments are made to compensate for the loss of liberty or damage to health caused by National Socialist (Nazi) persecution; returns of tangible or intangible property seized. "Dec. 17,(H.R. )." " Stat. " "Public Law " Description: 1 unnumbered leaf ; 24 cm: Other Titles: Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act of Reviews. User-contributed reviews Tags. Add tags for "An Act to Repeal the Sunset of the. these documents are already available in the archives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which is currently in the process of building up and cataloguing a unique collection of material on the Holocaust. At the moment, historians of the Holocaust are trying to integrate this new material from Eastern Europe into their work. Section 4(1) authorises the citation of this Act by a short title. Section 4(3) confers a power on the Secretary of State to appoint the day on which sections 1 to 3 of the Act come into force. This power was fully exercised by the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Introduced by: Andrew Dismore. A second supplemental payment of Euro 1, was announced in September This supplemental compensation is being sent to Jewish victims of Nazi persecution from Austria who received the $7, No application form is required. Heirs are eligible. Nationalfonds der Republik Oesterreich Parliament. A Vienna, Austria. S. (th). A bill to provide redress for inadequate restitution of assets siezed by the United States Government during World War II which belonged to victims of the Holocaust, and for other purposes. Ina database of bills in the U.S. Congress. Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 22 USC note. Dec. 16, [H.R. ] dkrause on DSKHT7XVN1PROD with PUBLAWS VerDate Sep 11 Jkt PO Frm Fmt Sfmt E:\PUBLAW\PUBL PUBL Among the issues included were the history of the Holocaust, the theological issues that arose from it, contemporary literature and the Holocaust, the ancient roots of the Holocaustt, religious anti-Semitism, the rise of National Socialism, and much book was intended for use in courses on the Holocaust in colleges and by: Sixteen European countries and Israel have laws against Holocaust denial, the denial of the systematic genocidal killing of approximately six million Jews in Europe by Nazi Germany in the s and s. Many countries also have broader laws that criminalize genocide the countries that ban Holocaust denial, some, such as Austria, Germany, Hungary, and Romania, were among the. H.R Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of SEC. NO FEDERAL INCOME TAX ON RESTITUTION RECEIVED BY VICTIMS OF THE NAZI REGIME OR THEIR HEIRS OR ESTATES. (a) IN GENERAL- For purposes of the Internal Revenue Code ofany excludable restitution payments received by an eligible individual (or the individual's heirs. Text of S. (th): Holocaust Victims Redress Act as of (Passed Congress version). (th): Holocaust Victims Redress Act. Holocaust Restitution Committee Quick Facts. place. New York, NY Summary. Programs + Results. Financials. Operations. Mission. This organization has not provided GuideStar with a mission statement. Ruling Year Principal Officer Edward Klein. Main Address. Madison Ave. New York, NY The Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of (H.R. ): Holocaust Era Insurance Restitution After Icheic, the International Commission on Holo on *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. S — th Congress () Holocaust Restitution Tax Fairness Act of Sponsor: Sen. Fitzgerald, Peter [R-IL] (Introduced 06/04/) Cosponsors: Committees: Senate - Finance Latest Action: House - 11/22/ Held at the desk. (All Actions) Notes: For further action, see H.R. which became Public Law on 12/17/ The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law explores the challenge posed by the Holocaust to legal and political thought by examining issues raised by the restitution class action suits brought against Swiss banks and German corporations before American federal courts in the gh the suits were settled for unprecedented amounts of money, the defendants did not formally assume any legal. Marion Prichard reflects on rescue, heroism, and the choices she and others in German-occupied Amsterdam made during the Holocaust (Spanish available). (4) The same year, Congress enacted the Holocaust Pdf Redress Act (Public Law –, Stat. pdf, which expressed the sense of Congress that “all governments should undertake good faith efforts to facilitate the return of private and public property, such as works of art, to the rightful owners in cases where assets were confiscated.Holocaust Representation brilliantly rethinks and redirects that flourishing new genre, the book about Holocaust writing." (Herbert Lindenberger, Stanford University) "Berel Lang offers a compellingly original, subtle, and provocative meditation on those historical and ethical constraints that invariably limit the representation of the Cited by: WJRO represents ebook Jewry in pursuing claims for the recovery of Jewish properties ebook Europe (outside of Germany and Austria). WJRO was established by leading world Jewish organizations to address the restitution of Jewish property and to remind the world that the time has come to redress the enormous material wrongs caused to European Jewry during the Holocaust.

The Supreme Court ordered Wednesday an additional hearing on the ruling that permitted the opening of stores in Tel Aviv on Shabbos. “Whatever the result, the [status of] Shabbos, whose importance in Judaism in irrefutable, deserves to be discussed and clarified, with all opinions presented to the court,” wrote Justice Elyakim Rubinstein in his decision. The decision sought to resolve an ongoing battle over the local law, which was passed three years ago. Two governments and five different interior ministers were unable to bring the issue to a resolution. Interior Minister Rabbi Aryeh Deri welcomed the decision of the High Court. “I’m happy that the court accepted my request to discuss the issue again. As I claimed the whole time, a decision on such a fundamental matter from a Jewish and social perspective should be taken in a broader panel after hearing all possible claims. I hope to persuade the judges to leave the status quo as it is and not harm the sanctity of the Shabbos as well as the Work and Rest Hours Law.” Rabbi Deri had demanded that the authorization to enforce the law against stores that are mechallel Shabbos be transferred to his ministry.

Visiting the Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught is a sobering and surreal experience. The former Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch camp, operated by the occupying Nazi forces between January 1943 – September 1944, is located in pretty woodlands. To reach the camp, I’d cycled through picturesque countryside and along a tranquil canal passing dog walkers and other cyclists. It’s almost unimaginable to think of the multiple horrors that were carried out in these peaceful surroundings, but Kamp Vught was the scene of barbarity that is difficult to grasp. This was the only SS concentration camp outside of Nazi Germany and, in the eighteen months of its operations, more than 32,000 men, women and children were sent to the camp. Approximately 12,000 of these people were Jews, sent here before being sent to the death camps in Eastern Europe. The rest of Kamp Vught’s inmates were resistance fighters, political prisoners, Roma, criminals, and a variety of others whom the Nazis deemed unacceptable. As with other camps, prisoners were forced to wear coloured triangles on their prison clothes to identify their category of ‘crime’. Conditions at the camp were horrifying. Unlike other camps outside Germany, Kamp Vught was run exclusively by SS troops, who seemed to take pleasure in extreme punishments. The camp had three different SS commanders over its lifespan, including the notorious SS-Untersturmführer Karl Chmielewski, who came with a reputation for sadism gained at Mauthausen–Gusen concentration camp in Austria. During his time prisoners could expect overcrowded and unsanitary living quarters, appalling working conditions and severe beatings. Food was rarely more than watery soup. It’s no surprise that hundreds of people died of starvation and disease. Others were executed by firing squad at a location deep in the surrounding woods. There is a small museum that tells the story of Kamp Vught, and there’s an excellent audio guide that explains the workings of the camp and its buildings. It also provides personal stories from some of the survivors. It’s a very moving and emotional experience, and it doesn’t pull any punches when describing the inhumanity and suffering witnessed here. Of the many incidents of barbarity, one stands out. The ‘bunker tragedy’ came about when a female inmate was sent to the camp prison (the ‘bunker’), provoking a protest by other women. Camp commander Grünewald, retaliated by forcing 74 women into cell number 115. It was tiny, with little ventilation. The screams of the women could be heard around the camp. When the cell was opened on January 16, 1944, ten women were dead. The tragedy became propaganda for the Allies, the embarrassment to the German authorities saw Grünewald sentenced to prison. A punishment later revoked by Himmler. Equally notorious were the two ‘kinder transports’, when camp authorities transported Jewish children to death camps in the East. One of the transports left on the 5th and 6th June, 1943. The parents were told that the children were being sent to a special children’s camp. Instead, at least 1,269 Jewish children were sent to the Westerbork transit camp, also in the Netherlands. Afterwards they were deported to Sobibor in Poland, where the majority were sent to the gas chambers almost immediately upon arrival. As I walked around the camp, I had to remind myself that I was still in the Netherlands. The German’s recruited local labourers to build the camp, they thought that this was simply an army barracks. It wasn’t long before trains started arriving at the nearby town of Vught though, their tragic human cargo marched through the town towards the camp. It’s impossible to imagine how the knowledge of what was happening at the camp impacted the local community, but people learned to keep their windows closed on days when the wind blew the crematorium smoke in their direction. A surprise for me was that part of Kamp Vught was used for specialised work, including salvaging parts from crashed planes and making radios for the German war effort. The radios were made using the slave labour of former workers from the Philips factories in Eindhoven. Many of these skilled specialists were Jewish. Philips negotiated improved conditions for the prisoners who worked in the radio factory, but for Jews who worked here it was only a temporary reprieve. As the Allies got closer to liberating the camp, Jewish workers were summarily despatched to the death camps. This act was committed by SS-Untersturmführer, Hans Hüttig, who was responsible for evacuating the camp before the Allies reached it. As the Allied invasion gained pace so too did the murders at Kamp Vught. Hüttig executed well over three hundred people between July and September of 1944. Days before the camp was liberated, over 3,400 jewish inmates were sent to Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen death camps. One final act of barbarity that brought this period of the camp’s history to a close. When Allied forces finally arrived, there were only a few of people left to bare witness to what had happened in this peaceful corner of the Netherlands. It is the ordinariness of the setting that Kamp Vught occupies that is most shocking; the knowledge that this could, did, happen in the most ordinary of places. This, perhaps, is the most compelling reason why a visit to Kamp Vught today is important. We must remind ourselves of the need for constant vigilance to prevent these horrors from happening again.

The University of Colorado School of Law will honor distinguished alumni at the Law Alumni Awards Banquet on March 14. Joseph Neguse, a University of Colorado Regent, will be honored with the Distinguished Recent Alumni Award. William "Bill" Johnson, a partner of Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP, will be honored with the William Lee Knous Award, the law school’s highest honor. Proceeds from this year’s banquet will benefit the David H. Getches scholarship fund. Getches, who was dean of Colorado Law until June 30, established the scholarship just prior to his untimely death on July 5. The National Trial Advocacy College at the University of Virginia School of Law has given its Hon. William J. Brennan, Jr. Award to Hon. Russell Carparelli of the Colorado Court of Appeals.The award is given to judges, public officials, and private practitioners in recognition of their outstanding skills as trial lawyers and members of the judiciary, as well as their contributions to the National Trial Advocacy College and the legal profession. Greenberg Traurig shareholder Neil Oberfeld has been named chair of the prestigious Jewish Life Committee for Rose Community Foundation. The education advocacy group Stand for Children announced that Paul Lhevine will be the new executive director for the Colorado office. The Colorado Civil Justice League, a tort reform group that represents the Colorado business community, selected Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell associate Evan Stephenson as its 2011 "Lawyer of the Year." This award recognizes Stephenson’s contributions to CCJL including his speaking, advocacy, and advisory roles for the organization. Gibson Dunn is pleased to announce that Monica K. Loseman has been promoted to partner. Loseman practices in the areas of securities litigation, accountant liability, and general commercial litigation. In addition, the firm is pleased to announce that Tafari Lumumba, Bryan McCutcheon, and Josh Mitchell have joined as associates. Chipman Glasser, LLC is pleased to announce that Reid Allred has joined the firm as an associate. Allred’s practice will continue to focus on complex commercial litigation. Jones & Keller, P.C. is pleased to announce that Perry L. Glantz and Lucas T. Ritchie are shareholders of the firm and Daniel C. Wenoggle has joined as an associate. Perry focuses his litigation and trial practice on business disputes involving banking, employment, environmental, intellectual property, and oil and gas matters. Ritchie focuses his litigation and trial practice on business disputes involving employment, securities, health care, and motor carrier and transportation matters. Wenoggle is a litigator who focuses his practice on disputes involving construction projects and property rights. Rumler Tarbox Lyden Law Corporation P.C. is pleased to announce Kimberly V. Sparks has joined the firm as an associate specializing in tax and business planning. Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti P.C. is pleased to announce the addition of three new directors: Julie E. Gifford, Amanda L. Smith, and Kimberly A. Martin. All three have distinguished themselves in their contributions to the firm and the community. Gordon and Rees LLP is pleased to announce that Heidi A. Chesley has been named a partner in the Denver office. Livingston Keithley has been elected partner at Kelly, Stacy & Rita, LLC. His practice will continue to focus on commercial litigation, representation in disputes of closely held companies, and representation of companies in employment matters and disputes. Replin & Rhoades, LLC proudly announced that it has elected senior associate attorney David Ratner a partner of the firm. Ratner’s practice concentrates on advising both creative and general business clients in all aspects of intellectual property and small business law. Abraham J. Laydon has become a shareholder and director of Burns, Figa & Will, P.C. Laydon practices in the areas of commercial and residential real estate, litigation and alternative dispute resolution, business law (for both nonprofit and for-profit entities), and estate planning. Kutak Rock LLP recently hired Meshach Rhoades, of counsel. Rhoades joined the litigation group and will focus her practice on telecommunications and commercial litigation. Featherstone Petrie DeSisto, LLP would like to announce that Courtney A. Levkulich and Matthew A. Morr have become partners of the firm. Andrew C. Elliott has been elected shareholder in the Denver office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. Elliott is a member of the corporate and business, tax, and finance groups. Elkind Alterman Harston P.C. is pleased to announce the addition of Camila S. Palmer as an associate to its immigration practice. Lapin Lapin, P.C. is pleased to announce that Theresa L. Corrada has joined the firm, of counsel. Corrada has 19 years of experience in employment law and general commercial litigation and also arbitrates employment cases for the American Arbitration Association. Moye White LLP, announced the appointment of two new partners, Shannon M. Bell and Marian C. "Mimi" Larsen. Larsen practices in the transaction section, focusing on complex real estate matters, energy and natural resources law, commercial matters, and regulatory compliance. As a member of the firm’s trial section, Bell provides representation in high-value civil and commercial litigation, lender liability, officer/director liability, construction defect cases, land disputes, employment, and insurance defense matters. Ruegsegger Simons Smith & Stern, LLC is pleased to announce that Vito Racanelli has become a member of the firm. His practice will continue to include the defense of workers’ compensation claims and other insurance defense matters. Holland & Hart is pleased to welcome Jonathan Anderson, Kelly Dickson Cooper, Stephanie Edinger, Peggy Gardner, Christina Gomez, J. Lee Gray, Mark Hamilton, Joe Ramirez, and Sandi Snodgrass to the firm’s partnership. The new partners represent a full range of Holland & Hart’s practice areas. Caplan and Earnest, LLC is very pleased to announce that Brad Hendrick has been named a member of the firm. Hendrick has been practicing immigration law since 2002. Jackson Kelly PLLC is pleased to announce that Karen L. Johnston was recently elected to the firm’s executive committee. Johnston’s practice focuses exclusively on occupational safety and health and related civil, criminal, and administrative litigation. Hillyard, Wahlberg, Kudla, Sloane & Woodruff, P.C. is pleased to announce that David S. Woodruff has become a partner in the firm. Woodruff will continue to focus his practice on medical malpractice, product liability, and other catastrophic personal injuries. Miles & Peters, P.C. is pleased to announce that Scott Loftin has joined the firm as an associate. Loftin’s practice focuses on the health care industry, specifically in the areas of regulatory compliance, business planning and commercial transactions, government relations, Medicare/Medicaid certification and reimbursement, and civil litigation. Kutak Rock LLP hired David Kay, an associate, in the construction litigation group. Kay focuses his practice on complex commercial and construction litigation representing owners, corporations, general contractors, and subcontractors. In addition, the firm elected four new partners, Kristin G. Caid, A. Ann Hered, Heather L. Kendrick, and Jeremy D. Peck. Caid practices in public finance; Hered focuses on federal tax issues; Kendrick focuses on commercial real estate; and Peck practices in federal and state civil litigation, including bankruptcy cases and adversary proceedings. Alderman Bernstein, LLC is pleased to announce that Jessica D. Kosares has joined the firm as an associate. Kosares will be practicing in the areas of eminent domain and condemnation law, real estate litigation, land use litigation, and real estate transactional work. BRICKS & MORTAR Ayo Labode is pleased to announce the establishment of The Law Office of Ayo Labode, LLC specializing in elder law. Labode is a former ombudsman, an advocate for nursing home residents, and has extensive experience working with nursing home issues. The Nelson Law Firm, LLC would like to congratulate Eric and Kacie Ballou on the birth of their son, Grayson Charles Ballou, on Dec. 10. The firm also congratulates Mark and Colleen Nelson on the birth of their twins, James Robert Nelson and Caroline Amanda Nelson, on Jan. 3. There is definitely something in the water. If you are a Denver Bar attorney member and you’ve moved, been promoted, hired an associate, taken on a partner, received a promotion or award, or begun service on a new board, we’d love to hear from you. Talks, speeches, CLE presentations, and political announcements, due to their sheer number, cannot be included. In addition, The Docket cannot print notices of honors determined by other publications (e.g., Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, etc.) again due to volume. Notices are printed at no cost but must be submitted in writing and are subject to editing and space available. Send all notices to Kate Schuster at email@example.com by the 1st day of the month.

In October 2009, I joined the Friends Council SPARC Program 2009-2011 cohort, along with two colleagues who also served on Lincoln School’s Quaker Life and Education Committee. Over the course of two years we traveled together in the fall and spring to join the members of our cohort on retreats inspired by the work of Parker Palmer. The first and last of our journeys were spent at Pendle Hill, amidst the beauty of the arboretum and embraced by its Quaker community. The seashore at Cape May, New Jersey was the setting for the retreats in-between. For me, these days were filled with many gifts. The natural world has always nourished and inspired me and the gift of time, devoted to reflection and learning surrounded by trees and ocean song filled my heart and engaged my spirit. “At a certain point you say to the woods, to the sea, to the mountains, the world. Now I am ready. Now I will stop and be wholly attentive. You empty yourself and wait, listening.” These words of Annie Dillard became my meditation. During our retreats we were called upon to look at the varied dimensions of our lives as human beings, as teachers and as learners and to be cognizant of the many experiences that contributed to our life’s compositions. Our group represented a range of disciplines and grade levels taught. I was excited to meet others whose work like mine, had been inspired by the early childhood schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. We were invited to share teaching practices and to co- construct our SPARC experience with each other and our facilitators. Threading through all of our encounters was mutual respect and our communal desire to find ways to bring to life the Quaker testimonies in our lives and in those of our students. Over time, members of our group also introduced us to such things as the Harkness Method, the Jewish practice of sacred text reading known as Hevruta, Mindfulness practice and the research of Harvard’s Project Zero. Our days were filled with opportunities for quiet, solitary contemplation, focused and thoughtful conversation, exploration through poetry and art materials, worship sharing and Meeting for Worship. Together, we grew as a learning community bound by our shared love of our teaching profession, for the children with whom we spend our days and for the Quaker values woven into the tapestry of our individual schools. Giovonne Mary Calenda At a Friends school, one may often hear community members speaking about SPICES. Upon hearing this, you may wonder if they are sharing recipes using cardamom or nutmeg and the like or discussing a cooking class on campus. They may very well be, but at a Quaker school, conversation about SPICES most likely refers to the acronym for the Quaker testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, Service and Stewardship of the Earth. Testimonies refer to the ways that Quakers "let their lives speak" by putting put their beliefs into action in daily life. En francais Epicess Service aux autres Below, are some thoughts for contemplation and inspiration. - 'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, - 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, - And when we find ourselves in the place just right, - 'Twill be in the valley of love and delight. - When true simplicity is gain'd, - To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd, - To turn, turn will be our delight, - Till by turning, turning we come round right. - ~Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett "The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." "Live simply that others may simply live." "We can do no great things, only small things with great love." It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." "I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men." "Never separate the life you live from the words you speak." "How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment: we can start right now, start slowly changing the world! How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make a contribution toward introducing justice right away." The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour. ~Japanese Proverb "Perhaps community is a constellation. Each one of us is a light in the emerging collective brightness. A constellation of light has the greater power of illumination than any single light would have on its own. Together we increase brightness." "We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community." " The I that is we." ~translated from the Italian "Io che siamo." "When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. When our community is in a state of peace, it can share peace with neighboring communities." ~The Dalai Lama " Depth of understanding involves the ability to experience the curiosity, passions, joys and angers of others with a process, not of passive acceptance but, indeed involves the process of empathy, of perception and identification, of human understanding. Always intersubjective, human understanding requires openness, sympathy, generosity. The children, the women and men of today, more than ever, need understanding on the part of other people who have open hearts and minds, people who know how to recognize their own personal and cultural limitations." “Learn to be quiet enough to hear the sound of the genuine within yourself so that you can hear it in other people.” ~Marian Wright Edelman "What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?" "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. It is the only thing that ever has." "You must be the change you wish to see in the world" "The only gift is a portion of thyself." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson "If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain. "I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." ~Etienne de Grellet Stewardship of the Earth "In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, one finds it attached to the rest of the world." "What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset." ~Crowfoot, of the Blackfoot Nation INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE 21 SEPTEMBER 2011 This year we joined schools around the world to celebrate the International Day of Peace. All members of our community were invited to make colorful pinwheels with messages of peace written on them. When the pinwheels were completed, they were put out on the front lawn of Lincoln to send the words of peace out to the world. Our entire school community gathered together in silence for this event and then sang Simple Gifts. It was a beautiful, shared experience for us all. Below, you will find the words of peace shared by the children of the Oak, Ginkgo and Kindergarten classrooms.

Sheila Bristow is a church musician, accompanist, and composer living in Tacoma, WA. She holds degrees in composition and organ performance from Cornish College of the Arts and the University of Washington. Ms. Bristow is an Affiliate Artist at Pacific Lutheran University, where she works with young singers in recital and on the opera stage. She also serves as Organist & Choirmaster at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Kenmore, and sings with Choral Arts. Cellist Rich Eckert has a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music, and has held teaching positions at Colgate University, Hamilton College, and New Mexico State University. He has played frequently with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. He has also played for feature film soundtracks, such as The Incredible Hulk, and The Valkyrie, and has played for the Halo video game franchise. He regularly performs and records in the Seattle area as soloist and in ensemble, and has appeared with the Seattle Pro Musica, Opus 7, Seattle Women's Chorus, Cascadian Chorale, City Cantabile Choir, Seattle Jewish Chorale, Lucia Neare's Theatrical Wonders, Valse Cafe Orchestra, Windsong Trio, Philharmonia Northwest, and the Northwest Symphony Orchestra. Rachel Yoder is a clarinetist based in the Seattle area, currently performing with the Seattle Modern Orchestra, Madera Wind Quintet and the Odd Partials clarinet/electronics duo. Rachel is editor of The Clarinet, journal of the International Clarinet Association, and works as adjunct professor of music at the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, WA. She has performed and presented throughout the United States, including appearances at conferences of the International Clarinet Association, International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), and Society for Electroacoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS). She holds a doctorate in clarinet from the University of North Texas, and also holds degrees from Michigan State University and Ball State University.

Britain and its internal others, 1750-1800 Publication date: 7 November 2017 Britain and its internal others argues that the new emphasis on equality before the law in an age of imperial expansion was no coincidence. Common English men and women were bestowed – discursively at least – with rights and equality at the very moment that the British appropriated rights and property from colonial subjects. As Britain’s empire expanded in the second half of the eighteenth century, its law managed interactions among peoples and cultures, linking metropole and colonies in a vast imperial legal web. It was at this time that rule of law became Britain's signature ideology, and a central justification for its imperial authority and superiority. Neither at home nor abroad did the rule of law emerge neatly from abstract principles of English justice, but was instead the product of imperial contact and collision. The English legal process sustained distinctions of race, ethnicity, gender, and class before the law, creating and protecting whiteness as a privileged category. The demands of internal others – Jews, Gypsies, Africans, Catholics, and Irish – for equality before the law drew them into the legal system, challenging longstanding notions of English identity and exposing contradictions in the rule of law. Revisiting six notorious legal events involving Britain's internal others in London's courtrooms, streets, and presses – the Jewish Naturalisation Act and the Elizabeth Canning case (1753–54); the Somerset Case (1772); the Gordon Riots (1780); the mutinies of 1797; and Union with Ireland (1800) – this study shows how contact with ‘foreign’ cultures and communities at home, particularly in London, promoted the ideology of rule of law in the service of empire. Publisher: Manchester Studies in Imperialism

Across the nation, every year, students in high schools read Elie Wiesel’s “Night.” However, few students are introduced to the history of the Jewish partisans alongside such popular pieces of Holocaust literature. A great way to introduce students to this parallel history is through a letter-writing project. Using JPEF’s biographies and first-person video testimonials by Jewish partisans, students can respond to these materials with a letter to a partisan expressing their general reflections and feelings; or they can respond to a specific teacher-generated prompt – for example, “if you could interview your partisan, what questions would you ask them?” One class at the Oakland School for the Arts last May had the opportunity to ask Jewish partisan Murray Gordon their questions face-to-face. They heard the first-hand account of his experience as a partisan during the war: about his escape from the ghetto, joining a Lithuanian partisan group, sabotaging German supply trains and a narrow miss with a Nazi bayonet. Afterwards, a few students got a chance to ask him questions directly. Hearing Gordon’s story helped students make the connection between present and past. Students were deeply engaged and their letters expressed thanks for his talk, sharing that Gordon was their “new hero,” and that they would like to continue his “fight for equality.” One student letter included the following sentiment, “I admire your selflessness and the fight for the freedom of your people.” Encourage your students to make a personal connection to a Jewish partisan by assigning them to read a JPEF biography and watch the accompanying video testimonial clips. Ask students to write letters to Jewish partisans describing their reaction to these stories of resistance. Even if a student’s chosen partisan might no longer be alive, it's still a great theoretical exercise, and if students choose a living partisan they can send the letters directly to their partisans through JPEF. Submit your stories to us and we may post them on our blog!

“A whole life...is terrifying and wondrous,” exclaimed Elsa Triolet upon seeing a show of Gisèle Freund’s color portraits at the Paris Musée d’Art Moderne in 1968. With these words she described the extraordinary life and work of Gisèle Freund, European intellectual and writer, sociologist, historian of photography, a socialist, a Jew, and one of the world’s greatest photographers. Freund was born into a wealthy Jewish family in the Schöneberg district of Berlin in 1912. Her father, Julius Freund (1870–1941), a textile merchant with a passion for collecting nineteenth and twentieth-century German art, introduced Gisèle to the work of Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932), a botanist who explored the formal elements of beauty in plants through photography. Her mother Clara (née Dresel), died in 1946. Upon graduation from high school her father presented his daughter with a Leica camera, which Gisèle later said became “her companion all her life.” In 1931 Freund began studying sociology and the history of art at the world-famous Institute for Social Research of Frankfurt University, where her teachers included Theodor Adorno (1903–1969), Karl Mannheim (1893–1947), and her tutor, Norbert Elias (1897–1990), one of the leading social theorists of the day. During her university years, Freund documented life in Frankfurt. On May 1, 1932, Freund photographed a May Day rally which erupted in chaos against the National Socialist government. Later she would say, “In January, 1933, Hitler became chancellor of the Reich and established his dictatorship in Germany. Many of those I photographed on that May Day in 1932 became members of the Nazi party; others ended up in concentration camps.” Being Jewish and a fervent opponent of National Socialism, Freund was an overt activist and a member of an anti-Fascist group. When one of her friends was imprisoned and murdered, Freund was told she must leave the country. On May 30, 1933, with little more than her camera, and with photographic negatives taped around her body to get past the border guards, Freund fled Germany. She did not set foot on German soil again until 1957. Among the thousands of German refugees pouring into France, Freund arrived in Paris in 1933. Forced to give up her studies in Frankfurt, she continued her research at the Sorbonne, working on her dissertation in the Bibliothèque Nationale, where she met Walter Benjamin (1892–1940), writer and literary critic, himself a recent German refugee, and a Jew. They shared a mutual desire to displace the empty, iconic forms of fascist art and writing with an intimate humanism in the arts, and a need to restore meaning and value to a world emptied of content. For Freund this meant photographing people as thinking, feeling human beings involved in the aesthetic commonality of letters, books, and paintings. By 1935 she had met Adrienne Monnier (1892–1955), poet, feminist writer, publisher, and a central figure in the contemporary avant-garde scene in France. In 1936 Monnier published Freund’s ground-breaking doctoral dissertation on photography in nineteenth-century France, the first thesis of its kind to address the value and importance of photography as a social, democratizing force. By 1939, with Monnier’s assistance, Freund had photographed some of the greatest literary and artistic figures of the twentieth century: Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, James Joyce, Henri Matisse, Samuel Beckett, T. S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Jean Cocteau, André Breton (1896–1966), Colette, André Malraux, Paul Valéry, and Sylvia Beach (1887–1962). In 1938 she began taking portraits in color, becoming the first woman photographer in France to use 35mm color film and color slides, the latter a new technology and method of showing her work which Freund would continue throughout her life. Freund did not attempt to capture the essence of a person in one photograph, but preferred to show a changing stream of consciousness. Especially fond of writers, she photographed them in their homes or in the atmosphere they were most familiar with. Strongly influenced by the realist movement among American writers, Freund states she “did not make portraits” her profession, and “never owned a photography studio.” Refusing to pose her subjects, Freund learned that by engaging her sitters in conversation she could evoke a sense of vitality, and loved using color because it “came closer to life.” Ahead of her time, she changed photographic portraiture by refusing to use staging, props, makeup, or retouching to “beautify” the image. Though Freund became a naturalized French citizen in 1936, being Jewish meant she had to face displacement again. In 1940 she fled occupied Paris for southern France where she lived underground for two years. In her memoirs (The World in My Camera) she writes: On June 10, 1940, the government left Paris. Three days later, directly before the German troops arrived, I left at dawn on a bicycle—the trains were no longer running. On the rack I had attached my little suitcase, the same one I had brought with me to Paris seven years before. I found asylum in a small village in the Dordogne. Several weeks later, I was informed that my husband had been made a prisoner of war. He got word to me that he would try to escape and succeeded a few months later. I met him in the still unoccupied part of France. He told me he would go back to Paris to fight the Germans in the Resistance, and advised me to leave the country as soon as possible. Being of German origin, undoubtedly listed by the Gestapo, and now the wife of an escaped prisoner as well, I actually feared for my life. Finally, in 1942, through the intervention of her friend André Malraux (1901–1976), arrangements were made for her to find refuge in Argentina, at the invitation of Victoria Ocampo (1891–1979), director of the periodical Sur in Buenos Aires. Ocampo was at the center of the Argentinean intellectual elite, and through her Freund met and photographed many great writers and artists, such as Jorge Luis Borges and Pablo Neruda. Freund became cultural attaché for the Ministry of Information of Free France while in South America, and founded “Ediciones Victoria” to publish books about France. While the war continued overseas, Freund focused on producing documentary reportage and films on remote areas such as Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia in 1944, and continued her travels through Chile, Peru and Bolivia, Brazil and Ecuador. In all these countries she wrote stories published by European and American magazines. Upon her return to Argentina she was commissioned in 1950 to do a story on General Juan Perón (1895–1974) and Evita Perón (1919–1952), who was then at the height of her power. That same year Life magazine published some of Freund’s revealing photographs of Evita, provoking a diplomatic incident—Life was put on the blacklist in Argentina and Freund barely escaped the country with her negatives. When invited to lecture in Mexico, Freund fell in love with Mexican culture, especially its art, and remained there for two years, becoming friends with painters Diego Rivera (1886–1957) and Frida Kahlo (1907–1954). However, when she wished to leave for the United States, she had problems with the American consulate. It was 1952 and the era of McCarthyism. In 1947 Freund had signed a contract with Magnum Photos, beginning a seven-year association with the historic photographic news agency founded by Robert Capa (1913–1954) and Henri Cartier-Bresson (b. 1908). Freund had returned to Paris in 1953, now her permanent home, but by 1954, at the height of the cold war, Freund was blacklisted in America, declared an undesirable by the FBI, and pressured to break with Magnum in 1954. Gisèle Freund spent the rest of her life in France, living in a book-lined Paris home, writing memoirs, and working on numerous books. She became president of the French Federation of Creative Photographers in 1977, and in 1980 was the first woman to receive the Grand Prix National des Arts from France. François Mitterrand (1916–1996) appointed her an Officier des Arts et Lettres in 1982, and Chevalier de la Légion d’ Honneur the following year. In 1991 she was the first photographer honored with a retrospective at the Musée National d’art Moderne in Paris. Gisèle Freund died in Paris on March 31, 2000. SELECTED WORKS BY GISÈLE FREUND Photography and Society. Boston: 1980. Essential reading for any student of photography. Freund’s original dissertation was published in 1936, however, she would revise and extend her thesis in 1974 to produce her seminal work in French, Photographie et Sociétié. The first section of this book was her original doctoral thesis at the Sorbonne. Gisèle Freund, Photographer. New York: 1985. Shows powerful photoreportage of Hitlerite students in Frankfurt in 1932, hopelessness and poverty in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England during the Depression, and some of the greatest writers of the century gathered in France to defend freedom against the threat of war and fascism in 1935. Especially memorable are her portraits of Leonard and Virginia Woolf. Many photos are accompanied by Gisèle Freund’s personal notes and reminiscences. Excellent selected bibliography. The World in My Camera. New York: 1974. Her memoirs. Freund’s date of birth has never been clear, however, she states she was twenty years old in May of 1933, and mentions her husband, who had been a prisoner of war, and worked for the Resistance in France. She also discloses she had polio as a child and lost the strength in her hips for the rest of her life. The negatives Freund had taped to her body in escaping Germany appeared in Le Livre brun in 1933 and were reproduced throughout the world. They were dangerously incriminating, showing Nazi brutality of students. Fascinating, important reading for historians. James Joyce in Paris: His Final Years. New York: 1965. Joyce was one of the first writers Freund photographed in color for Time magazine in 1939, when his last book, Finnegans Wake, was published. Freund collaborated with Verna B. Carleton to produce this book twenty-four years after Joyce’s death in 1941. Moving and unforgettable. Gisèle Freund: The Poetry of the Portrait. Munich: 1989. Part of the “Masters of the Camera” series published by Schirmer Art Books, this small book contains forty of her best known photographs of writers and artists in color, nine of whom won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Preface by Freund and good biographical notes and bibliography, although the birth date is not correct. Flavell, M. Kay. You Have Seen Their Faces: Gisèle Freund, Walter Benjamin and Margaret Bourke-White as Headhunters of the Thirties. Berkeley, California: 1994. This collection of letters examines Freund’s opposition to the dehumanizing use of photography and film by propaganda machines created in Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia. Flavell states, “Benjamin and Freund, by virtue of their Jewish backgrounds, themselves belonged to the class of the stigmatized and their work was performed against a background of exile and persecution.” In her closing notes Flavell says, “I am also deeply grateful to Dr. Gisèle Freund for her friendship and assistance during 1989–91.” Contains information not found in other documents, plus an excellent bibliography. Heron, Liz, and Val Williams, editors. Illuminations: Women Writing on Photography from the 1850s to the Present. London, New York: 1996. A beautiful book filled with writers’ observations on photography. Beginning with Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s, “On the Daguerreotype,” it includes Freund’s masterful “Photography During the July Monarchy, 1830–1848.” Kramer, Hilton. “The World in Gisèle Freund’s Lens.” The New York Times, December 28, 1979. Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. “Books of the Times.” The New York Times, July 2, 1980. in Photography International Archive. Galleries: Archive 3. July 2000-August 2000. Historical Portfolio: "Gisèle Freund" by Peter Palmquist (1936-2003). Essay contains vivid, descriptive writing about Freund's Newcastle pictures of Depression poverty in the north of England, and how Life magazine published them opposite photos of the Queen Mother and princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose, in response to the Simpson scandal. Fascinating reading about Freund and Margaret Bourke-White being thrown out of Magnum by an anxious Robert Capa, who was desperately trying to recover his American passport and not get blacklisted for being a Communist. Includes three famous photographs Freund took of Colette, Henri Matisse, and Simone de Beauvoir. More on Gisèle Freund How to cite this page Meeker, Carlene. "Gisèle Freund." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 27 February 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on August 22, 2019) <https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/freund-gisele>.

The Lord is calling me to temporarily step away from my post as a prayer sentry. For many years I have come daily to my Morning Watch post, to read God’s word, to consider His ways and his message. Then to write, to journal my thoughts and to pray in earnest for the many souls in my books of prayer. “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” – Psalms 45:1 NKJV Although I struggle to set aside the duty of my post, the Lord reminds me that he himself had to take times away from the crowds to find refreshment. “But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.”–Luke 5:15-16 . This is not the first time the Lord has led me in such a way. When I served in Vietnam it was required that every soldier take a time of respite. So a short leave from the rigors of battle was not just granted but required. The purpose was to refresh and renew. So for the next month or so I will take this sabbatical time to seek the Father, to refresh my soul in Him who loves me and to find renewal for my sometimes weary heart. I will not quit praying for my family, my friends and my country. I’m just temporarily stepping away from the regimens I normally follow. With verses 10 and 11 Isaiah closes this prologue to the rest of his prophetic utterances. “Behold [LOOK] the Lord your God…[your shepherd].“ Our God is holy, just and fierce against our enemies. But he is also a gentle pastor–shepherd to his people. Men with all power tend to corrupt their power. But God, with almighty and eternal power will visit his people, not with the self-serving vicissitudes of power, but with compassionate, merciful and forbearing care. It is not just God’s self-restraint. He is holy yet “gentle and lowly” – that is just who our God is (Mat 11:29). Lord my feeble and wandering heart you mercifully embrace. *For a beautiful impression of God as our shepherd see Barnes’ Notes on Isaiah 4:11. With verses 10 and 11 Isaiah closes this prologue to the rest of his prophetic utterances. “Behold [LOOK here], the Lord your God.“ See your God as coming. See him as coming to deliver you from your troubles. See him coming with magnificent power and strength. See him as the mighty ruler that he is. “Behold [LOOK here], the Lord your God.“ See him as the restorer of that which was lost by sin and the devastation of captivity. See him also as Messiah who comes to save to the uttermost. See him as the reward of heaven itself. Lord, may I have a vision of you as mighty in power and able to save to the fullest; my reward of restoration. I can feel the joy and exuberance, as Isaiah writes what he sees and hears. He must have been filled to overflowing with great anticipation as to what God was about to do…deliver his people from their trouble (note vv 1,2 again). No doubt, Isaiah could hardly wait to herald the good news announcement to Jerusalem from the mountain tops, “Help is on the way!” “Your God is coming!” How good to know that help is coming your way to deliver you from your life extremity. The Lord shall deliver his people, all those who love him. He did then, he will today and he will in the future. Lord, it is for me a joy to deliver God’s message of mercy and redemption in these days. May I be an effective voice for you. How quickly public opinion changes. But God‘s word never changes. Men make promises and do not keep them. But God‘s word is true and he keeps his promises. Men are like grass that withers and flowers that fade when the heat and drought comes. But the word of the Lord stands forever. God keeps his promises to deliver this ancient people. He kept his word to send a deliverer in Christ Jesus. He came to deliver men from the curse of sin. He will keep us until the day of our salvation. God’s word will never fail. Oh Lord, you are faithful even when we are not faithful. You are utterly reliable. Here we enter into the preparations of a great Monarch to forge a path through hostile desert places, perilous/treacherous mountain passes and murky low places, serpentine pathways and impassable routes. Why? So that the Monarch may be with the people of his/her kingdom. “The Voice?“ A crier, lowly and hidden by the royalty and glory of the Monarch. The crier leads a great procession, legions of crews and engineers, to remove every obstacle hindering access of said Monarch to the people. Jehovah God, the Monarch, will move to deliver his people from the baneful hand of Babylon. Just so, John the Baptist was a “voice” in the wilderness crying out, “Make way [clear the way] for the Messiah [our Monarch].” He is the deliverer of all men from sin (Jhn 1:23). The Lord Jesus has come to deliver us in these modern times and epochs from the curse of sin. Open the highway to your heart. Lord, may I tear down every obstacle that hinders the work of the most high God in my life (1Co 10:5). Could there be any more consoling words than those spoken here by God to Isaiah. The prophet is told to speak tenderly to his people who will face punishment for their sin. Isaiah is to speak words of comfort and pardon for sin. Oh sinner, rebellious child of God, the sovereign God‘s heart breaks for you. No God like the God of heaven bears his heart to sinners and rebels like our God. Lord, this sentry is in debt for your pardon of my sin and your heart towards me and all who have sinned against you. “I have learned how to be content…“ This is a parenthetic statement given in the midst of a gratuitous statement of deeply felt thanks to the Philippian church for their financial provision to Paul. Paul’s joy (expressed so often and so well in this letter) informed his sense of contentment. Joy is detached from circumstances. It comes from a deep and abiding relationship with Christ. So contentment is detached from other inner desires for more and for abundance. It comes from the One who alone gives us strength and courage every day. Therein lies the secret of joy and contentment. Fully rely on God for EVERY need. Lord, fill me with your joy and contentment today. I learned this lesson long ago from, Beggar At The Banquet, the story of Hong, Woo Joon. He, his parents, brothers and sisters were severely and unspeakably persecuted Korean Christians as communism took over Korea in the 1920s-40s. Hong’s story is told by Donald B Sheley. The book opens with this quote from Hong. “Life is like a banquet in a strange land. Great expectation preceeds some of the [banquet] dishes while caution hinders the complete enjoyment of others. As the guest, one is expected to taste and experience each course. Some of the courses are delightful, and others are not, but all are given by a concerned host [the Lord] and must be received and appreciated. That is my philosophy of life, a philosophy which I have been practicing at life’s banquet for 52 years. Some of the courses have been wonderful, others have been bitter.” The love and admiration between Paul and the Philippian church went both ways. He loved them and they loved him. They did not need coaxing to help Paul financially. It was and is what friends do. Help each other in times of need. They stood with Paul and his mission work like no other church. Paul views their generous financial help as a sweet smelling sacrifice, pleasing to God. This same God will continue to supply all their needs, and his. We serve a God who is able to provide for every task to which he calls us. Lord, I can never out give you. You supply my every need, allowing me to give generously to the cause of Christ. Thank you also Lord, for my church and it’s generous mission work. This is not rocket science. If you always want to be full of joy (v4), contentment (v6) and know God’s peace (v7), do this: focus on the soon return of Christ (v5), spend time with God in prayer (v6) and exemplary living (v8) – enthusiastically embrace the truth and what is honorable; embrace what is ethically right and morally pure; embrace amiability and virtuous living; embrace an attitude of praise for all it is excellent. Give attention to these things, study them, practice them. All of these things practiced consistently will lead to a life of joy and contentment and peace. It ain’t rocket science. Lord, I recognize that true joy, contentment and peace are not out of the grasp of even an aged old sentry. Everyone has concerns. But Paul teaches us to not be over anxious to the point of distraction by our concerns. Instead, turn your problems into prayer projects. The Message Bible says it well: “Let PETITIONS [requests, appeals to God] and PRAISES [applause, thanks to God] shape your worries into prayers letting God know your concerns.“ When I make this my daily practice I discover that God begins to redirect my thoughts, allowing his peace to settle in. I have found the Lord Jesus to be always a faithful eternal sentinel standing guard over my heart and mind. Father, I put my daily concerns into your capable and trustworthy hands. Semper Fi! I always want to hear what the Holy has to say to me directly. But this morning the New Living Translation Bible study notes ring the bell: “Ultimate joy comes from Christ dwelling within us. Christ’s coming is near, and when he comes we will fully realize his ultimate joy.“ In the meantime, “We are to be considerate (reasonable, fair minded and charitable) to those outside the church as well as those inside. This means we are not to seek revenge against those who treat us unfairly, nor are we to be overly vocal about our personal rights. [Christ] who lives within us will fulfill his final purposes for us“ (NLT study notes). “The years teach much which the days never know.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson. Lord, may the faithful sentry be always mindful to walk by faith and not by sight (2Co 5:7). Having noted several divisions and disagreements in the church at Philippi, Paul moves to some more practical instruction. “Joy“ being a major focus of this letter, Paul begins there. “Always be full of joy in the Lord; again – rejoice!” “Joy” is not happiness with no gloom. It is the victory of faith, the confident assurance of the soul secure in Christ Jesus. It is often related to and/or out of times of affliction. Joy “In the Lord“ – God himself is the ground and object of the believer’s joy (Neh 8:10). This joy is like a storm cellar in the midst of a storm; safe, secure, from the tempest outside. Lord, be my joy, my source of strength in turbulent times; at all times. Paul turns his attention to two women in the church at Philippi, Euodia and Syntyche. Their harsh disagreement comes as a bitter pill for Paul to swallow. First, because of his love for this church and second, because of their previous effective hard work sharing the good news with Paul and others. Perhaps Paul recalls his own falling out with John Mark and Barnabas (Acts 13:13; 15:37-39). When it comes to the Christian life before a watching world, it is time to mend fences and resolve to be at peace with all men (Rom 12:18; Heb 12:14,15). Lord, lead me to correct any unresolved conflicts in my life. This verse rounds out Paul’s previous discussion with the Philippian believers. They are encouraged to stand courageously as citizens of heaven (3:20,21). I am also reminded here of Paul’s enormous love of those in the church at Philippi. Paul expresses his absolute delight in the people of the church at Philippi. He equates them to a victor’s crown given to the winning athlete competing in the games. Who could be happier than that? They are Paul’s “crown,” reward, in the service of Christ Jesus. Lord you have so blessed me with fruitful faith encounters, with folks I have grown to love deeply: Michael S, Robert, Mark P, Marvin H, Kendall K, Ronda R, Larry B, Rulen & Rebecca C, Diane F, Randy K, Juan, Raquel G, Joe & Hope Canales & Hope C, Rodney G, James G, Jennifer M, Raye E, Mary A, Ronnie A, David A, Lori B, Derek & Beth P, Danya B. THE LIST GOES ON. I love you dear brothers and sisters in Christ. You are my joy and my reward. Standing in apposition to those who have corrupted the Gospel are those whose lives clearly represent the kingdom of Heaven. They are ambassadors of Christ Jesus in this world. This is a temporary home and soon the savior from Heaven’s Kingdom, Jesus, will call us home. Our mortal bodies will put on a immortality like that of Christ. He will, by his power, bring all things under his control and we shall be like him in our resurrected bodies. Lord, while I am in this world may my life be a true reflection of your Kingdom. Am I broken to tears that many, by their misconduct, show themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ? Am I broken to tears that many are headed for an eternal destruction because of faulty beliefs? Am I broken to tears that for many whose god is their own human efforts (circumcision), that they boast in shameful behaviors (believing grace to allow for immoral behavior in the physical) and think only about their own glory in life here and now? Paul was broken to “tears“ for such people. When was the last time you wept, dear sentry, over the misguided souls of men? Am I bothered and broken to tears? Father, give me a compassionate and broken heart for those around me in need of revival and awakening. We have the written word of God to guide us. But faith is more than a book of code to follow. How that “Code“ is followed, lived out, is also important. Therefore, we have examples to follow. Paul says, “Follow my example” (follow me as I follow Christ – 1Cor 11:1). Paul says we may also follow the example of others (like Timothy and Epaphroditus). I have had a lifetime of examples to follow – parents, teachers, pastors, mentors, associates, friends – many godly examples of the “Code,” the word of God. I in turn am an example to others of that “Code.” I have witnessed the “Code” at work In others. Lord, may I honor and live out the sentry’s “Code” for others to see. Paul reflects momentarily on his past. But he does not dwell there. He mentions some things for which he was ashamed. Are we not all dogged by shameful things? But Paul‘s point of view is that the past ought not haunt us today and paralyze our movement forward in Christ. Paul strives for maturity. He labors now, not for salvation, but for knowing Christ more fully. Like a track athlete, he disciplines himself and pushes himself toward the crown of victory to which Christ has called him. Lord, this old sentry is encouraged by Paul to let go of my past failures and hold nothing back from fully knowing and serving Christ. Do you want to argue salvation by works? [“If I do this thing or that well, I will be saved.”] One might ask, “Well, how much good will be enough to assure one’s salvation?“ Paul argues, “None of it. It’s all Rubbish!” You want to argue good works? Paul would out do any and all challengers (v4). He was as Jewish as it gets (vv5,6). Any and all the credentials of goodness are of no value for salvation. Only Christ’s infinite worthiness can gain us salvation (vv7,8). Becoming one with Christ, we take on his righteousness. We become righteous by faith in Christ alone. So give me Jesus (vv9-11). Lord, I will put my confidence in you alone for my eternal destiny. All the rest is just, “stinkin’ thinkin’.” Paul is here warning the believers in Philippi to put no confidence in the works of the flesh for salvation. Whereas, devout Jews considered Gentiles as “dogs,“ he flipped the table on these so-called Judaizers. He calls them, “dogs.” They taught that for a gentle to become a true believer one must be circumcised. NOT SO! It could not be said any stronger. These Judaizers were nothing short of evil to perpetrate such a lie. The only effect of circumcision on salvation is a “mutilation of the flesh.“ True believers put no faith in such works of the flesh. True believers rely only on what Christ did at the cross for salvation. Lord, keep this old sentry alert to anything that would lead him away from the truth of salvation by grace alone. Oh, precious dear friends, remember to always rejoice in the Lord, no matter what comes your way. It is a joy for Paul to remind his dear brothers and sisters in the faith to rejoice in every circumstance. It is a joy for Paul to keep on telling them of the things that will safeguard their faith.This is just good fatherly advice going forward. Paul says, “I never get tired.” Every spirit-filled pastor, Bible teacher and evangelist is motivated by the joy of Jesus to come week after week to a podium to instruct, exhort and reprove the people of God. Father, it has been my joy, though often tedious, to teach others from your Word. Thank you for the privilege. The value of this letter to the Philippian church reveals the disposition of Paul as he faces the uncertainty of his life and mission. Will he die or will he remain in prison for life. Or maybe he will be released, acquitted of all charges as an insurrectionist. Paul will joyfully accept whatever the Lord has for him. In the military one has a footlocker and in it is basically everything one would need for an immediate deployment. The saying goes, “Ready to stay in definitely; packed to leave on a moment’s notice.” This is Paul’s state of mind in complete surrender to the Lord’s will. Lord, may the uncertainty of the distresses in my life never deflect the joy of knowing in serving you.

Shabbat shalom! Welcome back to our Boulder Jewish Buffs! This week the Boulder Jewish community had several visitors. Sunday night the senior leadership of Jewish National Fund, including CEO Russell Robinson, visited as part of their preparations for JNF’s National Convention coming to Denver this fall. On Tuesday, Boulder played host to Philippe Karsenty, the French media analyst who exposed France 2’s doctoring of a video story purporting to show the death of a Palestinian boy at the hands of the IDF. And on Wednesday, Liora Meron, Architect and Co-Chair of the Kidron Valley/Wadi El Nar Planning Team, spoke at the Boulder JCC about the Israeli/Palestinian cooperative effort to clean up and restore an ancient waterway which runs from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. Here are this week’s stories:

As the big day rapidly approaches, where will be spending Christmas? Are you going somewhere or hosting your own shindig? Or do you celebrate Jewish Christmas like Jerame and I do - Chinese food and a movie? We're going to a friend's home tonight for a small party, but tomorrow it's just the two of us. We decided to stay in DC this year because money is tight and Jerame's mom just came to visit. I don't really have family in the Indianapolis area, so we're going to spend the holiday with Les Mis and - most likely - a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon. So what're your plans? (Christmas graphic via Bigstock)

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's Cabinet convened Sunday for two historic decisions that will shape the nation's future borders: final approval of a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the inclusion of two large Jewish settlement blocs on the Israeli side of the West Bank separation barrier. The withdrawal plan and the barrier route were expected to win overwhelming approval, with the vote on Gaza apparently meant to soften the sting to the Palestinians of what is widely seen as the de facto annexation of more than 6 percent of the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is seen at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday Feb. 20, 2005. The cabinet convened Sunday for two historic decisions that will shape the nation's future borders: final approval of a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in the summer and the inclusion of two large Jewish settlement blocs on the Israeli side of the West Bank separation barrier. Sunday would mark the first time an Israeli government approves the dismantling of settlements on land the Palestinians seek for their state. However, an approval of the barrier route would confirm Palestinian fears that in exchange for giving up Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wants to keep parts of the West Bank. Sharon, a former patron of settlers, said at the opening of the Cabinet meeting that "it's not an easy day, it's not a happy day." Palestinian officials protested what they said is Israel's go-it-alone approach. "This really undermines efforts to revive a meaningful peace process," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. "This Israeli government is dictating the outcome of the negotiations (on a final peace deal) before they begin." In the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, Israeli troops killed one Palestinian and wounded a second on suspicion they tried to smuggle arms from Egypt to Gaza. A third man was arrested for interrogation, the army said. Sharon's plan to dismantle 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank was to be approved by 17-5 on Sunday, sealing the political defeat of withdrawal opponents, including hardliners in Sharon's Likud Party. The evacuation of some 9,000 settlers is to begin in July and last eight weeks, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told ministers Sunday. He said thousands of police and soldiers would take part in the operation. The evacuation has been divided into four stages, with the Cabinet to approve each stage separately. The Cabinet has not yet decided in which order settlements will be dismantled. An Israeli border police officer aims to shoot a tear gas canister at Palestinian demonstrators during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bil'in near Ramallah Sunday, Feb. 20, 2005. On Sunday, the Israeli Cabinet met to vote on a new route of the barrier, which was redrawn after Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the previous route was needlessly disruptive to Palestinians' lives The only way the withdrawal could now be stopped is if Sharon fails to get his 2005 budget passed by the end of March. If he has no budget by then, his government falls automatically. As of now, Sharon does not have a majority in parliament for the spending plan. Opposition leader Yosef Lapid said over the weekend that his secular Shinui Party could not support the budget because of the increase in allocations for ultra-Orthodox parties. However, commentators said it was unlikely Shinui would bring down Sharon's government - and derail the Gaza withdrawal - over budget issues. In the Cabinet's second vote, ministers were to approve the final segment of the West Bank separation barrier, from Jerusalem to the south. Under the proposed route, the largest Jewish settlement, Maaleh Adumim, and the settlement bloc of Gush Etzion would be included on the Israeli side of the barrier. Israel says the barrier is meant to keep out Palestinian attackers, while Palestinians condemn it as a land grab.

Eddie Rosenstein, documentary film maker Life can be strange and wonderful all at the same time. We've all had these things happen; a great event is oddly intertwined with another. My friend EddieRosenstein is a documentary film maker and screenwriter and this Sunday night at 10 PM on the History Channel, his new series 'Sandhogs' will premier. Also this Sunday evening is the last performance of the musical 'Rent' on Broadway. Here's the story. Eddie was best friends and for years writing partner with the creator of the musical, Jonathan Larson. He watched him toil and craft this piece, a musical based on Puccini's La Bohème and re-imagined taking place in modern New York. Larson's narrator and main character in the piece is a documentary film maker 'Mark', based on Eddie, a guy who won't put the camera down. As most already know, Larson died of an aortic aneurism when it was in previews. It won rave reviews, changed Broadway and won the Tony and Pulitzer Prize. When Jonathan passed, Eddie was there to find his friend. Eddie is an amazing talent. He is wildly curious and has a great eye for where the story is. He is full of ideas and enthusiasm and several years ago Eddie became interested in the fascinating world of the sandhogs. These men are to ones who build tunnels under NY City. For 150 years this close knit but fairly unknown group does dangerous work underground. We travel through their tunnels and survive drinking water through them as well. It is not easy to get underground as a civilian, and there have only been a select few who have had the chance. To be able to be down there for more that one day required some real sacrifice for Eddie. He found out that it would be much more acceptable to the men if he BECAME a sandhog. So, Eddie began waking up in the predawn hours and went to work under Manhattan as a real Sandhog. He joined the union and earned the trust to begin filming. Eddie likes to point out that he is the first Jewish Sandhog. History Channel picked up the work he was doing and offered him a series. It chronicles the lives and dangerous work of these men. This Sunday night Eddie will not be a launch party for the Sandhogs series or at a gathering with the men who are in the piece, he will be at the closing of Rent. Congratulations Eddie and I hope all of you check it out or Tivo it. Morgan Curran; SANDHOG

This CFP looks great: two intriguing sessions for the next Kzoo. Call for Papers: Active Objects Panels sponsored by the International Center of Medieval Art 47th International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 10-13 2012 Active Objects I: Optics and Transparency Active Objects II: Agency and Phenomenology Inspired by the recent exhibitions of reliquaries in Cleveland, Baltimore, and London, these sessions invite considerations of how object-centered approaches develop our understanding of reliquaries, vasa sacra, and other instruments of faith. If we conceive of those objects as active agents, and not merely as passive elements in devotional practice, how does that change our perception of their function and their aesthetic nature? How did the vivid nature of these objects -- their mass and texture, their form, their brilliance, their aroma -- shape the way people acted with them, or simply behaved in their presence? Also, is it possible to track the ways in which the agency of a specific object changed over time? Finally, should we, can we, and do we want to consider how the agentic power of medieval objects influences our own relations with them in the present day? “Active Objects” is organized by the Material Collective, a group of medievalists pursuing collaborative discoveries, humane histories, and the interpretive possibilities of the material. We invite proposals that engage phenomenology, optical theories, relational aesthetics, Actor-Network Theory, Thing Theory, notions of affect, and other object-centered approaches; we seek papers that consider how objects matter in medieval Christian, Islamic, and Jewish traditions, as well as in the interactions of faiths. Please send paper proposals (abstract of no more than 300 words, and a completed Participant Information Form<http://www.wmich.edu/

Prejean's latest reply: Just in case anyone is speculating about my motives in the recent couple of posts re: Steve Hays, this is strictly a matter of ontological ground for knowledge. That's it. Hays's theory of knowledge is based on the nonsensical skepticism of idealism, as if dreams and hallucinations can somehow break the ontological connection between knowledge and reality, which destroys any sort of ground for knowledge. I'm sure I'll be called anti-Scripture and all that, but my point is simply that Hays's theory provides no basis for knowing that Scripture is the Word of God, and consequently, no basis for giving normative authority to the Word of God. Moreover, the object itself is not a suitable object for normative authority given the sort of authority (namely, divine authorship/endorsement) that he attributes to it.A couple of basic problems here: I suspect some people might wonder why I am being so hard on the conclusions, and my point is simply that because he has no ground for knowledge, he has no basis for knowing when he is wrong either. He can invent whatever idealistic formal scheme he wants, and because formal consistency can't be proved or disproved within a system, he's insulated from any pushback that reality would give to his Scriptural conclusions. That's what comes of denying real knowledge. Certainly, Hays might just happen to be right about some theological conclusions, but the point is that he has no reason for believing even those. It is sheer fideism.1 i) Prejean is one of those debaters, of which there are a surprising number, who can't keep track of his own argument. He said that "experience" is the criterion which enables us to distinguish between what is real and what is unreal. And that's the context in which I brought up dreams and hallucinations. I'm answering him on his own grounds. When we dream, we have an experience of a dream. It's a genuine experience. When we hallucinate, we experience a hallucination. It's a genuine experience. It is not a veridical experience of the real world, but it is a real experience, and as long as the percipient is in that altered state of consciousness, that's the way in which he does. Indeed, experience the world, however distorted that may be. And that's a problem for Prejean's theory of knowledge. He is the one who appealed to experience as the broker. It is his theory of knowledge that results in scepticism, not mine. Prejean talks like a radical empiricist. And radical empiricism has sceptical consequences. How does raw experience distinguish between reality and an illusion of reality? That's a question that arises from his own criterion. Where is his answer? ii) Prejean also acts as if you can't know anything unless you have a theory of knowledge in your back pocket. And one of the problems with this internalist constraint on knowledge is that it signs its own death warrant. For unless we enjoyed some measure of pretheoretical knowledge, we wouldn't know enough to theorize about our pretheoretical knowledge. Epistemology is not the source of knowledge. A theory of knowledge is not our source of knowledge. A theory of knowledge takes pretheoretical knowledge for granted, and then attempts to explain how much we know and how we know it. iii) How many Catholic laymen have a theory of knowledge? Prejean can only deny knowledge to the Protestant by denying knowledge to any Roman Catholic who is not a professional epistemologist. iv) Indeed, it's worse than that because, of course, there are many competing theories of knowledge. So, for him, you don't know anything unless you hit upon the correct theory of knowledge. And there are rival theories of knowledge within Catholicism, as between, say, Franciscans and Dominicans—or the different versions of Thomism. Moving along to his primary reply: And I do genuinely feel sorry for Steve Hays, who has been aptly described as a "middle-aged seminarian."Is this Prejean's cue for me to begin cracking lawyer jokes? Here we see the contrast with Hays. I asked him what seems to be a reasonable question: justify the authority of Scripture with some compelling abductive or deductive argument. I presented an argument for why I thought that the notion of Scripture as some sort of self-authenticating authority was nonsense. Hays doesn't answer the argument (he simply accuses me of infidelity for denying Scripture as a self-authenticating authority). Hays doesn't answer the question either.Several issues: i) This is a debate over the rule of faith. Is sola Scriptura the rule of faith or the Magisterium? The standard Catholic objection to sola Scriptura is not over the truth of Scripture, but the meaning of Scripture. Since Scripture is not self-explanatory, we need a divine teaching office to authoritatively interpret Scripture: otherwise, anarchy will ensue. That's the stock argument. Indeed, Prejean himself is fond of using that argument.2 Alice in Wonderland is meaningful without being truthful. And there are true or false interpretations of fiction. Therefore, the hermeneutical question is distinct from the alethic question. ii) There are various ways of arguing for the truth of Scripture. I myself have done so on many occasions. But one thing we must avoid is to lay down a restrictive principle which would deny knowledge to broad classes of humanity—like Jews and proselytes. Did a Jew need a theory of knowledge to know that Scripture was true? Did a proselyte need a theory of knowledge to know that Scripture was true? Did King David have a theory of knowledge? Did the Virgin Mary have a theory of knowledge? Did Mary Magdalene have a theory of knowledge? Did the Samaritan woman (Jn 4) have a theory of knowledge? Did Cornelius have a theory of knowledge? Did the Philippian jailor have a theory of knowledge? Does Prejean's internalist constraint on knowledge allow God's people (e.g. Jews and proselytes), including the hoi polloi, to know that Scripture is true? Or is such knowledge limited to Thomas Aquinas, Xavier Zubiri, and Jonathan Prejean? iii) Here is one way in which a Catholic theologian answers Jonathan's query: We should not, moreover, be afraid to affirm a high view of the historical value of the Bible—both the New Testament and the Old Testament...Kenneth Kitchen's book On the Reliability of the Old Testament should satisfy critics who are familiar with the state of academic research...N. T. Wright is a profound and prolific expositor of the historical content of the New Testament.3In the endnotes, the same theologian also mentions a book by Walter Kaiser.4 So, in fielding the sort of question broached by Prejean, this Catholic theologian can do no better than refer his readers to the best in Evangelical scholarship on the historicity of Scripture. And who am I to take issue with his recommendations? Perhaps, though, what is good enough for a Catholic theologian isn't good enough for a Catholic layman like Jonathan Prejean. Perhaps, in his eyes, Hahn is not properly grounded in natural theology or Catholic theological method. Which of them speaks for Catholicism at this juncture? Pope Prejean or Dr. Hahn? I could repeat some of my own reasons as well (e.g. the argument from prophecy, the argument from religious experience), but for present purposes I'll stick with Hahn. Then Hays didn't understand my argument in the first place. My point was that if the Jews had anthropomorphic beliefs in their writing, then sola scriptura entails that they will be normative.Unfortunately, this statement is fatally ambiguous, for it could mean either of two different things: i) Jewish writers were consciously anthropomorphic in some of their depictions of the divine, presenting God in human terms in the full awareness that their depictions were anthropomorphic. ii) Jewish writers were unconsciously anthropomorphic in their depictions of God, presenting him in human terms which they took literally. Sola Scriptura entails that whichever of these is correct is also normative. But it doesn't, of itself, favor one over the other. Prejean thinks that (ii) is correct, whereas I've argued for (i). The assertion that Scripture served as a "rule of faith" foreclosed the possibility there could be legitimate hermeneutical disputes on matters of faith (since a rule by definition mus adjudicate them). So the attempt to create a category error by drawing a distinction between the rule of faith itself and the actual interpretations fails, because the rule itself collapses distinctions between the authority of the source and the authority of the interpretations.This simply begs the question in favor of Catholicism. According to Catholicism, that may be what a rule of faith requires, but Prejean is now assuming the very point at issue. Hence, he is making no effort to argue for the Catholic rule of faith. Rather, he is stipulating that his position is true by definition. Which is another way of saying that Prejean's rule of faith is a form of make-believe. Sola Scriptura is like a traffic light. A traffic light tells you when to stop, go, or slow down. But a traffic light doesn't prevent a driver from running a red light. He is free to disregard the signals, although there a number of potentially deleterious consequences if he does so. Some drivers respect traffic lights because they appreciate the need for traffic lights. Other drivers respect traffic lights because they fear the consequences if they run a red light, viz. an accident or a ticket. Other drivers disregard traffic lights. Is a stoplight useless unless it actually prevents everyone from running a red light? Hardly. Thus, we get back to my point; Jewish anthropomorphism is philosophically normative, even if there might be dispute (which ought to be definitively resolved by Scripture itself on Hays's account) as to what Jewish anthropomorphism itself entails.No, on my account, sola Scriptura does not mean that interpretive issues ought to be definitively resolved by Scripture itself. Prejean pulled this out of his hat. Not all interpretive questions are susceptible to definitive resolution. Some interpretive questions remain open questions. In other cases, some answers are far more plausible than others. But sola Scriptura isn't predicated on the assumption that we can definitively resolve all interpretive questions by Scripture alone. Conversely, this doesn't mean that they are definitively resolvable, but by something other than Scripture alone (e.g. the Magisterium). Sola Scriptura isn't predicated on a specific outcome. One of the problems with the high-church apriorism is that our high churchman assumes he already knows what a rule of faith is supposed to do. And by prejudging the answer, he comes up with the wrong answer. He's dictating when he ought to be listening and learning. My point is that I am free to disregard Jewish anthropomorphism as being philosophically normative, because I'm not bound by the OT authors' philosophical conceptions.Which means that Prejean regards these OT depictions as errant. He isn't bound by their depictions in spite of what the authors meant: There's little difference in kind between taking statements analogizing God to a human in conduct than God to a human in body, which is why I say that these sorts of mistakes seem to be inherent in taking what people said too literally in terms of intent. I have no doubt that "pre-philosophical" OT authors might have literally meant what they intended here, but natural theology demands a hermeneutical principle that takes the literal sentiment for what it analogously symbolizes.I would simply note in passing that if you deny the inerrancy of Scripture, then there's no reason to stop with Scripture. If you deny that Scriptural assertions are inerrant, then you might as well deny that Magisterial assertions are inerrant. Pius IX literally meant what he said about the Immaculate Conception, while Pius XII literally meant what he said about the Assumption, but original intent, even of the ex cathedra variety, lacks philosophical normativity. I think Nielsen's argument would probably be correct if applied to the belief that God has real relations to people.Fine. Let the admission stand—for all to see. I'm not talking about the manner in which choices are made. I'm talking about the sort of being that God is. God doesn't choose among things; that would posit the existence of real things among which He chose, which would deny His aseity.No it wouldn't. God is omnipotent. As such, there are any number of things he can do—not all of which he does. So he chooses from among the many things he can possibly do (since not all possibilities are compossible). This in no way infringes on God's aseity. To the contrary, it's an implication of his omnipotence. Likewise, God doesn't promise in terms of creating a real relation with any created things, because God is not the sort of entity who could even possibly be in real relation to any created things.To begin with, you have a rather abstruse definition of a promise. Did God make a covenant with Abraham? Did God communicate the terms of the covenant to Abraham? Will God honor the terms of his covenant? A promise is simply a verbal assurance about a future event—that something will or will not take place. Does God will the future? Does God effect the future? Does God communicate to some people (like Abraham) what is going to happen? If you reject all this as anthropomorphic, then how do you retranslate the covenant of Abraham (to take one example) in your own metaphysical categories? What does it literally amount to? Literally, these things are not true. We describe them as such in order to explain what sort of relation we experience to God, but it clearly isn't a literal description, as if God chose from among His divine ideas and elected some of what He had created, for example. If we conceived those things as a literal description of God, we would be admitting absurdity.What is absurd? That God has ideas? If so, why is that absurd? Or that God chooses to objectify some of his ideas in time and space? If so, how is that absurd? "Intentions" is another anthropomorphism. Far from failing to distinguish the two, I am pointing out that the relationship between the two is utterly asymmetric. We aren't even real enough for God to have "intentions" toward us.i) If you want to get technical about it, the question is not, in the first place, whether God has intentions toward "us," but whether he has intentions towards himself by choosing to enact one scenario of which he is capable rather than another scenario of which he is capable. ii) In what sense are we not "real enough" for God to have intentions towards us? We can be "real" in two different ways: a) God's idea of us. b) God's objectification of his idea of us. iii) Even fictions can be the object of intentions. A novelist has intentions with respect to his fictional characters. They are what he intends them to be. They do whatever he intends them to do. Notice how Prejean treats the Bible the way the Gnostics treated the Bible. The Gnostics didn't outright deny the Bible. Instead, they treated the Bible as if it was written in a code language, and they ran the Bible through their metaphysical grid, so that the meaning of Scripture was transmuted into Gnostic categories. Prejean does the same thing. He has his metaphysical scheme, from some version of natural theology, and he launders the Bible in his vat of metaphysical dye until he's bleached out the original meaning and colored in what he's prepared to believe—apart from Scripture and in defiance of Scripture. Second causes?" Care to justify that metaphysically?Every birth is not a virgin birth. And "facilitate?" Is it possible to make things easier for God?Did I say God uses second cause to make things "easier" on himself? No. But God doesn't create every tree ex nihilo. Rather, he creates a set of seed-bearing trees ex nihilo, while they, in turn, create other trees via ordinary providence. First, the idea of divine speech IS inherently anthropomorphic. At least, Wolterstorff's notion of endorsement of illocutional acts seems to require that, which is why I believe his response to Barth's objection that only God can reveal Himself fails. Divine speech (in the sense of endorsement) isn't actually divine revelation.Was I offering a running commentary on Wolterstorff? No. Rather, I gave my own account. Second, you have to prove that God actually did these things; saying that he could doesn't prove that He ever did.i) I didn't say he did these things. I'm taking my examples from Scripture. This is how the Bible describes the modalities of divine communication. ii) Do I have to prove to you that God uses various media like angels, prophets, and visions to communicate his will? If you're an atheist, and I'm trying to persuade you, then, yes, the onus would be on me. Are you an atheist, Jonathan Prejean? iii) Or is the business about angels, prophets and visions in Scripture just another anthropomorphism which you launder in your vat of metaphysical dye? Since you have no actual knowledge of any of these things, your assertion is worthless. Suppose that I think you're making it all up and nothing the Scripture describes actually happened. Prove that it did.i) Prejean keeps piling on corroborative evidence to show that when an Evangelical gets into a debate with a Catholic, he must treat the Catholic as an atheist. I appreciate your concession, Jonathan, but that doesn't leave me with much to prove. If Catholicism is equivalent to atheism, then you've dynamited your position from within before I ever fired a shot. ii) As usual, Prejean can't keep track of his own argument. The question at issue, as he himself has framed it, is whether the notion of divine speech is inherently anthropomorphic. Suppose, for the sake of argument, that none of these Biblical examples actually happened. They'd still show that there's nothing inherently anthropomorphic about the notion of divine speech. iii) Remember, that was his original challenge when I cited these verses. Now, having lost the first round, he is trying to change the scoreboard after the game is over and the players went home. What he's now discussing is not whether verses draw a conceptual distinction between literal and anthropomorphic predication, but whether they were actually spoken by Moses or Samuel. Or whether there was a real person by the name of Daniel or Ezekiel who saw inspired dreams and visions. When you answer Prejean on his own grounds, he shifts ground. Of course, two can play this game. Prove to me that Mary was immaculately conceived. Prove to me that Mary was assumed into heaven. Since you have no actual knowledge of any of these things, your pious assertion is worthless. Suppose that I think you're making it all up and nothing the sacred tradition describes actually happened. Prove that it did. Basically, unless you personally experience God doing some act, you have no cause for faith. I consider the notion that you can have faith in someone else's testimony philosophically absurd (and likewise, the notion of divine speech as caused human communication equally so).i) Did you personally observe Pius IX compose Ineffabilis Deus? Did you witness Pius XII compose Munificentissimus Deus? And even if, ex hypothesi, you did observe them do this, did you personally experience their unction? Did you experience their infallible charism? ii) Given Prejean's statement, we can also discount the testimony of all the church fathers to apostolic tradition as untrustworthy. And since their testimony regarding the Church is unreliable, we cannot appeal to the authority Church to ground their testimony in the authority of the Church. So he cannot bootstrap either one from the other. This is from a man who accuses Evangelicals of irrationality! Evidently, Hays is happy to taunt people for failing to be an apologist, but when he has an opportunity to actually (gasp) argue for his beliefs, he says nothing. I've candidly made the distinction; I've flat out said that his view is absurd. His answer is that he won't take the time to defend it.i) I've taken the time to defend the Bible on numerous occasions. I'm more than happy to compare my archives with Prejean's on that score. ii) But it can also be helpful to highlight the grotesque alternative. Of COURSE it's viciously circular when the reason for Scriptural authority is the matter in dispute. You can't take the conclusion for granted when you dispute the reasons, and since Catholics don't see Scripture as having authority outside the context of the Church, you can't take Scriptural authority for granted in your arguments. That's the whole point; you have to prove up the authority of Scripture. Of course we don't have faith in sola scriptura, and you haven't presented a single argument for why we should. In that respect, of course atheists and Catholics have in common that we don't agree with your reasons for granting authority to Scripture.i) Once again, I've argued for sola Scriptura more times than I can count. ii) Notice, by contrast, that Prejean is derelict in the very thing he accuses me of failing to do—although I've done so umpteen times. Where is his argument for Scripture? Where is his argument for the church? iii) Prejean is also confounding faith in Scripture with faith in sola Scriptura. His problem is that he's equally faithless on either count. iv) At the moment I'm merely arguing along the same lines as another Catholic theologian recently reasoned. As he put it: Jump back a few chapters for a moment. Why did we exclusively use the language of reason and experience when preparing to witness to atheists? Why not let loose a storm of Scripture quotes? Quite simply because atheists and agnostics do not accept the authority of the Bible. So such testimony would be likely be fruitless. With nonbelievers we do better to use the common language of common sense. With non-Catholic Christians, however, Scripture itself can provide a common language and a common ground for meeting one another.5So Hahn affirms everything that Prejean denies. For Hahn, the Bible is common ground between Catholics and Evangelicals, in contrast to atheists. We "must begin from the Bible." "It is our fail-safe starting-point." We must begin from the Bible, because the New Testament is indisputably the most complete and reliable record of first-generation Christianity. It is our fail-safe starting point. We can fortify our biblical witness with the interpretations and confirmations of the generations immediately after the apostolic era, but we always return to the Bible—which always leads us in turn to the Church.6 He reasons from Scripture to the church—not vice versa. Of course, Prejean is free to disagree with Hahn. Hahn is not the pope. But, then, neither is Prejean. This is a fundamental problem in Catholic apologetics. Since Catholic apologetics is left unregulated by the Vatican, you keep bumping into different official versions of Catholic tradition. Sungenis v. Keating. McElhinney v. Armstrong. Hahn v. Matatics. And, all the while, they decry Evangelical "anarchy!" iv) When you say that Catholics don't see Scripture as having authority outside the context of the Church, what does this circumlocution mean, exactly? a) Are you saying that the Scripture, as the Word of God, has no authority in its own right? That it only has a delegated authority, arbitrarily assigned to it by the church? Why would the Word of God have a merely delegated authority? Or do you deny that Scripture is the Word of God? If so, does traditional Catholic dogma share your denial? b) Why does Catholicism appeal to Biblical prooftexts like Mt 16:18 or 1 Tim 3:15 if the Bible has no authority outside the church? Isn't the point of this appeal to validate the claims of Rome? But if the Bible has no authority outside the church, then the appeal is viciously circular. But to be accused of being too dishonest to quote him in full when my remark followed a direct quote of the entire sentence.What you did was to quote one sentence while omitting the succeeding, epexegetical sentence. You then did a little riff on the first sentence in which you drew forth the alleged implications of the first sentence in deliberate defiance of what I clearly meant given the qualifications I immediately introduced in the succeeding sentence. Particularly when the accuser is someone who himself used a dishonest tu quoque argument against me and then lied about what Peter Geach said to justify it, is somewhat akin being lectured on the immorality of betrayal by Judas.You're rewriting history. You originally fell into the popular fallacy of treating all tu quoque arguments as fallacious. I then quoted from Peter Geach, a Catholic philosopher and logician, to demonstrate your ignorance of logic. You then had to scramble for some way to save face by pretending that you knew about this all along, even though it was no part of your original claim. If they aren't, you should be able to give a perfectly good argument for them. I'll happily line up with Maritain and Garrigou-Lagrange, who take exactly that position based on act and potency.And I could line up a preexisting literature on our intuitive knowledge of abstract objects like logical and mathematical truths from writers like Leibniz, Poincaré, Cohen, Gödel, Penrose, et al. And I could cite other paradigm-cases as well. However, this debate is far removed from the rule of faith. You don't need preexisting categories if order is in the things themselves.As writers like Hume pointed out a long time ago, basic categories like relations, causality, and necessity are not imprinted on the empirical phenomena themselves. So blank slate is unable to register the objective order of things. However, this debate is far removed from the rule of faith. It's just a stalling tactic on your part. Saying that there are "versions" of natural theology is like saying that there are "versions" of truth. There's only one reality; natural theology is simply the commitment that one can know things about God from it.i) Wrong. Natural theology is a specific interpretation of what can be known about God from nature. And there are many competing interpretations. You have yet to state and justify which one you adopt, even though that is central to your gestalt. You are confounding natural theology with natural revelation. There is only one natural revelation, but there are many natural theologies—for natural theology is a human interpretation of natural revelation. Natural revelation is embedded in reality in a way that natural theology is not. ii) I don't deny natural revelation. And I don't deny that natural revelation can be explicated in some version of natural theology. But I'm not the one making natural theology the filter for Scripture. So you have more to prove than I do. How does one decide among competing models in science? By whether they describe reality! Same thing here.If we had direct access to reality, we wouldn't have competing models of science in the first place. So you're using one flimsy argument to prop up another flimsy argument. My point is that natural theology isn't superimposed on anything. It's inherent in reality, so if Scripture is in reality, then Scripture abides by natural theology as well.Wrong again. Natural theology isn't inherent in reality. At most, natural revelation is inherent in reality. But natural theology is a human interpretation of reality, and is further limited to that slice of reality conterminous with natural revelation. Natural theology is our interpretation of God's revelation in nature. Natural revelation and special revelation intersect to some degree, but they don't coincide. And even where they do intersect, it hardly follows without further argument—conspicuously absent at your end—that natural theology is the lens through which we view special revelation. The point was exactly that reality ISN'T one thing and revelation another. The point is that they can't conflict, because revelation is a part of reality. If revelation is a revelation about reality, then it better not conflict with reality.But you don't allow revelation to tell you what reality is. Rather, you begin with your preconception of reality, and then proceed to muzzle revelation so that you only permit it to say whatever dovetails with your preconception of reality. And the appeal to hallucinations to justify skepticism is the oldest trick in the book. In fact, hallucinations do tell you something about reality; they demonstrate the presence of hallucinogens, brain damage, unconscious perceptual processing, and the like. If you think dreams are the standard of reality (which would fit into that whole psychopolis nonsense), then that shows an error in your thinking, but it's hardly a basis for concluding that experience doesn't map onto reality.i) As usual, Prejean is unable to follow his own argument. I'm not using hallucinations to justify scepticism. Rather, I'm answering Prejean on his own terms. He appealed to experience as his criterion. I'm citing hallucinations as a limiting case on such an appeal. The problem is not with reality, but with our perception of reality. If experience is our only window onto reality, and that window is made of tinted glass rather than plain glass, then we don't perceive reality as it is in and of itself. Dreams and hallucinations are genuine experiences. They are ways in which we experience the world. Does a hallucinatory experience map onto reality? Or does it distort our perception of reality? And yet it's a real experience. But is it a real experience of reality? That's the problem with Prejean's criterion, for there's a difference between a real experience and an experience of reality—if, by the latter, we mean to perceive the world as it objectively exists. Experience qua experience does not and cannot adjudicate between the two. Because the percipient qua percipient cannot crawl outside his own experience to compare his experience with what the world is like apart from experience. ii) Now, there are certain ways to escape this conundrum, but Prejean has debarred himself from using the exits. a) Some form of innate knowledge would give us a standard against which to compare or contrast our raw experience. But Prejean's radical empiricism excludes that option. b) Special revelation would also supply an intersubjectival standard of comparison, since God knows the world apart from experience, and he can communicate some of his knowledge to us. But Prejean's subordination of special revelation to natural revelation excludes that option. All of this actually supports my point. People were given rules and allowed to fail in order to demonstrate that human failure is possible even when God Himself is generous. None of that requires that the system was flawed by design. It simply means that it didn't force success. The larger point was that it wasn't even adequate for success (in terms of salvation), nor was it intended to be. It was intended to show what would actually be required for salvation and to show the inadequacy of people even to obey to obtain temporal blessings, leaving aside the spiritual question. But one would expect the new covenant to at least be workable in principle, which the Old Covenant was not.i) None of this supports his point since the Catholic apologist is arguing for the necessity of a Magisterium to preclude "failure." But if, by his own admission, the old covenant was a divine institution, and if, by his own admission, the OT rule of faith was a calculated "failure" on God's part, then a Catholic apologist cannot infer the necessity of a magisterium from the outcome, where the magisterial safety-net is not in place. He cannot infer that sola Scriptura is not the true rule of faith given the consequences, since we have parallel consequences under the OT, using a God-given rule of faith. ii) And we also have similar "failures" under the new covenant, viz. apostates, heretics, schismatics. iii) I'd add that the NT does not articulate the Catholic rule of faith. There is no Catholic magisterium on display in the NT—which is why the Catholic apologist must resort to the development of doctrine. The argument for the Catholic rule of faith was never anything more than a presumptive argument. It worked with the a priori assumption that God would not allow a certain outcome to ensue. But the history of God's dealings with his people doesn't justify that presumption. To the contrary, divine precedent creates, if anything, a presumption to the contrary. Obviously it wasn't meant to be the true rule of faith because it didn't even provide for eternal salvation.So all the Jews were damned. And again, I do not say that there cannot be apostates, heretics, and schismatics. What I say is that there must be something in which people who aren't apostates, heretics, and schismatics CAN have faith, a suitable object. My point is that sola scriptura doesn't even give a suitable object. It fails by definition.So the Jews didn't have a suitable object of faith. Is Prejean a Catholic or a Marcionite? I defined the object in terms of suitability for faith, not whether it produced uniformity among all those having faith in it.Fine. But at that point you jettison the standard Catholic objection to sola Scriptura, which attacks it on consequentialist grounds precisely because it allegedly leads to disunity rather than unity. The bit about "presents to the mind" just buys into the same conflict on knowledge. I don't believe you can know anything without a proximate object; there must be an actual thing in reality to present this to the mind…Otherwise, there's no external object to know.Externally proximate in what sense? Are abstract objects proximate objects of knowledge? If not, how do you know about abstract objects? And it won't do to ostensively point to concrete objects that exemplify concrete objects, for—to take one example—relations are inaudible, invisible, and intangible. To borrow an illustration from Gassendi, we don't actually hear a clock strike four. We don't hear a series of tones. All we hear is a discrete tone, and another discrete tone, and another and another. The relation between these tones which forms a series isn't something we sense, but something we apprehend thanks to our innate grasp of numerical relations. The OT believers might well have had a proximate object of faith, but it wasn't the Messiah.But you just said that OT believers did not have a "suitable" object of faith. So are you now claiming that they had an unsuitable proximate object of faith? Likewise, Christ isn't around bodily, so the only way to know Him is to encounter His action in something outside oneself.So we can't come to know him by reading an inspired record of his person and work. We can't come to know him by reading the Gospels. And Prejean is the one who accuses me of scepticism. Isn't that rich? Obviously, you're not going to SAY that. I am, as you noted, arguing that you have implicitly said it. And while you have more to say, you haven't answered the premise or presented any argument against it.I do present an argument in response to Joseph. You simply used a nasty pejorative about my "contemptuous" view of Scripture.I do more than that, but, yes, I'm also drawing the attention of Catholics and Protestants alike to what your Catholic view of the Scriptures amounts to. By your own admission you have no faith in God's Word. You don't regard the Word of God as a suitable object of faith. You only have faith in your denomination. And you only believe the Bible to the degree that your denomination authorizes faith in Scripture. Your attitude towards the Word of God is worlds apart from Biblical piety itself. I pick on you because you're very clever, and you tend to carry your points to their logical extreme. So you're a test case of the best case for Catholicism. And what you end up illustrating is that Catholicism is like King Tut's sarcophagus. On the outside is this bejeweled, solid gold surface. But when we lift the lid and unwind the mummy, all we find is dust and decay. If I believe that Christ is present in the Church, then I believe also that licenses me to accept by faith the Church's dogma whether or not it can be proved from natural theology.And why do you believe that? Even if we were to grant traditional Catholic exegesis, since you reject testimony as a suitable object of faith, you reject the testimony of the Scriptures to Christ and the church alike. In that event, why believe that your denomination is a divine and dominical institution? You can't very well ground Scripture in the external or proximate object of the church unless you have some independent reason for believing that your denomination is, indeed, the church that Jesus founded. And what would that be if not the witness of the NT (assuming traditional Catholic exegesis)? And if you fall back on the church fathers, the same objection applies. If the Bible cannot license the church, because the church must license the Bible, then what "suitable," "proximate," and "external" object licenses your church? What is grounding your faith in the institutional church? In all of the examples you gave, the individuals DID HAVE a justification for the authority of Scripture.Wherein lay their justification? Of course I made a claim stronger than the bare possibility of knowledge, because I think it quite obvious that plenty of people do have certain knowledge about the faith from the Church.That's inadequate to your original claim. Sorry to keep reminding you of what you said and then holding you to your own words: Every allegedly divinely revealed conclusion is only as good as its weakest normative link, and there is not even a coherent way of defining what the normative principles are. Unless God has invested some definite class of people with formal divine authority (and there might be legitimate disputes of judgment as to who those people are, but one has to at least think that there are such people), the situation for arriving at theological truth outside of natural theology is hopeless.The fact (for the sake of argument) that plenty of people do have certain knowledge about the faith from the Church tacitly grants that there are also plenty of people (including nominal or lapsed Catholics) who do not. So all the weak links remain in place at the concrete level of actually "arriving at theological truth." Hays is confusing objective authority with subjective knowledge.Except for the fact that "arriving at theological truth" is subjective knowledge. And having "certain knowledge about the faith" is subjective knowledge. What's the value of having a chain without any objectively weak links if, as soon as you lower the chain into a real world situation and attach it to real men and women, it comes apart in practice due to so many subjectively weak links? Prejean's church is a beautifully preserved museum piece which is only as good as the airtight display case. As soon as you remove it from its hermetically sealed objectivity, it begins to putrefy in the sunshine. Sure. But natural theology can tell me that it's irrational to claim faith if Christ ISN'T acting in the Church.Another category mistake. Natural theology tells you absolutely nothing about Christology or ecclesiology. That's the domain of revealed theology, not natural theology. Which only highlights the point that truth is a matter of correspondence to reality, not meaning.I appreciate your concession. Traditionally, the conflict with Rome was over the meaning of Scripture, not the truth of Scripture. The Catholic contention is that Protestants can't be sure of what the Bible means—absent the teaching office of the Magisterium. You, however, have blurred the distinction between meaning and truth. After I point out that the meaning of a consciously fictitious work like Alice in Wonderland is irrespective of its real world correspondence, you're having to back down. One doesn't need natural theology to interpret a document. Of course, Scripture is not fictitious, but I cited the fictional genre as a limiting case to illustrate the difference between meaning and truth, interpretation and verification. Contrary, therefore, to your original argument, a Protestant can ascertain the meaning of Scripture without recourse to natural theology. Natural theology is not the prism through which we construe the sense of Scripture. Likewise, that's not the way we need to distinguish between literal depictions and anthropomorphic depictions. I don't deny that there are right and wrong interpretation, but one thing to consider is that Scripture is believed by Catholics to have content that goes beyond authorial intent, so mundane techniques of identifying meaning would be inadequate anyway.In other words, Catholicism is unable to get everything it needs to warrant its theological embellishments from honest exegesis of Scripture, so it must abandon the grammatico-historical method for allegorical substitutions and patently anachronistic reinterpretations of the text. Establishing natural theology isn't required; it supervenes on the fact that we know things about reality, and some of the things we know about reality are about God.So natural theology doesn't "superimpose," but it does "supervene." Uh-huh. To be clear, I'm saying that you can't know what God SAID unless you heard Him say it. I don't think Biblical piety ever tells anyone to believe God without some proximate sign. Indeed, it seems to say quite the opposite. I've got a proximate object of faith (Christ in the Church), so I have warrant for believing the historical descriptions.How does that follow in the least? If you can't know that God said something unless you actually heard him say it, then how can you know that Christ is present in the church unless you actually saw him there? The church cannot furnish a proximate sign of Christ's presence unless you already know that your church evidences the presence of Christ. If the church is a sign of his presence, then where the church is, he is. And how to you propose to verify your premise? Not by invoking the authority of the church, I trust, since that would be viciously circular. And not by appealing to the testimony of the NT, for you've already foreclosed that option. I think that is exactly what Augustine meant when he said that he would not accept the authority of Scripture without the Church, so I doubt any of the Fathers would disagree.A couple of problems: i) All you've done is to push the question back a step. If you can't accept the authority of Scripture without the church, then how can you accept the authority of the church apart from Scripture? ii) Is your appeal to Augustine and the other church fathers an argument from authority? If so, what suitable, external, and proximate object is grounding their testimony? Surely not the church—if you're invoking the church fathers to validate the authority of the church in the first place. So which is prior to which? Does patristic testimony validate the church, or does the church validate patristic testimony? As for Prejean's attempt to salvage Joseph's sorry argument, his remarks piggyback on other arguments I've already refuted in the course of my reply. Objects of knowledge can be inherently credible. God can be inherently credible. But you have no way of knowing that God wrote Scripture, because you didn't see him do it. You might believe that he did, but you have know way of knowing it, either by knowledge or by faith (because you have no proximate object of faith). In a Church that provides a proximate object of faith, such belief is rational. Absent that object, it isn't.And yet it's child's play to simply redirect your objection to the church itself. Have you ever seen a single pope—much less every pope—actually pen a single encyclical—much less every encyclical? Did you witness the Tridentine Fathers in deliberation? And you can't very well fall back on the testimony of others, for you already dynamited that escape route by grounding testimony in the authority of the church—without which you deny that it's even rational to put your faith in testimony. 2 Another stock objection is that a Protestant cannot identify the canon of Scripture. I've dealt with that objection on many occasions. 3 S. Hahn, Reasons To Believe (Doubleday 2006), 74-75. 4 Ibid. 208n75. 5 S. Hahn, Reasons to Believe, 74. 6 Ibid. 75.

Dear international friends and activists, (I apologize beforehand if this is too harsh for some of you, but well … it was asked for) I love you all, really, I do, but we need to clarify some important matters here. I believe we’re past the “any kind of support is good” phase and we need an upgrade. There are millions of “Pro-Palestine” activists out there, but to each and every one of them Palestine holds a different definition, and even though having any kind of support to Palestinians is important, sometimes it’s not enough, not any more. There are two issues affecting Pro-Palestinian activism worldwide. The first issue is that there is no one unified definition of what “Palestine” is. And the second is that some of this activism stands neutral, supporting “both sides” of the “conflict”. And none of these issues are their fault, it’s our fault as Palestinians for not making the matters clearer, and by writing this today it is nothing but a small attempt in changing some of the misunderstood facts, at least directed to my own friends and acquaintances who are pro-Palestinian activists. The first and most controversial issue is: What is Palestine? To most of the world – at least those who acknowledge its existence- it’s the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and sometimes East Jerusalem as well (which is always stupid for me to refer to one city as two) and this terrible terrible mistake of defining Palestine as such must stop. I know, it’s the Palestine Liberation Organization’s fault for agreeing on these terms to define Palestine with in the first place, and it’s our fault as the Palestinian people for not speaking up, but let’s set the record straight. Palestine is the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, and what is now called Israel. By only defining Palestine as the West Bank and Gaza Strip means that you are OKAY with everything that’s happened during 1947-1948 Nakba (Palestinian Catastrophe where thousands were murdered, hundreds of massacres and genocides, and where over 700,000 people were forcibly kicked out of their homes and are now refugees that reached 6 million people worldwide) and you completely accept it as something normal. Palestine’s “occupation” as it’s now legally called and acknowledged worldwide hasn’t started only in 1967, it started 66 years when Israel was created on Palestinian soil after eliminating thousands of people and leaving other thousands homeless and scattered around the world, where they are denied the right to come back; denied their “Right of Return”. I don’t mean to scare you off when I say that Palestine is also “Israel”, which is what we as Palestinians simply refer to as Palestine 48 (tracking it back to the day where it lost its name as Palestine and was turned into Israel). When I say so, don’t translate it as me saying “Oh, I am anti-Semitic (always funny to hear though, considering I’m technically a Semite myself), I don’t want the Jews to have a home, I am racist, let’s kick the Jews out and send them back to Europe or even better .. drown them in the sea!” No, this is what most people assume we mean when we refer to Israel as Palestine instead. So let’s set the record straight once and for all. I as a Palestinian, a very proud one too, will never ever allow or want to make other people suffer the same way my people did. I will not kick someone out and take over their home, claim it to be my own, then erase their entire history as if it has never existed, or burn them to death, or demolish their homes, or torture them, or bomb their schools, or steal their land, or build walls –HUGE cement walls- to separate them, or humiliate them on checkpoints … I will try as hard as I can, as long as I breath, to never be turned into the monsters that my culprits were turned into. A holocaust survivor would never want to see another human being suffer the same as he\she did, but if they did eventually do so, or allow such inhumane-cruel crime to take place, then technically the Holocaust was never really over. Therefore again, saying that Palestine is in fact is “Israel” translates into us not forgetting the tragic history that occurred 66 years ago, it does not mean we want to do the same crime against other people –in this case the Jews, Never! The logo “Never Again” is always connected to the crime of the Holocaust, but when we say “Never Again” it means none of these crimes should ever happen again; Holocaust or Nakba. Hence no, saying that Palestine is actually what is now called “Israel”-from the river to the sea- won’t make you anti-anything, except being anti-injustice. The concept of Israel is pretty clear, it’s a racist state and a colonial power that keeps gaining its power through genocide and injustice, and being against a state with such “concept” behind it won’t make you any less human, Jewish, activist or anything. If you’re truly concerned with Palestinian rights, you should be concerned with all Palestinians (West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, Diaspora, Palestinians with Israeli IDs) from the very beginning. You can’t start the story of Lion King from where Simba ran off, there is plenty that’s happened prior to that which led him to run (I know irrelevant story and example, but it’s the only thing I could come up with at the moment). It’s not a cause where you “select” what you want to support, either you are in all the way or you’re not. The tragedy started 66 years ago, not 47 years ago, acknowledge this fact. Also remember, as nice (to Zionist liberals that is) as the idea of a “Two-State” solution is, it’ll only mean that years and years of crimes against Palestinians will go unpunished and not taken care of, and this is not what being a “human rights advocate” and an “activist” is about. There are huge numbers of Israeli activists, historians, scholars, and journalists (such as Gideon Levy) that consider themselves to be pro-Palestinian just because they support a Two-State solution, example of such is “J Street” group. This group defines itself as following, “J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans fighting for the future of Israel as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people. We believe that Israel’s Jewish and democratic character depend on a two-state solution, resulting in a Palestinian state living alongside Israel in peace and security.” Well, I’m sorry to break it for you “J Street” people - and other Israelis and Americans who think they’re pro-Palestine because they support the Two-State solution- technically you’re worse than Settler-Colonial-Zionists themselves; at least these guys are honest, they don’t like us, they want us out of the country so they can have their promised land for the Jews and only the Jews. You people, J Street people and those of the sort, are nothing but –and sorry for being too forward- hypocrites. If you truly cared about Palestinian rights or even human rights for that matter, you would oppose such segregation and racism in the first place. You will ask for citizens to be treated equally and not have a country for people with a certain religion while others will be treated as second-class citizens or even less. You will ask for consequences and sanctions to be imposed for all the crimes that have been committed ever since 1948 in order for your “Jewish democratic homeland” to be established. In other words, “wanting peace for Palestinians”, “the Two-State Solution, and “Israel as a Jewish Democratic homeland” don’t even fit in the same paragraph. Groups like these, who preach peace but couldn’t be further away from it, only make matters worse not better; they literally preach racism under the name of peace. When such groups go with this approach they should think of the following: agreeing to the Two-State suggestion is like telling the persecuted Jews in Europe –back then during the Holocaust- that they should live side by side (after all that’s been committed against them, without any kind of consequences against the culprits) with the Nazis and just deal with that reality, while knowing that they have homes that were taken from them, family members that were brutally murdered, and years and years of injustice. Injustice going unnoticed, unpunished, and without consequences is simply not right. The Jews have refused to let such oppression go unnoticed and prosecuted Germany, so why should we – as Palestinians- just “forget and forgive”? The second issue with pro-Palestinian activism is being neutral. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want you to give up your humanity or anything, trust me, if there’s anyone out there who would love nothing more than people actually hold on to their humanity regardless of race, ethnicity, color, and religion, it’s us: Palestinians. But … being neutral, is not being humane: it is being a coward. When you say “both sides are to blame for the Gaza war”, or that “I’m with both sides and this madness should end”, or “Both sides should stop being so stubborn and bury their differences in order to bring peace”, or “well, there’s always two sides to each story”, and some more “both sides, both sides, both sides …” you’re actually making the matters worse, not better. By saying such statements you’re implying two things: either you don’t know enough about what’s really going on, or that you’re just another conflicted person in the world with double standards and not enough courage. Only a couple of hours ago, the famous HONY photographer Brandon Stanton shared a picture from occupied Jerusalem, a beautiful picture. In his recent travels and part of a worldwide journey, he started inserting the names of the cities he’s visiting with the name of the country right in the same space. But when he shared this beautiful picture from Jerusalem, he left the “country” space blank. I know his website is based on focusing only and solely on our humanity, but as all of us grown-ups here know, humanity alone is never enough. As humans we make decisions, we pick our fights, and chase our passions with all of our hearts. We choose, that is what makes us who we are and helps us become the people we want to be. By choosing we create our identities. But by standing neutral on the sidelines, refusing to choose, in fear of losing popularity or fans, or in fear of criticism, then we become no one. I know by criticizing HONY’s Brandon I am going to be criticized for not “being human” or sympathetic, and that I’m too political … which is fine, because I at least know where I stand. As Aristotle has put it perfectly, “To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, BE NOTHING.” It’s okay to pick a side, and if you picked the Palestinian side it doesn’t mean that you are against Jews or that you’re against Israelis themselves, and it doesn’t say that all Israelis are horrible, we know … there are good Israelis out there who refuse to be part of what the their government is doing under their names, they are not the problem. By criticizing Israel, you are criticizing colonialism, racism, apartheid, genocide, forced expulsion, arbitrary arrests … etc. Here you’re not against “people”, so when picking a side, you’re not losing your humanity, on the contrary, you’re taking a stand and defying inhumanity. There is this phrase that’s been circulating on Facebook and Twitter during the last Gaza War that I find fitting to help understand what the problem is with such logic, and it says, “Blaming Hamas for firing rockets at Israel, is like blaming a woman for punching her rapist!” And when you, ladies and gentlemen, say “let’s hear what both sides have to say”, it is like asking the rapist how he felt raping her and how much it hurt when he got punched in the face by his victim. Total nonsense right? So the statement “both sides” better be annihilated from your dictionary. Besides, I’m pretty sure that whoever came up with this “two sides” notion is some bastard colonial settler who wanted to justify why he was murdering innocent people, stealing lands he did not own, and enslaving others to forcibly work on his plantations, since according to him he’s only bringing “civilization” to humanity. But, if you still want to stick to the whole “two sides” drama, I will give you these two sides you’ve been yearning for. Actually Rafeef Ziadah has already given us the two sides; you have the Occupier and the Occupied, the Colonizer and the Colonized. So, there you have it, where would you rather stand? I’d rather have someone come up and say straight to my face that they’re Zionists or Pro-Israel, than come and tell me both sides are hurting and both sides are suffering. I know, we’re all suffering, but there’s a difference between when a murderer suffers and goes unpunished and when a victim –as much as I hate being one- is suffering and no one is doing anything because some people were too afraid to take a stand. You don’t have to be passionate about “Palestinian rights” when talking privately to me, and then whispering the word “Palestine” when surrounded by a group of your international friends, so you wouldn’t hurt your Pro-Israel acquaintances and injure their ears with the word “Palestinian”, or God-forbid you refer to it as a country or a state on its own as Palestine. Don’t be neutral, take a stand. Neutral is being passive, and isn’t the whole point of being an activist is to actually be “active” and make a clear decision? And I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, I really am so much grateful to anyone raising awareness or doing anything in support of Palestine, but some of the fogginess surrounding this cause had to be lifted. We’re at dark times right now, where massacres are being committed against helpless victims; men, women, children … if we don’t take a stand, a clear stand, to end injustice now, then who would? In the end, I apologize if I sound too harsh or impolite, but it all came from a heart filled with love and appreciation for you all. If being a Palestinian has taught me anything, it’s being brave, and being brave starts with simply “being”… with taking a stand. You don’t have to necessarily take my stand or support my cause; just don’t be passive and let things pass you by out of fear or ignorance. So, my beautiful people, be brave.

A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power. Political scientists use two criteria: the warring groups must be from the same country and fighting for control of the political center, control over a separatist state or to force a major change in policy. The second criterion is that at least 1,000 people must have been killed in total, with at least 100 from each side. Some civil wars are categorized as revolutions when major societal restructuring is a possible outcome of the conflict. An insurgency, whether successful or not, is likely to be classified as a civil war by some historians if, and only if, organized armies fight conventional battles. Other historians state the criterion for a civil war is that there must be prolonged violence between organized factions or defined regions of a country (conventionally fought or not). Ultimately the distinction between a "civil war" and a "revolution" or any other name may be arbitrary, and is determined by usage. However the distinction between a "civil war" and "revolution" can be recognizable. The successful civil war of the 1640s in England which led to the (temporary) overthrow of the monarchy became known as the English Civil War, which can be described, by Marxists and some historians, as the English Revolution. The successful insurgency of the 1770s in British colonies in America, with organized armies fighting battles, came to be known as the American Revolution. In the United States, and in American-dominated sources, the term 'the civil war' usually means the American Civil War, with other civil wars noted or inferred from context. Factors such as nationalism, religion, and ideology played little role in pre-modern civil wars. Modern nationalists have commonly read past revolts (such as Scotland against England or Catalonia against Spain) as early stirrings of nationalism, the truth is that these conflicts were in fact feudal or dynastic rather than national. There are some pre-modern civil wars that can be seen as fueled by religion (the Jewish Revolts against Rome), but these can also be seen as revolts by a servile people against their oppressors or uprisings by local notables in an attempt to gain independence. A civil war is "a violent conflict within a country fought by organized groups that aim to take power at the center or in a region, or to change government policies". Currently, no consensus definition of civil war is available as the everyday usage of the term does not entail a clear threshold for how much violence is necessary to qualify a conflict as a civil war, as opposed to terrorism or low-level political strife. Most political scientists use a threshold of at least 1,000 killed over the course of a conflict. Note however that other social scientists consider this casualty number rather low and prefer for instance a definition of an average of 1,000 people killed per year. Premodern Civil Wars Religious conflicts Civil wars that are fought over religion have tended to occur more in monotheistic than in polytheistic societies; one explanation is that the latter tend to be more "flexible" in terms of dogma, allowing for some latitude in belief. In Europe through the Middle Ages, the Christianity of the great bulk of the population was influenced by pagan tradition. With the great majority of the population illiterate, access to the Bible was limited and led to a significant amount of syncretism between Christian and pagan elements. With religion so loosely applied, it was rare for people to feel particularly oppressed by it. There were periodic appearances of heresies, such as that of the Albigensians, which led to violence, but historians tend to view these to be the product of peasant revolts rather than themselves motivators of a civil war. As religions tended to become more rigidly defined and understood by their followers, inter-religious tensions generally increased. The rise of Islam witnessed a rash of uprisings against non-Islamic rulers soon after its appearance. Subsequent Islamic history has been marked by repeated civil conflicts, mostly stemming out of the Shi'ite-Sunni divide. In Europe the Protestant Reformation had a similar effect, sparking years of both civil and international wars of religion. Civil wars between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism consumed France in the Wars of Religion, the Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War, Germany during the Thirty Years' War, and more recently, The Troubles of Northern Ireland. Religious disputes among Protestant sects also played a role in the English Civil Wars, while official persecution of Catholics during the French Revolution spurred the Revolt in the Vendée. In China an attempt at religious revolution caused the bloodiest civil war of all time, the Taiping Rebellion. Revolutions A revolution is generally seen as a civil war fought over issues of ideology, over how power should be organized and distributed, not merely over which individuals hold it. The classic example of a revolution, and by some arguments the first is the French Revolution, which is seen to have pitted the middle class and urban poor of France against the aristocracy and monarchy. Some argue that revolutions are a modern continuation of the peasant revolts of the past. Unlike peasant revolts, however, revolutions are almost always led by members of the educated, but disaffected, middle class who then rally the large mass of the population to their cause. Others see ideology as merely replacing religion as a justification and motivation for violence that is fundamentally caused by socioeconomic factors. To be successful revolutions almost always require use of armed force and sometimes escalate to a civil war, such as in the Chinese Civil War. In some cases, such as the French and Russian Revolutions the revolutionaries succeed in gaining power through a quick coup or localized uprising, but a civil war results from counterrevolutionary forces organizing to crush the revolution. Separatist revolts One of the most common causes of civil wars, especially in the post-Cold War world has been separatist violence. Nationalism can be seen as similar to both a religion and an ideology as a justification for war rather than a root cause of conflict. All modern states attempt to hold a monopoly on internal military force. For separatist civil wars to break out thus either the national army must fracture along ethnic, religious, or national lines as happened in Yugoslavia; or more commonly a modern separatist conflict takes the form of asymmetrical warfare with separatists lightly armed and disorganized, but with the support of the local population such groups can be hard to defeat. This is the route taken by most liberation groups in colonies, as well as forces in areas such as Eritrea and Sri Lanka. Regional differences may be enhanced by differing economies, as in the American Civil War. National minorities are also often minorities and wars of religion may link closely into separatisty conflicts. Coups Coups d'état, in Spanish golpes de estado, are by definition quick blows to the top of a government that do not result in the widespread violence of a civil war. On occasion a failed coup, or one that is only half successful, can precipitate a civil war between factions. These wars often quickly try to pull in larger themes of ideology, nationalism, or religion to try to win supporters among the general population for a conflict that in essence is an intraelite competition for power. Reasons for war Almost every nation has minority groups, religious plurality, and ideological divisions, but not all plunge into civil war. Sociologists have long searched for what variables trigger civil wars. In the modern world most civil wars occur in nations that are poor, autocratic, and regionally divided. However, the United States was one of the wealthiest and most democratic countries in the world at the time of its bloody civil war. Some models to explain the occurrence of civil wars stress the importance of change and transition. According to one such line of reasoning, the American Civil War was caused by the growing economic power of the North relative to the South; the Lebanese Civil War by the upsetting of the delicate demographic balance by the increase in the Shi'ite population; the English Civil War by the growing power of the middle class and merchants at the expense of the aristocracy. Competition for resources and wealth within a society is seen as a frequent cause for civil wars, however economic gain is rarely the justification espoused by the participants. Marxist historians stress economic and class factors arguing that civil wars are caused by imperialist rulers battling each other for greater power, and using tools such as nationalism and religion to delude people into joining them. Also, recent evidence proved that the violence observed in civil war can come from spurious reasons. Not only are the causes of civil wars widely studied and debated, but their persistence is also seen as an important issue. Many civil wars have proved especially intractable, dragging on for many decades. One contributing factor is that civil wars often become proxy wars for outside powers that fund their partisans and thus encourage further violence. Research related to the democratic war theory have studied civil wars and democracy. Research shows that the most democratic and the most authoritarian states have few civil wars, and intermediate regimes the most. The probability for a civil war is also increased by political change, regardless whether toward greater democracy or greater autocracy. Intermediate regimes continue to be the most prone to civil war, regardless of the time since the political change. In the long run, since intermediate regimes are less stable than autocracies, which in turn are less stable than democracies, durable democracy is the most probable end-point of the process of democratization . The fall of Communism and the increase in the number of democratic states were accompanied by a sudden and dramatic decline in total warfare, interstate wars, ethnic wars, revolutionary wars, and the number of refugees and displaced persons . Post war Rebuilding a society in the wake of a civil war is often quite difficult. In an international war the two parties merely have to agree to a cease-fire and can, for the most part, go their own way. In a civil war not only must violence stop but the factions involved must also learn to coexist with each other. This can often prove difficult, as much of the population will have lost friends or loved ones in the war—losses which they blame on their opponents. Civil wars also tend to greatly entrench any ethnic, religious, or ideological divisions within a society and restoring unity can be very difficult. The record of United Nations peacekeeping forces in healing such war-torn societies is mixed

LOOK to the past to create a strong future, writes David Robertson. The Marxist historian Christopher Hill wrote a magnificent book about the 17th century English Civil War, which he entitled The World Turned Upside Down. In it he examined the radical ideas of the English revolutionaries. Those who are familiar with the King James English version of the Bible will know that he lifted the phrase from Acts 17:6. In post-election Scotland, there has been what seems almost like a revolutionary change. The rise of the SNP and the almost Messianic hopes that have come with it have raised people’s hopes. The division between politics in Scotland and England is wider than ever before – so much so that there are those who think that the election marks the beginning of the end of the United Kingdom. The need and desire for radical change is not new. “At present the democratic and social evils are forcing themselves on the people. The unequal division of property, and the dangers of poverty and envy arising therefrom, is the principal evil. Means must necessarily be found, not for diminishing riches (as the communists want) but to make facilities for the poor. But there’s the rub. I believe this question will first be solved here, in England.” (Prince Albert, 1849, cited in Victoria, A Life by AN Wilson). It could have been written for post-recession Europe today. Around the same time, another couple of Germans in England were writing their solution to the problem that Prince Albert identified. Marx and Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848. While there are many things in that small book that many people could sympathise and agree with, one cannot but think of the devastation, havoc and loss of life that communist doctrine has caused. What was deemed to be liberal, progressive and the inevitable tide of history has turned out to be a major disappointment. And yet within that book there is a hint of another way – a better way. Probably the most famous phrase in the Communist Manifesto is “from each according to his means to each according to his needs”. This was lifted from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. Christianity offered – and offers – a more radical equality, as it deals not only with the material but also with the very essence and soul of humanity. From the very beginning, real Christianity was revolutionary. Whether it was a Jewish teacher like Paul, a doctor like Luke, or fishermen like Peter and John, the early disciples turned the Graeco/Roman/Pagan world upside down. The early Church fathers, from Justin Martyr to Augustine, turned the Roman Empire upside down. The Celtic monks, early reformers like the Czech Jan Hus and Englishmen William Tyndale and John Wycliffe, turned early modern Europe upside down. The Reformation was a radical revolution: the proclamation and living out of the Gospel turned the church, economy, culture and society upside down. There is no doubt that modern Europe, especially the west, would not exist without the Reformed and Lutheran churches as their foundation. But what about Scotland? This is a country whose foundations are Christian. There was a time when the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was seen as the nearest thing Scotland had to a parliament. As the Church of Scotland and the Free Church begin their assemblies this week, perhaps we need to reconsider the role of the Church in Scotland. For those of us concerned about the future of the Church we need to ask if we merely want to maintain a dying Church, as the Gospel continues to produce wonderful fruit all over the world (there are probably more Christians now in China than in Europe)? Do we want to spend our time remembering the Christendom of the past, and moaning about the secularism and spiritual confusion of the present? Or do we want to see Scotland return to its spiritual roots? Do we recognise that a renewed Scotland needs a renewed Church? If we do, then we need to be much more radical. The term comes from the Latin “radix” meaning “roots”. The Church needs to return to its biblical roots. As she must seek to understand the times, so she must also proclaim the original word of God, and the real historical Jesus, to a Scotland which needs him as much now as it ever did. But it won’t be easy. If we proclaim Christ, through his Word, in the power of the Spirit, then there is no doubt that we too will be labelled “troublemakers” because we too will turn the world upside down. John Knox famously said: “Give me Scotland or I die.” I wonder if the Church in Scotland has the same passion and commitment today? • David Robertson is director at Solas Centre for Public Christianity www.solascpc.org

All available evidence suggests that when Micah Johnson sniped police officers in downtown Dallas on Thursday, he intended it as a political act. During the ensuing standoff, he told police negotiators that he was angry about the recent apparently unwarranted killings of black men by police, and “stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers,” according to Dallas Police Chief David Brown. Johnson could not have reasonably believed that he’d shoot enough cops to actually diminish the capacity of law enforcement agencies to unjustifiably kill black people. He did it to send a message, to arbitrarily terrorize cops in the way that he felt arbitrarily terrorized by them. Am I arguing, then, that journalists (like me) should be calling Johnson a terrorist? No, even though I think the dictionary definition of that word clearly applies to him. I think the fact that almost nobody is calling Johnson a terrorist —like almost nobody called Dylann Roof (the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooter) or the Oregon wildlife refuge occupiers terrorists—demonstrates how uselessly arbitrary and loaded that word has become, and I think it’s time for journalists to stop parroting it uncritically.* I’ll grant you that what I’m about to claim is an unprovable counterfactual, but past experience suggests to me that if Micah Johnson’s name had been Muhammad Jabir, right-wing media would have immediately jumped on the T-word. If his Facebook activity had linked him to Islamism (instead of Black nationalism, as in Johnson’s case), mainstream media would have at least batted it around, too. We used to use terrorist to describe all kinds of people, from Irish Catholic republicans to American Jewish radicals. But since 9/11, we’ve been using it much more swiftly in reference to Islamists. (In fairness, that’s partly because Islamists have been doing a lot of terrorism over that time.) You might be thinking, “But people DID call the Oregon occupiers terrorists! Didn’t this very blog detail that controversy? But the very existence of those articles proves my point: Nobody wrote any think pieces about whether to call Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (the underwear bomber) or Abdelhamid Abaaoud (ringleader of the Paris attacks) terrorists. It was the immediate consensus that they were terrorists. I wonder what those two names have in common? We call Islamists terrorists even when the description isn’t apt, as in this CNN lower third from a story about battles between ISIS and Iraqi military forces over the control of territory—something that meets the dictionary definition of war much better than the definition of terrorism. Certainly, ISIS uses terrorism as a tactic, but that doesn’t make everyone who fights for ISIS categorically a terrorist, any more so than everyone who’s ever fought for the IRA. (Please commenters, note that nowhere here have I made the slightest moral equivalency between any of the groups or individuals I’ve mentioned.) The fact that terrorists has acquired a powerful religious—and specifically Islamic—connotation is substantively consequential. Calling a suspect a terrorist gives authorities enhanced powers to investigate, charge, and punish. Politicians use the T-word to stoke public anxieties and gain support for their policies, or they studiously avoid the word if doing so bolsters a different narrative they fancy. It’s revealing that there was little debate among writer-types like me about whether to call Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan a terrorist.* Rather, government was the epicenter of that debate. The Obama administration avoided the T-word for six years, purportedly to avoid biasing Hassan’s judicial process, with allegedly ulterior motives ranging from a desire to preserve the narrative of a declining al-Qaida to a miserly denial of benefits to the victims’ families If a prosecutor or a politician or anybody else involved in a story calls someone a terrorist (or notably doesn’t), that’s important and media should report it, with clear attribution. But I’m not sure if reporters themselves should be labeling people with a word that has become, in effect, discriminatory. Some of my fellow word people, in discussing this same issue, have arrived at a less extreme conclusion than mine: Just use the T-word consistently, they say. Maybe that was once the right advice, but words and their connotations change over time with their usage, and therefore so must news organization policies. The big problem with illegal immigrant wasn’t that reporters applied it inconsistently—the term simply became too judgmental, too toxic for neutral copy. So, in 2013, the Associated Press Stylebook dropped it. Likewise, I think we’ve reached the same point with the T-word. Reuters—a less influential force in American journalism style than the AP—agrees with me. From its style guide: Reuters may refer without attribution to terrorism and counterterrorism in general, but do not refer to specific events as terrorism. Nor does Reuters use the word terrorist without attribution to qualify specific individuals, groups or events. I think that’s the right policy, and the AP should follow suit. Eschewing both terrorists and illegal immigrants alike is in keeping with a broader and widely accepted best practice for journalists: Avoid labels! When possible, describe what people do instead of labeling what you think they are. *Correction, July 12, 2016: This post originally misspelled Dylann Roof’s first name and Nidal Hasan’s first and last names.

I really enjoyed this book … another great historical fiction novel where I felt like I learned about history without sitting through a dry lecture. The Girl from the Train Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction November 3, 2015 print, ebook, audiobook As World War II draws to a close, Jakób fights with the Polish resistance against the crushing forces of Germany and Russia. They intend to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl’s unscheduled train reaches the bomb first. Gretl is the only survivor. Though spared from the concentration camp, the orphaned German Jew finds herself lost in a country hostile to her people. When Jakób discovers her, guilt and fatherly compassion prompt him to take her in. For three years, the young man and little girl form a bond over the secrets they must hide from his Catholic family. But she can’t stay with him forever. Jakób sends Gretl to South Africa, where German war orphans are promised bright futures with adoptive Protestant families—so long as Gretl’s Jewish roots, Catholic education, and connections to communist Poland are never discovered. Separated by continents, politics, religion, language, and years, Jakób and Gretl will likely never see each other again. But the events they have both survived and their belief that the human spirit can triumph over the ravages of war have formed a bond of love that no circumstances can overcome.

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The Jewish Family Service MetroWest invites guests as it honors the legacy of Maxine Myers and renames its volunteer department the Maxine Myers JFS Volunteer Services Department. The program is set for Wednesday, June 1, at 7 p.m., at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills. Ms. Meyers was devoted to JFS MetroWest; she was a long-standing trustee, served on the Rachel Coalition Steering Committee, and led many JFS committees and fund-raising campaigns. She also was an advocate for domestic violence victims and provided seed money to help launch the Rachel Coalition, a division of JFS MetroWest. She was a philanthropist, a pill of her community, and an inspiration to many. Stand-up comedian Ryan Hamilton will entertain at the program. He was named one of Rolling Stone’s “Five Comics to Watch.” This year’s Volunteer Service award recipients are Stephanie Gerstein, the Maxine Myers z”l Volunteer award winner; Gary Berger, covid-19 response programs awardee; Susan Rueda, the Reading Buddies award recipient; Paul Brownstein, the Older Adult Programs award winner: and Ayne Klein-Chasid, the Medicare Counseling (SHIP) Program award recipient. For more information, go to jfsmetrowest.org.

July 17: Paying their way The unstated implication is that those haredim who are weeded out must be prepared for life outside the rabbinate. Paying their way Sir, – Regarding “Universal service vote delayed by a week” (July 15) on the issue of haredim and the draft, I am reminded of a Jewish saying I have heard: “One thousand are taught the aleph-bet; of these, 100 go on to learn Torah; of these, 10 study Gemara; one only is ordained a The unstated implication is that those haredim who are weeded out must be prepared for life outside the rabbinate. This is not to say they must be refused the opportunity for full Jewish studies, only that these must be paid for by the candidates, as is the case for all university students who fail to qualify for scholarships or stipends. Sir, – Regarding “Merkel tells Jews, Muslims they will be free to circumcise” (July 15), it has always astounded me that Jews have chosen to live in Germany in the post-Holocaust era. There are six million reasons why not It appears that recent rulings regarding circumcision in that country have just added another. Perhaps six million reasons were simply not Sir, – With regard to “Israel working on new incentives package for PA” (July 15), in the past Israel has adopted concessions suggested by the US and the Arabs eagerly accepted them, with no concessions on their part. I would hope that with the memory of the late Yitzhak Shamir still fresh in our memory, Prime Minister Netanyahu will draw the courage, resolution and strength to first demand a major concession from the Americans: Release Jonathan Pollard before passing on any more concessions to Take it and run Sir, – I’m a big fan of Woody Allen’s movies, especially the older stuff like Bananas and Take the Money and Run. But having him make a movie in Israel cannot be good for the Jews (“Is it time for Woody Allen to make a movie in Israel?,” Arts & Entertainment, July 15). Allen is obviously a self-hating Jew with more neuroses than Dr. Freud ever dreamed of. That $18 million could be put to so many better uses in Israel than financing what would certainly be an Sir, – Is it time for Woody Allen to make a movie in Israel? Maybe – but it ain’t going to happen. Why? Because it would be too politically nuanced for Allen, whose convincing caricature of the typical Jewish nebbish in his entire repertoire of films expressly reflects contemptuous disdain for his brethren. This disdain is further enhanced by the fact that this talented filmmaker has never visited Israel nor evidently even come close to contemplating such a trip. Sir, – Danny Danon loves to throw around the words of the Eritrean ambassador to Israel when it comes to his attempt to expel all migrants from the country (“Arsonists target African migrants’ J’lem apartment,” July 13). Tesfamariam Tekeste said in May that there was no danger in Eritrea and that migrants could return without fear of That was a nice, reassuring message, but how much stock would we put in a similar statement from, say, Bashar Assad? I understand the resolve of some people to deal with the growing issue of African migrants, but Israel should never forget that most of its own citizens were once refugees, Casually throwing people out of the country should not be an easy Sir, – Nefesh B’Nefesh celebrated its 10th anniversary with the admission that it failed to substantially increase aliya from North America (“Nefesh B’Nefesh looks back at decade of work and the road ahead,” July 13). With all its good intentions, what went wrong? It was unsuccessful because it refused to deal with the main roadblock to increased Western aliya: jobs, jobs and jobs. truth of the matter is that there are few real jobs for most potential olim from These immigrants do not compete well for existing jobs because more-established Israelis know the language better and have personal connections. So, the only solution is the creation of new jobs for the specific needs of Western olim. I am not suggesting a massive government make-work I am calling for the challenge to be given to Jewish communities abroad. Diaspora investors can set up technological incubators in Israel for promising start-ups from their communities. Industrial parks can allow Diaspora business people to move some of their own firms’ activities to Israel. Professionals can establish Israeli branches of their North American law, accounting and engineering offices. Physicians can set up specialized clinics for problems in such areas as pain relief and geriatric care. American Zionists can use their entrepreneurial abilities to develop facilities for their own communities, and by doing so allow them to partake in the adventure of building the Jewish country. They can develop educational facilities here for Jewish-oriented programs for their children. Jewish community centers can establish sports fields for their members to use for exercising while in Israel. Art colonies and music groups can be established for those who are artistic. Let the land overflow with North American-facilitated bicycle clubs, horse-riding groups and swimming The dream of large-scale aliya can be achieved if Nefesh B’Nefesh works toward job creation in partnership with Diaspora communities and with the active support of the Jewish Agency and government Sir, – As a Canadian who made aliya back in 1976, Nefesh B’Nefesh was not around and I had to make my own decisions on where I was going and what I was going to do. Looking back, I made the right decisions, raising a family, working, etc. Nefesh B’Nefesh is an inspiration for all like-minded Western Jews who decide, based on the heart and not necessarily on the head, to make such an important decision. heart makes the strongest choice for aliya. It worked for me. Sir, – Bravo, Greer Fay Cashman! Her column “Time to stop bad-mouthing haredim and to open a dialogue” (Comment & Features, July 11) was wonderful. She said exactly what I think but expressed it so very well. I wish everyone could read it. would learn something. Annoy the IOC Sir, – Now that the Olympic Games are nearly upon us and the International Olympic Committee has again said no to a moment of silence in memory of the 11 Israel athletes slain at the 1972 Munich Games, the Israeli delegation needs to be proactive and remember its murdered comrades. I suggest that the Israeli flag used at the opening ceremony be embossed in one corner with 11 subtle Stars of David. In addition, or alternatively, every Israeli participant should have 11 small Stars of David embossed on his or her hat. I have no doubt that this will annoy or even outrage the IOC, but so what! This is an act of remembrance and we need to honor Israel’s murdered athletes.

It HAS taken a long time to bring the world’s most iconic superhero to the big screen in a form that’s appropriate for the current golden age of comic book movies. Right out of the gate, Richard Donner’s 1978 film Superman: The Movie got so much right that messing with it seemed like sacrilege – to the point where Bryan Singer’s nostalgic 2006 pseudo sequel Superman Returns backed itself into a reverential corner by casting someone to play Christopher Reeve rather than Clark Kent. MAN OF STEEL (12A) Directed by: Zack SNYDER Starring: HENRY CAVILL, AMY ADAMS, RUSSELL CROWE, MICHAEL SHANNON, KEVIN COSTNER, DIANE LANE * * * * Mercifully, Man of Steel doesn’t make the same mistake. From the darkening of the tone and the underpants-free costume to the meatiness of the action and the sonorous, soaring score (courtesy of Hans Zimmer), virtually all traces of the previous films have been eliminated from Zack Snyder’s reboot. Instead it follows the lead of producer and co-writer Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, drawing from the vast mythology of a decades-old comic book hero (Superman is celebrating his 75th anniversary this very month) to reconfigure the character – mostly referred to by his Kryptonian name, Kal-El – in a way that feels fresh yet familiar, believable yet still fantastical and otherworldly. Structurally the two films have a lot in common too. After a lengthy, spectacle-heavy prologue depicting the destruction of Superman’s home planet Krypton (now a dystopian, futuristic, Earth-like hellhole destabilised by failed population experiments and – as we learn from Superman’s dad, played by a Richard Burton-channeling Russell Crowe – decades spent irresponsibly plundering its natural resources), the film spends its first act skilfully flashing back-and-forth between Kal-El as a frightened kid in Kansas coming to terms with his powers, and as a mysterious adult wandering from place to place as he takes his first tentative steps towards becoming the cape-wearing superhero we all know he’s destined to become. As the latter, Brit actor Henry Cavill steps immediately out from the shadow of Reeve. Buff, bearded and brooding, he’s like modern-day messiah as he searches for clues to his origins and parentage, leaving in his wake legends of miraculous deeds and frightened and awestruck witnesses confused about who or what he is. Snyder takes care not to over-egg these rather obvious biblical parallels, but since they’re hard-wired into the character’s DNA (and indeed the DNA of most superheroes), he doesn’t try to outrun them either. All the little speeches running through the film (particularly during the young Clark’s exchanges with his foster father, played by an excellent Kevin Costner) about leaps of faith, forgiveness and searching for the good in people coalesce into a character who lives by a strong moral code. Of course, that’s always been a key trait of Superman and, as a result, he’s frequently written off as a bit of a Boy Scout. But that doesn’t mean he has to be boring, and Snyder balances all the character work with some action sequences that make full use of modern technology to unleash Superman’s powers in a way that makes them seem genuinely spectacular. His first big fight sequence with Michael Shannon’s General Zod, a Krypton fascist bent on holding Earth to ransom as part of a genocidal plan to rehabilitate his and Kal-El’s people, pretty much lays waste to Smallville, but it’s also involving and thrillingly kinetic in a way that the CGI-heavy smack-downs in rival Marvel movies rarely are. We may be watching indestructible super-beings facing off against each other, but there’s still a sense of threat and consequences to their actions, particularly in the final act, which, like Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, goes heavy on the 9/11 imagery. If that strikes you as a little tasteless, it’s important to remember that, as a character, Superman was partially born out of the impending horrors of Nazism and the Jewish exodus from Europe, so it makes sense that a new version would draw on contemporary horrors to make it resonate for a modern audience. Naturally such things make Man of Steel quite a sombre film, but it’s not an oppressive viewing experience. The iconic moments have a euphoric, magisterial quality to them and there are even a few visual gags too (eagle-eyed viewers will likely spot a few references to Lex Luthor). The film’s (not-so) secret weapon, though, is Lois Lane – a magnificent Amy Adams – and her relationship with Kal-El. In the film’s boldest move, Snyder dispenses with the Lois Lane/Superman/Clark Kent charade by having Lois figure out the Kent connection early on, freeing him up to develop their chemistry in other ways and setting up a magnificent final shot that plays on the notion – memorably articulated in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill – that the meek, mild-mannered Clark Kent rather than Superman is the costumed freak. That bodes well for future instalments, but it’s the story at hand that really impresses. It’s good to have Superman back.

Odd Mom Out Returns & Ginnifer Goodwin's Baby NewsBy Gerri Miller Find out who's guest starring on Odd Mom Out this season and get the scoop on Goodwin's new babe!Go To Pop Culture Jewish thought has a concept of Cheshbon HaNefesh – making an account of the soul. Every day one should spend some time thinking about their day – what was done well, what could be improved. We return to that concept big time at Elul, the Hebrew month leading up to Rosh Hashannah, kind of a Jewish version of New Year’s Resolutions. At Spring time, right before Passover we rid the house of chametz, that which is leavened, or puffed up. Between the fall and the spring, we forget about our personal resolutions, and maybe let our egos get the best of us. We return to our not-so-evil-but-not-so-great ways. Passover is a time to clean out the soul again and see if we are heading in the right direction. For the first time, as I cleaned my kitchen, these were the thoughts that went through my head. As I cleaned, I was removing the gunky stuff, not letting it get too thick (since I cleaned it last year and every year). I felt it liberating, that the Jewish calendar provides opportunities for soul cleansing and redirecting. Do you see Passover cleaning as a chore? Or do you feel it is an opportunity to rid your house of the puffed up gunk (of the soul)? Note: All comments on InterfaithFamily are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed.

Art/Architecture; For Faces Almost Lost to History, a Chance to Speak By VICKI GOLDBERG Published: September 15, 2002 THE 19th and 20th centuries saw the invention of a lot of new ways to do away with people. But the same 200 years ensured that more people might be remembered, thanks to new recording devices, photography most of all. Many who might once have completely disappeared from view now leave behind visible traces of themselves. But what do these images signify if the people who knew what the photographs and other documents meant die before passing on the knowledge? There is, of course, a way to preserve both the images and the stories in archives and on the Internet. And the Net is turning out to be the biggest archive of all. A nonprofit organization based in Vienna called Centropa -- Central Europe Center for Research and Documentation -- has just opened a Web site offering a new combination of oral histories and photographs of 20th-century Jewish history in Central and Eastern Europe. Financed by the Austrian government and American foundations, Centropa -- at www.centropa.org /mainpage/main.asp -- claims to have the largest online library of privately owned pre- and post-Holocaust family pictures and oral histories ever assembled in this region, as well as more photographs of contemporary Jewish life there than anywhere on the Internet. The project was dreamed up in 1999 by Edward Serotta, a writer, photographer and filmmaker who specializes in Jewish subjects in Eastern Europe. He knows the region thoroughly, having published three books of photographs on Jewish life in Central and Eastern Europe and produced two stories about it for ''Nightline.'' While filming in Romania, he asked the local Jewish community center if they had any photographs from early in the century. They did: a box full of them, all people no one knew or remembered, which they referred to as the library of lost pictures. Mr. Serotta pondered the faces of the forgotten and thought about the erasures of time. With a Serbian friend, he hatched Centropa, which he now directs, and he set about getting grants. Since Mr. Serotta had been working in these Jewish communities for more than a dozen years, he knew where to find people who might have photographs and memories. Official or unofficial Jewish organizations in the region take care of the old, the poor, the Holocaust survivors; Centropa generally tries to make a partnership with such organizations in each country. There are pictures like one of a women's volley ball team in Romania and stories like the tale of Eddie Schwartz's Bulgarian grandfather, a tailor, who, angry at a slur on his skills, chased the offender through the streets with a big stick. The critic ran for safety into the women's bath house, provoking an outpouring of screams and a serving-tray battle best left to the imagination. Or Venezia Kamhi's story. Her ancestors emigrated from Spain to Bulgaria two centuries ago. A photograph shows her father in his World War I uniform when he was 17; afterward, he became a carter, carrying goods from the railway station to factories and shops. A picture of two of her relatives in the 1920's displays what she calls old Jewish dresses, long robes of purple velvet embroidered with tinsel. A photograph of women sewing was taken in a factory founded by a Jewish organization to provide jobs for Jews after World War II. Ms. Kamhi worked there, repairing second-hand clothes when clothing was scarce. Most of the Kamhi family moved to Israel soon after the war; Venezia stayed behind and married. Life in Israel was difficult, but one of her cousins was photographed in 1948 in a Turkish costume for the Purim holiday. Imre Kinszki, a noted Hungarian photographer between the world wars, was photographed with his son in 1930. His daughter, Judit Kinszki, relates that her father and brother were taken away during World War II and disappeared. After the war, she went to the train station every day hoping to see them come home. It was at the station that she learned that her father had died in a death march and that her brother, 16, had been gruesomely killed at Buchenwald. The Web site includes a picture that Imre Kinszki took of that train station before the war. There are recent photographs of a synagogue in Greece, a 13-year-old Muslim boy in tears as he is being evacuated from Sarajevo to the relative safety of Israel by a nonsectarian rescue agency set up in that city by Jews, and Sylvia de Swaan's evocative images of her travels through Eastern Europe tracing her family history. Jewish recipes are on the site, too, including one for chicken paprika made without sour cream that Mr. Serotta swears is tasty. He should know. Not long ago, he judged a latke (potato pancake) competition, one more difficult than he had expected: the women who lost ended up in tears. There are also travel tips. Since 1989 and the fall of Communism, Jewish-theme tourism has become big business, attracting travelers of many faiths. Some cities and towns have refurbished synagogues and cemeteries. In Prague, attendance has increased at the Jewish Museum. Vienna, Berlin and Toledo, Spain, have opened their own Jewish museums. In 1991, Catherine Trautman, the French Culture Minister, said that ''Jewish heritage in France is also the heritage of all the French people, just as the cathedrals of France also belong to France's Jews.'' Of course, extensive photographic records of Jewish life already exist, from Roman Vishniac's frequently published pictures of the Jewish shtetl taken in the late 1930's, when life there was threatened, to Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, a program started in 1994 to document the lives of Holocaust survivors. Mr. Serotta says that the Centropa site is the only online archive to tie images to their contexts through online oral histories. It is also the only site with a searchable database that allows users to put together histories to match their particular interests, whether it is musicians, shopkeepers, political activities, whatever, in various countries and at various times. Centropa borrows and scans into a computer family photographs and documents in 11 different countries and hopes to add more nations to the list. Native-speaking historians train interviewers, or do the interviews themselves; these are transcribed and translated into English. The center also teaches local people how to scan in photographs and eventually gives them a disc with all their information on it -- plus the computer and scanner. Ten years ago, Mr. Serotta says, the technology wasn't available; 10 years from now will be too late; by then, many who remember what the photographs are about will be gone. (But some of the story is quite recent: photographs and accounts of Jewish communities that began to revive after the fall of Communism.) By the end of the year, 200 family histories and a minimum of 2,000 pictures should be on the site. This is not just a Holocaust project, not just a story of death, although the Holocaust inevitably figures large in every account; it is also a picture of 100 years of Jewish life in one part of Europe. A woman in Novi Sad, Serbia, said to Mr. Serotta: ''You are the fourth American group to come and see me. But you're the first to ask how we lived, not just how we died.'' Hitler wanted to wipe out all these people, their pasts and futures, not just from life but from memory as well. Now, with new technology, those lives and the way they were lived are becoming visible to more people than even Hitler could have imagined, more people than would ever before have known anything about this history at all. Photos: From Venezia Kamhi of Bulgaria: an aunt, Matilda Nisim Miuhas, right, and her cousin Matilda Buko Lazar wearing old Jewish dresses in the 1920's.; Imre Kinszki and his wife on their wedding day in 1925. The story of his life, for the Centropa project, comes from his daughter, Judit. (Photographs from Centropa.org)

|Challah - a cultural yet Halacha based item (Jewish Journal)| In her very thoughtful piece in the Jewish Journal, Professor Roberta Kwall elaborates on Professor Cohen’s remedy for the preservation of the greater non Orthodox community: His recommendations include suggestions that non-Orthodox Jews marry younger, marry Jews, and “raise their children as Jews.” But the critical question is what does it mean to raise one’s children as Jews in a non-Orthodox context? The answer really is quite simple even if its execution raises complexities. American Jews interested in preservation and transmission need to become more sensitized to making a greater number of affirmative Jewish choices, including choices perceived as more religious than cultural. In short, they simply need to “do Jewish” more. She later adds that many of the things that are ‘doing Jewish’ are based in Halacha. So that even if it is done for cultural reasons it should be encouraged since that is a way to perpetuate non Orthodox Jewry in America. The sad fact is that most American Jews do not define Judaism in terms of following Halacha. Even while many of them take pride in their Judaism. Which begs the question, what is it exactly that they are proud of? Can it possibly be something like Yiddish theater? Is that what gives them Jewish pride? Or perhaps it’s their pursuit of social justice? But is that an exclusively Jewish value? This being said, I agree with Professor Kwall’s suggestions for non O Jews to be more proactively Jewish in order to preserve their identity. But only as a means to an end... the end being becoming observant of Halacha, which in our day can best be described as Rabbinic Judaism. It is an inherently positive thing to do to follow Halacha – even if you don’t do it for the right reasons. The expression that captures that is ‘Mitoch SheLo LiShma, Bah Lishma’ . If one does a Mitzvah even for the wrong reason, eventually they will come to do it for the right reason. Which is - following the will of God. As an Orthodox Jew, and based on my studies I believe that following Halacha is what Judaism is all about. What is Halacha today? Is it different now than it was 1000 or 2000 years ago? The answer is - it is and it isn’t. The basic laws are the same. But it is also very true that Halacha has evolved over the centuries into something that is largely unrecognizable from how it was practiced during the Temple era. But it did not evolve randomly to be interpreted by the spirit of the times. It was interpreted by the greatest rabbis of each era. It stands to reason that only those rabbis with sufficient knowledge create new law based on their Torah knowledge as impacted by the issues of the times in which they lived. This does not mean a rabbi like me. I was ordained. But there are tons of people like me that were ordained and yet not sufficiently knowledgeable to be able to create new law for our times. For that we need to look to those rabbis that have studied all of the Talmud many times as well as all the relevant responsa over the generations all the way down to our day. There are not too many people like that to say the least. But there are some. But even that isn't enough. These rabbis must either know the technicalities of the subject at hand by either studying it themselves or relying experts in the field. If - for example - a rabbi doesn't know how a computer works he can't possibly tell us whether it is permissible to use it on Shabbos or not - no matter how much Torah he knows. I should add that most Orthodox Jews have been raised in the home to follow Halacha as we know it today. We do not require asking the great rabbis of our generation what the Halacha is in most cases. And if you have a decent Jewish education, you’ve also studied enough basic Jewish law to know it and understand it instead of relying on rote behavior. It is in creating new law relevant to new developments where the great rabbis of each generation come in. That there may be differences of opinion by various great rabbis allows us a choice about who we should listen to for Halachic guidance on these new issues. Getting back to Professor Kwall’s suggestion about ‘doing Jewish’ - not all customs are based in Halacha. As mentioned some are strictly cultural. The strictly cultural items therefore have no bearing on one's Judaism. Even as there are people that see such things as quintessentially Jewish and hang their much of their Jewish identity on them. For me the bottom line is - Yes! ...Jews should be encouraged to follow Jewish practices even if they do it for cultural reasons. (This is kind of the new Modus Operandi of Reform Judaism. They encourage but do not require Mitzvah observance now. Whereas in the past it was anathema to them, they now realize that without it, their identity as seekers of social justice are hardly any different than the way secular humanists identify. They understand that social justice is not strictly a Jewish value. A Jewish identity must have a uniqueness to it - or it isn't an identifying feature of their Judaism). But that can only work if eventually they accept these traditions as binding and pass them on to future generations. If everything remains optional, there is little chance that one's children will accept all the traditions they saw in their home - on their own. Let alone their grandchildren. Especially if there is no formal Jewish education. Finally, it is confusing to mix those traditions which are purely cultural (and in my view meaningless in defining Judaism) and those that are based in Halacha. It is therefore important when reaching out to fellow Jews that are not observant to clearly distinguish between them and to focus on those that are Halacha based – even if it observed as optional. Because ‘Mitoch SheLo LiShma, Bah Lishma’.

Paul went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went from town to town, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily. They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home." And she prevailed upon us. One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe." The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God. When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, "Let those men go." And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, "The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace." But Paul replied, "They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves." The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens; so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. After leaving the prison they went to Lydia's home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.

6 Reasons Catechisms Make Truth Stick Many Christians have a hard time knowing how to make “gospel” and “discipleship” stick in our personal lives and relationships. We’re called to be disciples who make disciples, but how? In our desperate search to answer this profound question, we devote books, studies, podcasts, and resources to uncover how we live this out. In his short and powerful book The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ, Ray Ortlund champions one pivotal idea: “Gospel doctrine creates gospel culture.” Ortlund concisely demonstrates that the Christian life is founded on the truths of our faith, which then become the lifeblood for our relationships. Therefore, our discipleship efforts and relationships must converge with the foundation of our faith. Thankfully, we’ve had many faithful men and women in our generation labor to help us. But in our search for fresh answers to this question sometimes we forget time tested resources. What is a Catechism? A catechism is a collection of theological questions and answers. They are meant for instruction and teaching. Although many evangelicals who are unfamiliar with catechisms might associate this practice with the Roman Catholic Church, many Protestant traditions have gospel rich catechisms waiting to be re-discovered Studying a catechism might seem dated, laborious, and overwhelming for many Christians today. This may be the likely reason they aren’t a part of our regular worship and study of God. It’s important to note here the various benefits of catechisms, and how easy it is to make them the “glue” for the gospel in our pursuit of a life of discipleship. The catechisms are excellent tools to focus like a scope of a rifle. They give us clearer insight into who we are, who God is, how we respond, and how to live life with others. Because of the many faithful pastors who have gone before us, we have at our disposal a collection of confessional, rich, and succinct declarations of our God and our faith. They are devices for Christian use that make doctrine and culture gospel-centered. Here are six reasons why catechism make “gospel” and “discipleship” stick. 1. Putting Words to Beliefs Oftentimes one of the pitfalls in explaining your doctrines to another person is trying to figure out how to put words to what you believe. That seems backwards, but out of fear of incorrectly describing or using too technical language, we often become complacent with “I don’t know.” Certainly admitting what you don’t know is appropriate, but it should be our exception, not the norm. Catechisms “do the talking for us,” helping us describe in succinct, clear, and assured words what we believe. Personally, this was a huge factor that drew me to using catechisms. Instead of having to create my own evangelistic tract or discipleship program, I could walk someone through a catechism like Q&A2 from the Heidelberg Catechism. In this question we learn the three necessities of the gospel: man’s sin, Christ’s redemption, and our response, with a slew of verses for support. As our culture grows more post-Christian by the day, we must hold fast our beliefs and have the appropriate language for them. Catechisms are not the source of truth but they can give us structure to speak about it. 2. Connecting Scripture to Doctrine While the doctrines we hold should be based on the whole of Scripture, the great advantage of familiarizing ourselves with catechisms is that it gives us immediate and clear support for our beliefs from Scripture. This does wonders not only for our personal relationship with God’s Word, but it helps us in apologetic and doctrinal discussions with those who ask us questions. For example, say a Catholic friend of yours asks you how many sacraments you believe in. You remember the Heidelberg Catechism question 68 is devoted to this subject. Not only does it give us the answer (“Two: holy baptism and the holy supper”), but it also gives us passages under this answer as Scriptural support (Matt. 28:19, 20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). Divorcing Scripture from our beliefs is dangerous practice; likewise, uniting these two as often as we can help us stay grounded in the Word and able to make a clear defense (1 Pt. 3:15) for our faith. 3. Helping Readers to Interpret Few people want to spend the time going through a seminary-level hermeneutics class to learn principles for better Bible study. A great place to start in our search for better Bible interpretation is a catechism. Because of this connection to Scripture, we are aided greatly in how to summarize key Biblical texts. We start to see how Scripture not only supports, but relates to our thoughts. Associating ourselves with catechetical thinking will help us approach further Scripture reading with the same interpretative ideas. 4. Committing Truth to Memory Catechisms exist not merely to serve as reference tools, but as our very own pre-written “flash cards” that will help us learn how to recite and retain what our beliefs are. The practice of Biblical memorization is neglected in our culture, but the catechisms revive the importance of firmly grasping our doctrines and their corresponding Scriptures. From personal experience, I will say that the more effort you put into memorizing of any kind, the easier memorizing Scripture becomes. Using catechisms for memorizing and thus retaining our knowledge of the faith will only propel us into better and quick Scripture memory. 5. Training Children to Study As a child, I was never exposed to catechisms in my home. I also do not have any children of my own. It is obvious I cannot speak from practical experience in this regard. But I have watched parents wrestle with how to introduce the “weightier” truths of Scripture to their children. Catechisms are a time tested way to do that. For children, memorization is far easier (and thus probably more enjoyable, too!), but also these are excellent conversation starters for children. Naturally, I won’t expect my 4-year-old to recite “penal substitutionary atonement” and its Scripture references, but with the help of many “kid-friendly” catechisms out there, such as Luther’s Small Catechism, I look forward to helping my children learn the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and other essentials of the Christian faith. When our children have a question about something, catechisms invite gospel conversations into the household. Catechisms can and should become part of our family routine. 6. Teaching Disciples to Slow Down In today’s culture, anything that requires you to slow down is not worth your precious time. To us, “slow” is viewed as a negative word—our minds default to traffic, old desktop computers, and bad waiters! But the practices of meditation and reflection are critical to our understanding and study of God and his precepts. God is infinite, and, therefore, cannot ever be fully known. This is even more reason for us to take pause as often as possible instead of skimming over the rich theology found all around us. Using catechisms helps us take our foot off the gas and take time to consider the glorious, unsearchable riches of our God. As a side note, such an attitude can only help our prayer lives. How to Study A Catechism Some people will attempt to memorize an entire catechism; others will find it helpful to use them in a more devotional sense, focusing less on memorization and more on exploring the ideas themselves. There is no one right way to use a catechism; the only wrong way is to leave it unused. Do what works for you. The more we familiarize ourselves with the catechism, the easier meditating, praying, and memorizing the catechisms will get for us. I highly recommend Kevin DeYoung’s The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism to get acquainted with catechisms. DeYoung spends a lot of time providing commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, but his book more than anything outlines the kind of intimate, reflective, and dedicated approach we should take to unpacking catechisms. Let us labor to use this “gospel glue” to help us stand firm in our faith, ground ourselves in the Word, compel us to unity with our brothers in discipleship, aid us in teaching our children and those we mentor, and awaken us to the rich truth of God himself. There are multiple catechisms that prove fruitful to study. See below for a list of some catechism-based resources that can help beginner and advanced students alike: - Luther’s Shorter/Larger Catechism – Great for families and children - Heidelberg Catechism – More devotional treatment of doctrine - New City Catechism – Recently adapted from Reformation catechisms for families - Westminster Shorter/Larger Catechism – More systematic treatment of doctrine - Westminster Shorter Catechism Songs: Vol 1 – Holly Dutton (Westminster Catechism Q&As put to music and lyrics) - Training Hearts, Teaching Minds – Starr Meade (Devotional on the Westminster Shorter Catechism) - Comforting Hearts, Teaching Minds – Starr Meade (Devotional on the Heidelberg Catechism) - The Good News We Almost Forgot – Kevin DeYoung Zach Barnhart (@zachbarnhart) currently serves as a church planting intern with Fellowship Church in Knoxville, Tennessee and is pursuing pastoral ministry. He is a college graduate from Middle Tennessee State University and lives in Knoxville with his wife, Hannah. He is a blogger, contributor to For The Church and Servants of Grace, and manages a devotional/podcast at Cultivated. An Encouragement to Use Catechisms Tom J. Nettles Many contemporaries have a deep–seated suspicion of catechisms. In our own Baptist denomination, many would consider the words “Baptist catechism” as mutually exclusive. A popular misconception is that catechisms are used in times and places where inadequate views of conversion predominate or the fires of evangelism have long since turned to white ash. If the Bible is preached, they continue, no catechism is necessary; catechisms tend to produce mere intellectual assent where true heart religion is absent. This concern reflects a healthy interest for the experiential side of true Christianity. Concern for conversion and fervor, however, should never diminish one’s commitment to the individual truths of Christianity nor the necessity of teaching them in a full and coherent manner. In fact, some who profess the Christian faith are so experience-oriented that their view of spirituality makes them antagonistic to precise doctrine. Any attempt to inculcate systematic arrangement of truth is considered either divisive or carnal. Such convictions may be held in all sincerity and may gain apparent support from selected facts, but suspicion of catechisms as a legitimate tool for teaching God’s Word cannot be justified historically, biblically, or practically. History Commends the Usefulness of Catechisms The early church was painfully familiar with the apostasy of professing Christians. Persecution and the continued power of heathen worship practices caused many to lapse and prompted the early church to develop methods of instructing apparent converts before baptism. The period of instruction and catechizing served two purposes: it allowed the candidate (catechumenate) to decide if he still wanted to submit to Christian baptism and gave the church opportunity to discern (as far as human observation can do these kinds of things) the genuineness of his, or her, conversion. Then, after engaging in a period of fasting and prayer with the church, the candidates were baptized. This use of catechisms served as a safeguard for the purity of the church. Men such as Tertullian and Augustine served as catechists within the church. Julian the Apostate (ca. 360) so feared the effectiveness of this enterprise that he closed all Christian schools and places of public literature and forbade the instructing of youth. With the union of church and state by the end of the fourth century and the gradual development of infant baptism the nature of catechetical instruction changed. The procedure of pre-baptismal catechetical instruction shifted more and more to after-the-fact instruction in preparation for confirmation. In many places it vanished entirely. Mass christianization of barbarian tribes in the middle ages revitalized the catechetical idea. Charlemagne insisted that each baptized person should know at least the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed. This concern then extended to the children of such Christianized tribes. Though minimal, instruction was necessary, and the guarantee for it came from godparents who themselves were required to know the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. As confirmation developed in significance, examination upon the basic points of Christian doctrine became a normal procedure. This kind of practice has led to the impression that catechisms substitute for conversion in some traditions. The golden Age of catechisms emerged in the Reformation. Both Luther and Calvin placed high priority on instruction by catechetical method and considered the success of the Reformation as virtually dependent on the faithfulness of Protestants to this process. In 1548, Calvin wrote Edward VI’s protector Somerset: “Believe my Lord, that the Church of God shall never be conserved without catechism, for it is as the seed to be kept that the good grain perish not but that it may increase from age to age. Wherefore if you desire to build a work of continuance to endure long, and which should not shortly fall into decay, cause that the children in their young age be instructed in a good catechism.” The Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Catechism have had the most significant impact on Reformed Protestantism. The former, dating from 1562, begins with two questions which establish the format for the remainder of the document. - Q. 1. What is thy only comfort in life and in death? - A. That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ, who with his precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto him. - Q. 2. How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou in this comfort mayest live and die happy? - A. Three things: First, the greatness of my sin and misery. Second, how I am redeemed from all my sins and misery. Third, how I am to be thankful to God for such redemption. The three parts of the catechism which follow are entitled “Of Man’s Misery,” “Of Man’s Redemption,” and “Of Thankfulness.” Within these sections full question and answer expositions are given of the Fall, the Apostles’ Creed, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, Perseverance, and Ten Commandments, and the Lord’s Prayer. Hercules Collins, a leading English Baptist of the seventeenth century, adopted the Heidelberg Catechism as the basis for his 1680 publication Orthodox Catechism. Collins, a Baptist, felt that this virtual duplication of the Heidelberg Catechism should strengthen the usefulness of his work, “hoping an Athenian Spirit is in none of you, but do believe that an old Gospel (to you who have the sweetness of it) will be more acceptable than a new.” Part of his purpose was to demonstrate basic unity with the larger Protestant community. Although literally hundreds of catechisms were produced in English in the seventeenth century, the most influential catechisms were those that arose from the Westminster Assembly, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The Shorter Catechism especially influenced Baptist life, as it formed the basis for Keach’s (or The Baptist) Catechism and subsequently Spurgeon’s Catechism. In America, the Philadelphia Association catechism and the Charleston Association catechism were duplicates of Keach’s catechism. Richard Furman used it faithfully and effectively. Several principles appeared to govern the theory of catechisms. One, many catechist believed that catechisms of different levels should be produced. Luther had published two as did the Scottish divine Craig and the Puritan John Owen (Two Short Catechisms). Richard Baxter had three, suited for childhood, youth, and mature age. The Westminster Assembly’s two catechisms are will known. Henry Jessey, another of the leading early Baptists, had three catechisms, all bound together, one of which contained only four questions: What man was, is, may be, and must be. John A. Broadus includes sections of “advanced questions” at the end of each respective section in the body of his catechism. This graduated difficulty in catechism rests on the theory that the earlier the stamping on the mind, the more indelible the result. Two, exact memory is generally considered important. The power of words to substantiate reality enforces the necessity of some precision at this point. “I serve a precise God,” said Richard Rogers. Luther instructed those teaching the Small Catechism “to avoid changes or variation in the text and wording.” We should teach these things, he continued, “in such a way that we do not alter a single syllable or recite the catechism differently from year to year.” Exact head knowledge, however, is obviously not the end of catechetical instruction. Rather, catechizing aims ultimately at the eyes of understanding, heart knowledge. Even in the Westminster Assembly some were concerned that “people will come to learn things by rote, and answer it as a parrot but not understand the thing.” The design of the catechism is, under God, to chase the darkness from a sinner’s understanding, so that he may be enlightened in the knowledge of Christ and freely embrace him in forgiveness of sin. John Bunyan specifically wrote his catechism, “Instruction for the Ignorant,” that God might bless it to the awakening of many sinners, and the salvation of their souls by faith in Jesus Christ. The major purpose of Henry Jessey’s “Catechism for Babes” was to give instruction concerning how God could forgive those who “deserve death, and God’s curse,” and could still “be honoured in thus forgiving, naughty ones as we are.” Henry Fish, an American Baptist, screwed in tightly the application of each section of his catechism by a poignant rhetorical question sealing discussion of each doctrine. For example, “Are you a believer, or does the wrath of God abide on you for unbelief?” A catechism written by the English Baptist John Sutcliffe pinpoints this same concern as the goal of catechetical instruction. - Q. To conclude: what do you learn from the catechism you have now been repeating? - A. I learn that the affairs of my soul are of the greatest importance, and ought to employ my chief concern. That this has indeed been the result of catechetical instruction quite often is a happy fact. Luther Rice, that great early promoter of missions in America, said this in reflecting on his conversion: After finding myself thus happy in the Lord, I began to reflect in a day or two, whether touching this reconciliation with God, there was anything of Christ in it or not! It then opened very dearly and sweetly to my view that all this blessed effect and experience arose distinctly out of the efficiency of the statement made by Christ. That I was indebted wholly to him for it all, and indeed the whole of that luminous system of divinity drawn out in the Westminster Catechism, opened on my view with light, and beauty, and power. This I had been taught to repeat, when a child. I then felt and still feel glad that I had been so taught. A charming reminiscence of one of the children Furman catechized gives a clear picture of the importance he attached to this process and these doctrines. A 1926 edition of In Royal Service quotes the remembrance a grandchild had of her grandmother’s experience under Furman. We had no Sabbath school then, but we had the Baptist Catechism, with which we were as familiar as with the Lord’s Prayer. At our quarterly seasons, we children of the congregation repeated the Baptist Catechism standing, in a circle round the font. We numbered from sixty to a hundred. The girls standing at the south of the pulpit, the boys meeting them in the center from the north, Dr. Furman would, in his majestic, winning manner, walk down the pulpit steps and with book in hand, commence asking questions, beginning with the little ones (very small indeed some were, but well taught and drilled at home). We had to memorize the whole book, for none knew which question would fall to them. I think I hear at this very moment the dear voice of our pastor saying, “A little louder, my child,” and then the trembling, sweet voice would be raised a little too loud. It was a marvel to visitors on these occasions, the wonderful self-possession and accuracy manifested by the whole class. This practice was of incalculable benefit, for when it pleased God to change our hearts, and when offering ourselves to the church for membership, we knew what the church doctrines meant and were quite familiar with answering questions before the whole congregation, and did not quake when pastor or deacon or anyone else asked what we understood by Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, Justification, Adoption, Sanctification. Oh, no; we had been well taught…What a pity that such a course of instruction has been abandoned. Another kind of understanding was necessary also. Couching profound truth of the Great “I Am” in language digestible and understandable for children takes great discipline and concentration. Henry Jessey recognized a deficiency at this point in some of the earlier catechisms for children in that some of the answers contained Latin and Greek phrases. Jessey “desired to see one so plain and easie in the expressions, as they the very Babes, that can speak but stammeringly, and are of very weak capacities, might understand what they say.” John A. Broadus felt the same tension when writing his “Catechism of Bible Teaching.” Reflecting on finishing Lesson 1 entitled “God,” Broadus said, “It is, of course, an extremely difficult task to make questions and answers about the existence and attributes of the Divine Being, that shall be intelligible to children, adequate as the foundation for future thinking, and correct as far as they go.” Those three guidelines should serve well to judge any catechism. Baptist catechisms have existed virtually since the appearance of modern-day Baptists in the seventeenth century. Typical of early Baptist commitment to catechizing is an admonition that appears in the circular letter of 1777 from the Baptist ministers and messengers assembled at Oakham in Rutlandshire, England. Our confession of faith and our catechism for the instruction of our young people, are published to the world; and from these glorious principles we hope you will never depart…At present, blessed be God, we believe there is no apparent apostasy in our ministers and people from the glorious principles we profess; but, at the same time, we must in great plainness and faithfulness tell you, that catechizing of children is most sadly neglected, both in private families and in public congregations… Our honoured brethren, the ministers at Bristol, have lately encouraged the publication of two editions of our catechism,…and we do most earnestly entreat you to furnish yourselves with this excellent compendium of true divinity, and that you would teach it diligently to your children in private, and desire your pastors to instruct them, at least for the summer season, in public. Cathcart’s The Baptist Encyclopedia encourages “parents to employ the Catechism in their own homes” because “this neglected custom of the past should be revived in every Baptist family in the world.” Southern Baptists developed catechisms as valuable tools for the religious education and evangelization of slaves. In 1848, Robert Ryland published “A Scripture Catechism for the Instruction of Children and Servants” and, in 1857, E.T. Winkler published Notes and Questions for the Oral Instruction of Colored People. Each of these catechisms contains fifty-two lessons, one for each Lord’s Day of the year. In 1863, when the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention was founded, one of its first publications was A Catechism of Bible Doctrine, by J.P. Boyce. Within a four-month period in 1864, then thousand of these were printed and distributed. In 1879, Southern Baptists requested J.L. Dagg to write “a catechism…containing the substance of the Christian religion, for the instruction of children and servants…” Evidently this catechism was never completed. When the Southern Baptist Convention was considering the reestablishment of the Sunday School Board in 1891, the first new project it proposed was the publication of a catechism by John A. Broadus. This was printed and used widely and advantageously. Summary and Conclusion Catechisms have served in several capacities historically. During the early centuries of Christian history they were used for prebaptismal instruction. Later, after infant baptism began to become prominent, they were used to educate the masses baptized in infancy. Charlemagne in particular arranged that catechetical instruction should be given in his era of embarrassing ignorance. During the Reformation, catechisms met several important and pressing needs. As a type of personalized confession, they helped establish clearly the distinguishing doctrines considered paramount by the reformers. Also, their polemical power assisted in the task of bringing a corrective cordial to the deceptive spiritual sickness propagated by Roman Catholicism. Additionally, they were effective in teaching biblical truth as an ongoing enterprise in cities and countries that adopted the Reformation. Puritans and their heirs utilized catechisms as an evangelistic tool. Baptists, including Southern Baptists, produced scores of catechisms for use in this variety of ways. We see, then, that like all good ideas, catechisms are subject to abuse, and their evil lives after them. We should not, however, let the good be interred with their bones, but resurrect it as an effective instrument for a new day of Reformation. “Those who do away with Christian doctrine are…the worst enemies of Christian living.” Charles Spurgeon An Encouragement to Use Catechisms (Part 2) (The first part of this article is found in FJ 10 and consists of historical testimonies to the usefulness of catechetical instruction for believers. This is the second of three installments on the subject by Dr. Nettles.) The Bible Encourages Their Use In addition to the lessons of history, Scripture itself encourages the use of catechisms in our efforts to be transformed by the biblical message. The divine out-breathings which produced Scripture create both an assumption and a purpose which are consistent with this approach to instruction. The assumption is the authority, sufficiency, and consistency of Scripture; the purpose is the increase of spiritual maturity in the children of God. Examples or models of instruction used by the first-century church abound in Scripture, both in method and content. These make it clear that the use of summaries, readily digestible portions of revelatory truth, make for effective instruction in the church. In addition, implicit admonitions for this form of education are scattered throughout the pages of the Bible and mixed with the models mentioned above. The catechetical approach should not be used to serve any fascination with systems and abstractions or to puff one’s self up with speculative knowledge instead of increased love for God (1 Cor. 8:1). Instead, it is one way that Christians may enhance their ability to use Scripture in accordance with its purpose. Instruction with this kind of precision constitutes an obedient response to the Bible itself and fulfills biblical principles undergirding the process of disciple making. Fulfillment of Scripture’s Purpose Preaching, teaching, and meditation (biblical means of spiritual growth) require slightly different emphases in the use of Scripture and accomplish slightly different tasks in conforming us to Christ. Preaching comes in the form of a proclamation, challenging and correcting our thoughts and actions, teaching us of the grace of God in the gospel, and calling us to deeper repentance and obedience. Teaching, no more content-oriented nor less confrontive than preaching, employs a format less monologic and more oriented toward questioning and discussion. Meditation involves extended personal appraisal of one’s own thoughts and actions in comparison to the beauty and holy character of God as revealed in Scripture and impressed on the heart by the Holy Spirit. In each of these, not only does the person who is well catechized have a distinct advantage, the use of a catechetical approach is a basic element of the procedure itself. Those who have good scripture knowledge gain more from good preaching. If, in addition, they have been trained to see the coherent structure of biblical truth and can define its leading principles, their knowledge of Scripture is more precise and thorough. The consequent benefit from preaching in-creases. More will be said about this in the discussion of practical advantages. A well-catechized hearer doesn’t view the words and ideas of the preacher as isolated fragments of truth; he understands them as constituent elements of the “one faith” which must govern our efforts to achieve “unity in the faith.” Matthew Henry, a seventeenth-century Puritan biblical scholar, states, “Catechizing does to the preaching of the word the same good office that John the Baptist did to our Saviour; it prepares the way, and makes its paths straight, and yet like him does but say the same things.” This relationship between preparatory instruction and purity of worship was woven into the very fabric of the history of Israel. The people were commanded to instruct their children in the ways of God. When an Israelite child asked his father, “What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?” the parent was to answer with a summary of the mighty works of God for the redemption of the people (Deut. 6:20-25). These acts of God might be more fully expounded in other contexts, but the summary served as a basis of all conduct and worship. One could conclude that the entire history of Israel was catechetical preparation for Peter’s sermon at Pentecost. Of course, it was much more than that. Peter explained what the people observed with the words, “This is what was spoken…” (Acts 2:16) and the explanation was sufficient. His appeal to the attestation of Jesus’ ministry by miracles, wonders, and signs (2:22) was consistent with their understanding of God’s activity in pivotal redemptive eras of their history (Moses and Elijah). His recitation of the Messianic prophecies through David made immediate appeal to the orientation of his audience. Also, his references to the pouring out of the Spirit did not refer simply to Jesus’ promises during his earthly ministry about the coming of the comforter. This would have meant little to Peter’s audience. More likely he referred to the coming of the Spirit as the sign of ultimate redemption and the new covenant (Ezekiel 11:19; 18:31; 36:27; 39:29; Jeremiah 31:31-34). Peter’s announcement of Jesus a both “Lord” and “Christ” met with immediate understanding and conviction. Both words were filled with meaning for the hearers and the string of evidence he presented pointed to the conclusion they drew. I am not contending that a strong background of knowledge when combined with a compelling argument always makes a convert. NE conviction or conversion will come without the effectual working of the Spirit of God (Eph. 1:19; Col. 2:11, 12). A connection, however, between prior knowledge and proclamation is a part of God’s ordained means of salvation. The same is seen in Paul’s sermon at Athens. He appealed to what he knew they had discerned from general revelation and had put within their system of worship (Acts 17:22-29). In a sense, nature and conscience had catechized them. Also, more quickly than those not so trained, those catechized become capable of preaching and teaching. The appeal of preaching he in proclaiming the new (whether it be insight into content or application) based on known truth. Jesus said, “Every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old” (Mt. 13:52). The scribes were the most thoroughly educated people of Israel during the time of our Lord. They were professional students of the law and gathered around themselves pupils to whom they taught the law and the oral tradition which accompanied it, much of which they themselves produced. They taught their students to pass on this content without alteration. Jesus indicates that the person with scribal training, when converted and freed of the idol of human tradition, is capable of teaching others the truths of the kingdom of God. He can understand and communicate how Christian revelation relates to the new challenges the world constantly presents. He gives insight in how one can make fresh applications of the unchangeable truths divine revelation. Apollos, before he met Aquila and Priscilla, was literally “catechized” in the way of the Lord and was teaching with accuracy the things concerning Jesus (Acts 18:25). Upon receiving more accurate instruction concerning some details, he continued his teaching being of great help to believers and an irrefutable apologist for the faith in public debate with the Jews (Acts 18:27, 28). It was no small contribution to his eventual effectiveness that he was so thoroughly “catechized.” The biblical evidence for the value of catechisms is not derived solely from inference. The specific admonitions of Scripture support the use of this method. “Teach them diligently to thy children” and “talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” were the instructions accompanying the second giving of the commandments (Deut. 6). This sort of instruction included memorization of fundamental precepts. The psalmist assumes the existence of this knowledge in his numerous exhortations to meditate in the law of the Lord. No meditation can occur where no content is present; and the more accurate and precise the content, the more edifying and uplifting the meditation. David says, “The unfolding of thy words gives light” (Ps. 119:130 NASB). The word for “unfolding” may mean “entrance” or “opening.” Its root often is used metaphorically for “understanding” or, in a phrase, “grasping the true meaning.” The illumination of the Holy Spirit alone accomplishes this, particularly as it relates to one’s transformation by the renewing of the mind (Rom. 12:2). From a human standpoint, however, the purpose of a catechism is to present true contextual understanding of the biblical revelation. It can give significant and enlightening help in the Christian privilege of meditation on the truths of divine revelation, a practice which gives understanding to the simple. Admonitions and Examples Much of the educational task of the church today is parallel with that of the Levites in Nehemiah’s day. When the Israelites were at the threshold of recovering their significance as the people of God, central to this reorientation was the learning of the word of God. Ezra led the scribes and the Levites in intensive sessions with the people: “They read in the book of the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understanding the reading” (Ezra 8:1-8). Scripture itself gives clear warrant to the use of external aids in order to enhance and accelerate biblical understanding. The Levites “gave the sense.” Preeminently, the preacher serves in that capacity; but providing the same kind of touchstone given by the “rule of faith” in the early Christian centuries, a catechism helps perform the same function. When it has a comprehensive scriptural orientation and is organized logically, a catechism can enhance understanding and give immense help in grasping the sense of Scripture. Summaries of faith, either in confessional or catechetical form, appear in the New Testament. These are used in situations where strong clear reminders of the distinctiveness of the Christian faith are needed. They serve to exhort, encourage, warn and edify. Bits and pieces of confessions, or perhaps catechetical responses, are very likely present in such passages as Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Timothy 1:15-17; 3:12-16; 2 Timothy 1:8-10; 2:11-13; and Titus 1:11-14. The faith Paul mentions in Eph 4:5, 13 could be the experience of grace of faith. Another and more likely, possibility is that it denote an objective faith, that is a body of teaching. The context seems to favor that understanding. Paul emphasizes the gift of pastor-teacher in verse 11 and, in verse 13, has in mind a doctrinal core around which believers should be united. This is contrasted to the instability of the doctrine characteristic of deceitful teachers in verse 14. At any rate, the words in verses 5 and 6 have an easily memorable form which expressed a foundational and minimal confessional standard for some first-century Christian churches. The simple but clear and exclusive confession could serve as an effective shield of faith against many fiery first-century darts of false teaching. The phrase “a faithful saying” (literally Faithful the word), in Timothy 1:15 and 3:1 and 4:9, introduces a confessional, or perhaps catechetical formula. The sentences which follow could possibly stand alone as pithy and pregnant epigrams, “one-liner” confessions such as “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” More likely they are part of larger statements as in 1 Timothy 3:16. That particular confession called by Paul “The Mystery of Godliness” begins with a phrase which contains an adverbial form of the word “confess” and literally translates “confessedly great.” Idiomatically it means “undeniably.” That which is “confessed” with such certainty is a six-article Christological confession. Apparently, Paul considered this confession a helpful safeguard against the encroachment of heresy, for immediately in 1 Timothy 4:6, Paul warns Timothy about the errors of ascetic dualism. That heresy by implication denies the goodness of creation as well as the reality of the incarnation, death, resurrection, and bodily ascension of Christ into heaven. Paul points to the “words of faith” and the inherently good, noble and praiseworthy doctrine he has been following. He uses the same word to describe the “teaching” (v.6) as he does to describe the inherent goodness of the creation (v.4). The phrase “words of faith” in verse 6 has a strong verbal relationship to the “faithful sayings” in 1:15, 3:1,4:9, and 2 Tim. 2:11. The first uses the noun form of “faith” and the second uses the adjective form. Conceptually, Paul is making the same affirmation. A “faithful saying” incorporates words which summarize certain truths of the faith; thus, “words of faith” becomes “faithful words”, or “faithful sayings.” These are in turn identified with “the sound doctrine” (NASB) Timothy has been following. Paul is reminding Timothy that spiritual and doctrinal nourishment he received in his early instruction is a strong, and even essential, foundation for an effective ministry with the people of God. Verse 9 then repeats the formula “It is a faithful saying and worthy of full acceptance” that exercising oneself to godliness (v.7) striving and laboring for life now and to come (vv.8, 10) are all part of putting one’s hope in the living God “who is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe.” These faithful sayings consisted of the teaching of the apostles and N. T. prophets (the foundational gifts to the church) and served as the Christ-centered guide to the interpretation of the 0. T. Scriptures and as paths to life in the presence of the Living God. In 2 Timothy 1:8, Paul encourages Timothy not to be ashamed of the “testimony of our Lord.” The word “testimony” which serves to translate two Greek words contains a rich fabric of meaning. Among the several things that both unite are the following: an event, word, or thing that serves as proof or evidence (John 8:17); a personal conviction about the truth which can not be compromised no matter what the consequences (2 Cor. 1:12); the spoken message about Christ’s person and work (1 Cor. 1:16); and, in The Martyrdom of Polycarp, it refers specifically to the martyr’s death. In 1 Tim. 2:6 the “testimony” is used as an appositive to “ransom.” The death of Christ was thus Christ’s personal witness to and irrefutable evidence of the truth that there is one God and that reconciliation is possible only through a mediator who provides an effectual ransom (antilutron). The death of Christ speaks volumes, infinite volumes, about the unique efficacy of the gospel; it is the testimony in God’s ordained time. And to that specific testimony that Christ made in his death Paul was appointed a preacher, and apostle, and a teacher. When he speaks of the “testimony of our Lord,” therefore, in 2 Tim. 1:8 he has in mind that historical witness of Christ in his passion which is communicated to all generations in the words called the Gospel (“be a fellow-sufferer in the gospel”). John’s Angel in Revelation 19:10 speaks of those messengers who “hold the testimony of Jesus.” Indeed, the angel continues, the “testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.” Isaiah, when hounded by the false religionists of his day to consult mediums, replied, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn” (Isa. 8:20 NASB). The testimony of our Lord, or the testimony of Jesus, is the fulfillment of all the prophets. This testimony (marturion) is given a form so that witnesses (martus) may testify (martureo) verbally. An elevated prose portion of that testimony is presented in the words of verses 9 and 10 of 2 Tim. 1: “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but has now been manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who destroyed death on the one hand, and, on the other, brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” Timothy also is admonished to “guard the deposit” and follow the pattern or standard of “sound words” given him. This deposit and these sound words he was to entrust to faithful men who would b able to teach others. Paul had already written against those who live in a moral squalor opposed to the “sound teaching which is according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God” (1:10-11). In 1 Tim. 6:3, Pat warns Timothy against those who want to teach other things and will not receive “sound words.” Nor will they receive “the teaching” that according to godliness. Instead, they are men who understand nothing and, among other things, are deprived of the truth. He gives similar instruction to Titus that he would select overseers who hold firmly to the sure word which is in accord with “the teaching.” This is so they may exhort others in “the teaching, the sound teaching” and may reprove those who oppose them. 2 Tim. 3:14, 15 pictures Timothy as having learned from his grandmother, mother, and Paul’s sets of truths stated not exactly in Scripture language but founded upon Scripture truth. In the same vein the writer of Hebrews speaks of the need of some to be instructed in the “elementary principles of the Oracles of God” (5:12). Paul’s emphasis on “the teaching,” the “deposit,” the “sound teaching,” the “sound words,” and his instruction that it serve as corrective guideline to false teachings, false teachers, an nonessential subtleties creates a form with clearly recognizable features. Thomas Watson and Matthew Henry are convinced that the “form, pattern, standard of sound words” is a type of catechism: “the first principles of the oracles of God.” The apostles and other teachers in the New Testament worked with several clear, concise, verbally friendly confessional and catechetical devices to establish a foundation for the entire teaching ministry. The practice of learning by exact verbal patterns was well established, by divine mandate, in Jewish culture. A continuance that would not only be natural but an expected response to the divine disclosure of the words of the gospel. Nothing should hinder the conclusion that memorization of the deposit of truth is biblical. The catechism appears to meet this need most acceptably (See Birger Gerhardsson, Memory and manuscript: Oral Tradition and Writt, Transmission in Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity). Some object to catechisms because they fear a tendency to replace Scripture. If viewed in terms of the medieval practice, such a fear might have legitimacy, In addition the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy: produced an implicit creedalism that was opposed by the founder of the pietist movement. While Pietism developed its own set of problems, its renewed emphasis on Bible study was a needed practical application of the Protestant emphasis on sola scriptura. The most consistent practice in Protestantism, however, gives positive relief to this important concern. Spurgeon noted the tendency of this fear and addressed it forcefully: If there were any fear that Scripture would be displaced by handbooks of theology, we should be the first to denounce them; but there is not the shadow of a reason for such a dream, since the most Bible-reading of all the nations is that in which the Assembly’s Catechism is learned by almost every mother’s son [cited in Cathcart, The Baptist Encyclopedia, s.v. Creeds, advantageous). Matthew Henry, in his “Sermon Concerning the Catechizing of Youth,” expressed, a century before Spurgeon, the same confidence: Bear us witness, we set up no other rule and practice, no other oracle, no other touchstone or test of orthodoxy, but the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament: these are the only fountains whence we fetch our knowledge;…and far be it from us that we should set up any form of words in competition with it, much less in contradiction to it; or admit any rival with it in the conduct an guardianship of our souls, as some do the traditions of the church, and others I know not what light within. Every other help we have for our souls we make use of as regula regulata – “a rule controlled”; in subordination and subserviency to the Scripture; and among the rest our catechisms and confessions of faith [The Complete Works of Matthew Henry 2 vols. (Grand Rapids; Baker Book House, 1979) 2:159, 160]. Allow a contemporary to testify to the eminently safe and edifying character of a scriptural catechism. In his introduction to his own revised version of Keach’s Catechism, Paul King Jewett anticipates this objection with a strong answer: It would be anomalous indeed to say that in teaching that the Scripture is the only rule of faith and practice, the catechism is setting itself in the place of Scripture. All that the authors of our catechism have sought to do is to state in a plain, orderly and concise manner what the Scripture teaches. And do we any less in the sermon, which is the very central act of evangelical worship? What is a sermon, or at least what ought it to be, but a clear and forceful statement in the preacher’s own words of what the Scripture means? And if this may be done in a sermon, why may it not be done in a catechism? An Encouragement to Use Catechisms (Part 3) An Encouragement to Use Catechisms (Part 3) (Two earlier articles on this theme have appeared in FJ 10 and 12 and consist, respectively, of historical and biblical testimony to the usefulness of catechetical instruction for believers. This is the final installment on the subject.) Catechizing is Practical The practicality of such an exercise can be demonstrated at several points. First, catechizing forces one to redeem the time. There are many good and helpful ways for parents and children to spend time together. Many parents struggle, however, with finding a means of creating spiritual and biblical discussions with their children. The discipline of catechizing draws parent and child, student and teacher, together in the most helpful and edifying of all activities–the submission of heart and mind to the teachings of the Bible. Other activities may draw the parties together, but time could not be so well spent in any other endeavor. As Matthew Henry affirms, “Your being catechized obliges you to spend at least some part of your time well, and so as you may afterwards reflect upon it with comfort and satisfaction above many other, perhaps above any other, of your precious moments.” Second, catechizing gives the building blocks from which all Scripture can be comprehended. I considered this idea briefly when considering how a catechism is in conformity with the purpose of Scripture. One of the church’s most influential and, from a teaching standpoint, successful theologians, John Calvin, saw the truth of this principle and employed it brilliantly. He wrote a catechism to be used in all the homes in Geneva and explains his commitment to this ideas in the preface to his 1545 French edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion. He spoke of the benefits to the church of having in writing a treatment “in succession of the principal matters” which comprise Christian truth. Those who took advantage of this benefit will “be prepared to make more progress in the school of God in one day than any other person in three months” since he knows “to what he should refer each sentence and has a rule by which to test whatever is presented to him.” Marion Snapper calls this the Lodestar hypothesis. In the absence of sophisticated electronic equipment, a maritime navigator must focus on several brilliant and pivotal stars out of the vast and dazzling array of heavenly splendors. The catechism provides these guiding lights. An artist begins learning his gift by observing the forms of circles, triangles, ellipses, squares, and adds understanding of shading, symmetry, and depth. He then combines these into beautiful creations by the skillful addition of detail. A theologian begins with the first basic principles of faith, which if learned well provide the immovable stones which support massive and comprehensive treatments of all the revealed counsels of God. Though a catechism cannot contain all the beauty of the Scriptures, it may contain “the essentials of religion, the foundations and main pillars” upon which the rest stands. Matthew Henry compares a catechism to a “map of the land of promise, by the help of which we may travel it over with our eye in a little time.” A catechism can no more replace the Bible than a map can replace travel. Though a map does not render the smell of flowers, the heat of the sun, the refreshment of a breeze, or the height of a mountain, the serious traveler would never want to be without one. Traveling from Cuckfield to Canterbury or from Gary, Indiana, to Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, a trip can turn into quite a disaster without a good map for guidance. The terrain is not altered to fit the map; rather, the map is carefully designed to show what the terrain is like. Nor does one sit at home admiring the wonderful map, thinking that he has seen the world because he has studied the map. No, the map aids in my travel and even encourages one to it. One gets an overall view of where one is going from the map, and, conversely, the journey even helps one understand the map better. Even so is a catechism to Scripture. Third, a catechized congregation makes better sermons and better preachers. Thomas Watson says, “To preach and not to catechize is to build without foundation.” The writer of Hebrews labored under some debilitating difficulties because his readers were inadequately grounded in foundational theological principles (Heb. 5:11-14). What might the writer have told us about the priesthood of Christ had his addressees been mature doctrinally and well catechized? Even so, if a significant portion of one’s regular congregation sees clearly the lodestars of the Faith, more detailed textual exposition becomes possible, if not necessary. Thus, the people are in a position to feed on the sincere milk of the word and the pastoral dimension of feeding the flock of god takes on new and highly challenging dimensions. Two dangers in this advantage are to be avoided. One, maturity of understanding in a portion of the congregation must not force one into a weekly display of esoteric interests. While every message must have something to stretch and challenge the mature, it must also speak plainly to the children and the uncatechized. Two, one must avoid the spirit of novelty. A strong foundation must not be interpreted to grant one license to produce cute little doctrinal embellishments of one’s own whims derived from hermeneutical oddities and hidden meanings. Such enterprises, in reality, produce only disproportionate, grotesque monstrosities composed of wood, hay, and stubble to be consumed, for they have no coherence or harmony with the foundation, which is Christ. In fact the tendency of the preacher involved in catechetical training with his congregation would be to emphasize the great central truths of the gospel: sin, the cross, atonement, regeneration, repentance unto life, saving faith, justification, the person and work of Christ, the convenantal working of the Triune God in the salvation of sinners. The fourth practical use of a catechism is its witness to our belief that Scripture is consistent, clear, and can be taught systematically. Popular scepticism towards the possibility of revealed truth produces raised eyebrows and dropped jaws at the mention of “systematic” theology or catechisms of Bible doctrine. Such materials presuppose that the Bible’s teachings on any number of subjects can be arranged in such a manner as to present a consistent, non-contradictory picture of that subject. Catechisms may present real problems to those who feel uncomfortable affirming full biblical truthfulness and consistency; but, for those who accept that position as necessary for the Christian faith, catechisms should be not only welcomed but aggressively sought. Fifth, arising from the Christian’s commitment to truthfulness, which includes coherence and non-contradiction, the catechism aids in producing minds which are congenial to logic and analysis. A well-constructed catechism weaves itself into a tapestry of truth. All parts depend upon and are informed by all others. The learner does not see items of information as meaningless and disconnected from reality as a whole. Instead, without eliminating the sense of mystery and intruding on things hidden from our view by God himself, a confidence in the coherence of truth is paramount. Everything begins with God as creator, subsists and maintains its being through divine providence, and ultimately is consumed in the divine purpose to God’s glory. Not only is the created order meaningful, but history is meaningful, and the words used to describe creation and history are meaningful. The God who spoke the world into existence and maintains it by the word of his power, has by those acts vested in written language the possibility, in fact the necessity, of accurate communication. Observe theological procession and analytical integrity of the following series of exchanges. Q. (20) Into what estate did the fall bring mankind? A. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery (Rom. v. 1,2). Q. (21) Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell? A. The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it (Rom. v.12, to the end; Eph. ii. 1,2,3; James i. 14,15; Matt. xv. 19). Q. (22) Wherin consists the misery of that estate whereunto man fell? A. All mankind by this fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse and so made liable to all miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever. Q. (23) Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery? A. God having out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life (Eph. i. 4,5), did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer (Rom. iii. 20-22; Gal. iii., 21,22). The fall leads to an estate of Sin and Misery. The two estates are defined and their several parts delineated, and deliverance from sin and misery is introduced. This, of course, leads to a section describing the person and work of the Redeemer. These responses are from the Baptist Catechism used by London Particular Baptists, the Philadelphia Association and the Charleston Association. It is based on The Westminister Shorter Catechism, a cut above most other catechisms, but the advantage under discussion still stands for any well-organized catechism. Sixth, Godly catechizing may serve to bolster faith in man’s conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil. In 1630, Hugh Peters encouraged parents to catechize their children by reminding them “if ever your poore Infants bee driven to wilderness, to hollow caves, to Fagot and Fire, or to sorrowes of any kinde, they will thank God and you, they were well catechized.’ Marion Snapper characterizes this as the “Prison Camp hypothesis.” His judgment is that this is about as realistic as “arguing for obesity in anticipation of landing in a Vietnamese prison camp; it is simply too far removed from the realities of life.” Though wildernesses, Fagot and Fire may not be a present threat, persecution and opposition of a different sort is just as real and perhaps more subtly destructive. Biblical views of both God and man undergo incessant bombardment in the educational structure of modern society. What Christian young person hasn’t found himself in the wilderness of a university classroom, or high school room for that matter, wishing he knew concretely the argument for a belief that his parents and his pastor hold dearly. And how many who have only vague impressions of doctrine but no lively and coherent apprehension of them find themselves overwhelmed by the apparent massive scholarship and acute philosophical insights of an unbelieving teacher? Such an experience tends to isolate “religious” ideas to a corner of knowledge merely mystical and devotional, tangent to reality only at the point of personal value judgments but not considered worthy of the status of absolutes in any sense. Christianity becomes only a matter of private opinion, but certainly not a case to be argued. Catechizing from an early age sensitizes and conditions the person to consider God and his attributes as an essential part of knowledge, indeed foundational for all true learning. In addition, one learns to evaluate man properly both as to his dignity from creation and his intellectual/moral capabilities as modified by the fall. Seventh, catechisms provide the theological foundation to bring reformation, prepare for revival, and avoid fanatical enthusiasm. Reformation is the recovery and propagation of central gospel truth and the ordering of the church–worship, ordinances, officers, and preaching–in its light. Revival is the recovery of love for God and man and results in the establishing of priorities in life on the basis of that love. Enthusiasm, the teaching that special leading and the revelation of truth are given privately to individuals, has been the source of divisive and dangerous error. Catechizing provides a doctrinal and biblical foundation which disarms and disciplines the tendency toward privatization of religious truth. Spurgeon sums up the matter as pungently as any advocate of catechisms. In matters of doctrine you will find orthodox congregations frequently changed to heterodoxy in the course of thirty or forty years, and that is because, too often, there has been no catechizing of the children in the essential doctrines of the Gospel. For my part, I am more and more persuaded that the study of a good Scriptural catechism is of infinite value to our children. . . . Even if the youngsters do not understand all the questions and answers . . . yet, abiding in their memories, it will be infinite service when the time of understanding comes, to have known these very excellent, wise and judicious definitions of the things of God. . . . It will be a blessing to them-the greatest of all blessing . . . a blessing in life and death, in time and eternity, the best of blessings God Himself can give. Those who concur and practice in accordance with such a judgment will find themselves standing in good company and involved in a holy enterprise. One Essential Article “Do I address one here who imagines that an orthodox creed will save him? I suppose that no one is more orthodox than the devil, yet no one is more surely lost than he is. You may get a clear head, but if you have not a clean heart, it will not avail you at the last. You may know the Westminster Assembly’s Catechism by heart, but unless you are born again, it will not benefit you. Did you say that you believe the thirty-nine articles? There is one article that is essential-`You must be born again’ (John 3:7). And woe to that man who has not passed through that all-important change.” Charles H. Spurgeon

The Associated Press - Thursday, July 8, 2010 | 4:08 a.m. Police say they've arrested a pair of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men suspected of trying to smuggle $1 million of pure cocaine into Israel from Brazil. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said on Thursday that the two former seminary students, aged 21 and 20, were stopped at Israel's international airport overnight. He says police officers found about 22 pounds (10 kilograms) of cocaine in their luggage. Rosenfeld says police had been tracking the two men for some time. He says Israeli police informed their Brazilian counterparts ahead of time to help identify the pair's suppliers. Police say the cocaine was headed to the Israeli market. Israeli police estimate its street value at around $1 million.

Summary of the conflict In the early 1930's, fascist regimes began their rise to power around the world. Adolf Hitler promised to rebuild a Germany that was left in shambles after the Great War. Mussolini did the same for Italy, and Japan followed suit. After Hitler gathered a huge following, he began to seek political power. He was named chancellor of Germany in 1932 in a manipulated yet democratic vote. Soon after, he launched a political campaign against the huge population of Jewish people living in his country. He blamed them for Germany's ruin after the Treaty of Versailles, the treaty that ended WWI. After he had established complete control of the nation, he announced that Germany needed more room for the population they supported and launched an offensive against Poland to gain new territory. He quickly increased his offensive throughout Europe and Britain was forced to declare war and allied its self with Russia and China. Japan and Italy joined on the German side, which gave Hitler his path to the Pacific. With Japan slowly taking over in the Pacific and the Nazi's advancing in Europe, the Allied nations grew worried. They begged the United States to join on the Allied side, but the US still had strong isolationist attitudes left over from the first Great War. So instead the war was brought to their doorstep. Japan bombed Pear Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7th, 1941, three years after the beginning of the conflict. The Americans were forced into the war, and quickly turned the tides by flooding troops into both the European and Pacific theaters. Soon the German's were pushed back to Berlin, their capitol, and were forced to surrender. Japan refused the unconditional surrender that the Allies demanded and to avoid more loss of American lives, the United States dropped two atom bombs on Japan, completely destroying any hope the Japanese had for continuing the fight. The aftermath of these bombs was devastating, killed millions and threw the world into a new form of war. - What is war's effect on the individual? - What is war's effect on society? - What is the cost of war? - Can war, with all its destruction, be beneficial? "There was only one catch and that was Catch-22..." (Heller 46) See the movie pilot now! To see more "We must be the great arsenal of democracy." (President Roosevelt) To learn about the US' foreign policy at the time To see analysis and listen to songs written about and during WWII

Cochin is the situated on the west coast of the Arabian Sea, is one of the most popular destinations in Kerala. It is often referred by another name Erankulam, which is a mainland part of the city. The city is most remembered for its backwaters, ancient Chinese fishing nets and famous churches. A splendid place, Cochin, now known as Kochi ,has always attracted many domestic and international travelers. Budget Hotels in Cochin There are good budget hotels in Cochin. Some of them are Rayas Group of Hotels (Tariff – Rs.1001), Indeco Hotel (Tariff – Rs.1,000), Pandiyan Hotel (Tariff – Rs.501) and MIM Park Hotel (Tariff – Rs.550). The official language of Cochin is Malayalam. The other languages spoken include Hindi and English. Events in Cochin Some famous festivals and events of Cochin include the Siva temple festival (January) and Cochin Carnival (December) Places to See in Cochin There are several places of tourist attraction in Cochin. Some of the places include Chinese fishing nets (1km from Kochi bus stand.), Fort Kochi Beach (8km from Kochi city), St. Francis Church, Kochi (1.5km from Fort Kochi bus stand), Jewish Synagogue and Jew Town, Mattancherry (5 Km from bus stand) and Museum of Kerala History, Edapally (10Kms from bus stand) How to Get There Cochin International Airport situated at Nedumbassery, is about 28kms from Kochi city. This is the first international airport in India to be established without Central government support. There are two busy railway junctions in Kochi— Ernakulam Junction and Ernakulam Town. This railway line is well connected to major states and cities across the country. 128 scheduled train services operate daily from this junction. There are more number of privately owned buses operate in the city when compared to state-owned bus services. Some of the major bus terminals are Ernakulam Town, Ernakulam Jetty, while the private bus terminal is situated at Kaloor. Some of the best bus operators that offer good experience for passengers include A1 Travels, Tippu Sultans Tavels abd Rathi Meena Travels. TicketGoose.com is a well-known online bus booking site of India where you can book bus tickets to more than 4,000 destinations. A town in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu,Panruti is located between Cuddalore and Viluppuram. The town is famous for its Jack fruit and Cashews, which is exported across the globe. The State Highway that connects Chennai-Kumbakonam and Cuddalore-Chittoorpasses through this town.The Rathinampillai market located in the centre of town attracts people from neighbouring towns and villages everyday. Places to Stay There are good hotels in Panruti. Tourists visiting the place can stay at Maharaj Lodge and Vaigai Lodge that offers rooms from Rs.400 onwards. Pongal, Diwali, Christmas and Ramzan are celebrated here. Tamil is the local language here. Places to Visit Thiruvathigai Temple (2kms) and ArulmiguVeeratteswarar temple (3kms) are places to visit here. How to Get There The nearest airport is at Chennai (200kms) Panrutihas its own railway station Union Office Bus Stop, KuttaiThearu Bus Stop, Oil Mill Bus Stop, Panruti Bus Stand, Pakkiriplayam Bus Stop and Housing Board Bus Stop run regular bus service to neighbouring towns and villages. There are a great number of bus operators like Universal Travelsthat offer travellers regular bus services to and from the town. Opt for booking your tickets in advance and get cheap bus tickets from several travel portals.

Marilynne Robinson is one of the very few contemporary American novelists to be held in near universal esteem. Her readers have the sense that, as with poetry, not a single word is wasted or extraneous. Additionally, Robinson’s concern with Christianity, unusual in contemporary fiction, also contributes to the rapture that her work inspires. In the tradition of American Protestant poetry, Robinson’s novels don’t simply allude to religious experiences, rather they seek to create such experience for the reader. Robinson’s fiction can open your heart to the possibility of change, of divine grace and redemption. For the Jewish reader, then, encountering Robinson can be a complicated experience. However, Jewishly literate readers may actually be positioned to appreciate Robinson’s fourth novel Lila in a way that others would not. Its eponymous heroine is the least Christian character we have encountered thus far in Gilead, the fictional Midwestern town featured in two of Robinson’s prior novels. Lila even goes so far as to call herself a “heathen,” though this does not prevent her from finding strength and solace in the words of the Bible. Lila is particularly drawn to the Hebrew Bible, as opposed to the New Testament, especially the books of Ezekiel and Job. There is a way in which the entire novel may function as a midrash on, or extended imaginative interpretation of, Chapter 16 of Ezekiel. This chapter contains the famous prophecy which likens the Jewish people to a newborn girl abandoned at birth, covered in blood in an open field. In the prophet’s vision, God passes by this scene of desolation and repeatedly declares, “b’damayikh hayi,” or “in your blood you shall live.” There are various ways to translate this evocative phrase, and it’s striking that in her extended literary meditation upon this verse Robinson ultimately departs from the King James Version and other Christian translations in order to read it in a manner similar to the Jewish tradition. This choice, as well as a general celebration of the Hebrew Bible in this work, makes Lila of particular interest from a Jewish perspective.

In the realm of export, Leo Gleser is a veteran international label. His company provides security at Olympic Games, protects embassies, trains special forces and has worked for some of the darkest regimes in Latin America. How did a nature-loving boy who dreamed of reforming the world grow up to be 'Colonel Gleser'? Tall and hefty, he is dressed in jeans and a jeans shirt and wears custom-made leather boots, and loves to gallop away on White Cloud, his black horse. "That's right, I am a gau cho judio," says Leo Gleser, owner of an international security consultancy firm. "I definitely feel like a Jewish cowboy," he explains, looking out at the fields of Nir Zvi, a moshav (cooperative farming village) near Ramle. Born in a remote village in Argentina 57 years ago, he spent his childhood cavorting in nature, specializing in hunting iguanas. As a youth Gleser was active in an underground Jewish self-defense organization in Buenos Aires. He then immigrated to Israel and served in an elite unit in the Israel Defense Forces. Afterward he turned down a job offer from the Mossad espionage agency, preferring to join the security staff of El Al. A combination of fate and circumstances led him to establish his company, International Security and Defense Systems (ISDS - www.isds.co.il). Today Gleser and ISDS are an international brand-name. He and his staff have provided the security for the visits to Israel of Madonna, Elton John and other rock stars, fortified the homes of wealthy South Americans, organized the security for the U.S. Embassy in Rome, and trained commandos and special forces on three continents. He and his company are a salient example of the symbiotic connection between the authorities in Israel and the country's private security consultancy firms. In large measure, he was the forerunner of the system, as the founder of one of the first local security firms that broke into the international market. Since then the system has become more sophisticated, to the point where the boundary between private and state is sometimes blurred. The result, at any rate, is a growing phenomenon of "private armies" from Western countries, which provide security services to governments in the Third World. In Israel the system works like this: The Defense Ministry, the Foreign Ministry or the Mossad gets a request to provide security advice or to train army or security service forces for the ruler of a country, usually a tyrant. Because the authorities cannot, or do not want, to assist the ruler directly, although they view his request as important in order to promote security or political interests - they ask a private company to provide the service being requested. There were years in which "Colonel Gleser," as he is known in several Latin American countries, was described there as an Israeli mercenary who assists repressive regimes. "I have never broken the law," he asserts. "I am the owner of a security consulting firm and not of a pirate ship. I am not a mercenary, and the very use of that term against me infuriates me. In every country I come to I operate within the legal framework. Every citizen and every business deserves to have their personal security looked after by the state. I provide legitimate services for which there is a need." In recent years, at any rate, he has shifted the focus of his activity to the civilian realm, providing security for oil and electricity companies and for other infrastructure facilities in India, the United States, Europe and Latin America. He is also a security adviser to the United Nations, and is hoping to get a contract for security consulting for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He has plenty of work, but sometimes, at night, over a glass of wine, when he looks inward and becomes contemplative, he finds it hard to explain what remains of the boy and afterward the troop leader in the socialist-Zionist Hashomer Hatzair youth movement, who admired Che Guevara and believed in social revolution. The trajectory of his life is reflected in the dilemma he faced this week concerning who to vote for in the Knesset elections. "It was hard for me to decide who to vote for," he says in a heavy Argentine accent. "Thirty years ago I believed in socialist ideas and to this day I am still attached to them. To this day I can be moved to tears when the 'Internationale' is sung. But Israel exists in a capitalist world, which is based on technological progress and know-how. In my gut I would like to help the unfortunates, those who have little. But, without getting into simplistic generalizations, the person who has little does not bring money and a livelihood. Israel needs those who work and produce." Seller of dreams Gleser's business breakthrough occurred in the fall of 1979. He was 30 at the time and a security officer for El Al in Spain. His superiors asked him to meet with two former Shin Bet security service men, Victor Cohen and Zvi Aharoni. Cohen was head of the interrogations branch in the Shin Bet and took part in the interrogation of spies who were apprehended in Israel (Yisrael Ber and others); he was also sent to conduct negotiations, which in the end did not take place, with the terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Aharoni had won fame as one of the agents in the operation to capture Adolf Eichmann. The meeting took place in Asia House in Tel Aviv. Cohen and Aharoni, who owned a company that conducted investigations, told Gleser that they were acting on behalf of billionaire Shaul Eisenberg. Eisenberg was involved in a project, worth about $1 billion, with the Granados family, one of the richest families in Guatemala, to build a hydroelectric station in that country. A member of the family, Miguel Granados, was his country's ambassador to the United Nations in November 1947 and organized the rest of the Latin American ambassadors into a bloc of 22 votes in favor of the partition plan for Palestine, which led to Israel's establishment. Thirty-two years after the dramatic vote on November 29, his grandson, Jorge Raul Garcia Granados, was kidnapped by the Ejercito Guerillo de los Pobres (Guerrilla Army of the Poor), a Maoist underground organization, in an operation named after Commandante Ernesto Che Guevara. The family hired the services of an American security firm, but also asked Israel to help find him. "Aharoni and Cohen recruited me to go to Guatemala and help the family in the kidnapping," Gleser recalls. After getting his superiors' approval, he took leave without pay and flew to Guatemala. "I met with the general who was responsible for presidential security service. The kid was grabbed on the way to a softball game. It was a violent kidnapping, during which three people were killed. The general told me that no contact had been made with the kidnappers and that their identity was not known. "I told the general and his family," he continues, "that a body should be established to conduct the investigation, but also to make contact with the kidnappers. They took my advice and assigned the mission to the American firm. They asked me to continue advising them. I returned to Israel, and after wrestling with the proposal decided to leave El Al and take the family's offer." Returning to Guatemala, Gleser was a full partner in all the contacts with the kidnappers, which were held through the mediation of clerics and led to a deal to release the grandson. "One of the Americans and I flew by helicopter to a mountainous jungle area, which was controlled by the guerrillas. We had a knapsack with the ransom money, $4.5 million. According to the instructions we received from the guerrillas, we landed in a field, left the knapsack and lifted off." The kidnap victim was released shortly afterward. Since then Gleser has been in close touch with the Granados family. "From the Jorge Raul affair I learned how this world works. I understood that people want to be sold dreams. After all, what was my part in the episode? I helped a family in distress. People in distress want to grasp at hope. I came and gave them the hope, the dream. Sometimes you can wake up from a dream into a nightmare. In life there is either a beautiful dream or a nightmare, there is nothing in between. Luckily for me, the dream came true with a happy ending. Since then I have sold dreams." King of the lizards Gleser's home and office are located on an estate he bought for his family in Moshav Nir Zvi. He came to the village in the wake of other members of his family, who were among its founders in the 1950s. Though affluent, he leads a modest lifestyle. His body language is relaxed and his tone of voice direct; he is not evasive and does not beat around the bush, but in the course of all our meetings he emphasizes the qualms he has about having agreed to be interviewed. "Nothing good will come of the interview - not for me and not for my family, and it could burn my company, too," he comments. Gleser was born in January 1949 in the village of Alto Alegre, in the Cordoba province of Argentina, northwest of Buenos Aires. His grandparents fled czarist Russia after the Kishinev pogrom of 1903, and were sent to a farming colony in Argentina that was established by the Jewish Colonization Association, founded by the Jewish-German businessman and philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch and his wife Clara. "My grandfather, Jacob Gleser, was a 'gaucho judio.' He raised cattle on his ranch and herded them hundreds of kilometers, to the port of Concepcion del Uruguay, for slaughter in the slaughterhouse. That was hard work in the most remote regions." His father, who died half a year ago, was born on the ranch in 1917. "At an early age he was already helping Grandfather with the work. In 1933, when he was 16, he went on a two-week journey with my grandfather. During the whole trip it rained nonstop. My grandfather told my father to keep himself covered, but he himself was exposed to the rain and as a result died of pneumonia when he got home. I constantly repeat to myself the lesson of my grandfather's life: Within a second there can be someone who can show us how fragile we and our existence and our lives are, how small people are, how weak and wretched." The family members were left without anyone to provide for them and suffered many years of poverty and distress. Having no other choice, they abandoned the village, like most of those settling on Baron Hirsch's ranches. Gleser's father studied medicine in the city of Cordoba, where he met his future wife, also a medical student. Gleser's maternal grandfather was a small merchant who "sold almost everything that could be sold, including American condoms." In 1948, after completing his studies, his father got a job as a doctor in a remote village, about 800 kilometers from Buenos Aires. Gleser: "My father performed operations with a razor blade. He would get a call in the middle of the night, mount a horse, and gallop off to deal with the sick and the injured." Leo was the third child in the family, after Eva and Jorge. Most of the residents of the village were migrants from the Piedmont region in northern Italy. "We were the only Jewish family in a world of Christians. But thanks to the status of my physician-father, we were accepted and held in high regard. We did not experience displays of violence or insults, and there was no difference between me and the other children. I went to church with them on Sunday and learned all the Christian prayers. But it was hard for those around us to grasp that we were Jews. I remember that once Nono, a friend of mine, told his grandfather, 'Leo is a Jew,' and the grandfather asked, 'And he doesn't have horns?'" Juan Peron and his wife Evita ruled in Argentina at the time. "I remember that there was a large picture of Peron in our school, dressed in a general's uniform," Gleser recalls. "I knew all the Peronist songs by heart." But from an early age he preferred the expanses of nature to studies in school. (Today he knows why: He is dyslexic.) "I was a strong, blond boy, very impressive. There wasn't a tree I didn't climb. I was like a cat. I fished in the river and hunted animals. I specialized in hunting iguanas. I would lie in ambush for them for hours by the opening of the tunnel, and when the lizard emerged from the opening, I would hit it with a stick and kill it. "In the end, life in nature was the best school I could have wished for. Nature taught me about coordination and gave me a sense of orientation. In nature I learned about the instincts of animals: A horse will not make the same mistake twice, it will not put a leg into the same hole twice. I try to behave the same way. I have made many mistakes in my life, but I never repeated a mistake twice." The young guard When Gleser was nine, his family fell apart. His father, who was then 40, fell in love with a girl of 19 and divorced his mother, who moved to Buenos Aires with the children. "My father went through a mid-life crisis. He didn't know how to deal with the crisis and showed immature behavior." Life in the big city changed him. The wild nature boy became an urban guerrilla fighter. "In the neighborhood I lived in, there was a huge slaughterhouse. Today it is a tourist attraction, but at that time trucks carrying thousands of cattle for slaughter arrived there every night. The slaughter took place in the morning. The sight of the cattle being brought to slaughter should have been shocking, but you get used to it. Life in the city taught me what injustice is. People say there is a God, but I was in many places where he did not exist." These feelings were strengthened after he joined a local branch of Hashomer Hatzair (The Young Guards, a socialist-Zionist youth movement). He took this step in the wake of his sister, who at the age of 16 was sent to Israel by the movement, for training on Kibbutz Harel. He was then attending a vocational high school, and the movement, he says, drew him in completely: "Hashomer Hatzair was then a concrete way of life for me, a home and a family alike. My commitment to the movement was total. As a youth I found myself belonging to a left-wing Zionist group with a militant political and social consciousness. In the movement I became acquainted with the ideas of Marx and Engels, the philosophy of Sartre and the books of Simone de Beauvoir. Hashomer Hatzair introduced me to the wonderful world of the ideas of the world revolution. The best people in Argentina belonged to Hashomer Hatzair at the time. To this day I am very proud of belonging to it." In the city, Gleser was compelled to recognize his Jewish identity. "In the village, anti-Semitism derived from naivete and ignorance. In Buenos Aires I encountered anti-Semitism that was not just religious, but had an economic, social and political background." In the 1960s a wave of anti-Semitism washed over Argentina, where a Jewish community of about 500,000 then lived. The hatred of Jews was fanned by extreme right-wing groups of which the most prominent was the Tacuara, whose members were senior police and army officers, and government officials and their families. They beat up Jews, burned synagogues, put up anti-Semitic propaganda posters in the streets and desecrated Jewish cemeteries. The incidents reached their peak in 1962, when a Jewish student named Sarah Sirota was kidnapped by Tacuara members, who tattooed a swastika on her breast with a razor blade. The Israeli government was shocked into action, and the mission was assigned to the Mossad. That mission was born out of the concept that Israel is the state of all the Jews, from which it follows that the country's espionage organization views itself as "the intelligence agency of the Jewish people." The head of the Mossad at the time, Isser Harel, cultivated this approach, and at his initiative "frameworks" were created in countries where Jewish communities were in distress. Young Jews, mainly from Zionist youth movements, were recruited into the "frameworks" and given training (in Israel, too) in the basics of intelligence, and were then organized into networks of self-defense and activism supporting immigration to Israel. Such frameworks, under the auspices of the Bitzur unit, which still exists in the Mossad, operated in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in the 1950s and in several South American countries in the 1950s and 1960s. Gleser was recruited into a framework in Buenos Aires after he joined Hashomer Hatzair. "I was recruited by my group leader in the movement. I was 16 at the time. Everything smelled of secrecy in the style of a French thriller." At the first opportunity the new recruits were sent for training to a "summer camp" organized by the movement. The fact that Gleser had known from a young age how to use a hunting rifle did not hurt him. The recruits were then assigned security tasks. "After meetings, we would escort the boys and girls home, so that they would not be attacked in the street," he explains reluctantly. "I will say no more about the subject." A more forthcoming description of the Jewish underground in Buenos Aires was supplied by another "framework" member, Goga Cogan, a decade ago. Cogan, then a journalist with the Israeli left-wing paper Al Hamishmar (now defunct), related in an article that members of the underground carried out "self-initiated deterrence operations, beat up local anti-Jewish hooligans, destroyed places where they met and sabotaged printing houses where anti-Semitic material was produced." The direction was clear, he wrote about one of the operations: "The cafe on the busy avenue ... is the hangout of the anti-Semitic group that is harassing the local branch [of the youth movement] without letup, in innumerable ways. Some of the members of the branch organized themselves to put an end to this, and in the most violent way: to crack their heads, literally. I remember vividly the tremendous noise of the explosion when the table, along with the Coke bottles on it, was smashed. Our first twosome entered the cafe calmly, went over to the table where the hoodlums were sitting and Daniel said something that he had prepared the whole way: 'We are from the Jewish organization, you pieces of shit.' He then pulled out the club he was carrying under his jacket and with all his strength brought it down on the head of the closest guy." The cause, the adventure Gleser came to Israel for the first time in January 1967, on behalf of the movement and the underground, and was sent for training to Kibbutz Revadim in the south. He was there when the Six-Day War erupted, and shortly afterward his mother and his brother arrived in the country as volunteers. A midwife by profession, his mother volunteered to work in Bikur Holim Hospital in Jerusalem; his brother Jorge, who arrived with his buddies from Hashomer Hatzair, joined Kibbutz Meggido in the north. The war and the international reaction affected his worldview. "At Revadim there were Cubans who were studying how to grow citrus fruit. After the war, Cuba closed its embassy in Israel and the Cubans left the kibbutz. I found that hard to accept. The Cuba of Castro and Che was a tremendous ideal for me, and suddenly everything was topsy-turvy: The Cubans and the Russians supported the Arabs. That was a great crisis for me. My disillusionment with the world revolution started." Gleser experienced a similar disenchantment with Israeli socialism: "In Hashomer Hatzair in Argentina I thought that everyone was really equal on the kibbutz, that the slogan 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs' was true. But then I saw that only a few really worked and that there was protectionism and that it was no different from the corruption and brutality and bureaucracy of the trade unions in Argentina." He had intended to enter the warm fold of Zionism, but at the time "I did not have the temperament for Zionism. That came about afterward, when I was drafted into the army." Returning to Argentina in 1968, Gleser assumed a commanding role in the self-defense movement. "The studies and training in Israel gave me tremendous strength and self-confidence. I was a kid of 19 without commitment to a family, without any sentiments, and as a proud Jew fighting for his people I felt I was the representative of a small, all-powerful nation." But a few months later he was forced to leave Argentina after he was arrested for a few days in the wake of an operation. His squad had three members. One of them, Prof. Haim Peres, a student of the anthropologist Claude Levi Strauss, who now teaches at the University of Grenoble in France, holds left-wing views and does not hesitate to castigate Israel harshly. It was only with the intervention of lawyers that Gleser was finally released. His commanders advised him to leave his homeland, because "the ground is burning beneath your feet." Embarking on a journey similar to that of his hero Che Guevara, he hitchhiked for two-and-a-half months across two continents, eventually reaching the USA, where his brother was. He worked in a few odd jobs until he sailed aboard a refrigeration ship owned by Israeli businessmen Yaakov Meridor and Mila Brenner, and arrived back in Israel. In Israel he had an offer to join the Mossad and undergo special training for infiltrate as an agent into an Arab country. "But I preferred to join the Israel Defense Forces and be a genuine soldier in uniform." He volunteered for the ultra-elite naval commandos, but for reasons which he still cannot fathom he was ejected from the course, "even though I was a good soldier." From there he went to Haruv, the commando unit of Central Command, most of whose activity consisted of patrols and ambushes along the border with Jordan. "Military service in Haruv gave me a great deal of satisfaction and was excellent preparation for all the things I am doing today. The army service connected me with Israel totally. Hashomer Hatzair brought me to the country and the army put me in Israel. When we operated in Gaza, there was a wanted Palestinian from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine whose nickname was Che. Suddenly you are in Gaza and your boyhood hero Che is actually your enemy. The worldview that gradually crystallized in me is that the Arab tragedy was caused by their actions and does not stem from the Jewish and Zionist occupation, and I am against the occupation. A country like Saudi Arabia could have long since solved the problem if it had been ready to help and invest money in problems of poverty, hunger and refugees. But they do not want to do that; the Palestinians do not interest them." In 1972 he was recruited by El Al to work as a sky marshall and was assigned to El Al stations in Mexico and Spain. At the end of 1973 he married Haya, a Jewish student from Sweden whom he met in Jerusalem. That was his life until the meeting in Asia House and the Guatemala mission. "No, it was not the money I received from the Granados family [after the kidnapping job] that did it for me. As far as I remember, the payment was not much more than I got in El Al. I went because of the cause and the adventure." The connection with the wealthy family opened many doors. For two years Gleser was a security adviser for the Guatemalan electricity company and its facilities, as well as the airport and other civilian sites. He founded ISDS in 1982. As managing director he appointed Arieh Avnat, his friend from Haruv and also a security guard in El Al. That year, General Efrain Rios Montt came to power in Guatemala. The far-right general decided to wage an all-out war against the left-wing guerrilla organizations, even at the price of trampling human rights. Montt needed experts, security consultants and mercenaries. Gleser decided that it was not for him. Despite the financial incentive, he set himself a moral boundary which he would never cross. He left Guatemala for neighboring Honduras. The relations between Israel and the Central American country were warming up at the time, in part because of the visit there of the defense minister, Ariel Sharon. Honduras wanted to buy Kfir fighter planes from Israel Aircraft Industries, but the deal fell through due to the lack of American approval and agreement. The president of Honduras, Roberto Suazo Cordova, and the chief of staff, Gustavo Martinez, also wanted Israel to establish the army's Special Forces. The Defense Ministry preferred to have this done by a private company and the contract went to Gleser. He brought with him friends from his military service and experts from the intelligence community. Since then this has become the standard system: The chief contractor who gets the contract hires a subcontractor, advisers and experts, all of them free-lancers, and they do the work for him. Gleser and his company created the Special Forces of the Honduras army and supplied them with equipment manufactured by Israel Military Industries, from Galil and sniper rifles to personal gear, and in addition drew up security plans for the largest U.S. base in Latin America - Palmarola, which was built in northern Honduras as a replacement for the bases the United States had to evacuate from the Panama Canal. From there Gleser won contracts in El Salvador and Peru for security consulting and the supply of equipment to the army of the democratic president of Peru, Alan Garcia. The army and police of Peru were then locked in a fierce conflict against the terrorism perpetrated by the left-wing organizations Shining Path and Tupac Amaru. The contract was to secure and protect ports and the facilities of the navy, and to train and set up a special school for its Special Forces. Connections with Vargas Llosa In the 1990 Peruvian elections Gleser won a contract to provide security to one of the candidates, Mario Vargas Llosa. The famous novelist was defeated by his rival, Alberto Fujimori (who was ousted at the end of the decade following corruption revelations), but Gleser says he acquired a friend and continues to be in touch with the Peruvian writer, who now lives in Europe. Did you have any qualms about setting up and arming the Special Forces? After all, these are dictatorial regimes that undermine human rights and use firearms against their citizens. "I had no qualms. My friend from Argentina, Prof. Peres, represents an approach that views Israel as a fascist, brutal state, which does not respect human rights. I do not want to defend Israeli policy, but all the countries I have worked in have had legally elected democratic regimes. Honduras was democratic at the time and so was Peru. They are countries that had elected presidents and governments and armies. They turned to me lawfully and I acceded." Still, how do you explain the fact that your name was linked to controversial actions? "There were cases in which people who did not work for us used our name and reputation and gave us a bad name. I do not see myself as a mercenary. True, I have missions, and I try to carry them out as well as I can, but I act according to the principles and laws of the state. Mercenaries act against the laws." Did you have offers to take part in illegal actions such as coups? "I've heard many things in my life. People put out feelers to see whether I would be ready to lend a hand to all kinds of things." "Such as unofficial and unauthorized elements, who want to order wiretapping and various means of supervision. But I will not go into that. I know half the world is doing it, but my company and I simply refuse any such offer." Were you not accused of being involved in interrogations using torture in Ecuador? "That was a false accusation by the president at the time, Abdala Bucaram. He concocted a baseless story against the former president, his rival, Leon Cordova. Bucaram had a wild imagination and claimed that one of my men was involved in kidnapping people and interrogating them under torture. When he was elected president, in 1990, we left Ecuador, and since then this totally unfounded story has haunted us. There are always newspapers or politicians who find an opportunity to recycle old things." For a long time, Gleser emphasizes, most of his activity has been focused in the civilian realm and has served companies in the area of infrastructure, "but it is hard to eradicate the mistaken impression that was created, that our work is with military elements. The truth is that the 60 families that are connected to my company do not make a living from despots or corrupt people. We have never had anything to do with atrocities and we never trained anyone who perpetrated atrocities. To murder people you don't need special instruction and training. All you have to do is release your animal instinct. For that, there is no need for American, French, British or Israeli instructors, who are the most moral." Why did you finally agree to be interviewed? "I really do not actually know. Maybe because I also have an ego and occasionally I had thoughts of writing a book about my life. This interview is meant to give me certain experience, but it is experience that scares me."W

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. (2 Cor. 3:2-3) The mental habits of the modern world are not unlike the scientific method. We examine things, study them, compare and contrast, weigh and measure, consider and decide. We do this with ideas as well as with objects and situations. We also do this with texts, such as Scripture. Or do we? What I have described is what we often think we do with information. It works so long as everyone involved in the circle of information (the conversation) agrees that this is what we do. That is one of the common assumptions of the modern era. The debates in this model have generally been about the objects of our consideration. The Post-Modern question has been to focus the discussion on the process of consideration itself. What happens when we read a text? How does information go from text into meaning? What role do prior assumptions and the community of reception play? These are all obvious questions – though they were often questions that remained unasked through much of the modern period. The arguments between various groups (e.g., Protestants and Catholics) tended to remain with the text itself. Post-Modernism, focusing on the process rather than the text, has tended to say that the text matters very little – truth (or truth claims) rest solely within the community that makes them. Orthodoxy comes to this conversation as an outsider. The modern arguments between Catholic and Protestant, begin and continue without reference to the Orthodox. For argument’s sake, Orthodoxy doesn’t exist. But the point made by Post-Modern thinkers is not foreign to Orthodoxy. It’s observations about the relationship between text and reader were made long ago by St. Irenaeus of Lyons (2nd century). Those same observations go to the heart of the Orthodox approach to the Scriptures. The discussion involving the use of texts that drew St. Irenaeus’ attention, was engendered by conversations with Gnostics. These “Christians,” put forward a radically different account of salvation and the place of Christ within human history. Often, the Gnostic account included the disparaging of material reality or the dismissal of Jewish history. Suffice it to say that the Christ of Orthodox Christianity and the Christ of the Gnostics were radically incompatible. Irenaeus is among the few voices in the debate whose writings are still extant. What he says is deeply significant. He cites his credentials (ordained in succession to the Apostles, etc., “I knew Polycarp who knew John”). In this, he is very similar to an earlier Orthodox bishop, Ignatius of Antioch. But Irenaeus presents an argument with regard to Scripture that goes beyond the mere authority of his position. He essentially claims that the Gnostics are unable to read the Scriptures. Father Georges Florovsky gives this summary: Denouncing the Gnostic mishandling of Scriptures, St. Irenaeus introduced a picturesque simile. A skillful artist has made a beautiful image of a king, composed of many precious jewels. Now, another man takes this mosaic image apart, re-arranges the stones in another pattern so as to produce the image of a dog or of a fox. Then he starts claiming that this was the original picture, by the first master, under the pretext that the gems (the ψηφιδες) were authentic. In fact, however, the original design had been destroyed — λυσας την υποκειμενην του ανθρωπου ιδεαν. This is precisely what the heretics do with the Scripture. They disregard and disrupt “the order and connection” of the Holy Writ and “dismember the truth” — λυοντες τα μελη της αληθειας. Words, expressions, and images —ρηματα, λεξεις παραβολαι —are genuine, indeed, but the design, the υποθεσις (ipothesis), is arbitrary and false (adv. haeres., 1. 8. 1). This same effort to describe how the Scriptures are unique to the Church continues throughout the early Church and its struggles with false teachings. St. Hilary of Poitiers states: Scripturae enim non in legendo sunt, sed in intelligendo. [“For Scripture is not in the reading, but in the understanding;”] ad Constantium Aug., lib. II, cap. 9, ML X, 570. His focus, and that of the fathers, is on the very process of interpretation and the nature of the community in which it takes place rather than arguments about the text itself. To argue with someone outside the Church about the meaning of a text is to engage in a conversation that is largely useless. This is decidedly different than the discussions about Scripture within the Modern period. Recent academic work, coming from a Post-Modern perspective, has begun to move conversations about Scripture (and all written material) in this direction. The result is something similar to chaos, since the fragmentation of modern culture gives little to no consensus from which to read anything. The various absurd claims of contemporary liberal Bible studies are only one illustration of this fragmented world. If a Bishop uses the “Scriptures” to deny that Christ is raised from the dead, what is the community from which he speaks? However, Orthodoxy would largely agree with Post-Modernism that there is no one single, objective place from which everyone, believer and non-believer, Orthodox and non-Orthodox, can read the Scriptures. And so it is that the “Church reads the Church.” It is hard to find an adequate way to express this – our modern habits are so accustomed to thinking of a text as an independent, self-existing fact. The Church should not be seen as an institution, a business or a club, or an organization existing through the centuries, managing history. Some “Churches” in the West may very well fit this description, but they are not “Church” in the proper sense of the word. The Church is the Eucharist and the Eucharist is the Church. The people, members of the Body of Christ, are those assembled in the liturgy (and in its continual life beyond the immediate assembly itself). That the Church reads is patently part of its liturgical life. What is considered canon, authoritative, is that which is read in the liturgy. The Church not only reads the Scriptures, it prays and enacts the Scriptures. It sings the Scriptures and interprets them in the embodied life of praise and thanksgiving to God. “Bible study,” and such notions, outside of the worshipping Church are akin to nonsense. There can be no study of the Scripture for the sake of the Scripture (or simply for the sake of learning). This would be similar to discussing (ad nauseum) the lyrics of a song whose music you never hear and whose tune you never sing. The Scripture is the song of God, both sung to the Church by God and sung to God by the Church. In the life that is that song, the Church is continually conformed to the image of Christ. This is the Church’s liturgy (and God’s liturgy), the song of the image of God. The life that is the continual liturgy is the Christ-conforming life of the believer in union with others within the Body of Christ sharing in the one Spirit. The Scriptures are not a source or reference-book for that Christ-conforming life, they are part of that life itself. Our habits of thought are so shaped by the concept of a self-existing Scripture, that we fail to understand the life and action of interpretation. When the fathers of the Church are invoked as authoritative interpreters of Scripture, we are primarily referring to the lives which they lived, of which the words they wrote are but one manifestation. But just as God is seen by the pure in heart (Matt. 5:8), so God’s word is heard by the pure in heart. And just as God’s word is heard by the pure in heart, so the fathers are understood by the pure in heart. We cannot invoke a means of authority that will serve for the impure. To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled…(Titus 1:15). We can despair, “Who is pure?” But this is the role of continual repentance in the life of the worshipping Church. The Church is pure as it repents and turns to God. In the act of repentance we begin to see and hear. This repentance is also rightly grounded in the liturgical life of the Church. The place of monasticism in the life of the Orthodox faith is irreplaceable. Asceticism and repentance are essential to the purity with which we discern the truth. Nor is there a form of Orthodox faithfulness that is not also grounded in ascetical practice and continual repentance. It is in this manner that we should understand statements such as: “Orthodoxy is not a religion but a way of life.” There is no system of beliefs or doctrines that have any bearing on the truth if those beliefs or doctrines are not rooted in the path of purity. They quickly become something other than they were, even were they given by God. Orthodoxy that is not lived in the path of purity is not Orthodoxy. Thus St. Paul can say of the Corinthians, “You are our epistle…read by all men.” No other epistle is worth reading. The consequences of this are immediate: there can be no proclamation of Christ that is not also a proclamation of the Church. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake [but Paul does not preach Christ without himself as bondservant!] (2 Cor. 4:5). It is easy to look at this and wonder where we begin? If the Scripture can only be read in the Church then how do we enter the Church? The mystery of our birth in Christ is always just that. We are birthed in many ways – but always only by God. And we are birthed into the life of the Church. It is there that we begin to discover: For all things are yours: whether…the world or life or death, or things present or things to come – all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s (1 Cor. 3:21-23). A comment this evening brought this quote forward. It is so apt that I have added it to the original article. From St. Athanasius On the Incarnation of the Word. But for the searching and right understanding of the Scriptures there is need of a good life and a pure soul, and for Christian virtue to guide the mind and grasp, so far as human nature can, the truth concerning God the Word. One cannot possibly understand the teaching of the saints unless one has a pure mind and is trying to imitate their life. Anyone who wants to look at sunlight naturally wipes his eye clear first, in order to make, at any rate, some approximation to the purity of that on which he looks; and a person wishing to see a city or country goes to the place in order to do so. Similarly, anyone who wishes to understand the mind of the sacred writers must first cleanse his own life, and approach the saints by copying their deeds. Thus united to them in the fellowship of life, he will both understand the things revealed to them by God and, thenceforth escaping the peril that threatens sinners in the judgment, will receive that which is laid up for the saints in the kingdom of heaven.

For members and others attempting to re-establish contact with friends or family members, the AJR Journal publishes, for a nominal fee, a regular column of search Notices. Authors, makers of film and television documentaries, researchers and research institutes, academics and students also place notices to request contact from survivors and refugees and invite testimony from members who witnessed the relevant events, as well as to obtain access to original documents, photographs, artefacts and records. To place a search notice in the next available edition of the AJR Journal please email firstname.lastname@example.org Current search notices appear below. 18 names beginning with A Adler, Rudolfine - Does anyone remember Rudolfine Adler? She came to London as a refugee from Vienna and returned to Austria around 1954. Alexander Feldberg - I would be grateful for any information on my great-grandfather Alexander Feldberg, b. Butow in 1850. Please contact Naomi Silverton at Allied Museum Berlin - The Allied Museum Berlin is searching for persons, information and artefacts for an exhibition. The subject is German-Jewish refugees who emigrated in 1933-38 and returned to Berlin in 1945 as members of the Allied Occupation Forces. Ambrahamson, Ruth née Fränkel - born November 1906 in Wilhelmshaven. According to state archive in Hamburg, emigrated to USA early 1939. We are also seeking whereabouts of her relatives Lore ('Sarah') Hartog, married Hepburn, born 11 November 1924 in Jever, and Inge Hartog, born 4 December 1926 in Jever. We wish to record lives and fates of Jewish citizens in Nazi period in our town. Information, please Email Anlernwerkstatt in the Fischerfeldstrasse, Frankfurt/Main - I would like to hear from any former pupils/trainees/apprentices at the above. Any information on what was taught, practical and theoretical, who taught what and how it was organised and financed, would be appreciated. Anna Wilensky - Anna Wilensky was born 27/8/1882 in Linz, emigrated to England Nov 1939, lived in Malvern Link, where she died 1973. Her daughter Edith Wilensky, b. 24/3/1905 in Linz, was a gifted dancer; died Malvern Link 1976. Any info pls to Astrid Frauendienst at Anspacher, Bernd (or Bernhard) - - later changed to Anson, and Gunther Weiss, who became Joe White. Bernd lived in Dewsbury, Yorks; Gunther lived in London. Info pls to Army interrogators in WW2 - For Channel 4 TV programme we are looking for people who worked in places like The London Cage and Bad Nenndorf. Call Liz Webster at Guardian Films on +44 (0)20 7886 9799 Aron, Renate - was my best friend. We attended Berlin Prinzregentenstrasse synagogue till 1938, then lost contact. Was red-haired like her mother. Her father, an undertaker, was Jewish. Any info pls to Irene Zuckerbraun at art collectors - PhD student researching émigré art collectors seeks info on Peter and Irene Meyer, Lily Meyer-Wedell (1881 Düsseldorf - 1944 London), Dr Ernst J. Nelkenstock, later Norton (1893 Hanau, from 1937 London), Dr Fritz Rothmann (1893 Danzig, from 1934 London). Arthur Paunzen; Cornelia Westreich-Paunzen - Graphic artist Arthur Paunzen (Vienna 1890-Isle of Man 1940) and wife Cornelia Westreich-Paunzen arrived in the UK on or around 13 June 1938. Any info on them please to Dr Gregory Hahn at Arthur Wallach, Ida Wallach, Annemarie Meyer - Arthur Wallach, a relative and German-Jewish poet, born 1906, left Germany in 1938 with his mother, Ida Wallach, a British national born in Australia. They arrived in Australia on the Strathnaver in March 1939. I believe they spent time in England, probably in London, after leaving Germany. They probably travelled to England from Essen, where the family lived. Also, my mother, Annemarie Meyer, came to England from Hanover in late December 1937 and stayed in a boarding house in London which housed Jewish refugees. She spent some time in Swiss Cottage before leaving for Australia in1940. Any information please to Margaret Jacobs at Asch, Kurt - Possible Kindertransportee. Came with sister from Düsseldorf, where his father was a judge. They stayed in Bradford, Yorks, with ‘mill owner’ and wife. The daughter went to Bradford Grammar School; Kurt to Linton Residential School. Kurt was at school when it opened on 10 July 1940. He returned to the school as a young man; said he had restaurants in California, US. Any info pls to Aschaffenburg, Rose Lore Lewald - - 16.7.32. Information sought by Laurence Lowenthal Ash (or Asch), Sir Eric - - born Berlin late 1920s, came to London in 1930s. German name Ulrich, known as Ulli by family. PhD in electrical engineering or physics, son of Walter and Dora, has a sister (name unknown). Purpose of enquiry: family genealogy. If you have any information, please Email: Auerhahn, Franzi (Franziska) - Auerhahn, Franzi (Franziska) Born April 1926. Father: Felix Auerhahn, born 21 September 1896; mother: Jolanka, born 9 August 1899. Franzi came to England Austrian life - For purpose of a screenplay am researching all aspects of Austrian life including before, during and after the Depression and Anschluss; family life; local government; the Socialist Party. Contact Marcus Hunefalk-Franzen Austrian women who married British soldiers - I am writing a thesis on Austrian women who married British soldiers during the occupation of Austria and moved with them to the UK. I am also looking for British soldiers based in Austria at that time who married Austrian women but remained in Austria.

ARIEL, Israel -- Does the modern State of Israel have a right to the land on which it exists? Do the Palestinians? A new documentary tackles those questions and the longest-running conflict in the Middle East. "Israel Indivisible: A Case for the Ancient Homeland" highlights Israel's latest challenge. "Today the world media has joined the Islamic campaign to extinguish Jewish history as part of their effort to delegitimize and destroy the Jewish state," producer Laurie Cardozza Moore told CBN News. The film lays out a compelling and comprehensive case for Israel's right to the land. "The evidence for Israel is overwhelming," Cardoza continued. "From archeological science to historical record to biblical scriptures to political resolutions and laws, there should be no dispute to the rights of the Jewish people to all the land the Roman Empire called Palestine." The producers chose to premier the film in a symbolic site -- Ariel, the center of Israel's biblical heartland. At the premier, the film's producers shared what motivated them. "The goal is to educate Christians to bring this message because this message is being distorted, and there are lies being propagated about Israel and this whole Middle East conflict," Moore explained. "I feel what we're doing at PJTN is just coming alongside God's biblical narrative and telling a story that nobody seems to want to tell and then using the film, using the program, to mobilize Christians to action to stand with our Jewish brethren." Many Jews believe disinformation is one of the main weapons used against the Jewish state. "The first step in -- God forbid -- the physical destruction of the State of Israel is the intellectual destruction undermining the whole reason for being of the Jewish state of legitimacy," Rabbi Ken Spiro said. The film unmasks some common misconceptions in this disinformation campaign, such as the term, "West Bank." "Why is it called the West Bank?" filmmaker Stan Moore asks. "It's called the West Bank because when Jordan, basically in 1948, when they took it over they called it the West Bank of their country, the West Bank of the Jordan River. They named it the West Bank. You know for centuries, forever, it's [this area] been called Judea and Samaria." Many see the film as a tool to give Israel's supporters the facts they need in this battle. "And if they don't have the facts at hand, they become apologetic. The minute they become apologetic, they lose the argument," Dr. Shmuel Katz explained. "They need to be knowledgeable. Once they are knowledgeable, they can stand up for what's right." Rabbi Spiro sees the information as the first line of defense not only for Israel, but also for the West. "It's not only threatening Israel. [It's threatening] the whole foundation of Western civilization," he warned. "So movies like this -- that present information and facts -- are the most basic and powerful tool we have. Not just the case for Israel, but for the case for truth."

Rome (Sep. 6) Three Jewish youths of the Herzliah training center in Naples were released today after being held by the British military police for two weeks. No reason for their arrest was given. Among the arrested was the secretary of the training center, M. Galewski, in whose name the UNRRA has deposited the centers monthly monetary allowance. Following his arrest the British military authorities blocked a balance of 300,000 liras held in his name in a Naples bank. All efforts on the part of the UNRRA to have the funds released were ineffective. However, it is considered certain that the account will be “defrosted” now that Galewski and the other two members of the Herzliah center are freed.

Lemire Appeal against Internet Censorship set to be heard on November 14, 2013 The Federal Court of Appeals has finally set a date to hear our Constitutional challenge to the infamous censorship provision Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. The hearing will be before a three judge panel which hears our arguments and those of the CHRC & 3 interveners (1 supporting censorship and 2 opposed) In 2009, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found that Section 13 was a violation of freedom of speech and tossed out the entire case against Marc Lemire. The Canadian Human Rights Commission – with their unlimited tax-payer dollars – appealed. The Federal Court in 2012 found that Section 13 was constitutional, but that the penalty provisions (where victims could be slapped with heavy fines) was unconstitutional, and the court stuck down that provision. In October 2012, we appealed the questionable decision of Justice Mosley to the Federal Court of Appeals for a final determination on the Constitutionality of Sec13. Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 9:30am Federal Court of Appeals 180 Queen Street West, 7th Floor, If you’re in the Toronto area the hearing is open to the public. We need your support! APPEAL: The side supporting freedom outnumber the censors For the first time in the 10+ year history of the Lemire case, the side that is supporting freedom will actually outnumber the side that is seeking to uphold Canada’s censorship laws. On one side are the usual tax-payer funded government sponsored special interest groups and on the other are organizations that support freedom. The appeal is the usual ‘David vs Goliath’ battle that has become synonymous with free speech cases. On one side is the government along with tax-payer funded hangers on – who appear to have unlimited money available to them – and on the other side are small groups who don’t receive a penny of government money and rely on donations. The tax-payers are footing the bill for the fanatical Canadian Human Rights Commission who has retained the high priced law firm of Bordens LLP to represent them. The “African-Canadian” Legal Clinic (ACLC) another 100% tax-payer funded group has also intervened to support Section 13 but wants “substantive and procedural modifications.” At the previous hearing the ACLC was represented by the great ‘African-Canadian’ Ed Morgan who is the former head of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Over the course of the appeal, multiple organizations have applied for intervener status to support freedom of speech; the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Association for Free Expression. Both the CCLA and CAFE have been granted status and will be appearing at the hearing. The Canadian Free Speech League also applied but had to withdraw when their general counsel Douglas Christie passed away. Many of the great arguments the CFSL were putting forward have been incorporated into CAFE’s Factum. Lemire’s Memorandum of Fact and Law A devastating critique of Canada’s Internet censorship laws The Memorandum of Fact and Law (written by brilliant freedom fighter Barbara Kulaszka) is a concise review of the ten years of persecution the Canadian “Human Rights” Commission has dragged Marc Lemire through for daring to post a single article on his website – which he did not even write. It is a shocking and clinical review of all that goes wrong, when an out of control government agency with a “Nazi fetish” is unleashed. From spying on Canadians with the possibility of entrapment, to threatening Internet Service Providers (ISP) to force deletion of content they don’t like. The Memorandum of Fact and Law is backed up by a mountain of evidence that would put the OJ Simpson trial to shame! At the Federal Court, we have filed thick stacks of evidence in what the court calls “Appeal Books”. These contain the transcripts and evidence from my massive 3 year hearing before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, where we beat down the censors and the Tribunal found that Section 13 was an affront to Canadian democracy and freedom. Now that Section 13 has been repealed by Parliament, the CHRC is going to go after me with both guns blazing. Can I count on you to support the cause of freedom? My courageous lawyer Barbara Kulaszka and I have demonstrated what two dedicated freedom fighters can accomplish against overwhelming odds. We have single-handedly and doggedly fought the system and exposed the corrupt underbelly of the "Human Rights" Commission's racket. I cannot carry on this important fight alone. Your donations literally equal the survival of this case. Please support Marc Lemire's Constitutional Challenge of Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Marc Lemire is the only person to beat the CHRC in it's 33 year history! (Interac Money Transfers, Donate Online, and online store) Donate via PayPal by clicking here: [here] 762 Upper James St

Prophet, Priest & King Part 1: Prophet Subscribe using the RSS and be notified of my future blogs: “Jesus: Prophet of Prophets” Catch my podcast, “Prophet, Priest and King, Part 1” tomorrow, right here . . . There is so much wrapped up in the story of Christmas that it would take a lifetime to tell, and then some. If you’re like me, you need a Christmas “reset” to help you appreciate this season in fresh ways. What better way to do that than rediscover the identity of Jesus? I decided to study the Word for how Jesus is our Prophet, Priest and King, and share my studies with my readers. This is Part 1, exploring how Jesus is the Prophet of prophets. There are three (3) characteristics that any true prophet must display, and Jesus Christ has them all. They are as follows: 1. A TRUE PROPHET MUST BE A FORTHTELLER. A forthteller is someone who knows and proclaims divine truth. Jesus did this repeatedly. A look through chapters 5-7 of Matthew’s Gospel will help you appreciate the forthtelling ministry of our Lord, rediscovering his uncanny, unparalleled ability to teach divine truth. 2. A TRUE PROPHET IS A FORETELLER. A foreteller is someone who predicts the future, and Jesus did this repeatedly. John 13:13-19 records Jesus’ foreknowledge of Judas’ betrayal, and Matthew 24 and 25 display some of the most profound predictions of future events ever told. The ability to fore-tell the future was a cornerstone of Jesus’ ministry, and helps us appreciate His unique role as a prophet. 3. A TRUE PROPHET PERFORMS MIRACULOUS SIGNS AND WONDERS. No mere mortal could teach as Jesus taught, predict the future as He did, or perform miracles at will, as Jesus did. A look through the Gospels helps us understand that miracles were a hallmark of Jesus’ life and ministry. Take a look, for instance, at chapters 5-8 of John’s Gospel and you’ll see just a few. THE BIG DEAL IS REALLY BIG It’s important to understand that Jesus wasn’t just a prophet. He was the Prophet of prophets. In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses predicted that the LORD would send a prophet like him who the Jewish people were to follow: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers — it is to him you shall listen . . .” (1) But that’s not all: “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.” The test of a prophet was (and is) 100% accuracy. Failure, even once, would merit the death penalty. If someone was going to say “God says this,” the next words that came out of their mouth needed to be genuinely from God. People who want to exercise prophetic gifting today need to understand that the test of a true prophet was never 99.9% accuracy. A true prophet had to be accurate 100% of the time, or the people were commanded to put him/her to death. Why? Because using the Name of the Almighty was no small thing (nor is it a small thing today). Today, we have such a lax attitude toward the Name of God. For many, the death penalty seems so severe. What we don’t realize, however, is how severely devilish it is to misuse the Name of the LORD, to attribute something false to the One Who cannot lie. We would do well in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles to rediscover the need to protect the Name of God in alleged “prophecies” so that His Name is not, in the end, profaned. (To be clear, I’m not advocating the death penalty. I’m advocating the rediscovery of using God’s Name in with the utmost respect). God the Father spoke through Moses to predict the coming of the Ultimate Prophet, Jesus of Nazareth. He demonstrated a 100% track record of reliability, making Him a sure bet for personal deliverance from any and every sin – and direction for all of life – if only we call out to Him. In Acts 3:22-26, we see the Apostle Peter affirming the view that Jesus was/is the One spoken of in Deuteronomy 18:15: “Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” The Apostles, those closest to Jesus and the ones entrusted with carrying His torch, understood Him to be the fulfillment of Moses’ prophecy. Are we, more than 2,000 years removed from that time, better suited to question their conclusion? Hardly. PROPHET OF PROPHETS Hebrews 1:1-2 helps us understand that Jesus wasn’t just a prophet. He was the Ultimate Prophet: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (2) One of the biggest differences between Islam, Mormonism and orthodox, biblical Christianity is that there is no prophet after the Prophet, Jesus. It would be so anticlimactic to have someone come, in “these last days,” who is not the “Son,” who is not the “heir of all things,” and through whom the universe was not created. The whole point of Hebrews 1:1-2 – and the entire Bible – is to present Jesus unique among all other mortals, the immortal Himself who took on flesh and sought out people just like you and me. The story of Advent is, in part, that God sent His Son as the Ultimate Prophet, so that by faith in Him, each of us could profit by having all our sins forgiven. And, because Jesus has a 100% reliability track record, you can entrust your past, present and future with Him. Why not accept the gifts of forgiveness, wisdom, comfort and peace that the Father offers you through His Son, Jesus Christ? In Part 2, I’ll be sharing about how Jesus is the Priest of priests. Y’all come back now, you hear? Do you understand that Jesus is the Prophet of prophets, unique from anyone who ever lived – or will live? Has what I’ve written helped you appreciate Who He is? How? 1. All Bible verses are from the English Standard Version (ESV). 2. Bold and italics are added for emphasis.

If it bothers you that tens of millions of children will die from hunger this calendar year, even though Christian Churches in The us have adequate funds in their financial institution accounts to feed all of these children 3 meals a working day all through the calendar year, you need to read through this write-up. I will be discussing a few topics connected to funds in the American Christian Church, all of which should be a significant worry for all sincere Christians in this country. I will begin with the subject matter of mega church buildings and their earnings and belongings. They have turn out to be commonplace in The usa enormous and extravagant church buildings, costing from $ten million to $100 million each, have arisen throughout our country. Present-day Christian Church in The usa has turn into a gigantic professional enterprise. Latest stats from “The Yearbook of American and Canadian Church buildings” and “The Countrywide Center for Charitable Figures”, reveal that Christian church buildings and ministries in The us have an annual cash flow of about $eighty billion. The amount of the Church’s cash flow is not the concern, but relatively how the funds are currently being put in. As pointed out, large and extravagant church amenities with point out-of-the-art products and magnificent furnishings are arising just about everywhere. Much more and much more ministries are working in high-priced new properties. Numerous of these ministries boast of traveling to their meetings in their possess non-public jets. And, all of this is going on at a time when there is so much need in our nation, and even a lot more so in other components of the globe. The amount of homeless and hungry Individuals is quickly escalating. Furthermore, more than nine million folks die from starvation yearly through the entire world. At this sort of a time as this, when there is so a lot want all around us, wouldn’t it be a powerful witness for Christ if American Christian church buildings and ministries were inclined and able to minister to these wants in a sizeable way, by investing a “substantial part” of their huge revenue and assets to help these in want? However, their vast expenses on deluxe mega churches, large salaries, worldly investments and high-priced toys are hogging most of their revenue and property, although, by comparison, only a small proportion is spent on real ministry. This is shameful, and it is not “what Jesus would do”! Of system, individuals in the Church who are investing their donated funds on all of these “material issues” are fast to justify their steps. They remind us that the Jewish temple in the Previous Testomony also was an very high-priced and lavish constructing. Unfortunately, their comparison and reasoning are each very faulty. If they actually want to assess their contemporary church buildings to the temple, the first factor they ought to do is to near down all of their coffee shops, bookstores, arcade rooms and restaurants that they have integrated in their expensive church services. Why? Due to the fact the Bible states that Jesus cast the “sellers” and “funds changers” out of the temple, and He explained that we are not to make His Father’s property, a “property of items” (John two:sixteen Matthew 21:12). In other phrases, do not turn the temple into a buying shopping mall. For that reason, if modern church leaders want to assess their properties with the temple, then their rewarding bookstores, eating places and amusement rooms require to be removed. However, it is very not likely that you will be observing this take place whenever before long. You see, the contemporary Church does not want to carry out alone like the Outdated Testomony temple when it comes to reverence and sanctity, but only when it comes to expensive and luxurious adornment. It is also noteworthy, that the Jewish temple housed the Shekinah Glory, the Ark of the Covenant, the tablets of stone with the 10 Commandments composed by God, the “mercy seat” and other divinely appointed home furniture and utensils. It was so holy that only the monks and Levites could enter it. In simple fact, only the higher priest could enter the revered Most Holy Place of the temple, and just after each 12 months. On the other hand, in Jesus’ day, there had been several synagogues all through the land, in which the typical men and women worshipped on a typical basis they have been extremely normal buildings. https://www.pinterest.com/fruitsoftheholyspirit/bible-verses-about-free-will/ would be the equivalent of our churches nowadays, and not the temple. As beforehand said, the leaders of modern rich, worldly and egocentric church buildings want to evaluate their structures to the temple, in purchase to justify their lavish properties. Therefore we are ending up with tens of 1000’s of temples during The usa, whilst the commonplace synagogues (churches) of worship are speedily vanishing from the American landscape. Christian leaders have conveniently overlooked that there was only “a single” temple in all of Israel, although there were several modest synagogues all through the land. God failed to need 1000’s of temples in the land of Israel, and it is very likely that He isn’t going to need them in America either. There is, of program, absolutely nothing incorrect with possessing a nice creating. Even so, with hundreds of 1000’s of homeless folks in our metropolitan areas, due to a lack of homeless shelters, and with hundreds of thousands of individuals starving to death each year all through the entire world, it is appropriate to question if present-day Christian Church in America has neglected its true mission and function. A single of the most common slogans in Christianity is, “What would Jesus do”? It would be a excellent concept for today’s Church to ask alone this query. The Jesus we read about in the Bible expended His daily life ministering to people’s requirements, not ministering to Himself. I feel it is sensible to assume that He would inquire His Church to comply with His private illustration, by also ministering to individuals in need, instead of ministering to by itself. As the Scriptures state, we are to “wander” as He (Jesus) “walked” (1st John 2:six) that is, we are to live our life patterned right after the case in point of Jesus’ daily life revealed in the Bible. And, regarding ministering to other individuals, in Matthew twenty five:31-forty six, Jesus taught that true Christianity is manifested in feeding the hungry, clothes the naked and ministry in standard to individuals in need to have. This is what Christian church buildings and ministries ought to be performing, not ministering to on their own.

(After a threatened lawsuit by the International House of Pancakes, the International House of Prayer began using the moniker IHOPKS for International House of Prayer Kansas City.) IHOP was founded in 1999 by Mike Bickle [pictured] (b. 1955). Seventeen years earlier, Bickle had founded the Kansas City Fellowship after allegedly hearing an audible voice of God inviting him to “raise up a work that will touch the ends of the earth.” He was joined by men such as Bob Jones, John Paul Jackson, Paul Cain, David Parker, and Francis Frangipane, who were promoted as prophets of a latter-day miracle revival movement. Though Bickle doesn’t claim to be a prophet himself, he does claim that he has heard God’s audible voice and alleges that he has been taken to heaven twice (“This IHOP serves generous portions of prayer,” Reading Eagle, Reading, Pennsylvania, Aug. 8, 2009). In 1990, Bickle and his church were brought into the Vineyard Association of Churches by John Wimber. The church was renamed Metro Vineyard Fellowship. In 1996, the Vineyard Fellowship disassociated itself from Bickle’s church, which subsequently became Metro Christian Fellowship. Three years later, Bickle founded IHOP. In 2000, Bickle turned over the senior pastorship of Metro Fellowship to Floyd McClung, former director of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), to focus on IHOP. Bickle’s emphasis is a Latter Rain signs and wonders ministry in preparation for Christ’s return. The IHOP website proclaims the heresy that “prior to the return of Jesus, the earth will experience unprecedented worldwide revival.” IHOP has grown into a large international ministry. There is a Bible College and seminary, music academy, media institute, college campus ministries, a 94-acre retreat center, social work ministries such as Exodus Cry which opposes human trafficking, and many other things. The ministry has 2,500 full-time staff members, students, and interns (“25,000 Young Adults Gather at IHOP Conference,” Charisma, Dec. 28, 2010). They claim to have trained 7,000 students and 5,000 interns. The annual OneThing conference in 2014 drew 30,000 people. They stream their prayer services in nine languages. There are IHOP churches in Seattle, Atlanta, Pasadena, Dallas, Charlotte, Chicago, New York City, and other places. Beyond IHOP itself is an international 24/7 prayer movement said to be in 10,000 locations. IHOP hosts 24/7 prayer meetings which are mystical contemporary worship “encounters” powered by rock music. The chief objectives are “worship and warfare.” IHOP believes they are encountering God in an experiential way, releasing angelic powers and overcoming demonic strongholds. Ultimately they believe that they will release the judgments described in the book of Revelation and usher in the return of Christ. Of the 24/7 prayer ministry, IHOP says, “This House of Prayer for All Nations ministry includes continuous praise and prayer dethroning the principalities and power over a region declaring God’s sovereignty.” The 24/7 services are weird charismatic free-for-alls. IHOP’s 24/7 prayer sessions have been described as “frenetic ... euphoric worship ... mesmeric, musical worship, repeating the same phrases over and over” (“Love and Death in the House of Prayer”). “The IHOP conferences and events are stage-managed to produce the maximum amount of visual, aural, psychological, sensual and spiritual stimuli--all of which can superficially appear to be revival” (“Bridal Eschatology,” Herescope, Mar. 8, 2014). “Onstage at the Spiritual Warfare and Prophetic Worship conference at Municipal Auditorium, Mike Bickle sways with his eyes closed as he cradles an open Bible. Beside him, guitarists play and a woman sings. Two thousand Christians again and again sing a simple lyric: ‘Pour your spirit out over this place. Pour your spirit out over this place. Pour your spirit out over this place.’ For fifteen minutes, they repeat the line until, finally, the music quickens and a woman in a red dress on a rear balcony whirls, waving a shredded white flag of surrender from a pole. Some worshipers clasp their hands below their chins in prayer. Others hop up and down, flailing their arms. ‘Release the anointing! Release the fire of the Holy Spirit!’ an impassioned Bickle cries into the microphone. ‘Beautiful God! Beautiful God!’ In the mosh pit, a middle-aged woman jerks her head forward then back between her raised arms as she dances. She opens her eyes and blows kisses toward the rafters from her open palm, drops her head to giggle, then sends Jesus another kiss or two. ‘We must have more, Lord! More in your kingdom!’ Bickle yells from the stage. ‘More, Lord, bring us more!’” (“Return of the Prophets,” The Pitch, Oct. 10, 2002). I attended IHOP worship services as well as the 24/7 prayer sessions multiple times on October 8-10, 2014, in the context of an IHOP conference. For many hours a day a full-blown rock band plays, sometimes with singing and sometimes only with electronic noises that create a mystical atmosphere. At other times, soloists sing with a keyboard or other instruments. People are entering and leaving the room; people are walking around; people are dancing; people are praying out loud; people are in conversation; people deliver “12-second prayers” into microphones. People are packing and unpacking equipment. There are pounding drums. There are repetitious music loops and repetitious lyrics. There are messages and photos and video clips on flat screen monitors. The atmosphere is “mystical, ethereal.” There is a distinct lack of peace. The order is disorder. It is the opposite of Paul’s instructions pertaining to the exercise of spiritual gifts: “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33). “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). Ever since Azusa Street, the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement has loved disorder. Consider the services at the Azusa Street Mission, widely acclaimed as the birthplace of Pentecostalism. People sang out at the same time but “with completely different syllables, rhythms, and melodies” (Ted Olsen, “American Pentecost,” Christian History, Issue 58, 1998). The services were characterized by much confusion: dancing, jumping up and down, falling, trances, slaying in the spirit, “tongues,” jerking, hysteria, strange animal noises, “holy laughter,” “spiritual muteness” or people trying to speak and unable to do so, etc. A very sympathetic biographer of William Seymour admits that “at times the meetings would become so boisterous that the police were called” (Larry Martin, The Life and Ministry of Seymour, p. 188). The spirit of Azusa is very much alive at IHOP. It would be impossible to keep your focus on thoughtful prayer in such an environment. It is not a place to hear the “still small voice” that Elijah heard (1 Ki. 19:12-13). But IHOP’s 24/7 “prayer” is not about thoughtful, biblical prayer. It is not about quiet, thoughtful meditation on Scripture. It is about charismatic mysticism whereby God is allegedly “encountered” in and beyond the prayer and the Scripture. It is about “experiencing” God. It’s about direct communication with God. It is about an emotional experience. It is about bringing in the kingdom of God through signs and wonders. This is why IHOP is attracted to Roman Catholic contemplative prayer, as evidenced by the fact that their bookstore features dozens of contemplative titles. Contemplative prayer has the same mystical objective as IHOP’s 24/7 prayer: an experience with God and direct revelation from God beyond Scripture. But when you go beyond Scripture, you go beyond the God of Scripture, and you open yourself to angels of darkness masquerading as angels of light. This is why charismatic worship and contemplative prayer lead to association with Rome, the heart and soul of apostasy, and ultimately to universalism, pantheism, panentheism, and idolatry, as we have documented in our book Contemplative Mysticism. IHOP’s worship is also about spiritual warfare. IHOP worship leader Laura Hackett describes their belief in the Word-Faith heresy of positive confession: “When we confess with our mouth, it has authority in the spirit realm, it has authority over our own hearts. So when we proclaim truth with music, it exponentially grows in power because music has given us this medium to touch our hearts and emotions in a way that nothing else can” (Tony Cummings, “Laura Hackett: The Kansas City IHOP worship leader with a much praised album,” Nov. 23, 2014, crossrhythms.co.uk). Thus, IHOP believes that by proclaiming things, they are creating things “in the spirit realm.” They are convinced that they will literally direct God’s judgments on earth during the tribulation. A major emphasis in IHOP’s worship is to gain intimacy with God. It is spiritual romance. It is a romantic encounter with God. Misty Edwards, one of the prominent IHOP worship leaders, says that she appreciates Kevin Prosch because of the romantic intimacy of his worship songs. (Prosch must be a very romantic man, as he has had two wives and has committed multiple adulteries.) On her 2014 album, Misty Edwards sings Prosch’s “The Gift” because, she says, it describes “the joy of being lovesick.” Consider the lyrics: “You are the Bridegroom/ take us in Your arms./ ... It’s the joy of being love sick/ The pleasures of loving You/ ... The aching longing to see You face to face/ ... So spread Your blanket of love over Your love sick ones/ Let love flow now/ The Spirit and the Bride say come/ Comfort Your love sick ones/ Let love flow now.” The emotionalism of this approach is doubtless one reason why women are often at the forefront of contemporary worship. Of this song and of IHOP’s mystical worship in general, Misty says: “It’s a gift that pulls us into TRANSCENDENCE AND PULLS US INTO THE ETERNAL and immortal ... As broken and messed up as we are, the way that He feels about us when we reach out to Him, longing for Him, moves Him deeply. I think about how we move His heart, He responds, and then we are moved, and we respond. There’s a back and forth relationship that we have with Jesus, that we move Him in our brokenness and our weakness” (“‘The Gift’ by Misty Edwards,” NewReleaseTuesday.com, Nov. 18, 2014). She is saying that contemporary worship can transcend this present life and bring the worshiper into a sensual experience with God. She describes the believer’s relationship with God in terms of human romance. What is wrong with charismatic “romantic worship”? 1. It brings God down to a human level and deals with him in human terms. Consider Misty Edwards’ song “Ezekiel 1,” in which she describes God on the throne in Ezekiel’s vision and then repeatedly sings, “Come near, O Burning One.” As she sings this, she beckons with her hand as to a lover. Imagine Ezekiel responding to the awesome vision like that? This was most definitely not Ezekiel’s response to the vision of Almighty God. Nor was it Isaiah’s (Isaiah 6:1-5) or Paul’s (Acts 9:3-6) or John’s (Revelation 1:17). In “romantic worship” the sense of the fear of God is lost. He is just an divine lover, and that is never how the Bible depicts God. Even in eternity, in the New Jerusalem, there will remain a vast barrier between God and His people. “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him” (Revelation 22:3). 2. The contemporary worship atmosphere apes the sensuality of rock & roll lover songs. Contemporary musicians create the very same atmosphere that has been beloved by rock & rollers for decades because of the powerful feelings it creates. There are the sensual rock rhythms that move the body in sexual ways. There are the unresolving chord sequences that create a sensual, trance-like environment. There are the sensual vocalization styles, the darkened building, the spotlights on the singers and musicians, the sensual dress and movement of the singers. Contemporary worship is exactly the same, except the words are directed to God and Christ. In fact, oftentimes it isn’t clear who the lyrics are directed to. The ambiguity lends itself to multiple applications, which is how many CCM artists have achieved “crossover” success with “worship” songs. Consider “Song of Solomon” by Misty Edwards. (The video is titled “Pour My Love on You,” but there are actually three songs on the video and the first one is “Song of Solomon.”) A pastor friend observed, “We get no indication that this ballad is about God until about 14 minutes into it. And that was in a single, very quick, easily missed reference to Him.” Edwards sings the following words in soft rock ballad style: “When I feel the cold of winter and this cloak of sadness, I need you. All the evil things that shake me, all the words that break me, I need you. Over the mountains and down by the sea, you’ll come running, my love to me. Do not hide me from your presence, pull me from these shadows, I need you. Beauty, wrap your arms around me, sing your song of kindness, I need you.” She carries on like this for 17 minutes, singing in a moaning, cracking, trembling “rock chick” voice with interludes of emotional “scooping and sliding” without any words. A musician friend remarked, “The ‘Marilyn Monroe’ breathy tones are sensual, along with the facial expressions and body language.” In “Do You Know the Way You Move Me,” Misty Edwards sings a song as if God were saying the following words to the individuals in the congregation: “Do you know how you caught my eye, in the secret place where you choose to be mine? I saw you there, longing to be mine. Even in the night time I saw you reaching out to me.” Kevin Prosch, whose worship songs are praised by Misty Edwards, has taken this so far as to sing the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” as if God were singing it to the congregation! This was at the 1996 Heart of David Conference on Worship & Warfare, sponsored by “prophet’ Rick Joyner’s Morning Star ministries. They even claim that when they sang the Beatles’ song, God signaled His pleasure with miraculous signs. Prosch also sings the Wailers’ very sensual rock song “Stir It Up” as if the Lord were singing it to His people. To ape the world is to be worldly. It is to love the world. “Romantic worship” is nothing more than worldliness perpetrated by people who are truly drunk on rock music and who have confused their own feelings with the blessing of God. Fervent sincerity and passionate romantic emotionalism do not sanctify something that is unscriptural. David was sincere when he had the ark of the covenant placed on a cart for transportation to Jerusalem, and Uzza was sincere when he reached out that day to steady the ark, but God struck him down (1 Ch. 13:7-11). It seemed to be a reasonable action, and even David was offended at God that day, but God did not accept Israel’s sincere, enthusiastic, but unscriptural worship. Only when they took the ark off of the cart and put it on the shoulders of the divinely-appointed Levites did God accept them. On both occasions, the people were fervently worshipful (1 Ch. 13:8; 15:28), but only when they obeyed the Scripture was God pleased. 3. There is no biblical justification for “romantic worship.” While the Bible does describe the church’s relationship with Christ in terms of a bride and bridegroom in Ephesians 5, and while there is an application of the Song of Solomon to the believer’s relationship with God, we must be careful about introducing human romance into the worship of God. The bottom line is that the blatant romanticism of contemporary worship is not how the Bible describes the worship of the resurrected Christ. We don’t see this type of thing in the Psalms, which is the divinely-inspired worship book. We don’t see this type of thing in the New Testament epistles. We don’t see this type of thing in Christ’s post-resurrections appearances in Matthew 28 or Acts 1 or Revelation 1 or Revelation 4-5. It is therefore presumptuous. It goes beyond biblical authority and example. It is unscriptural. A pastor friend observed, “Jesus Himself never behaved inappropriately towards women while He was on the earth, and it certainly tears down His high and holy character for people to think that He would condone the practice of women singing to Him like this now.” “Romantic worship” fits the emotionalism and experience-orientation of contemporary worship, and it is suited perfectly to the vehicle of rock & roll. But it isn’t Scriptural and must therefore be rejected. Anything that is unscriptural is both wrong and spiritually dangerous. 4. Any “romantic” relationship between the believer and the Lord is a private matter. A pastor friend made the following important observation about “romantic worship”: “It seems clear that the Song of Solomon represents individuals in a relationship. If it is an example to believers, it should be confined to our personal relationship with God through Christ. If done corporately, we would call that a sexual orgy. No true believer would want to be a part of the intimate lives of all the other people in their congregation on a physical level, and neither should we be involved with them to that level of intimacy on a spiritual level. This song [Misty Edwards’ ‘Song of Solomon’] invites us all into the most intimate levels of experience this woman has with God. Yet, it combines those feelings with a physical medium that confuses all who hear it and invites us into her moaning and groaning on an intimate physical level also. Those physical expressions are sacred and should be reserved for her husband.” Other comments on contemporary “romantic worship.” “While we all need to be grateful to God that He even offered salvation to wretched sinners like us, gratitude is not a license to abandon all self-control to the dictates of our flesh and carry on like some worldly, starry-eyed teenager. The words to the songs may have some resemblance to the Song of Solomon, but the performance is a classic, well-practiced, choreographed, Pentecostal/Charismatic ‘worship’ service like nothing Solomon ever saw or imagined--and certainly like nothing God never intended for His words to be used for.” ‘When Song of Solomon was written, I doubt it was performed on a public stage in a rock concert, accompanied by the best looking girls in tight jeans, and I don’t think Solomon would have had amplified, flesh-arousing instruments, which he and his band played for over 45 minutes, with the purpose of ‘calling down’ and ‘experiencing the presence’ of the ‘holy spirit’; and manipulating an emotional response from the participating ‘worshippers.’” 5. Charismatic “romantic worship” is not based on Scripture rightly divided. It is based on “prophecies.” As we have seen, charismatic “romantic worship” is not based on Scripture. Where does it come from, then? Prophecies! The following is excerpted from a report published in Rolling Stone magazine: “One July day in 1988, Mike Bickle was sitting in his office, reading a wedding card inscribed with a verse from the Song of Solomon. ‘Jesus, seal my heart with your seal of love,’ Bickle spontaneously prayed. Unaccountably, he began to weep. The phone rang. A prophet had heard the ‘audible voice of the Lord’ for Bickle: The Song of Solomon, a dialogue between King Solomon and his beloved, should become a focus of Bickle’s ministry. It eventually came to Bickle that true believers must see Jesus ‘through the eyes of a bride with loyal, devoted love’--they must ‘feel loved and in love’ with Christ. Without this intimacy in worship, Christ would not return to earth. ... “IHOP’s website states that one of its prayer guides, Bridal Intercession, ‘presents prayer as the joyful and romantic communion between the lover and his beloved. ... Readers will find themselves ... eager to encounter this lovely Lord who is their bridegroom.’ ... “Across the IHOP complex, in cafeterias, hallways and the prayer room, music composed to enhance the ecstatic experience is omnipresent, according to an ex-member. Among the lyrics to two popular songs: ‘God is a lover looking for a lover/So he fashioned me and ‘Do you understand what you do to me? . . . How you ravish my heart with just one glance?’ Some former IHOPers have talked of being addicted to it--they become nervous and irritable when they turn it off. Another IHOPer has written about addiction to the sedative atmosphere of the prayer room itself: ‘A common refrain around anxious, discouraged IHOPers is, I just gotta get to the prayer room’” (Jeff Tietz, “Love and Death in the House of Prayer,” Rolling Stone, Jan. 21, 2014). The “romantic worship” is simply another heresy that was imparted to this movement by fallen angels masquerading as angels of light. A BRIDGE TO ROME Mindless mysticism permeates the IHOP movement. It is reflected in the music, as we have seen, and it is reflected in its acceptance of Roman Catholic contemplative mysticism which encourages an “encounter” with God through practices such as the repetitious Jesus prayer, visualizing prayer, breath prayer, and centering prayer. These practices were developed by Roman Catholic “saints” such as Ignatius Loyola and Teresa of Avila in the terrible spiritual darkness of Catholic monasticism. IHOPKS’s large bookstore next door to its 24/7 prayer room contains dozens of titles promoting contemplative prayer. I saw these on a visit in October 2014. Mike Bickle has been teaching contemplative prayer since the early 1980s. A couple who joined the Kansas City Fellowship when it was formed testified of this as follows: “We were part of the original church that Mike Bickle started in the early 80’s called Kansas City Fellowship. In fact, when Mike first arrived in Kansas City, he spoke at a woman’s Bible study that I was attending at the time. It was the first time I had heard contemplative prayer taught. I was so intrigued by his teaching, I made it a point to attend his soon-to-be new church” (“Mike Bickle: The White Horse Prophecy,” BeyondGrace.blogspot.com, Aug. 24, 2011), The mindless nature of this mysticism is illustrated by The Cloud of Unknowing, one of the books that can be purchased at IHOP’s bookstore. This Roman Catholic book encourages the use of a mantra to drive away conscious thoughts with the objective of entering into an experiential communion with God in “the nothingness.” This is Christianized Hinduism, and it is most dangerous. The Cloud of Unknowing says: “... DISMISS EVERY CLEVER OR SUBTLE THOUGHT no matter how holy or valuable. Cover it over with a thick cloud of forgetting because in this life only love can touch God as he is in himself, never knowledge” (chapter 8, pp. 59, 60). “Focus your attention on a simple word such as sin or God ... and WITHOUT THE INTERVENTION OF ANALYTICAL THOUGHT allow yourself to experience directly the reality it signifies” (chapter 36, p. 94). “For in this darkness we experience an intuitive understanding of everything material and spiritual WITHOUT GIVING SPECIAL ATTENTION TO ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR” (chapter 68). Richard Foster, one of the most prominent gurus of contemplative mysticism, and another author whose books are promoted by IHOP, says repetitious prayers such as breath prayers “BIND THE MIND” (Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, p. 124). This is not biblical meditation; it is blind mysticism. It is a dangerous recipe for demonic delusion. We must seek God through faith, and faith comes only by the Scripture, not by a mindless encounter with God beyond Scripture and even beyond thought. In biblical meditation, the mind is always in gear. In biblical meditation, silence refers simply to a quiet place in which the soul can effectively seek the Lord. In Scripture it is called seeking the Lord (Psalm 105:3; Isaiah 55:6), waiting on the Lord (Psalm 69:6), meditating on the Lord (Psalm 104:34), meditating on God’s Word (Psalm 1:2). In these times, when most of us use computers and smart phones and our waking hours are filled to the brim with distracting busyness, it is important to have daily periods of silence for spiritual devotion. During these times we don’t sit with an empty mind and DO NOTHING; rather we open the Bible and read and study and meditate on its teaching, and we pray IN WORDS to God the Father through Jesus Christ by the wisdom and direction of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, “THE silence” of contemplative prayer refers to pursuing God beyond the Bible, beyond thinking. It refers to putting aside thoughts through mechanisms such as mantras. It has been popularized by contemplative gurus such as Richard Foster and Dallas Willard and is promoted by many evangelical leaders today, including Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Chuck Swindoll, David Jeremiah, Beth Moore, Mark Driscoll, Max Lucado, Leighton Ford, Ed Young, Gary Thomas, Philip Yancy, Lee Strobel, and Charles Stanley. (See “Evangelicals Turning to Roman Catholic Contemplative Spirituality” at the Way of Life web site.) Harry Plantinga, director of Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL), describes contemplative prayer as follows: “As I was growing up, my church experience seemed somewhat heady to me--concerned more about correct belief than about actually loving God. Whether or not that was a correct perception, I wanted more. I wanted not just to know about God, I wanted to know God ... Christian mysticism addresses that longing of the heart. ... Webster defines mysticism as ‘the doctrine that it is possible to achieve communion with God through contemplation and love WITHOUT THE MEDIUM OF HUMAN REASON’” (CCEL Times, April 1, 2008). This is not biblical meditation; it is a dangerous recipe for demonic delusion. We must seek God through faith, and faith comes only by God’s Word. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). If we try to know and “experience” God beyond the pages of Scripture, beyond the teaching of the Bible, we are walking in disobedience and unbelief and are setting ourselves up for spiritual deception from the hands of the one who appears as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The late Roman Catholic-Buddhist Thomas Merton, one of the most influential contemplative writers, described his own delusion in these frightful words: “In the end the contemplative suffers the anguish of realizing that he no longer knows what God is” (Merton, The New Seeds of Contemplation). Contemplative practices, such as the Jesus Prayer, visualizing prayer, breath prayer, and centering prayer are exceedingly dangerous. Many who practice these things end up believing in a pagan concept of God such as pantheism (God is everything) and panentheism (God is in everything) and universalism (all people are God’s children). Through these practices, people typically become increasingly ecumenical and interfaith in thinking. One does not have to choose between knowing about God and knowing God personally. GOD IS KNOWN IN CHRIST THROUGH HIS WORD. The study of the Bible is not an end in itself and should never be a mere dry intellectual exercise; it is the means whereby we know God and this is something we grow in year by year as long as we don’t lose our first love. “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2). “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). (For more about contemplative prayer see the book Contemplative Mysticism: A Powerful Ecumenical Bond, available from Way of Life Literature.) The contemplative prayer connection is a bridge from IHOP to the Roman Catholic Church. This explains why Mike Bickle was willing to join in fellowship with 15,000 Roman Catholics at Indianapolis ’90. I heard him speak there, and he did not utter a word of warning about the ecumenical movement that was represented by that conference or about Rome’s heresies. BRINGING IN THE KINGDOM IHOP’s contemporary music-driven prayer sessions are supposed to be the means of experiencing the “presence of God,” which will ultimately result in the miraculous empowerment of “the church.” The revived “end-time church” will prepare the way for Christ’s return by performing miracles, battling the Antichrist, and bringing to pass the tribulation judgments described in the book of Acts. According to IHOP theology, it will be the church, not Jesus, who will bring these judgments to pass through prayer and worship. Evil will be cleansed from the earth through the miracle-working, end-time church, and then Jesus will return. IHOP believes that its 24/7 prayers and the prayers of similar groups will direct God’s judgments upon the earth. Mike Bickle says: “We’re not absent for the great tribulation, now listen carefully, the church causes the great tribulation. What I mean by that--it’s the church, it’s the praying church under Jesus’ leadership that’s loosing the judgment in the great tribulation in the way that Moses stretched forth his rod and prayed and loosed the judgments upon Pharaoh. The church in the tribulation is in the position that Moses was before Pharaoh, but it won’t be a Pharaoh and Egypt, it’ll be the great end time Pharaoh called the antichrist and the book of Revelation is a book about the judgments of God on the antichrist loosed by the praying church. ... Jesus is not coming until the Body of Christ globally is crying out ‘Come Lord Jesus, Come Lord Jesus, Come Lord Jesus,’ and they don’t just say, ‘come and forgive me,’ they are crying out in the understanding of who they are as the one that is cherished by Jesus in the bridal identity” (Bob DeWaay, “Mike Bickle and International House of Prayer,” Critical Issues Commentary, Jul.-Aug. 2008). The following quotations from End Times Simplified: Preparing Your Heart for the Coming Storm by IHOP senior leader and Bible teacher David Sliker state the movement’s prophetic theology. This book is published by IHOP’s Forerunner Publishing, and the foreword is written by Mike Bickle, who is quoted on the back cover as saying, “I highly recommend this book.” “The Church will not impassively look on from a distance hoping Israel will make it. The Bride will be like her Bridegroom. The Church will fearlessly enter into the trial and trouble of Israel and fight for the nation when no one else will. ... the Lord is going to use the Church to cause the coming crisis through anointed preaching with power. The Lord will also use the Church to solve the coming crisis through anointed prayer with authority” (Sliker, End Time Simplified, 2013, pp. 74, 75). “Though the tribulation will be worse than ever in history, the Church will do ‘greater works’ than the ones Jesus performed (John 14:12). ... Even now, she is being prepared to operate in unprecedented power in concert with the Holy Spirit. The prepared Bride will partner with Jesus to loose His judgments on the nations of the world” (Sliker, End Time Simplified, 2013, p. 128). “God’s ‘secret weapon,’ an authentic prayer movement, will be unleashed on the kingdom of darkness. ... The unveiling of Jesus’ singing, praying Bride will surprise the nations and dismay the evil one, Satan” (Sliker, End Time Simplified, 2013, pp. 188, 189). “God will fundamentally change the expression of Christianity. The Church is not taken seriously now, but God will restore the Church to her rightful place. He will express Himself through His Bride in a way that will cause the nations to tremble. ... As the worldwide prayer movement matures, the Lord also will release anointing on His people to do the ‘greater works’ promised by Jesus in John 14:12-14. Moses ... Elijah and Elisha ... the apostles ... The Church’s anointing and power, however, will exceed that of any period in history. ... The Church’s power will far exceed, in both glory and might, the power of the Antichrist and the False Prophet” (Sliker, End Time Simplified, 2013, pp. 202, 203, 204). Among other things, this doctrine of the end times misapplies Israel’s prophecies to the church. God’s witness on earth during the tribulation is Israel. In the book of Revelation, the churches are not seen on earth after chapter three. The seven years of tribulation described in Revelation 6-18 is the final week of the 70 Week prophecy in Daniel 9:22-27. It is a prophecy that pertains to Israel, not to the churches. Daniel was told that the prophecy pertains to “thy people,” which of course is Israel (Dan. 9:24). The 144,000 who are sealed and who preach the gospel of the kingdom in the tribulation are Jews of the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev. 7). The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 are Jews. They are associated with the rebuilding of the Jewish temple (Rev. 11:1-2). They minister in Jerusalem, Israel’s capital. The church has no such capital, her hope being heavenly, not earthly (Col. 3:1-4; Phil. 3:17-21). The Two Witnesses are clothed in sackcloth, typical of Old Testament Israel, not New Testament believers. Nowhere are the churches seen in sackcloth. They are told, rather, to “rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). Further, the Two Witnesses call down judgment upon their enemies (Rev. 11:5-6), whereas Jesus rebuked his disciples for desiring to do just this and instructed church-age believers to pray for the well-being of their enemies, not for their destruction (Lk. 9:54-56; Rom. 12:14, 17-21). IHOP believes that God is raising up an army of young people who will form the end-time empowered “church.” The army will even be composed of “anointed” children. Francis Frangipane, who was one of the original “Kansas City prophets,” says that the “end-time church” will display the actual glory of God. “God’s plan is that here on earth, in us, the glory of the Lord will be revealed! The luminous, radiant light of His Presence, as it shone from Moses’ face and flooded Solomon’s temple at its dedication, as it radiated from Jesus and bathed His disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration—that light of God’s Presence shall arise from within us at the end of the age! This same divine glory shall, in ever-increasing degrees of brightness, appear upon us in the years prior to the Lord’s actual second coming” (Frangipane, The Days of His Presence, 1996, pp. 21-22). THE NEW PROPHETS Central to the alleged end-time miracle revival is the restoration of prophets to “the church.” Mike Bickle has been involved in the new prophet movement since the 1980s. But even during their “heyday” in the 1980s and 1990s, the “Kansas City prophets” admitted that their prophecies were often inaccurate (which is an understatement). Bob Jones (not the Bob Jones who founded Bob Jones University) was allegedly told that the general level of prophetic revelation was about 65% accurate at that time. Some were 10% accurate, while a very few were supposedly approaching 85% to 95% accuracy. Rick Joyner observed, “Prophecy is increasing in purity, but there is still a long way to go for those who walk in this ministry” (“The Unfolding of a Prophet,” Fulness Magazine, Jan-Feb. 1990, p. 13]). The “new prophets” claim that this is not a matter of concern because prophets must grow in their prophetic ability, ignoring the biblical standard of Deuteronomy. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, IF THE THING FOLLOW NOT, NOR COME TO PASS, THAT IS THE THING WHICH THE LORD HATH NOT SPOKEN, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deut. 18:19-22). God says that if a prophet’s predictions do not come to pass, that prophet’s ministry is not of the Lord. The new charismatic prophets fail this biblical test terribly. Mike Bickle’s book Growing in the Prophetic promotes the heretical notion that prophesies can be wrong. Of the “prophetic office,” he says, “This doesn’t mean that prophets are 100 percent infallible, but their words are to be taken seriously. Unlike the Old Testament ground rules for prophets, where 100 percent accuracy was required upon the penalty of death, the New Testament doesn’t require the same standard of its prophets” (Growing in the Prophetic, p. 41). The idea that New Testament prophets could be wrong is refuted by Scripture. There is no biblical example of an alleged prophet who was wrong in his prophesying yet was accepted as a prophet of God. We think of Agabus, who prophesied that Paul would be imprisoned in Jerusalem (Acts 21:10-11). There was nothing ambiguous about his prophecy, and it was fulfilled exactly as given. Bob Jones, one of the chiefest of the Kansas City “prophets,” claimed that God told him that their prophetic words were only “two-thirds accurate” and “the other third will be like popping a bullet at the enemy [that] wouldn’t fire; it was a blank.” God allegedly told him that the reason that the prophets were not 100% accurate is because if God released 100% accuracy at this time “the accountability would be awesome and you’d have so much Ananias and Sapphiras going on that people couldn’t grow; they’d be too scared” (Bob Jones, Visions and Revelations, fall 1988). This is heretical nonsense, and we need no other reason to reject these men than the fact that they issue “prophecies” that are inaccurate and twist Scripture to defend the practice. Some spiritual gifts can be increased, but an apostolic gift like tongues speaking or prophecy is not a learned experience. You either have it or you don’t! It is either a miracle from God, or it is a deception. IHOP’s prophesying has been filled with grievous errors. Consider, for example, that it was long and fervently prophesied in Mike Bickle’s prayer meetings that his quadriplegic brother would be healed. (Pat Bickle became a quadriplegic as a teenager via a football accident.) Following is the testimony of a couple who were members of Bickle’s church from its inception until 1990: “One other important fact that never gets mentioned, and has since been removed from the history. Mike had a quadriplegic brother named Pat whom we were close to. Pat always attended the evening prayer meetings which we also attended. Keep in mind, the early prayer movement was very sparse, a far cry from what it looks like today. Just a dozen or so faithful regularly attended. As a result, we got to know one another pretty well. Well, amongst all the prophecies and promises of the spirit being poured out on us, there was ALWAYS the promise that Pat would be healed. So often was that promise repeated that we spoke of it as a ‘given.’ All of the prophets mentioned it numerous times. In fact, it was going to be THE EVENT that started the whole ball rolling. Sadly, Pat passed away a few years ago. More sadly, however, is how THIS OFTEN-STATED PROPHECY, AT LEAST HOW PIVOTAL IT WAS, WAS ERASED FROM THE HISTORY. Now, when new IHOPers listen to the 18 plus hours of how IHOP came to be, they won’t know about Pat and that profound promise that we hoped for in his healing” (“Mike Bickle: The White Horse Prophecy,” BeyondGrace.blogspot.com, Aug. 24, 2011). In a series of interviews with Mike Bickle in 1988, Bob Jones claimed that God had shown him a prophecy in 1982 which taught that Mike Bickle was the chosen leader of the end-time prophetic miracle movement, that Jones was chosen by God to keep the movement on the right course, and that Pat Bickle’s healing would be a signal of the beginning of great miracles. This was called the White Horse Prophecy. Jones allegedly was shown a vision of a white horse carrying a man lying on a board and another man walking alongside. Jones was told to lead the horse into a stream bed in which a trickle of water flowed and to keep the horse in the center of the stream until rains came and filled it up. He interpreted this as follows: The white horse signifies the end-time prophetic movement. Bob Jones was appointed to keep the prophetic movement on the right course. Pat Bickle would be healed when the water of end-time miracles began flowing. Mike Bickle was the appointed leader of the movement. Here is Jones’ description of the prophecy in his conversations with Bickle in 1988: “I saw the White Horse and this time they was a man and that man was laying flat on a board on his back, and they was another one walking (by his) side and I couldn't understand it, but it was like one of them was walking beside of him was one of the men that was chosen to have a little power ... and he was to be a leader of this. ... This one, that was at his side, was saying ‘This man, he’s not heavy, that I’m bearing, He's my Brother.’ “And that White Horse, some of the main purpose that the White Horse (corporate purpose) was to begin with, was to begin to pray for that man, I didn’t know it then, but to pray for the man that was on that board. “And the White Horse, I was told to lead the White Horse into the middle of a dry stream. It was a stream that centuries ago had water in it, but now it was dry. And as I led the White Horse right into the middle of the stream the Spirit of the Lord put water, like a little trickle, on both sides of it. “And He said, ‘I’m releasing the spirit of prophecy, to keep the White Horse in the Middle of the stream, and that’s your only duty. Just walk along side, hold on with a gentle reign to keep it in the middle of the stream. Because, one day the rains will come and the flow will begin and when it does, the man on the white horse on the board shall be the one first to touch that stream” (“Mike Bickle: The White Horse Prophecy,” BeyondGrace.blogspot.com, Aug. 24, 2011). Jones also described “rabid dogs” on both sides of the river barking, which he interpreted to be those who resist the new prophets and their miracle revival. Every critic of the movement is considered a persecutor. Another of Bickle’s “prophets” conveniently prophesied that God did not want IHOP to answer its critics. “Persecution will be birthed against you and the work that God has entrusted to your leadership, and the Lord says you are not to touch it, you are not to answer it; you are to leave it in the Lord’s hands, and He will settle it for you” (Augustine Alcala, quoted from “Mick Bickle: Inoculation of the Sheep,” Aug. 8, 2011, beyondgrace.blogspot.com). Any movement that refuses to listen to “critics” who are basing their “criticism” on Scriptural rightly divided is a movement that does not love the truth and that is condemned to be led astray. The Bible was given for reproof (2 Tim. 3:16). The New Testament commends scriptural reproof (Eph. 5:11-13). Biblical preachers are reprovers (2 Tim. 4:2). All things are to be proven (1 Th. 5:21). The Bereans, who tested everything by Scripture, are not treated as carnal troublemakers, but as “noble” (Acts 17:11). Paul’s “criticisms” of Peter (Gal. 2:11-14), Hymenaeus and Alexander (1 Tim. 1:19-20), Phygellus and Hermogenes (2 Tim. 1:15), Hymenaeus and Philetus (2 Tim. 2:17-18), and Alexander (2 Tim. 4:14-15) are presented in a positive light in God’s Word. Proverbs, the book of practical wisdom, emphasizes that one’s attitude toward reproof is a test of one’s spiritual condition (Prov. 6:23; 9:7; 10:17; 12:1; 13:18; 15:10, 12, 31-32; 17:10; 29:1). Returning to the White Horse Prophecy, we note that Bob Jones said that one of the MAIN DUTIES of the movement in its early stage was to pray for Pat Bickle. But Pat, the “man on the board,” died in May 2007 at age 50 after being paralyzed for 33 years, totally discrediting Bob Jones as a “prophet” and Mike Bickle as the leader of a miracle movement. Instead of admitting that the vision was a lie and repenting of his heresies, Bickle has modified it so that Pat’s death is the fulfillment. In 2009, Bickle replaced the “Prophetic History” that is taught to all IHOP students with a new edition. The title is “Encountering Jesus: Visions, Revelations, and Angelic Activity from IHOP-KC’s Prophetic History.” The vision of Pat’s healing was changed to a vision of Pat’s death! “On August 8, 1982, Bob saw a white horse in the middle of a river bed that had 4 inches of water in it, with rabid dogs on the sides. Bob saw me and my brother Pat in the river bed. He stood behind us. Bob saw that when the Lord ‘raised up Pat,’ then the floods of the Spirit would follow in God’s timing. The Lord raised up Pat and took him home to glory when he died on May 5, 2007” (“Encountering Jesus,” 2009 outline distributed by Mike Bickle, cited from “Mike Bickle: The White Horse Prophecy,” BeyondGrace.blogspot.com, Aug. 24, 2011). By 2011, Pat Bickle had disappeared from the White Horse prophecy entirely! Well does God’s Word reprove those who speak false things and give people false hopes and lead people astray: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:16). “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD” (Ezekiel 13:2). Mike Bickle would say that those who critique and reprove him are “rabid dogs,” but they are actually God’s faithful watch dogs. Most of the “prophesies” of these end-time “prophets” are not clear enough to test, as they are delivered in vague, ambiguous, parabolic terms. Mike Bickle says that they speak in “parables and riddles” (“15 Year Anniversary Honoring Bob Jones,” Sept. 20, 2014, CD, International House of Prayer). “Jesus often spoke in parables to hide truth so that only those hungry for God would gain understanding. He said, ‘I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand’ (Mat. 13:13). In the same way, the Holy Spirit often speaks to us prophetically in dreams and visions using parables. Only those who are desperate to know God’s heart will understand what He is saying. Therefore, it is important that we be cautious and not overly confident and dogmatic in giving or receiving prophecy. ... God purposely gives the information in a dark saying or parable” (Growing in the Prophetic, pp. 25, 26). It is true that Jesus spoke in parables to unbelievers at times to hide the truth, particularly in the parables of the mystery of the kingdom in Matthew 13, but when He spoke to believers He plainly interpreted the parables (Mat. 13:18-23). In the first century, Christ didn’t speak to believers in riddles or in confusing parables and leave them in a quandary about the meaning, and He would not do such a thing today. By its very nature, a vague prophecy or a riddle or an ambiguous parable cannot be tested. It can mean anything and nothing. In contrast to charismatic “parable prophecies,” when the Bible uses parables and riddles, it interprets them, either in the immediate context or when Scripture is compared with Scripture. Bob Jones (d. 2014) (again not the Bob Jones who founded Bob Jones University in South Carolina) is one of the men that Mike Bickle accepted as a “Level IV prophet.” Bickle compared this level with “the Old Testament ministries of men like Samuel and Elijah” (Growing in the Prophetic, p. 42). Bob Jones claimed countless out-of-body experiences, visions, angelic visitations, personal tours of heaven led by Jesus, and face-to-face conversations with God. He said he had a spirit guide who took him on out-of-body adventures. His first alleged trip to heaven was at age 13. On another “trip to heaven,” he supposedly saw “Jesus in the form of a light who would grab and kiss men and women and then make them disappear by absorbing them into his body” (Visions and Revelations, series of five tapes from the fall of 1988). “Visions and Revelations was removed from Bickle’s catalog in 1990, together with other “prophecies” by Bob Jones and Paul Cain’s messages, but we have a digitized copy of Visions and Revisions in our possession.) Jones saw unsaved people on an escalator to hell which was “like a cold storage place.” Jones said that on one occasion Jesus came to him in the appearance of an angel named Dominus and they sat in rocking chairs holding hands and looking down on a church service in progress while they were invisible to the people. All of this is contrary to Scripture, and if Jones even had these experiences, they were demonic deceptions. (We deal with Pentecostal visitations to heaven in the book The Pentecostal-Charismatic Movements, available from www.wayoflife.org.) Jones taught the Manifest Sons of God heresy, claiming that the sons of God will be glorified and miraculously empowered before Jesus returns. He prophesied of a “New Breed” of prophets that Jesus would raise up and “the government will be on their shoulders.” He described evangelists who will heal by means of a “ray of light” that will emanate out of their hands (Visions and Revelations, Fall 1988). He said, “They will move into things of the supernatural that no one has ever moved in before. Every miracle, sign and wonder that has ever been in the Bible – they’ll move in it consistently. Every sign and wonder that’s ever been will be many times in the last days. They themselves will … put death itself underneath their feet ... a Church that has reached the full maturity of the god-man!” Following is one of Bob Jones’ prophecies about the New Breed: “I went and I seen the Lord, and it was like He was looking at little yellow things--little round, yellow things like a spirit of God itself. And there were billions of them. And it was like Him and all the angels were looking through these and every once in awhile they's say, ‘Hey, here's an end-time one; get it down here on the end. Here's another good one.’ “I said, ‘What are you doing?’ “He said, ‘Oh, we're collecting those who are foreknown and predestinated for the end-times, for you see, they’ll be the best of all the seed that’s ever been. And we’re looking through the seeds and this’ll be your grandkids. This will be the end generation that is foreknown and predestinated to inherit all things. And these will be like grandchildren to you--even those that you minister to won’t be this generation; their children will be. You are to write into their minds, as they write into the children’s minds. You’re to bring them to a place to allow My Spirit to rule in their life where they can begin to set the Church on the proper foundations, as they will. They’ll birth the Church, but their children will attain levels of the Holy Spirit that they will not. “‘Although their parents will reign over them and be the leaders of the last-day church, their children will possess the Spirit without measure. For they are the best of all the generations that have ever been upon the face of the earth. And the best of all generations are those elected seeds that will glorify Christ in the last days.’ “That’s the purpose so that Jesus in the last days has the seeds that will glorify Him above any generation that has ever been upon the face of the earth. They will move into things of the supernatural that no one has ever moved in before. Every miracle, sign and wonder that has ever been in the Bible, they'll move in it consistently. They’ll move in the power that Christ did. Every sign and wonder that’s ever been will be many times in the last days. They themselves will be that generation that's raised up to put death itself underneath their feet and to glorify Christ in every way. “And the Church that is raising up in the government will be the head and the covering for them. So that that glorious Church might be revealed in the last days because the Lord Jesus is worthy to be lifted up by a Church that has reached the full maturity of the God-man!” (Bob Jones, Visions and Revelations, 1988). Jones’ prophecies about children being a major part of the end-time miracle revival is one reason why IHOPKS has a ministry to train children to “move in the Spirit.” They are taught to prophesy, speak in tongues, lay hands on one another, pray for healing, etc. IHOPKS claims that they have trained 50,000 children! Imagine the confusion that has been imparted to these children by this heretical nonsense! Jones claimed to “operate with his golden senses,” meaning that “he literally walks into their [other people’s] bodies and feels their feelings, tastes their tastes, sees with their sight and hears what they’re hearing” (Burl and Sharon Wells, By the Book, Vol. 3, Issue 1, 1990, Go Ministries, San Jose, Calif.). Jones claimed that oil appeared on his hands as a sign from the Lord. He allegedly could smell “anointings.” For example, he would smell roses when he ministered to a “worship leader.” These are occultic phenomena. We do not see God’s true prophets operating like this in Scripture. The main thing that caused people to believe that Jones was a prophet was his knowledge of the secrets of their lives. This soothsaying what convinced Mike Bickle. “Several weeks later, a week-known preacher named Art Katz was visiting our Sunday morning church service. I had heard of Art but had never met him. After the service, I saw Bob Jones talking privately with him. I expected Art to reject Bob as I had done. Instead, when I came up to greet him, the first thing he said was, ‘Mike, this man Bob Jones is a prophet of God. He just told me the secrets of my heart!’ ... About 9:00 p.m. that night, Art insisted on seeing Bob again. We met at my house from 10:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. It was a very unusual and emotional evening. I was overwhelmed by the private things that God revealed to Bob about my personal life. In the emotion of the moment, I blurted out, ‘Bob, I believe you are a prophet’” (Growing in the Prophetic, 2008 edition, p. 14). Jones met Mike Bickle in 1983 and prophesied that God was going to use Bickle to usher in an end-time miracle revival. We have already looked at Jones’ White Horse Prophecy. Jones communed with an entity that he called “the angel Emma,” claiming that “she” birthed the Kansas City prophetic movement. Pentecostal “healing” preacher Todd Bentley says that he was told about Emma by Bob Jones and later communed with her himself: “Now let me talk about an angelic experience with Emma. Twice Bob Jones asked me about this angel that was in Kansas City in 1980: ‘Todd, have you ever seen the angel by the name of Emma?’ He asked me as if he expected that this angel was appearing to me. Surprised, I said, ‘Bob, who is Emma?’ He told me that Emma was the angel that helped birth and start the whole prophetic movement in Kansas City in the 1980s. She was a mothering-type angel that helped nurture the prophetic as it broke out. “Within a few weeks of Bob asking me about Emma, I was in a service in Beulah, North Dakota. In the middle of the service I was in conversation with Ivan and another person when in walks Emma. As I stared at the angel with open eyes, the Lord said, ‘Here’s Emma.’ I’m not kidding. She floated a couple of inches off the floor. ... Emma appeared beautiful and young--about 22 years old--but she was old at the same time. She seemed to carry the wisdom, virtue and grace of Proverbs 31 on her life. She glided into the room, emitting brilliant light and colors. Emma carried these bags and began pulling gold out of them. Then, as she walked up and down the aisles of the church, she began [distributing] gold dust. The Lord answered: ‘She is releasing the gold, which is both the revelation and the financial breakthrough that I am bringing into this church. I want you to prophesy that Emma showed up in this service--the same angel that appeared in Kansas city--as a sign that I am endorsing and releasing a prophetic spirit in the church on people.’ ... “Within three weeks of that visitation, the church had given me the biggest offering I had ever received to that point in my ministry. Thousands of dollars! Thousands! … During this visitation the pastor’s wife (it was an AOG church) got totally whacked by the Holy Ghost--she began running around barking like a dog or squawking like a chicken as a powerful prophetic spirit came on her. Also, as this prophetic anointing came on her, she started getting phone numbers of complete strangers and calling them up on the telephone and prophesying over them… Then angels started showing up in the church’” (P.J. Miller, “Lakeland Revival: Todd Bentley, Bob Jones, and Some Things to Consider,” May 8, 2008, pjmiller.wordpress.com). The “Lakeland Revival” ended abruptly when Todd Bentley was discredited as an alcoholic and an adulterer, so it is possible that both Jones and Bentley were simply lying and there is no Emma. If she does exist, she is a demon, as angels are never referred to in Scripture in female terms. Further, according to Bentley, “Emma” preaches word-faith, prosperity gospel heresies. In 1991, Bob Jones admitted to “a moral failure” (Lee Grady, “Wimber Plots New Course for Vineyard,” Charisma, Feb. 1993, p. 64). Jones was using his alleged spiritual authority and “prophetic anointing” to induce women to disrobe so they could “stand naked before the Lord in order to receive a word.” It wasn’t long before Jones was back, though, with his own “prophetic ministry” based in Mississippi, and he continued to travel and “prophesy” at charismatic churches and conferences until his death in February 2014. On a visit to the IHOP bookstore in October 2014, I purchased a CD of a special service that Mike Bickle had dedicated to Bob Jones’ memory earlier that year. In this service, Bickle honored Jones as a major prophet of God and credited him with introducing him into the “prophetic” ministry. Bickle and other IHOP leaders described the operation of Jones’ “golden senses.” Bickle said there were five or six times when Jones knew the details of his dreams. He said that God once told him to call Bob Jones on the phone to get the interpretation of a dream. A woman said that Bob Jones attended her wedding, and before the service started he told her that he had already seen her wedding day and, “It is good.” Paul Cain (b. 1929) is probably the most renowned of the Pentecostal “new prophets.” He claims that the “Angel of the Lord” first visited him when he was eight years old and that he has experienced countless visions, revelatory dreams, and angelic visitations since then. He began conducting healing campaigns at age 18 and was one of the prominent names in the Pentecostal “Healing Revival” of the late 1940s and 1950s. He was an associate of William Branham and on at least one occasion took over a meeting for Branham. In 1954, he purchased an 8,000-seat gospel tent from Pentecostal evangelist Jack Coe’s ministry and toured the country. He also had large meetings in Switzerland and Germany. Cain says that when he was in his early twenties, the “Angel of the Lord” called him to a celibate unmarried life. He said that he was driving his Lincoln Continental in southern California in the 1950s when “the Lord,” dressed as a monk, appeared in the passenger seat. In the ensuing conversation, “the Lord” indicated to him that he should cut off his marriage engagement with a young woman and live celibately. “After the Lord had finished discussing some other matters with him Paul felt it was a good opportunity to raise the question of his recent engagement to be married. So he told the Lord about it and asked: ‘What do you think of it, Lord? ... You don’t seem very pleased. Don’t you want me to be married?’ “The Lord looked at him again and repeated softly, ‘I walked alone.’ “‘Lord,’ said Paul, ‘if you don’t want me to be married I am willing to give up the idea, but you will have to do something about my feelings.’ “The Lord replied by simply placing his hand upon him. To Paul it felt as though fire passed right through his body. From that day to this, he says, he has never experienced any further sexual desire. That was Paul’s initiation into celibacy” (David Pytches, Some Said it Thundered, p. 40-41). If this “visitation” actually occurred, it was a demonic visitation, as it is a doctrine of demons to forbid marriage (1 Timothy 4:1-3). The apostle Paul taught, by divine inspiration, that celibacy is for those who have a gift for it, and that it is better to marry than to burn (1 Cor. 7:2, 9, 28). Furthermore, as we will see, Cain was lying about not having “any further sexual desire.” Like William Branham before him, Cain has the occultic gift of clairvoyance or soothsaying and knows details of stranger’s lives. This convinced many people of his authenticity as a “prophet.” It appears that Cain inherited occultic gifts from his mother and grandmothers. “Paul’s mother, grandmother, and great grandmother had all been born with the gift of seeing. His great-grandmother would sometimes see things in broad daylight and ask her friend or family if they could see them too. If they said they could not, she would occasionally wave her hand upon them and they would immediately see the identical vision. ... “Paul now found he was ‘seeing’ also and would know things that were going to happen to classmates at school or were happening to absent friends. He knew simple things like who would end up with a bloody nose or who would win a race. ... “There was a special bond between William Branham and Little Brother [Cain] in the early days of Paul’s ministry. ... Sometimes when Branham could not meet a commitment, he would send Paul in his place. “The extent of their spiritual ‘light’ was phenomenal. When they called each other by phone one would often say to the other in fun, ‘You’re all right today. How am I?’ and each would know the other’s state of health precisely. “On one occasion Mike Bickle had been complaining to his wife that he had ‘a bit of a sniffle’ or a slight cold--something he rarely had--the phone rang, Bickle picked up the receiver and heard Paul on the line. He had heard about Paul's gift so he said by way of a joke, ‘Hi, Paul! You’re all right today! How am I?’ Immediately Paul answered him, ‘Why Mike, you've got a bit of a sniffle and you are all wet. Your hair is standing up on the left side of your head.’ (Bickle had just gotten out the shower)” (David Pytches, Some Said It Thundered, 1991, pp. 24, 26, 29, 30). “A friend of ours from Australia was in a public meeting in which Cain was speaking. This man had just lost his wife and Cain (with no knowledge of this man) pointed to him and told him so and proceeded to name his four sons. ... A publisher of a famous charismatic magazine once harbored some doubts regarding Cain. Cain later met him and ... referred to a boat owned by the publisher and preceded to tell him the numbers of his boat license after which the publisher called him truly a prophet of God” (Orrel Steinkamp, “Paul Cain,” The Plumbline, Dec. 2004). Cain teaches the Manifest Sons of God heresy. He said: “I want you to know he’s [Christ] coming to the Church before he comes for the Church. He’s gonna perfect the Church so the Church can be the Image, be Him, and be his representative” (Cain, My Father’s House, Nov. 1988, Grace Ministries, Kansas City). “If you’re really in the vine and you’re the branch, then the life from the Son of the living God keeps you from cancer, keeps you from dying, keeps you from death ... Not only will they not have diseases, they will also not die. They will have the kind of imperishable bodies that are talked about in the 15th chapter of Corinthians ... this army is invincible. If you have intimacy with God, they can’t kill you. ... There will be a manifestation of the sons of God. And it won’t be this baloney that we’ve heard of in the past. ... I’m talking about a true manifested son of God ... God wants us to realize once again in closing that there’s going to be a great company of overcomers prepared for this mighty ministry which I call the prize of all the ages” (Paul Cain, “Joel's Army,” cited in Documentation of the Aberrant Practices and Teachings of Kansas City Fellowship, Shawnee, KS: Full Faith Church of Love, 1990, p. 218). Cain frequently described visions he allegedly had of stadiums filled with hundreds of thousands of people and of great miracles: of resurrections, of believers walking through walls, of preachers levitating and standing in fixed poses for 24 hours. He says that he believes we are on the very threshold of these events and that Promise Keepers could be the forerunner to the last days miracle revival (Ed Tarkowski, “The Significance of Filled Stadiums,” The Christian Conscience, Feb. 1996). Between 1958 and 1987, Cain ceased public ministry and lived with his mother, in accordance with a “personal revelation.” In 1987, Cain was accepted as a prophet and a “father” by Mike Bickle and the Kansas City Fellowship because of Cain’s knack for soothsaying. Bob Jones stated that Cain is “the most anointed prophet that's in the world today” (Visions and Revelations, interview with Mike Bickle, Kansas City, MO: Grace Ministries, 1988). In the late 1980s, Mike Bickle and Paul Cain were promoted by John Wimber, who brought them into the Vineyard association. The Kansas City Fellowship was renamed Metro Vineyard. I heard the three of them speak at Indianapolis ’90, which I attended with media credentials. Half of the 30,000 or so in attendance were Roman Catholic. There was a Roman Catholic mass every morning, madonnas and other idols promoting Mary as the Queen of Heaven were on sale in the book sales area, and a Roman Catholic priest brought the keynote message. John Wimber had long lusted after signs and wonders, not being content to live his Christian life by faith. He wanted to “feel God” and “do the stuff” (referring to performing miracles). This resulted in great spiritual delusion. (For documentation, see The Pentecostal-Charismatic Movements, available from www.wayoflife.org.) When he met Paul Cain in December 1988, Wimber was convinced that the man was a genuine prophet of God because Cain told him secrets of his life that no man knew. Also Cain foretold that a mild earthquake would hit the day he arrived, though a mild earthquake is NOT an uncommon event in southern California! When Wimber accepted Cain into the Vineyard, he did so with no reservations. “We did not have to correct Paul Cain because there were no charges whatsoever in all our investigation on Paul’s ministry, or his theology, and/or his history. Although there are those that have held negative views” (John Wimber, “Forum on Prophecy, Signs and Wonders,” Indianapolis 1990, Aug. 17, 1990, audio cassette). In October 2004, Cain was exposed as a homosexual and an alcoholic by Rick Joyner, Mike Bickle, and Jack Deere, who said that Cain had refused to submit to discipline. “‘In February 2004, we were made aware that Paul had become an alcoholic. In April 2004, we confronted Paul with evidence that he had recently been involved in homosexual activity. Paul admitted to these sinful practices and was placed under discipline, agreeing to a process of restoration, which the three of us would oversee. However, Paul has resisted this process and has continued in his sin.’ With our deepest regrets and sincerity, Rick Joyner, Jack Deere, Mike Bickle.” Eventually Cain admitted his sin, saying, “I have struggled in two particular areas, homosexuality and alcoholism, for an extended period of time. I apologize for denying these matters of truth, rather than readily admitting them” (“A Letter of Confession,” February 2005, web article no longer available). As we have seen, for 40 years Cain had claimed that he had no sexual feelings because “the Lord” had touched him. He had repeated this mythical story to many, including John Wimber, Mike Bickle, and David Pytches, author of Some Said It Thundered, and had used it to impress people with his “prophetic mystique.” Rock music is at the heart and soul of the new prophecy movement represented by IHOP. If you could remove the music, the movement would die. They worship to rock music, pray to rock music, prophesy to rock music, speak in “tongues” to it, fall on the floor to it, drink their coffee to it. They are addicted to sensual music. Integrity Music, which owns Hosanna Music, has been one of the channels for the spread of the new prophets’ message. Integrity rose out of the charismatic movement, and the music it distributes to 117 countries is charismatic to the core. Integrity recorded an album at the Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida, where a strange charismatic “revival” broke out in 1995. Don Moen, who was “creative director” for Integrity at the time, described the power of the music recorded at Brownsville: “... SOMETHING IS IMPARTED WHEN YOU LISTEN TO THIS TAPE. I don’t want it to sound spooky or mysterious, but there’s something powerful about embracing the music of the revival. The fire of the revival can stir in you even as you listen to the songs that took place at the Brownsville revival” (“Don Moen Discusses Music at Brownsville Assembly,” Pentecostal Evangel, November 10, 1996). The “revival” to which Moen refers is a “revival” in which people become drunk and stagger about and fall down and are unable to perform the most basic functions of life. John Kilpatrick, the senior pastor at Brownsville during the alleged revival, testified that it took him a half hour just to put on his socks when he was drunk with the Brownsville revival spirit. He lay on the church platform for as long as four hours, unable to get up and unable to exercise his responsibilities as a pastor. His wife was unable to cook or clean the house. Whatever this “revival” is, it is not Bible based, yet Moen testifies that this spirit can be imparted through the music. Integrity’s Hosanna worship tapes include songs by Robert Gay, who records music from alleged prophecies. Gay claims that the Holy Spirit gives him visions for his songs. He is connected with Bill Hamon’s Christian International Network of supposed prophetic ministries. The major “prophetic” ministries, including IHOP, publish contemporary worship music. IHOP publishes selections of the music from its 24/7 prayer services. This is the music that is used to create the mystical atmosphere in which their people “encounter God.” Brethren, beware of the “new prophets” and any church or movement that believes in such prophets. We don’t need new prophets; we need a greater love for the old Prophets! The Bible is absolutely sufficient. It is able to make the man of God perfect. What else is needed? Cleave to it, and you’ll not be led astray, nor will you be adrift on the restless sea of charismatic confusion. Don’t follow “signs.” Don’t follow your emotions. Don’t accept doctrines and practices that can’t be backed up by the Bible rightly divided. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:19-21). “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Beware of any ministry that treats biblical reprovers as enemies. Beware of any ministry that holds to the heresy of an end-time miracle revival. No such revival is prophesied for end of the church age. Rather, we are taught to expect great error and spiritual confusion that will result in the formation of an apostate one-world “church.” For more than 40 years since I came to Christ, I have examined the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement. In my travels to three dozen nations, I have looked for apostolic gifts exercised according to God’s Word, but I have searched in vain. The “tongues” are vain babblings. The healings are nothing like what we see in the Gospels and the book of Acts. The resurrections are non-existent. The prophecies are false. Women lead contrary to the law of God. From its inception, the Pentecostal movement has been permeated with heresy and pure nuttiness, and many deeply sincere people have been deceived thereby because they are willing to ignore the plain teaching of God’s Word, lusting after “signs and wonders” and experiences. If you are not content with the Bible and you are not content with living by faith, you are a prime candidate for spiritual deception. 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SAN JOSE, Calif. - For nearly three hours Friday, Santa Clara County's newly formed Hate Crimes Task Force listened to input from community groups in the hopes of addressing a recent spike in hate crimes. They're looking at everything from prevention programs to reporting of crimes and response. From physical attacks to verbal ones, community members from all walks of life described their experiences as Santa Clara County's Hate Crimes Task Force listened for hours. "This is all coming to the forefront now but it's been simmering in the background. It's been an ongoing thing," says Christina Johnson of the Vietnamese American Roundtable. This move to the forefront is a response to recent attacks on Asian Americans. There have also been rallies at city hall, community patrols through Japantown, and an appetite for real change. "The situation is ripe for coalition building, I think. So yeah, I think it's a little bit different. I think the sense of urgency is a little different," says Kathleen Wong(Lau), chief diversity officer at San Jose State University, who is an advisory member of the committee. More than 18 different groups shared their experiences, from Asian and African American perspectives, to Muslim and Jewish ones. "There were a lot of very shared strategies, community education, education in the schools, creating public safety environments," says Cindy Chavez, Santa Clara County Supervisor and chair of the task force. Representatives from the Vietnamese American Roundtable spoke about the fear currently in their community and about elders being afraid to go out. They say they hope what comes from this is action. "It's time to have a conversation about this and it's been a long long long time coming," says Johnson. The task force will start taking its first action around community education at their next meeting April 23.

Nikko Egg Noodles Nikko egg noodles are a great all-round noodle as they can be used in almost any Asian noodle dish whether fried or boiled. Often known as canton noodles, the noodles are first cooked before drying and then curling into tidy round nests. This pre-cooking means that the noodles are extremely quick to cook before serving. These egg noodles also work well in a Jewish chicken soup. To cook the noodles, boil vigorously for 3 minutes. If frying remove from heat, rinse with cool water and stir fry. Otherwise turn the heat down and cook until tender. Ingredients: Wheat flour 97.89%, salt, egg powder 0.8%, emulsifier E401, colour E160a

Shabbat and Meditation: Just Be It How Mindfulness Can Deepen Your Shabbat Experience...and Vice Versa Shabbat is a day of being, not doing. As interpreted by the rabbis, the day's multitude of do's and don'ts are essentially about not making anything, not destroying anything, and simply taking the world as we find it--for one day. The rest of the week, we Jews are exhorted to improve the world, better ourselves, and provide for our extended families in whatever roles in which we find ourselves. But this day: just be. Serve God not in changing the world, but in relaxing into what's already there. In a deep sense, this is the practice of meditation as well. There are many forms of meditative practice, but their essence is to see clearly into the truth of what is -- like Shabbat, it's not about not making or changing anything, or feeling a special way, but just waking up, in a focused way, to what's already here. Most classical Jewish meditations do this by contemplating a particular object -- a phrase, a sense-perception, even an idea--and focusing thought so resolutely that distractions drop away. In other traditions, attention is drawn to the barest perceptions of breath, or movement--not so much for the purpose of contemplation, but simply to slow down the motion of discursive thoughts. In both approaches, what one finds when distractions and thoughts are slowed down is that an important illusion is released: that the world matters only to the extent that it pleases me, my ego, and my desires. Suppose a bit of food isn't to your liking, or a sound is harsh, or grating. If you're like me, your immediate reaction is to want to push it away--in other words, to change the momentary conditions of your life, in order to make them better. Meditation slowly trains the mind to be a little less centered on what in Jewish tradition is called the yetzer hara, the evil, or selfish inclination. As with Shabbat, the practice is simply to let it be. It's not that the food will get tastier, or the sound will shift in quality, but your relationship to it can change. All this may seem a bit irrelevant when talking about foods and sounds, but it's not so irrelevant when working with sickness, or suffering, or people with whom it's hard to get along. What it would be like to bring a little Shabbat--a little "let it be"--into such difficult places? Well, you have to try it to find out. Reading about meditation without doing it is like reading a cookbook without tasting the recipes: you can get the general idea, but you'll never really understand it. Fortunately, meditating on Shabbat is easy, since the Jewish tradition has already set up ideal conditions for doing it. Let's look at a few practical ways to bring in the light--just to open the eyes a little wider to the everyday miracles of being.

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) presents COLLECTED STORIES by Donald Margulies, tonight, November 21 – December 16, 2012, in collaboration with Forward Theater Company of Madison. In COLLECTED STORIES two strong-willed writers from dramatically different backgrounds struggle with success. MCT has also produced Margulies' plays Brooklyn Boy (2009) and his Pulitzer Prize-winner DINNER WITH FRIENDS (2003). COLLECTED STORIES performs in the Broadway Theatre Center's Studio Theatre in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward. COLLECTED STORIES begins in 1990 and renowned short story writer Ruth Steiner has become a recluse in Greenwich Village. Enter Lisa Morrison, her bright-eyed young protégée. Over the next six years, under Ruth's tutelage, Lisa advances from insecure student to faithful assistant to successful writer. As the relationship between the two women evolves, their fascinating story comes to a dramatic conclusion. MCT Producing Artistic Director C. Michael Wright directs two Wisconsin-based actresses in COLLECTED STORIES, American Players Theatre company member Sarah Day (A THOUSAND WORDS, THE DESERT QUEEN, MADAME DE SADE) and Laura Frye (CRIMES OF THE HEART). COLLECTED STORIES is MCT's second collaboration with Madison's Forward Theater Company. MCT opens the show at the Broadway Theatre Center, tonight, November 21 – December 16, 2012. Then the entire production (cast, set, costumes, etc.) moves to Madison for a run at the Overture Center, January 17 – February 3, 2013. Last season the two companies collaborated on the world premiere of A THOUSAND WORDS (January - March, 2012) with runs in Madison and Milwaukee. COLLECTED STORIES premiered in 1996 at South Coast Repertory in California and debuted off- Broadway in 1997. PBS produced a film version of the play in 2002, starring Linda Lavin and Samantha Mathis. COLLECTED STORIES had its first Broadway production in 2010, starring Linda Lavin and Sarah Paulson. Actresses including Debra Messing, Uta Hagen and Helen Mirren have also performed in various productions of COLLECTED STORIES. Donald Margulies is an award-winning playwright and currently serves as adjunct professor at Yale University. His play DINNER WITH FRIENDS won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2000 and was produced by MCT in 2003. MCT also produced his play Brooklyn Boy in 2009. Margulies' other plays include SIGHT UNSEEN, TIME STANDS STILL, SHIPWRECKED! AN ENTERTAINMENT, THE MODEL APARTMENT, FOUND A PEANUT, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? and THE LOMAN FAMILY PICNIC. COLLECTED STORIES is part of the "Exploring Jewish Voices" series, which is a collaboration between MCT, Jewish Museum Milwaukee and the Jewish Community Center. During the 2012-2013 season, MCT is producing three plays by prominent Jewish playwrights: A THOUSAND CLOWNS by Herb Gardner, COLLECTED STORIES by Donald Margulies and UNDERNEATH THE LINTEL by Glen Berger. The three groups have partnered to provide additional education and outreach opportunities including preshow 'ViewPoints' lectures and 'Jewish Community Ticket' performances. Ruth Steiner: Sarah Day Lisa Morrison: Laura Frye Director: C. Michael Wright Scenic Designer: Stephen Hudson-Mairet Costume Designer: Kimberly O'Callaghan Lighting Designer: John Frautschy Properties Master: Nikki Kulas Sound Designer: Chris Guse

Archive/File: people/e/eichmann.adolf/transcripts/Sessions/Session-071-01 Last-Modified: 1999/06/08 Session No. 71 24 Sivan 5721 (8 June 1961) Presiding Judge: I declare the seventy-first Session of the trial open. Attorney General: I call the witness, Mrs. Vera Alexander. [The witness is sworn.] Presiding Judge: What is your full name? Witness: Vera Alexander. Presiding Judge: In what language do you wish to testify? Attorney General: According to my experience, she can speak Hebrew. Mrs. Alexander, you live in Nes Ziona? Witness Alexander Yes. Q. You are an art critic? A. Yes. Q. You were born in Slovakia? A. Yes. Q. In 1942, were photographs and accounts of the fate of people deported from Slovakia to Poland published in the newspapers? Do you remember that? A. Yes. Q. And their fate was depicted in rosy colours, as if they were well and working? A. Yes. Q. And pictures were also published of happy faces and girls laughing? A. Yes. Q. One day you were gathered, together with others, into a cellar and arrested? A. Yes. Q. When was that? A. It was at the beginning of April 1942. Q. Where were you taken, Mrs. Alexander? A. We were transferred from this cellar to Zilina - that was a concentration camp in Slovakia. Q. Under whose control were you put? A. We were put under the control of the Hlinkova Garda (the Hlinka Guard). Q. Were there Germans there as well? A. No. Q. And where were you taken from there? A. From Zilina we were taken, on 8 April 1942, in freight cars, to Auschwitz. Q. What were your feelings when you arrived at Auschwitz, yours and those of your friends who arrived together with you? A. The moment we reached Auschwitz, we realized that all the pictures and the articles we had seen in the press were not true. From the first moment we heard shouts from SS men. And as we came into the camp, even before we were obliged to undress, in the blocks of Auschwitz we saw women - we were unable to judge whether they were women or men - their heads were shaven. They were making gestures which led us to believe that they were not normal people; they were scratching their heads, they signaled to us with their fingers to their mouths - they scratched their bodies. Some hours later, when we had to remove our clothes and were given Russian uniforms, full of lice, we understood what they were trying to show us. Our heads, too, were shaven, and everything was taken away from us. Q. And what block were you placed in? A. At first, we were put into Block 7. Q. A women's block? A. The women's block No. 7. Q. How many women were there in this block? A. I don't know how many there were. I only know that there were two women to one narrow bed. Q. And afterwards, in what other blocks were you? A. After that, I was in Block 9, and my mother was in Block 10. They split us up according to age. Q. Block 7 and Block 9? A. Yes, Block 7 and Block 9. Q. At the beginning, did you go out to work? A. I went out to work with the Landwirtschafts-kommando (agricultural unit). Q. What was the nature of women's work at Auschwitz? A. We had to dig beetroot out of the ground, beetroot that had been lying there several years - that the Poles had placed there. It stank. Sometimes we removed one in good condition, and if anyone dared touch it and eat it, that meant death. Q. They would kill her? A. Yes. Sometimes we did some work or other but didn't understand why it was necessary to do it, or whether it was required at all. Sometimes, for example, we carried out operations of planierung (levelling the soil) in the fields. There would be a field on somewhat of a rise, and we had to level it. Sometimes we were required to move a heap of soil from one place to another. We could not understand why this was necessary at all. Q. When did your working day commence? A. Our working day began at seven o'clock. But that was not when the day commenced. Q. When did the day commence? A. The day began when there was still stars in the sky, with the commanding officer in the camp. Presiding Judge: At what time? Witness Alexander We did not have watches - I don't know. Attorney General: And when did the working day end? Witness Alexander When it ended, it was already dark. Q. Later on, you became a Blockaelteste (block elder). In what block was this? A. At first, I was Blockaelteste in Block 3 in Camp A; that was the "quarantine block." I don't know why they called it the "quarantine block." The women who entered this block came into contact with all the prisoners. But that is what they called it. Q. Tell me, Mrs. Alexander, how was it possible to be a Blockaelteste in Auschwitz and to maintain the stance of being created in God's image and maintain the image of a human being? A. It was not easy. One needed a lot of tact and much manoeuvering. On the one hand, one had to obey orders and to fulfil them, and, on the other hand, to harm the prisoners as little as possible and to assist them. Q. How did you manage that? A. Sometimes we received orders. For example, the women who were in the "quarantine block" did not work. They were kept in the block all day, and they were forbidden to sit on their beds and, altogether, to go near their beds. The bed had to be made up tidily. We posted one girl on guard in front of the entrance to the block, and we allowed these women to get on to their beds and to sit on them. The moment the girl standing on guard saw that the SS were approaching, we entered the block and had to make them get off the beds very quickly. Q. We have been told that you saved women from being put to death. How did you do that? Tell us of some cases. A. There were cases after a selection, where women were selected for death, and I knew which block they were supposed to enter. I tried, not always successfully, to remove them from the ranks. Sometimes I managed to place girls in a commando which was going out from Auschwitz to work. This was not heroism on my part - it was my duty. I don't remember all the instances, and I don't remember how I did it. Q. To this day, do you come across women prisoners who were in the block where you were the Blockaelteste? A. Yes. Q. Were you in the blocks where women worked? A. No. Q. You were not a Blockaelteste there? A. When I was Blockaelteste in Camp C, there were sometimes days when they took a number of women out to fetch bricks from some place or other, but that, too, was only for some hours. Q. Do you recall that once you fell ill and were placed in the Revier, in the hospital building. What happened to you? A. I was put into the Revier. What my illness was - I don't know. I was there for some days. Several days later, a nurse took me out of there. I myself did not feel that I had recovered, and I wanted to go back. Towards evening I went in through the cellar, and I saw, all around, women seated against the walls. Amongst them, I recognized several women from my home town. I wanted to speak to them, but the moment I approached them I saw that they were dead. Q. And then you ran away from the place? A. Yes, then I also understood why I had been taken away from the Revier. Q. Who treated the women in the hospital at Auschwitz? A. "Treated" - that was no treatment. We did not receive any medicines. There were Jewish girls there and, from time to time, doctors came in. Presiding Judge: Jewish girls, in what capacity - as nurses, attendants? Witness Alexander They cleaned the hospital. Q. You said that doctors used to visit? A. From time to time, doctors came there. Q. German doctors? A. Germans. Attorney General: Those orders you received as Blockaelteste - from whom did they come? Witness Alexander Either directly from SS men, or by means of a Laeuferin (a girl messenger) from the gate, who came and told us what orders they had received there. Q. The messenger was a Jewess? A. Yes. Q. And they demanded from you, as they demanded from others, that you should be severe, be strict with the prisoners? A. Certainly. Q. What did you do in order to avoid carrying out such orders - how did you do it? A. One day, in Camp C, I was handed a whip by our Oberaufseherin (superintendent), Irma Grese. I did not make use of it. Q. How, actually, did you come to be appointed a Blockaelteste? A. One day, I was summoned by the Rapportschreiberin - her name was Katya Singer. Q. Does she now live in Slovakia? A. Yes. She told me that I would have to be Blockaelteste in Block 3. I said that I was not suitable for that. She then pleaded with me to take it on. Q. Why? A. She said that, in her opinion, to the extent that it was possible, people with human feelings should take on this task. Q. How old were you at the time? A. Then I was twenty, twenty-one. Presiding Judge: What was a Blockschreiberin? What function did it entail? Witness Alexander Rapportschreiberin. Q. Rapportschreiberin. What was that? A. The Rapportschreiberin (registering clerk) received from the Schreibstube (secretariat) a report on the number of prisoners in that camp. After the Zaehlappell, all the block leaders came to take over the block, that is to say the number of women who were in their block, and the Rapportschreiberin had to receive it. Each block had a register in which the total number of the prisoners was entered, day by day, and she had to obtain it and transmit it to the Lagerfuehrerin (camp commandant). Attorney General: Was she an SS woman? Witness Alexander The Lagerfuehrerin - yes. Presiding Judge: The Rapportfuehrerin was the liaison between the commandant of the camp and the Blockaelteste? Is that more or less the case? Witness Alexander Between the commandant of the camp and the Rapportfuehrer or the Rapportfuehrerin. Attorney General: And the Rapportfuehrerin was also a German woman - a member of the SS? Witness Alexander Yes. Judge Halevi: A "Fuehrer" was always a German. Attorney General: So Katya appealed to you to take on the post? Witness Alexander Yes. Q. And you agreed? A. I agreed. Q. Were there ways of helping women while holding this position? A. Yes, there were. First of all, one could distribute their rations - those supplied to them by the camp - and see how they received them. Q. Without stealing them. A. Without stealing them. Beyond that, it was possible to steal something from the stores for them, whether a couple of blankets or a piece of soap, a little more food from the kitchen, some extra clothing from the Bekleidungskammer (clothing store). There were possibilities. Q. We know of two young Slovakian lads who fled from Auschwitz and submitted a report in Slovakia about what was happening there. Did you know either of them? A. I knew them both. Q. Do you know their names? A. One of them now goes by the name of Dr. Vrba. He was Walter Rosenberg, and the other was Alfred Wetzler. Presiding Judge: Now his name is more Slovakian, right? Did he change his name? Witness Alexander He changed his name when he subsequently joined a partisan group, and he has retained this name. Q. What was that second name? A. He is now Dr. Rudolf Vrba. Judge Halevi: Is still alive. Where is he? Witness Alexander Yes, he lives in London. He was here, in Israel, for a year. He worked at the Weizmann Institute. 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Use these eco-friendly tools to clean up your cleaning routine. Start your spring cleaning this year with homemade, eco-friendly cleaners. These home remedies repel ants safely without the use of chemicals or toxins. Jessica discusses the many challenges she faced in attempting to choose eco-friendly wedding dresses and suits. Money may be tight, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up your spring break vacation. Hostelworld.com’s Eco-Friendly hostels offer an affordable option that allows you to maintain green habits even while traveling. Upcycled clothing company Looptwork abandons the traditional clothing-manufacturing model to create eco-friendly clothing and accessories repurposing abandoned materials . Jessica begins planning an eco-friendly wedding ceremony and reception. She will be writing about finding green wedding supplies, carbon-conscious wedding food and eco-friendly wedding clothing. American weddings can be some of the most extravagant, wasteful events in the world. I’ll post to this blog over the next year as I search for fabric flowers, recycled paper stationery, fabric for my wedding gown and more. Suggestions appreciated! Natural Home editorial Intern Samantha Schwartz reveals her top three stylish, eco-friendly suitcases under $200. EcoLogo, North America’s largest environmental standard and certification mark, is initiating standards for eco-friendly pool and spa chemicals. Jessica searches for eco-friendly soy wedding candles and offers sources. America's Best Organics introduces American-made gift box. Natural Home editorial intern Susan Melgren shares several lines of eco-friendly bathing suits that won’t break your bank. This year, give a gift that keeps giving. We tell you how with the help of the folks at The Nature Conservancy. Editorial intern Samantha Schwartz shares resources, tips and essential eco-friendly items for a college dorm room. Editorial intern Samantha Schwartz finds runway-inspired eco-clothing for $50 and less. Jessica discusses the features eco-readers might like to see on websites. Jessica posts the photos of the Adele Wechsler "Flora" sustainable wedding dress she tried on for her eco-friendly wedding dress photo shoot. Editorial intern Andrea Olsen finds environmentally friendly, recycled-paper notebooks that don’t scrimp on style. Jessica wears Adele Wechsler's "Sunshine" sustainable wedding gown from her eco-friendly wedding dress photo shoot. Assistant editor Kim Wallace learns that FSC certification isn't just for green building supplies. Jessica discusses her experience as a judge at the Lighting for Tomorrow energy-efficient lighting design competition. Jessica discusses her inability to locate eco-friendly bridesmaid dresses made from sustainable materials. Natural Home editorial intern Dani Hurst provides tips on how to be a greener cook. Jessica wears Adele Wechsler's "Magnolia" sustainable wedding gown as part of her eco-friendly wedding dress photo shoot. Jessica wears the Puridee Danielle sustainable wedding gown as part of her eco-friendly wedding dress photo shoot. Jessica shares her sustainable wedding food find after locating eco-minded caterers in the Kansas City area. Jessica wears Puridee's Rebecca sustainable wedding gown as part of her eco-friendly wedding dress photo shoot. Jessica wears Puridee's Sarah sustainable wedding gown as part of her eco-friendly wedding dress photo shoot. Learn how to make soap from scratch using eco-friendly materials and herbs. Green your back to school shopping with Pentel’s Recycology line, featuring pens and pencils made from recycled plastic. Natural Home editorial intern Samantha Schwartz searches for the greenest school supplies. Be inspired by these eco-friendly Christmas gift wrapping ideas that are fun, easy, and decorative ways to wrap your holiday gifts this season. Discover the true meaning behind ecotourism and how the industry has evolved over the years. Guest blogger Erica Binns continues her search for silk flowers and local music for her eco-friendly wedding. Gina gives her dog a chance to try out some eco-friendly pet products from Olive Green Dog. Natural Home editorial intern Samantha Schwartz finds eco-friendly, stylish sandals for the summer season. Editorial intern Samantha Schwartz looks for green Father’s Day gifts any dad would love. The launch of Oakley’s first pair of eco-friendly shades keeps Natural Home editorial intern Kirsten Hudson on her search for sustainable sunglasses. Natural Home editorial intern Samantha Schwartz helps her family plan an eco-friendly road trip complete with a hybrid car, organic snacks and energy-efficient hotels. Chemical antibacterials, including triclosan, are health and environmental hazards. You don't have to bring these nasties into your home. Put hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil and grapefruit seed extract to work killing germs and disinfect. 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Try our healthier alternatives to household cleaners with toxic ingredients. Unearthed Paints, a start-up paint company, aims to change the industry by offering biodegradable, vegan and 100 percent VOC-free paints with full disclosure of ingredients. Guest blogger Victoria Klein reviews organic cotton and bamboo luxury blanket company Yumi & Laurie. Find out more details on Yumi & Laurie’s current 50 percent off sale! Jessica wears Lea-Ann Belter's Sabrina sustainable wedding gown as part of her eco-friendly wedding dress photo shoot. Camping is a great way to enjoy nature, but it may not be as eco-friendly as you think. Reevaluate your camping methods. How green are they really? Jessica reports about all the fun and wonderful information at the Mother Earth News Fair in Puyallup, Washington. After picking out colors and a design theme, guest blogger Erica Binns turns her attention to finding eco-friendly wedding invitations and stationery for her green wedding. Jessica talks about abandoning conventional wedding traditions in favor of saving money and resources, creating a more sustainable wedding. Jessica provides resources for biodegradable cups and sustainable bamboo plates for her green outdoor wedding. Jessica hunts for eco-friendly and secondhand items to make her new townhome greener. Greening an apartment or home you don't own can be a challenge, but searching for eco-friendly products is fun. Make your home feel like new again with these five home improvement ideas that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Check out these 6 amazing green apps designed to make the planet a better place. Guest blogger Erica Binns travels to Mood Designer Fabrics to find fabric for her homemade wedding dress. Show your love for your sweetie and the earth this Valentine’s Day with these eco-friendly ideas. The Joy of Green Cleaning is a fantastic resource with recipes to clean everything from grout to sheepskins. Jessica searches for eco-friendly engagement and wedding rings and explores a variety of sustainable options, including conflict-free diamonds, recycled diamonds, recycled gold, recycled jewelry, alternative wedding rings, Canadian diamonds and cultured diamonds. Does the huge task of cleaning windows leave you feeling overwhelmed? Follow these six simple steps—using inexpensive materials you already have around the house—to get your windows sparkling and streak-free. Guest blogger Erica Binns continues her search for eco-friendly stationery with a hunt for wedding thank-you notes and silk flowers for her green wedding. Choose chemical-free organic bedding to start off the new year with healthy rest in a healthy bedroom. When choosing summer sunglasses, look for products that are both stylish and environmentally friendly. Eco-conscious companies iWood and Kayu both offer trendy lines of sunglasses made using sustainable materials and methods. These sunglasses also offer 100 percent protection from harmful ultraviolet rays that can damage eyes. Natural Home editorial intern Stephanie Nelson packs up her natural space and moves to a new apartment. Transforming Natural Home editorial intern Stephanie Nelson’s space started with an empty living room, and now it slowly resembles a livable space with seating. After buying a used love seat and ottoman, she recovers both so they match the room’s theme. Natural Home editorial intern Stephanie Nelson builds an end table out of a salvaged window frame and four legs. Find out the best oils to moisturize big, pregnant bellies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says its first certification program for bio-based products will make it easier for consumers to identify biodegradable, renewable, recyclable and environmentally safe products. Jessica offers a sneak peek of her biodegradable wedding, which featured recycled glassware, handmade decor, recycled paper table runners, biodegradable plates and cups and soy candles. Finding adorable and eco-friendly nursery decor is easy! It's narrowing down the options that is the hard part. Check out this sustainable, handmade nursery decor for a healthy, great-looking nursery. My grandmother taught me everything I need to know about keeping my house clean—without chemicals. Stylish furniture typically doesn’t involve discarded trash—but the designs of Studio Jo Meesters do. Studio Jo Meesters introduces “Odds and Ends, Bits and Pieces,” a fun collection of furniture pieces made from recycled materials that contain just as much panache Forget the time and money that goes into conventional giftwrap. Use these inspirational ideas to wrap lovely gifts with materials otherwise bound for the recycling bin. Natural Home editorial intern Stephanie Nelson creates a planter table to hold her everyday items and incorporates plants into the design. This belly balm recipe is moisturizing and therapeutic. Natural Home editorial intern Kirsten Hudson discusses the importance of owning a sustainable wardrobe. Have a skirt with a tear or a stain? Don't compost it - re-make it! A few simple cuts and stitches and you can re-purpose your worn out wardrobe into a new closet full of new fashions. Start by turning a skirt into a halter top. Stephanie tackles moving and furnishing an empty house by picking salvaged, hand-crafted or environmentally friendly pieces. Natural Home editorial intern Samantha Schwartz shares her tips for having a green Fourth of July with healthy food and a fun, waste-free atmosphere. An organic cotton and wool body pillow goes a long way to help relieve pregnancy back pain. Instead of buying store-bought and possibly toxic cleaning agents, give these nontoxic homemade cleaners a try. Noxious fumes aren’t conducive to happy cleaning. Give all your homemade cleaning solutions an invigorating and healthy boost by adding a few drops of pure plant essential oils such as lavender or lemon. Heavenly! Check out Vaska Laundry Care's line of environmentally-friendly clothing care products, now available at Target Stores nationwide. Get ready for spring! Natural Home editor-in-chief Robyn Griggs Lawrence shares her ideas for organizing her home by repurposing and reusing the stuff she already has, and she invites you to share your spring cleaning ideas with her. Need a last-minute gift? Pick up one of these eco-friendly gifts for everyone on your list. Check out this roundup of 10 favorite sustainable gifts for the gardeners on your list--all under $50! In need of an earth-conscious gift that won’t put a dent in your wallet? Check out these seven eco-friendly gifts—all under $40. Highlights from the 'Make Your Own Green Cleaners—for Pennies' workshop at the Mother Earth News Fair: How to use vinegar and baking soda to clean just about everything. Natural Home assistant editor Kim Wallace contemplates greening her dry cleaning. Is it possible? Noxious fumes aren’t conducive to happy cleaning. Give all your homemade cleaning solutions an invigorating and healthy boost by adding a few drops of pure plant essential oils. Heavenly! Guest blogger Lorraine Halsted shares a list of toxic chemicals in cleaning products commonly found around the house. Alka-Seltzer can give your cleaning routine a little extra fizz. Try it for unclogging drains and cleaning toilets. 'Green' cleaning products are awash with misleading labels and false claims. Always look for a third-party certification to assure you're buying the healthiest, most environmentally friendly cleaners. Janeen Solberg developed these homemade cleaner recipes more than 10 years ago and still uses them today. Follow these recipes for using essential oils and a few simple ingredients to make your own chemical-free cleaning products. Sixteen states have banned the sale of dishwasher detergents with high phosphate levels, and the American Cleaning Institute has urged its members to remove them. Matt divulges into his New Year's resolution of using greener cleaners and more natural cleaning methods. Cleaning can be calming, but nauseous-smelling products aren't as lovely as using herbs or "green" alternatives. Learn more about herbal cleaning. Decorate your home with zero-waste decor that can be reused, recycled or consumed—instead of toxic landfill trash. The Christmas decorations of Colonial Williamsburg offer inspiration for using natural decor. A new study finds that showerheads contain high levels of disease-causing bacteria. Spring cleaning in the garden, for the Lemon Verbena Lady, begins by examining some of her favorite herbs. Read on as she shares how she's pacing herself this spring. Here are some highlights from my workshop, "Make Your Own Green Cleaners—for Pennies" at the Mother Earth News Fair. Throw away your chemical cleaners and get your home sparkling the healthy way! In an effort to help consumers find safer products, the Environmental Working Group has created an online guide that rates more than 2,000 household cleaners for safety of ingredients and disclosure of contents. Some of the nastiest chemicals we bring into our homes are used to clean ovens and drains—and they're not necessary. Learn how to clean your entire kitchen using vinegar, baking soda and a little salt and lemon juice. You'll love the results! Bio S.I. Technology develops a break-through formula that naturally and effectively cleanses pond water without harm to the environment that thrives in and around it. Conventional household cleaners contain toxic chemicals that could have adverse effects on your health. Learn how to mix up your own homemade cleaners with these suggestions from Natural Home magazine editor-in-chief Robyn Griggs Lawrence. The KangerHanger Pouch Bag from The Green Garmento serves multiple uses, making it the ultimate reusable bag and eliminating the need for plastic dry cleaning bags. Tea, salt, vodka, corn starch—even ketchup and mayonnaise—can be used to get your entire house clean. No kidding. Replacing paper towels with rags is a super simple step toward sustainable living. Follow these simple tips to get disposable paper towels out of your house. You'll never miss them. Most Americans believe that cleaning products are required to list ingredients on labels. They're not. But Whole Foods is taking matters into its own hands with a color-coded rating system that holds manufacturers accountable for green claims. It is time, however, to start cleaning up garden beds and preparing for new plants in the garden. If, like me, you've allowed that pesky Coastal Bermuda to invade your beds, now is the time to dig it out. Learn more. Combine spending quality time with your kids and cleaning house. These 11 tips can help you effectively maintain balance by cleaning with your kids. Instead of using synthetic scents, try this simple natural trick to make your home smell delicious. From a homemade furniture polish to a skin and hair conditioner, olive oil has many uses around the home. Just check out these 15 uses for olive oil! Lemon balm works hard for you in the kitchen, bath, medicine cabinet and yard and garden. When the dining table is laden down with mail, laptops and other clutter, the entire house feels messy. Follow these seven steps to keep your dining table free of detritus. (Set it for dinner right after breakfast, if you have to.) With just three ingredients and two simple steps, you can clear away germs and freshen your home's air to welcome spring. Whether you’re just starting out on the green path or looking for more ways to live sustainably, check out Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills by Raleigh Briggs, which teaches simple domestic skills to help you lead a DIY life. Take a look at some recipes for healthier cleaning at home. Make your own all-purpose cleaners, dishwasher detergent and mildew remover with safe, simple ingredients. Ever think you'd be doing dishes with Kool-Aid? If you are shopping for the holidays, consider dropping off a box of donations too. Recycling goods to be re-sold is just as important as recycling them into new materials. If you use cast-iron cookware, try this indispensable tool—a stainless-steel mesh scrubber. Overuse of hand sanitizers can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Here’s why you should keep hand sanitizer and endocrine disruptors such as triclosan out of the classroom. Tea has a whole library of health benefits. But did you realize it can be essential in a clean home? Read about the battle of tea v. dirt and your best plan of attack. Keep your home clean and your family healthy with these easy tips. Sugar is a staple in many households. Try these six uses for sugar for a new way to use this conventional sweetener. Spring clean your home with natural, food-safe Arm and Hammer Baking Soda instead of harsh cleaners. Cleaning your reusable shopping bag regularly will help protect your family against illness. Did you know that lemons can cut grease, brighten laundry and whiten fingernails? Discover these and many more uses for lemons! Good for cleaning home and body, vinegar has many uses around the house, from cutting grease in the kitchen to softening hair and laundry. Salt can soak up stains, clean pots and pans and exfoliate skin. Check out these and other uses for salt! Good for cleaning home and body, baking soda has many uses, from absorbing odors to keeping hair shiny and carpet fresh.

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|"The Plain Janes" on sale now| Last Saturday at Comic-Con International in San Diego, group editor Shelly Bond and an assortment of writers and artists discussed Minx, DC Comics' newest imprint aimed primarily at teenage girls. In addition to books released this year, Bond announced for the first time the 2008 projects. Released in May, "The Plain Janes" by popular young-adult-novelist Cecil Castellucci and artist Jim Rugg was the first Minx book. It follows a girl named Jane who moves to the suburbs and, with her three friends, all named Jane, forms an "art gang" determined to save the world through art. |"Re-Gifters" on sale now| In June, Minx published its second book, "Re-Gifters" by Mike Carey and artists Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel. "Re-Gifters" is the story of a poor Korean-American hapkido student living in Los Angeles. "It's a martial arts rom-com," Carey said. Carey, Liew, and Hempel previously worked together on "My Faith in Frankie," a four-issue Vertigo miniseries that was published in the Minx-like digest format and inspired Bond to create the Minx line. |"Clubbing" on sale now| In July, "Clubbing" by Andi Watson and Josh Howard came out. Bond described "Clubbing" as a "sharp, fun, witty story" about a spoiled London goth girl. "She tries to get into a posh West End nightclub and gets busted with a fake ID so her parents send her away for the summer to her grandparents' stuffy country club in the Lake District of England. She ends up solving a murder mystery on the 19th hole of her grandparents' golf course and narrowly escapes romance." |"Good as Lily" on sale in August| "Good as Lily" by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm will be released in August. The book is, "also about a Korean-American girl," Kim said, who, through a miraculous event on her 18th birthday, encounters herself at ages six, twenty-nine, and seventy and, afraid that her life "will turn to crap" attempts to show her other selves the right path. Coming in September is "Confessions of a Blabbermouth," another book by Carey, this time co-written by his 15 year-old daughter Louise, with art by Aaron Alexovich. Carey said, "We were looking for a story that would actually play on the fact that it was a middle-age guy and a teenage girl writing it together, to make something out of those different perspectives. |"Confessions of a Blabbermouth" on sale in September| "So the story is about the tempestuous relationship between a teenage girl and her mother's appalling new boyfriend who is a chick-lit novelist, incredibly in love with himself and convinced that our heroine, Tasha, needs a strong father figure. So he's very heavy-handed and very controlling, and we started to work on the story and I was very heavy-handed and very controlling, and [Louise] told me to back off and from then on it was fantastic. But it took a long time, because it turns out, who would have guessed, teenage girls have incredibly complex and overstuffed lives. Even though we live in the same house, we had to book time to work on the story. But it was fantastic and we're really happy with the outcome." |Art from "Kimmie66" by Aaron Alexovich, on sale in November| "Kimmie66," written and illustrated by Alexovich, will be released in November. 'The story follows Telly Kade," Alexovich said, "a girl living in the 23rd century, because I think girls like sci-fi too. And in the 23rd century, maybe even right now, people are pretty much living in online games -- all day, just living out their fantasies. But Telly has a problem with her fantasy because there's a ghost in it and it might be her best friend. So it's all about her quest to figure out what happened to her friend, if it really is a ghost, and is there such a thing in this highly technological world." Bond then announced the titles to be released in 2008 and gave brief descriptions of each. |Art from "Water Baby" by Ross Campbell| First up, "Water Baby" by Ross Campbell. He described the book, saying "It's about this girl Brody, named after the sheriff from 'Jaws,' of course, and she gets her leg bit off by a shark. Then her evil, nomadic, freeloader ex-boyfriend comes back. And, you know, so she's got one leg and like, she has to get rid of this guy 'cause he's really awful. It's basically just her and the boyfriend and her friend and they're just these crass, power-metal, shit-kickin', nose pickin' chicks." Bond added, "They take the road trip from hell to take Jake, the super hot, annoying ex-boyfriend back home, and they meet a lot of strange people along the way, a weird hitchhiker and a lot of other strange characters that only Ross could come up with." |Art from "Burnout," by Rebecca Donner and Inaki Miranda| "Burnout," by author Rebecca Donner with art by Inaki Miranda is about Danni, a girl who moves to the Pacific-Northwest with her mom, her father having left the family years earlier. They move in with her mother's new boyfriend and his son, who she develops a crush on. After following him, she discovers he's involved in eco-terrorism. "It's a really amazing, smart, intense story of a young girl who has to choose between falling in love and getting involved in something that she knows is really illegal and how it's going to change her life forever," Bond said. |Art from "Burnout" by Inaki Miranda| The art previewed was a two-page spread of a beautiful Pacific-Northwest landscape. Inaki Miranda doesn't use ink, he said. Instead, all the art was done with pencils. "The New York Four" by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly is, Wood said, "a first year in college book. It's about four girls who are all from different parts of the country and different social classes and they're all freshmen at NYU. They meet under a random circumstance and become friends really quick. But they're all very heavily flawed. Some are very shy. One's a stalker. So it's them trying to navigate their first year at school and first year living on their own and dealing with each other." |"The New York Four" by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly | Kelly said the art relies heavily on photo reference and is very New York-centric. "It's about living in New York and it's about 19 year-old women and the transition between high school and college." Of the page showed, Wood said, "it's a real corner, you can go to this place in New York and hold up this page and it's exactly right. Most of the time, everything you see, like a coffee shop or a subway stop, it's a real coffee shop, a real subway stop, that's what the sign really says, right down to the billboards." |"The New York Four" art by Ryan Kelly | "Janes in Love" is a sequel to "The Plain Janes." "There are lots of questions left hanging in the first book," Castallucci said, "so now we're going to answer those questions and ask some new questions because questions are always interesting and good." In the book the Janes try to get boyfriends and continue with their mission to save the world with art. |Art from "Janes in Love" and "Token" | "Token" by Alisa Kwitney, a "chick-lit" and young-adult author, and artist Joelle Jones, is the story of Shera, a Jewish girl in Miami in 1989. Bond said, "she meets a young boy named Rafael, and we follow whether they will survive culture clashes and criminal records to find true love in the sun-drenched, sequined miasma that was South Beach in the '80s." |Art from "Emiko Superstar"| "Emiko Superstar" is by novelist and performance artist Mariko Tamaki and illustrator Steve Rolston. "The story is about this sleepy-eyed suburban babysitter, more of a geek than anything, and she discovers this underground performance art scene and wants in on it," Rolston said. David Hahn's book, "All Nighter" is about a girl named Kit Bradley who goes to art school. Her roommate is a weird girl who is abducted halfway through the story. From there the story becomes about investigating what happened to her and who she was. |Art from "All-Nighter" | "Poseur" by Deb Vankin and Rick Mays is about a girl named Jenna who lives in LA but isn't "a spoiled, bratty rich kid." She gets "the ultimate after school job, as a houseguest for hire. She becomes embroiled in a kidnapping plot and it becomes both an internal and external excavation, from the graffiti-tagged streets of LA's east side to the bloated billion dollar mansions of Bel-Air." The book is to be the LA insider counterpart to New York's "The New York Four." |Art from "Poser" by Rick Mays | In addition to the second "Plain Janes" book, "Clubbing" will get a sequel of its own with "Clubbing in Tokyo." Bond said that if there continues to be support for the titles, "we would love to make them into series." Although Minx was intended to be a line of books "teenagers could call their own, particularly teenage girls," Bond balks at the assumption that they are "girl books." "If you're 13 and over and you like books that are coming-of-age stories, that challenge your way of thinking, that have a social conscience, and feature strong female protagonists, then these are the books for you, regardless of your gender." Now discuss this story in CBR's DC Comics forum.

PORTSMOUTH , seaport and naval base in Hampshire, S. England. The Jewish community, perhaps the oldest in continuous existence in England outside London, was founded in 1746 and a cemetery was acquired in 1749. Among early settlers were a family of engravers, a jeweler, navy agents, and small tradesmen. In a boat disaster in 1758 11 Jews were drowned, the only survivor being Samuel Emanuel, ancestor of a family later prominent in civic life. A communal split occurred in 1766 over the recognition of the rabbi of the Great Synagogue or the rabbi of the Hambro' Synagogue as spiritual leader. A reconciliation in 1771 led to reunion of the two groups in 1789. In 1780, the original synagogue was reconstructed and was still in use until 1936, when it was replaced by a new building in Southsea, the residential suburb. Portsmouth's prosperity as a naval and garrison town during the Napoleonic Wars attracted large numbers of Jews, but with the decline of the town after 1815 the community also decreased. A Jewish day school, Aria College, existed in Portsmouth for many years. In 1969 the Jewish population was estimated at 600 (out of a total of 215,000). The only communal institutions apart from the synagogue were the benevolent institution and a Board of Guardians for the poor. In the mid-1990s the Jewish population was estimated at approximately 385. The 2001 British census found 235 declared Jews in Portsmouth. C. Roth in: jhset, 13 (1936), 157–87; idem, Rise of Provincial Jewry (1950), 94–95; Newman, in: jhset, 17 (1953), 251–68; jyb. [Vivian David Lipman] "Portsmouth." Encyclopaedia Judaica. . Encyclopedia.com. (August 15, 2018). http://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/portsmouth "Portsmouth." Encyclopaedia Judaica. . Retrieved August 15, 2018 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/portsmouth

April is almost upon us already and there’s a bunch of traditionally published books coming out that are bound to be top reads… But what about self published books? Well, I’m continuing my blog series of listing up coming self published fantasy releases. As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far. If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in April, let me know either in the comments, or by emailing me, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements: 1) It must be a self published fantasy novel. 2) It must have a Goodreads page. 3) It must have a cover. 27th March – Thorn of the Night Blossoms by J.C. Kang Half-elf Jie and Lilian appear to be mere courtesans of the Floating World, but they are sisters in a clan of assassins and spies which serves the Emperor. When Lilian’s abusive patron makes the work intolerable, Jie sets out on her own mission-to get Lilian reassigned. Problem is, Lilian lacks adequate stealth and combat skills, and her patron, admired by all, holds the key to the empire’s stability. The courtesans have always warred with wits and poetry, but with killers moving within the Floating World and traitors plotting a rebellion, Jie must decide her own loyalty– to the Emperor or her best friend. 29th March – White Light Red Fire by Robert Reid On the island of Andore, Oien, an old alchemist, knows how to harness the hidden power of a red stone called othium to create weapons of terrible destruction. In the Second Age the stone had fuelled brutal conquest, energised the industrialisation of the world and powered great craft to ravage the planets. Now in the Third Age Oien returns to fulfil his ambition – world domination. He forges an alliance with the tyrant King Dewar to conquer the peaceful land of Bala in order to mine its othium, the first stage in his deadly plan. Only the brave dare resist the might of the Dewar’s forces, and only a power for good, gifted to one man, can hold back the red fire.White Light, Red Fire is a tale of a strong aggressor looking to conquer a smaller nation. 30th March – Catalyst Moon: Storm by Lauren L. Garcia The mage Kali has uncovered the secret of the thralls: the unseen foes possessing the Aredian people. But Kali must pay a high price for this discovery – her own humanity. Her sentinel lover, Stonewall, is desperate to flee Whitewater City with Kali, but his commanding officer has other plans for him. Meanwhile, a grieving Eris plans to free the final few mages trapped in the Whitewater City bastion, but first she must gather her allies and fortify her spirit to face the coming storm. 1st April – The Jalakh Bow (The Weapons Takers Saga #3) by Jamie Edmundson The weapon takers have bought themselves some time to complete their quest. But when their enemies return, they will find that they have become more ruthless and more terrifying than ever. In the steppe lands of the far north, Soren must seek out the bow of the Jalakh tribes. In Kalinth, Belwynn must face a mysterious evil disguised as a friend. And in the high mountains of his Krykker homeland, Rabigar must learn a bitter lesson: nowhere is safe. 1st April – Blood Relic (Paranormal Peacekeepers #3) by Lucretia Stanhope When a string of dead witches points to the illegal practice of making relics that eternally drip with magic blood, Alice is called to go deep into the vampire underground. The mission plants her as the lead on a military targeting squad, serving a branch of the PPK she despises. To reject the task means the blood of witches on her hands. To succeed means her and Amarok will never be simple ambassadors again – if they ever were. With her and Amarok one step closer to serving the military division of the PPK, she finds comfort in her new, albeit temporary, partnership with the vampire Matthias. While balancing their own evolving relationship, Matthias prepares her for what she will see in the blood dens. Once she steps into the seedy world where ruthless vampires pay to play with magic blood it is quickly clear that everyone underestimated the vampires’ cravings. Can the power she keeps hidden from her keepers save her life without changing it into a life of service not worth living? 2nd April – Merkabah Rider: The Mensch With No Name by Edward M. Erdelac A Hasidic gunslinger tracks the renegade teacher who betrayed his mystic Jewish order of astral travelers to the Great Old Ones across the demon haunted American Southwest of 1880. In the acclaimed second volume, four sequential novellas continue the weird career of THE MERKABAH RIDER: In THE INFERNAL NAPOLEON, The Rider and a young traveling strongman rally a group of cowboys in a showdown with a gang of half-demon outlaws in a remote desert town. In THE DAMNED DINGUS, The Rider is robbed of his mystic Volcanic pistol and teams up with the infamous Doc Holliday to track down the thief, but must contend with a strange, invisible menace. In THE OUTLAW GODS, a group of Apache recruits The Rider to combat a two hundred year old menace plaguing their tribe, and bring him face to face with the mind bending horror of The Great Old Ones. Finally, at the edge of death, The Rider descends into Hell itself to confront the Adversary Lucifer and learn the full scope of his master Adon’s betrayal. But can there be any return from THE PANDAEMONIUM RIDE? 2nd April – Wardens of Issalia (Box Set) by Jeffrey L. Kohanek Everson is an awkward, disabled teen who dreams of a better tomorrow. Blessed with a brilliant mind, he melds magic and science in ways never before seen. His greatest discovery could liberate him and change the world… or, it could destroy everything. Quinn is Everson’s overprotective sister. Although average in every way, Quinn’s fiery spirit and relentless determination fuel her desire to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Trained as an espion, she finds herself alone and in the heart of an enemy stronghold. If only she knew whom she could trust. Brandt, the second son of a king, is a prankster who lacks a sense of purpose. When he joins the wardens, he is forged into something more, leveraging his fearless nature and his skill with magic. Will his courage be enough when the fate of thousands hangs in the balance? Cassie is Brandt’s twin sister and his coconspirator until things go too far. She joins the wardens and discovers magic abilities unlike anyone has ever seen. What new ability will she discover next? Puri is the premier archer among her people. She joins the wardens to train as a ranger but soon finds herself on missions rife with danger. How many will die if she fails? Curan, the son of a renowned warrior, joins the wardens with dreams of making his father proud. Blessed with strength and quickness, he trains to fight while augmented by magic, able to slay enemy soldiers as if they were children. Can he overcome the ghosts of those who die by his sword? 2nd April – Uncanny Collateral (Valkyrie Collection #1) by Brian McClellan Alek Fitz is a reaper, a collection agent who works for the supernatural elements of the world, tracking down debtors and solving problems for clients as diverse as the Lords of Hell, vampires, Haitian loa, and goblins. He’s even worked for the Tooth Fairy on occasion. Based out of Cleveland, Ohio, Alek is the best in the game. As a literal slave to his job, he doesn’t have a choice. When Death comes looking for someone to track down a thief, Alek is flung into a mess of vengeful undead, supernatural bureaucracy, and a fledgling imp war. As the consequences of failure become dire, he has few leads, and the clock is ticking. Only with the help of his friend Maggie—an ancient djinn with a complex past—can he hope to recover the stolen property, save the world, and just maybe wring a favor out of the Great Constant himself. It’s a hell of a job, but somebody’s got to do it . . . 5th April – Djin Tamer: Rivals (Bronze League #2) by Derek Alan Siddoway Let the rivalries begin. If Jackson Hunt ever wants to become a champion monster tamer, he’s got a long road ahead of him. And he’s not the only one with dreams of glory As a new season of the Djinn Battle League fast approaches, Jackson prepares to enter training camp — a grueling series of tests to discover talented new tamers. The rules are simple: if you’re not the best, you go home. For a young man who lives to battle, going home isn’t an option. There’s only one problem — Jackson isn’t so sure he deserves to be there in the first place. With competition heating up, Jackson’s bond with his Djinn will be tested to their limits. But no matter how much he trains, if his new monsters won’t work together, he won’t stand a chance. The fighting will be intense. The rivalries, fierce. At the end of the road, the chance of a lifetime awaits. Against friends and foes both old and new, can Jackson prove he’s worthy of a shot at the big leagues? 8th April – From Legend (The Reeve #1) by Ian Lewis Sober, serious, and driven, Logan Hale is the highest peace officer in Beldenridge, and he knows his city better than anyone: the labyrinthine streets, the vaulted architecture, and all the dark corners where tales of mutations and a vicious enemy still linger like hushed secrets. Logan is quick to dismiss these accounts as part of a storied past with which he’d rather not contend, but when a suicide investigation leads him to believe there’s something more sinister at hand, he questions whether that near-forgotten lore isn’t the stuff of legend after all. 9th April – The City Screams by Phil Williams Tova’s getting her hearing back. She’s going to wish she wasn’t. Alone in Tokyo for experimental ear surgery, Tova Nokes is finally shaking up her life. But when she starts to hear things she shouldn’t, all she wants is to make it home alive. There’s a voice saying it’s where she comes from that makes her special. If she can only survive violent stalkers, and the terrible screams, she might figure out why… 9th April – Kingshold AUDIOBOOK (The Wildfire Cycle #1) by D.P. Woolliscroft Mareth is a bard, a serial under achiever, a professional drunk, and general disappointment to his father. Despite this, Mareth has one thing going for him. He can smell opportunity. The King is dead and an election for the new Lord Protector has been called. If he plays his cards right, if he can sing a story that will put the right person in that chair, his future fame and drinking money is all but assured. But, alas, it turns out Mareth has a conscience after all. Neenahwi is the daughter to Jyuth, the ancient wizard who founded the Kingdom of Edland and she is not happy. It’s not just that her father was the one who killed the King, or that he didn’t tell her about his plans. She’s not happy because her father is leaving, slinking off into retirement and now she has to clean up his mess. Alana is a servant at the palace and the unfortunate soul to draw the short straw to attend to Jyuth. Alana knows that intelligence and curiosity aren’t valued in someone of her station, but sometimes she can’t help herself and so finds herself drawn into the Wizard’s schemes, and worst of all, coming up with her own plans. Chance brings this unlikely band together to battle through civil unrest, assassinations, political machinations, pirates and monsters, all for a common cause that they know, deep down, has no chance of succeeding – bringing hope to the people of Kingshold. 12th April – The Keeper Chronicles (Box Set) by J.A. Andrews Do some choices change us too much for us to ever change back? There was a time when Alaric was a Keeper, one of the men entrusted with counseling the queen, protecting the people’s histories and ancient stories, and working magic in defense of the land. But in a desperate attempt to save his dying wife, he has sacrificed it all— abandoning his duties, betraying his deepest beliefs and falling ever deeper into darkness. So far, he has done nothing but fail, and his wife’s time is growing short. Now, haunted by his past, Alaric has found one last chance at a cure, hidden in a magical Wellstone buried a century ago. With the help of a handful of quirky companions, the stone—and the cure—are finally within his grasp. But he’s not the only one searching for the Wellstone. His quest grows more perilous as he discovers that his companions are harboring dangerous secrets their own. It becomes almost impossible when he unearths rumors of a gathering shadow threatening the land—whispering of the return of a dark lord, thought to be defeated. To face this enemy, and have any chance of saving his wife, Alaric needs to be the Keeper he used to be, not the broken man he has become. Can he put the failures and pain of his past behind him to stand against the approaching threat? Or, in the face of all the growing shadows, will it be the darkness within himself that destroys everything? 15th April – Legends of the Exiles by Jesse Teller The isolated barbarians of Neather have deep ancestry and strict traditions. Four resilient women defy tribal customs as they fight to overcome their own tragedies. Abuse. Addiction. Assault. Grief. What struggles can they endure to defend their hopes and their hearts? Helena seeks a love as bold as she, yet finds the men of her village lacking. Jocelyn fears her strange visions and sacrifices a life with the man she loves for the one her destiny demands. Torn apart by abuse and grief, Ellen is a brilliant woman who must focus her intellect on finding reasons to persevere. Rachel, a brash girl of noble heritage, dares all men to challenge her and longs for one who will. 15th April – The Angel of the Grave by Richard Writhen BECOME THE FIRE An intelligent little girl encounters a talented witch at the local fair and finds out that it’s all in the family. Interconnected by dreams, two young orphans embark on the long path to find a bloody revenge. A wealthy lady travels hundreds of miles to become a baroness, but when she consults a diviner, she finds out that she may be in way over her head. 16th April – Ascension of Death (Heirs of Destiny #5) by Andy Peloquin Surrounded and trapped, no help in sight. The end of their mission…or the path to destiny? Shalandra has fallen. Monsters of legend have risen from their graves to claim the City of the Dead. Kodyn and Evren have only one hope of stopping the evil Iron Warlord: break into the holiest, most secure stronghold in the city and steal ancient relics imbued with world-shattering magics. Issa joins the ranks of Shalandra’s elite warriors in a desperate clash against the nightmare hordes flooding the streets and slaughtering every man, woman, and child. Aisha will face her greatest challenge yet, harnessing her mystical abilities to not only turn the tide of battle, but stop the prophesied Final Destruction. In the epic struggle to save their city, these young heroes will give their all to win the impossible battle—one that could decide the fate of the world! 19th April – Daxton (5th Compass #1) by E.L. Drayton 21st April – Jack Bloodfist: Freelancer by James Jakins Jack Bloodfist is an orc that has been known to fix things. Now he’s working for anyone willing to sign a check. When he’s not handling security for a werewolf pack’s monthly meeting he’s helping a dwarf find a stolen magic spear. But sometimes a thief isn’t really a thief. Sometimes they’re a preacher’s wife who also happens to be a powerful necromancer with even more powerful friends: Rogue demons, extra-planar monsters, and the obligatory zombies. From small Southern towns, to an elf king’s court, to the rooftops of New York City, Jack’s gonna have to call in every favor he has if he wants to make it out the other end in one piece. 23rd April – Fate’s Star by Elizabeth Vaughan Five years before the events in Warprize and Destiny’s Star… Her family dead, her home destroyed, all she has left are her wits and her songs… When the flames of civil war rage across the Kingdom of Palins, Warna of Farentell has no choice but to flee to the neighboring Barony of Tassinic. The daughter of a wealthy merchant, raised to run a noble house in the hope of a good marriage, she watches her future burn with the rest of her homeland. Elven Lord of a human Barony, betrayed and attacked by those he thought to trust… Verice of Tassinic has suffered the wounds of war, knowing loss and betrayal at the hands of those he trusted most. He buries himself in work and duty, behind emotional walls as high as those of his castle, rather than risk more pain. While dealing with a kingdom in political and economic turmoil, he “rescues” Warna only to discover that the helpless human woman is anything but. Before he knows it, she is deep within the defenses of his heart, forcing him to confront his grief, his distrust, and the scars of his past…and maybe even steal his heart in the process. 30th April – Fireweaver (Sunweaver #2) by Ryan W. Mueller Deril, Rella, Kadin, and Faina worked together to stop Halarik’s return. But that was only the beginning. Now, more than ever, they must find a way to unite Sunweavers and Fireweavers. Firelord Atarin seeks another way to bring Halarik back. But even he doesn’t know the truth about the world. There was a war between the gods, but it wasn’t the war everyone has learned about. To keep the dying sun alive, Deril and the others must navigate a web of lies and deceit and brave the Realm of Shade, a home to terrible monsters and powerful gods that Deril and the others didn’t even know about. If they fail in their mission, the sun may never return to its former glory.

“‘I myself will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled.'” — Leviticus 26:32 One of the founding principles of The Fellowship is God’s eternal promise He made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you.” This is one of 18 devotions exploring the concept of blessing, barak, which means, “to increase,” or “bring down Divine abundance.” To learn more, download our complimentary copy of Rabbi Eckstein’s teachings on being a blessing to others. On May 24, 1626, Peter Minuit purchased a small island off the coast of America. Local Native Americans sold it to him for a load of cloth, beads, and other goods that were worth 60 guilders. Today, it is estimated that 60 guilders is equivalent to as little as $24 or as much as $1,000. Either way, it’s a pretty small price to pay for the island now known as Manhattan. If those Native Americans would have known what Manhattan would become, surely they would have never sold it. Our Scripture verse from Chapter 26 in the book of Leviticus deals with the unpleasant consequences that would come to the children of Israel if they failed to follow the Word of God. Among the punishments that the Israelites would have to bear would be exile from their land and the complete destruction of their homeland. God told them, “I myself will lay waste the land . . .” God would make His own land desolate as part of the punishment. Reading the list of punishments isn’t easy – especially since history has shown that these predictions came true. It is hard to feel God’s love when reading these harsh consequences. However, when we look closer, we see His everlasting love shining through. Even when God punishes us, He is loving us. And everything that He causes to happen in our lives – even the hard stuff – is ultimately a blessing. While God promised to utterly destroy the land of Israel and keep the land desolate while they were in exile, this curse was ultimately one of the greatest blessings that the people of Israel have ever received. As we read on in the verse, we see why this is true: ” . . . so that your enemies who live there will be appalled.” For over 2,000 years, Israel was not a desirable land. No empire in the world was able to make the land blossom or profitable. Though many tried, Israel would not yield her fruit. And thank God for that! Because had Israel been the blooming and blossoming garden that she is today, there is no way the Jewish people would have been able to return as they have. Starting in the early 1800s, Jews began to purchase parts of the Holy Land that didn’t cost much at the time, but were priceless to the Jews who bought them. The lesson for us is that God is always on our side. Even when it seems like our circumstances in life are less than desirable, there is always a hidden blessing. As the psalmist put it: “your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Thank you, God, that everything You do is ultimately for our very best.

With the Iranian menace encircling our throats it is urgent to place – front and center – the most trenchant analysis before the public. It is no secret that this blog relies on Professor Louis Rene Beres; ever so grateful for his time and patience over the years. It bears repeating – without his moral and targeted support – the efforts contained herein would likely not have come to pass. Basically, in his debt – adinakutnicki.com/about/ In this regard, it is necessary to re-link several intrinsic commentaries to fully grasp his latest assessment. Backgrounders are essential. ‘Two Ways Israel Can Deter A Nuclear Iran….By Professor Louis Beres, My Mentor’ – https://adinakutnicki.com/2012/08/16/two-ways-israel-can-deter-a-nuclear-iran-by-professor-louis-beres-my-mentor-decision-time-is-imminent/, as well as, https://adinakutnicki.com/2012/07/05/halting-a-death-cult-in-its-tracks-the-fissures-between-washington-jerusalems-iranian-timeline-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki-53/, are mandated reading to understand the crisis at hand. As such, due diligence requires to bring forth the professor’s latest analysis, with all due haste and seriousness. ‘Israel’s Remaining Strategic Options’ – Louis René Beres (Ph.D., Princeton, 1971), is Professor of Political Science and International Law at Purdue. The author of many major books and articles in the field, including some of the very earliest publications on Israeli nuclear strategy, he was Chair of Project Daniel (Israel, 2003) http://www.acpr.org.il/ENGLISH-NATIV/03-issue/daniel-3.htm John T. Chain (USAF/Ret.) was Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Strategic Air Command (CINCSAC), and Director, Joint Strategic TargetPlanning Staff. General Chain also served as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, and Director, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State. Special to Arutz Sheva: Sometimes, the scholar, the soldier, and the diplomat can learn from the playwright. “Do you know what it means to find yourselves face to face with a madman?” inquires Luigi Pirandello’s, Henry IV. “Madmen, luck folk, construct without logic, or rather with a logic that flies like a feather.” “In the unpredictable theatre of modern world politics, a real-life drama that can routinely shudder with absurdity, decisional constructions that are based on pure logic can collapse before madness. Moreover, if enemy madness and nuclear weapons should happen to coincide, an affected country’s resultant misfortunes could quickly become intolerable.” “Still, even now, amid the ongoing strategic drama of Israel versus Iran, there is no compelling or convincing evidence that key decision-makers in Tehran are “mad.” Of course, irrationality is not the same condition as madness, and pertinent Iranian leaders might still meet the usually accepted criteria of an irrational or non-rational state. Here, however counterintuitive, Iran’s leaders could choose, at least on occasion, to value certain preferences more highly than national survival, yet maintain a consistent and transitive rank-ordering among these key preferences.” “In all likelihood, both operationally and diplomatically, the window of Israeli preemption opportunity is already closed. Nonetheless, even in the absence of an effective eleventh-hour Israeli and/or American defensive first-strike against Iran, Israeli security would not necessarily suffer an irremediable or existential setback. Although an irrational Iran might not be responsive to the more orthodox strategic threats of retaliatory destruction, it could still remain subject to other relevant threats.” “For Israel, this now implies, inter alia, a core obligation to (1) carefully and comprehensively identify such alternative threats, and (2) fashion this unorthodox hierarchy of alternative threats into a purposeful deterrence policy.” “Undoubtedly, by “choosing” to forego anticipatory self-defense against Iran, the legal equivalent of a permissible first-strike, Israel could have to live with protracted uncertainty. After all, “coexistence” with an already-nuclear Iran could mean having to endure under a constant threat of devastating Iranian nuclear attack.” “It is, in fact, with just such a bitterly unacceptable prospect in mind, that Israel has been steadily expanding and upgrading the country’s critical active defenses.” “Improved Israeli interceptors contain new software to deal effectively with Iran’s Shahab and Sajil missiles. Naturally, there exist more-or-less related technologies to cope with Iran’s Conqueror rocket.” “The central pillar of Israel’s active defense plan for Iran remains the Arrow anti-ballistic missile program. Iron Dome, a reinforcing system, is intended primarily for intercepting shorter-range rocket attacks. David’s Sling, now in earlier stages of development, is designed for use against medium-range rockets and cruise missiles.” “Technically, judging from the most recent tests, everything appears entirely “on track.” “At the same time, no matter how promising the interpenetrating Israeli protection systems and their components happen to be, there are urgent reasons for MOD/IDF never to become too dependent upon active defense. This is because no system of ballistic missile defense (BMD) can ever be dependable enough to preclude or minimize a core strategy of deterrence. Even with the very best deployable systems of ballistic missile defense, there may be too-high levels of “leakage.” This actionable conclusion becomes especially obvious in those emotionally hard-to-imagine cases where incoming warheads would be biological and/or nuclear.” “Israel must move, conspicuously, to strengthen its historically ambiguous nuclear deterrent. In order to be dissuaded from launching an attack, any rational adversary, and possibly also an irrational one, would first need to calculate that Israel’s second-strike forces were sufficiently invulnerable to any considered first-strike aggressions. Facing Israel’s Arrow, this adversary would likely require increasing numbers of missiles, in order to achieve an assuredly destructive first-strike capability.” “Over time, however, this adversary could still undermine the critical deterrence benefits of Israel’s active defenses. It would achieve this valuable “efficiency” simply by adding regular rocket increments to its own arsenal of offensive missiles.” “Israel must continue to develop, test, and implement a missile interception capability that will best match the enemy threat. It must also take prompt and even innovative steps to enhance the credibility of its still-ambiguous nuclear deterrent. If, as expected, Iranian nuclearization should continue to proceed unobstructed, Israel will then have to prepare, expeditiously, and among other things, to remove its bomb from the so-called “basement.” “n such palpably unstable circumstances, any continuing posture of deliberate nuclear ambiguity would simply cease to be reasonable or rational.“ “We may presume that Israel already has a secure and penetration-capable nuclear force.” “This second-strike capacity, hardened and dispersed, should now be made more recognizably ready to inflict an unacceptably damaging retaliatory salvo. As any exclusively “counterforce” targeting posture could have major deterrence shortfalls, Israel’s primary nuclear targets must generally be identifiable enemy cities. From the standpoint of optimally enhancing nuclear deterrence, it may also be time for Israel to release certain carefully selected information about its sea-based retaliatory forces.” “There is more. Israel must clarify that Arrow and its other corollary active defenses would always operate simultaneously with Israeli nuclear retaliations. This point is incontestable. Iran must be made to understand that, where appropriate, Israel’s defensive deployments would never supplant, or even render less probable, an Israeli nuclear reprisal.” “Iran should never have been allowed to proceed this far with its illegal military nuclearization. Now, in consequence, Israel will have to deal with a uniquely hostile enemy regime by instituting steady enhancements of both its nuclear deterrence and active defense capabilities. Although the prospect of regime-change in Tehran might at first appear desirable and perhaps even compensatory, such an actual leadership transformation could ultimately offer Israel little more than a transient illusion of enhanced security.” “Conceivably, in fact, a successor regime in Tehran could prove more worrisome for Jerusalem, and also for Washington. Indeed, examined from the all-important perspective of blatantly annihilatory Jihadist inclinations, Ahmadinejad and his current clerical masters may still not represent the most dangerous possible expression of an Iranian national leadership. Sometimes, we may witness, truth is starkly counterintuitive.” “In the matter of enemy delivery systems, Iranian nuclear harms could be directed toward Israel, not only via direct missile strike, but also by terrorist-proxy platforms. These platforms could include cars, trucks, and boats. Should a newly-nuclear Iran ever decide to share certain of its weapons-usable materials and/or scientific personnel with Hizbullah in Lebanon, Israel might then have to face a heightened prospect of nuclear terrorism. The multiple perils posed in this scenario could also impact American cities.” “Soon, leaders in Israel and the United States will no longer be able to “kick the Iranian nuclear can” down the road. More than likely, however, in their now too-long delayed tactical calculations, the preemption option will finally have to be rejected. Unassailably, in time, this controversial option will simply have become demonstratively more costly than gainful.” “What’s left? The “good news” is that deterrence, even of an enemy state that might sometime not value its physical survival above all other relevant values, could still work. For Israel, successfully deterring a possibly irrational nuclear adversary in Tehran need not be judged out of the question. Irrationality, we should recall, is not the same as madness.” “As we have already noted, an irrational Iranian adversary might still display a consistent and transitive hierarchy of preferences. Almost certainly, the very top of any such preference ordering would reveal the thoroughly immutable religious expectations of Shiite Islam. Significantly, in particular circumstances, no-longer-rational leaders in Iran could plausibly calculate that the overriding theological benefits of any long-term peace with Israel would plainly exceed the expected costs.” “It is possible, and perhaps even probable, that, for the foreseeable future, authoritative Iranian leadership elites will remain entirely rational, thus valuing their country’s physical survival more highly than any other preference, or combination of preferences. Here, Iran would remain subject to the very same “normal” threats of retaliatory destruction that ordinarily affect other rational states in world politics. While there can never be any absolute guarantees of such a distinctly preferred scenario, it is also be premature to conclude that a newly-nuclear Iran, whether rational or irrational, would lash out viscerally, at Israel, or at its other enemies.” “In the interminably high-stakes drama of world politics, irrationality is not the same as madness. It follows that even an irrational Iranian nuclear regime might not lie outside or beyond the ordinary calculations and readily determinable consequences of Israeli nuclear deterrence. An intransigent Tehran could still confront Israel with the intimidating aspect of incessant belligerence, but this could be substantially less ominous than offering Jerusalem the indecipherable and utterly indifferent face of genuine madness.” Rest assured, without the tragically flawed, mostly besieged mindset of Israel’s top leadership, the Jewish homeland would not stand at the precipice. This truth is more than self evident through the following – https://adinakutnicki.com/2012/06/30/israels-failure-of-leadership-its-lack-of-statesmen-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki/, in addition to – https://adinakutnicki.com/2012/07/15/israels-ship-of-fools-led-by-delusional-leadership-caroline-glick-skewers-them-barack-hussein-obama-too-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki-11/. To our great/collective horror, and to Israel’s ( derelict ) leadership’s eternal shame, history will prove the efficacy of Professor Louis Rene Beres’s clarion calls. His foresight prompted (well recorded) specific recommendations to Israel’s and America’s top leadership. It spanned back to the beginning of Iran’s dabblings in its “nuclear (death) project”. Nevertheless, as is their wont, Israel’s leaders continually allowed Washington to pull Jerusalem’s strings, thus bowing to their dictates! Hence, Israel is facing an absolutely existential crisis, even if the leadership has some “breathing” room in the near future. IF anyone is worthy of being called a modern day prophet – in regard to Iran’s “project of death” – it is Professor Louis Rene Beres. On the other hand, Israel’s leaders will be recorded – for all time – as fools and knaves, allowing half of world Jewry to hang in the balance. Make no mistake. The rest of world Jewry will pay a price, and the entire west will eventually become imperiled too. Islamists are continually exhorting – first the Saturday people…then the Sunday people. They mean EVERY bloody word !!

In my book, Sweet Tree Yogurt has won for best fro-yo in the area, but Sweet Cece’s definitely wins for best dressed. The other night I met up with some girlfriends for a yogurt fix, and we couldn’t have picked a better spot for our gab fest than Sweet Cece’s. The decor is a mix of Anthropologie style and candy shop, with a lot of pink thrown in for good measure. One difference in this shop (besides the wildly adorable decor), is if you want to sample any yogurt flavor an employee has to get it for you. No going crazy at the machines trying out every flavor with your own small paper cup allowed. Although I understand the protocol and underlying reasons, that’s a bummer for a flavor junkie like me. Maybe to compensate for the free sample restrictions, they have the largest selection of toppings out of the four area frozen yogurt places. It’s the first place I’ve seen with small cheesecake bites. Yum. I was chose cake batter yogurt topped with some candy bar pieces, snow caps, and a few strawberries (makes it healthy, ha!). It was decent, and the cute couch we were sprawled on made it that much more enjoyable. Sweet Cece’s Frozen Yogurt and Treats 256 Dogwood Blvd. Flowood, MS 39208 True to my latest addiction, I’ve hit three out of the four frozen yogurt establishments previous mentioned within the last two weeks. Heading north on I-55 to Lake Harbour, I ventured into a brand new part of town (new to me) and met some friends at Sweet Tree Yogurt on Saturday. Sweet Tree occupies a small space in a strip mall, with a bench lining one wall and cute tables topped with vases of fresh flowers. We visited in the middle of the afternoon and it was packed! Thank goodness for sample cups, because we were overwhelmed with the yogurt choices. At any of these self-serve yogurt shops, this is how it works: Around here the average price is $0.45 per ounce, and my cups have been around $3-$3.50. You can easily rack up a high yogurt bill if you fill the cup to the brim or put on a lot of toppings. Pictured above is a mixed palate of flavors from Sweet Tree Yogurt: German chocolate, white chocolate mousse, cheesecake, blueberry trifle, chocolate, and peanut butter. There’s a few strawberries and Reese Peanut Butter cup pieces sprinkled on for good measure. I love the flavors of fro-yo more than the vast selection of toppings (clearly). And after visiting Berry Berry Good, Sweet Tree, and Sweet Cece’s, I believe Sweet Tree has the best tasting yogurt flavors and the highest number to choose from. Sadly it’s also the farthest away from our apartment, but is certainly worth the trip. Sweet Tree Yogurt 772 Lake Harbour Suite 5 Ridgeland, MS 39157 The other day a couple of co-workers and I hosted a baby shower for a friend from work. It was one of the most fun baby showers I’ve been to, in my humble unbiased opinion. We had mimosas, good food, no baby games, and were entertained by the expecting couple opening up their gifts. The best part (besides dessert), were the funny looks the father-to-be was making while unwrapping the new and unknown baby products. I imagine he was thinking, “What the hell’s a Boppy, and why do we need this?”. He’ll find out, all in due time. It was a pleasure to be able to celebrate my super cute pregnant friend with co-workers on a Sunday afternoon. The cheesecakes didn’t hurt either. Mini Cheesecake Cupcakes 1/2 c. granulated sugar 1 lb. cream cheese, softened 1 t. vanilla 12 Oreo cookies (or cookie of your choice, vanilla wafer, gingersnap, etc.) Decorate with: crushed up cookies for the tops, fruit pie filling, or leave plain Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and insert foil cupcake liners into a muffin tin. Place a cookie in the bottom of each liner. To make the cheesecake filling, whip together the sugar and soft cream cheese. Add in the vanilla and eggs, mix thoroughly. Pour the filling on top of the cookie, until it reaches near the top of the pan. Sprinkle with desired topping or leave plain. Bake for 15 minutes or until just set and not quite jiggly. These are best after being refrigerated overnight. For a print-friendly version, click the Print & PDF button below. For more recipes check out my Recipe page. As previously mentioned in this post, the past couple months has been full of great meals. So much food, so little time to blog. Once a year, I meet up with two of my best friends from college for our Annual Soul Sister Reunion. In August we descended upon Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, not Mississippi) and literally ate our way from Atlantic City to the heart of Philly. There are countless reasons I love those girls, but to top it off they are also wonderful dining companions. We laughed, talked, lingered and most importantly, chose different dishes to share among ourselves so we could taste as much as possible. It was one of the best reunions ever. I highly recommend going to any of the restaurants below. If you actually happen to be in, or go to Philly, please , please be sure to try to eat at Radicchio Cafe and Honey’s Sit-N-Eat. You won’t be disappointed. Go, eat, and thank me later. Radicchio Cafe is nestled on a corner near Old City, serving up luscious Italian food. It’s an intimate spot filled with cozy candle lit tables, and you can bring your own bottle of wine. We had a lovely salad with Gorgonzola, pears, and spiced walnuts, a seafood mixed grill platter, and decadent lobster ravioli. Between courses we dove into a bowl of crusty bread dipped in olive oil, and finished with cappuccinos, a cannoli, and hazelnut ice cream. Sadly, the light was dim and none of my photos turned out well. Brunch maybe my favorite meal of the day, and Honey’s Sit-N-Eat serves up one of the best I’ve ever had. They use farm fresh eggs, organic ingredients whenever possible, homemade jam, real butter, and made from scratch baked goods. I could eat there daily, if I lived in Philly that might happen. I had a fluffy omelet full of turkey sausage, spinach, mozzarella, and tomatoes with a potato latke and biscuit on the side. My stomach was at capacity by this period in the weekend, or else I would have splurged for a slice of Jewish apple cake. I may have come back to Jackson a couple pounds heavier, but it was worth every bite. I’ve been bit by the running bug. Or maybe I’m just a tad delusional from lack of sleep. Well, lack of sleep can’t be the reason since I’m still getting an average of eight hours of sleep at night. Either way, it’s the third week week I’ve gotten up at 6:30 a.m. every day to go run or walk. The weirdest part is the newly acquired surplus of energy, despite getting up an hour earlier. I thought I would crash and burn, (although that might happen in the near future), but surprisingly my body hasn’t had to fight off sleepiness during the day anymore. I may be prematurely enthusiastic about becoming an early riser (early for me), but I’m going to do my best to stick with it. Not only do I get my blood pumping, the extra time allows me the added benefits of fixing a better breakfast, time to pack lunch, and a few moments talking to Ben in coherent sentences. The only slight disadvantage is taking double showers in one day; not good for the hair or probably skin for that matter. Right now I’m toying with the idea of committing to a half marathon, which would be a new challenge since the farthest race distance I’ve done thus far is a 10k (6.2 miles). The Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras marathon and half marathon makes running look like a party!

I am an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and I occasionally perform wedding ceremonies. In the summer of 2001, I had the privilege of doing one for two former employees of Americans United. That event was held in Denver, Colo., with the parties deciding to use many elements of a traditional Jewish ceremony, with Hebrew prayers done by family members, but without any co-officiating by a rabbi. About a year earlier I did one at a Unitarian church in Maryland where members of the bride's family came from a Chinese background. I got involved in that event because of quirks in Maryland law dealing with who can perform weddings and where. That couple had wanted a federal judge they respected to perform the ceremony, but it turned out that the state wouldn't recognize the marriage if it was done by him solo in a church without a member of the clergy there too. The judge and I agreed on a separation of duties. (And I'm happy to report that the experience also motivated activists in Maryland to have the law changed last year.) Some of my weddings have been more conventional, with religious language and rituals that mirrored the beliefs of the couples. One thing I don't do is perform marriage ceremonies for people I haven't spoken with at least a few times. You might call this "marriage counseling." I like to have some sense of what the couple thinks about the new arrangement of their lives and what meaning it has to them. It is also a way to learn a few anecdotes that can be woven into the homilies I give to indicate to the guests that I actually know something about the folks getting married. (We have probably all been at weddings where the officiant mispronounces the name of at least one party, which is very bad form indeed.) Now President George W. Bush has decided that federal tax dollars should be used to promote strong marriages and family relationships. Some of this money is being used for things like tracking down deadbeat dads and making them pay child support a laudable goal few would quibble with. However, since this is the Bush administration we're talking about, there's also a "faith-based" component to the approach. Bush's theory seems to be that houses of worship can solve every vexing social problem out there as long as they are given enough tax money to do it. And of course, Bush insists that they need not tone down their religiosity while doing it. Thus, a dressed-up Bible study for couples contemplating marriage can now be tax funded, as long as the minister claims it is pre-marital counseling. When this idea first surfaced, even some traditional social conservatives thought the government probably had no business in the marriage counseling business. I remember one conservative writer finding it hilarious when I said on a radio show that perhaps a new Department of Love could be set up in the White House, headed by deep-voiced soul singer Barry White. However, plenty of the usual Religious Right suspects are now wildly enthusiastic over the idea, particularly since several of the first grants have gone to religious providers. In most faith traditions, marriage is a sacrament, a particularly sacred religious event. Different religions have very different ideas about the nature of the marital relationship. Roman Catholics for example oppose divorce on any grounds. Other traditions absolutely oppose marriages between persons of different faith traditions. Even if you can accept the notion that stable marital relationships serve a secular purpose like increasing the chances that children will be well cared for, won't religious providers want to explain their reasoning in a spiritual context? Won't providers with a conservative Southern Baptist orientation, which generally includes support for male control of the family, be more likely to urge women to stay in marriages and accept male domination than label such thinking a close cousin to spousal abuse? Why in the world should governments fund programs with these or any other theological underpinning? I am not, as you know, an enemy of government services. However, some issues in our culture, including marriage and reproductive choice, invoke a level of intimacy so deep that government involvement is suspect. Add to this a sense that specifically religious directives on the topics will get governmental imprimaturs as well, and I think you have a recipe for unwarranted and unconstitutional intrusion. There is considerable debate about which, if any, "marriage promotion" or counseling programs even are successful at the goal of keeping marriages together. Even if some religious ones turn out to meet the goal, I don't want to force everyone to fund the "God hates divorce" rationales of some. As for me, whether it is a mixed marriage, a spiritually infused union or a wholly secular ceremony that I'm talking to a couple about, I will remain happy to get a free lunch or two out of the arrangement (and maybe another invitation to a traditional nine-course Chinese wedding dinner). I will not be seeking government funds to promote healthy relationships measured by my theological standards or those of President Bush. To that, I just can't say: "I do." Barry W. Lynn is executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State

It’s time for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and it’s traditional to eat sweet things at this time to usher in a sweet new year. Some of my favorite things to have for the holiday are the most basic. Apples dipped in honey (pomegranates in honey are also traditional) and challah bread dipped in honey. For Rosh Hashanah special round and sweet challahs are baked (sweeter than the usual ones) and they are so good! They are round to symbolize the circle of the year. It’s also traditional to try out new fruits that you’ve never had before. If you’re looking for a specific confection one that comes to mind is Teiglach. It’s made of small balls of sweet crunchy cake piled together with nuts and covered in a sticky honey glaze. Teiglach is kind of challenging to eat since you have to pull it apart in clumps, but it definitely is sweet! Its should be found at Moishe’s Kosher Bake Shop in the East Village and other kosher bakeries. Even if you’re not Jewish I encourage you to participate in these traditions and at least try out apples dipped in honey once in a while. Sometimes the simplest thing is the best. Archive for September, 2008 This is my most painstakingly researched piece yet! A rundown and checklist of NYC’s best red velvet cupcakes! I encourage you to print it out and use it as a checklist! I’ll be at the NY Anime Festival Sept. 26-28 – Jacob Javits Center – 655 West 34th Street Here’s my schedule: Friday 8PM – Signing Autographs in room 1A01 Friday 9PM – Yaoi Roundtable with guest Frank Pannone of Media Blasters and Kai-Ming Cha of PW Comics Week! Not only will it be a lively discussion -we will be raffling off autographed yaoi manga and other prizes from Media Blasters and DMP! Saturday 11:15AM – Cooking Manga Panel with guests from French Japanese Dessert Café Luxee! We will be offering a sneak peek at Oishinbo – the ultimate food manga! We will also be raffling off food manga including Kitchen Princess and other prizes. Edible Manhattan just came out and I have a fun illustration in it of a unique cheese plate! Link here! Check out the latest City Sweet Tooth in The L magazine about that East Village chocolate heaven, Chocolate Bar! Remember to check out their Happy Hour special running through Sept. 15!

U.S. Warns Israel Against Steps That Harm Peace Plan By STEVEN R. WEISMAN Published: December 19, 2003 WASHINGTON, Dec. 18— The Bush administration, responding coolly to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's announcement of a possible ''disengagement plan'' in the West Bank, warned Israel on Thursday against taking unilateral steps that effectively abandoned the American-sponsored peace plan, called the road map, which would establish a Palestinian state. ''We would oppose any unilateral steps that block the road toward negotiations under the road map that lead to the two-state vision,'' said Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman. A senior administration official involved in Middle East policy tried on Thursday night to emphasize that parts of Mr. Sharon's speech were positive, especially his call for immediate steps to ease conditions of Palestinians living in the West Bank and for the dismantling of ''unauthorized'' settlement outposts built in the last few years. The official said that based on a reading of Mr. Sharon's text and also on briefings given to American officials before the speech, it was clear that such actions by Israel were offered ''unconditionally'' -- that is, not dependent on the Palestinians acting first to crack down on Palestinian militant groups. The administration official acknowledged that some of the steps promised by Mr. Sharon had been promised before and not carried out. ''We expect far more rapid action after the emphatic remarks of the Israeli prime minister,'' he added. Left unclear by Mr. Sharon's speech, the administration official said, was how he planned to carry out his promises to limit the growth of existing settlements in the West Bank, but the official said it seemed clear that Israel was prepared to confine any increase in the population of settlers to the areas where settlements already exist, and not to expand their territory any further into neighborhoods and areas regarded by the Palestinians as their land. But many details about what Mr. Sharon intends remain to be worked out with Palestinian negotiators and representatives of the United States in coming days and weeks. Behind the speech, some administration officials said, was a tacit agreement between Mr. Sharon's aides -- particularly Dov Weisglass, his chief of staff -- and top aides to Mr. Bush that the new Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, is proving to be a disappointment. Like Israeli leaders, administration officials say privately that they have been frustrated over the failure of Mr. Qurei to even be able to negotiate a cease-fire with the Palestinian groups as a possible prelude to their eventual disarmament. The senior administration official said Thursday night, however, that Mr. Sharon had made enough conciliatory gestures in his speech to warrant a renewed attempt to get Mr. Qurei back to the negotiating table. The Egyptian national security chief, Omar Suleiman, has been in Washington in the last week to brief administration officials on the progress of faltering negotiations for a cease-fire by Palestinian militant groups, but with little progress to report, many officials say. What concerned the administration, officials said, was Mr. Sharon's stated intention to carry out the disengagement plan in a few months if the Palestinians failed to carry out the steps called for in the peace plan. The primary step, Mr. Sharon made it clear, was to shut down militant groups. ''We don't think it's best, at this point, to be discussing now what to do if progress is not made,'' Mr. McClellan said at the White House. Other officials said they were concerned that talk of what must happen if there is a breakdown might become a self-fulfilling prophecy. According to Mr. Sharon's speech, the disengagement plan would involve new ''security lines'' separating Israel from Palestinian-dominated territory in the West Bank and Gaza and a ''change in the deployment of settlements.'' Administration officials say they are concerned that such a plan could lead to a de facto Palestinian state in a shrunken form on perhaps 50 percent of the West Bank, with as much as 90 percent of the Palestinians living in the area squeezed into it. Far-flung Jewish settlements in this area would, if this state were set up, presumably be dismantled or re-established in Israeli-controlled parts of the West Bank. This concern was only partly assuaged by Mr. Sharon's declaration that whatever boundary lines were established for Palestinian areas under his disengagement plan would not be final, and could be changed once an accord was reached between Israel and the Palestinians. The senior administration official said that Mr. Sharon understood the Bush administration's strongly held view that nothing Israel does now must make it look like it was ''trying to impose a final settlement'' on the Palestinians. Mr. Sharon said he would not specify how many settlements would be shut down and ''redeployed'' elsewhere, but an administration official said that the numbers circulating between Jerusalem and Washington were from 17 to 22 of perhaps 100 settlements in the West Bank. Some administration officials say they have heard that Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, and Mr. Qurei, his handpicked prime minister, may be tempted to accept such an interim state, however shrunken it is from what they want, as a possibly valuable base from which to conduct future talks with Israel. Administration officials cite various reasons for being concerned that Mr. Sharon may walk away from the negotiating process with the Palestinians, pull back from populated areas and even abandon some settlements in the West Bank. The main concern, administration officials say, is that Mr. Sharon may accompany these steps by further construction of a barrier, not just along the so-called Green Line -- the de facto frontier between Israel and the West Bank -- but also in areas thrust into the middle of the West Bank or jutting out from Jerusalem. Second, administration officials say they are concerned that if Israel withdraws forces unilaterally -- in the absence of a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians -- it might be seen as a retreat rather than a concession, along the lines of its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. Photo: Settlements, like Kerem Atzmona and Morag, in Gaza, where settlers ran a marathon yesterday, were at issue in a speech in which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon proposed a plan to disengage from the Palestinians. (Photo by Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times)

Shime torii: just two posts and a shimenawa Ise torii – a shinmei torii with a kasagi pentagonal in section, a shimaki and kusabi Myojin – kusagi and shimaki are curved upwards Kasuga torii /myōjin torii with straight top lintels cut at a square angle Mihashira toriis showing Nestorian influences – records of Konoshima Shrine in Kyoto, hinting at Nestorian influences in the construction of the torii, state that the three pillars represent the heavens, the earth, and mankind One of the more plausible and elaborately argued theories of the origins of the torii architecture and symbology in Japan is associated with the Indo-Iranian or Persian bird perch. “The Phœnix, like the bird Feng, is a mystical bird said to live 500 or 600 years and then to build for itself in the desert a funeral pyre of dried grasses and sweet spices. To this it sets fire by fluttering its wings whilst hovering over it, is then consumed, but from the ashes it rises again renewed in youth and in its gorgeous plumage; an idea appropriated by old-established fire insurance offices, the symbol of which is familiar to all. The Phœnix is believed by the Chinese to uphold their Empire and preside over its destiny; it is also worn as a Talisman for Longevity and Conjugal Happiness; whilst in the mystic sense it typifies the- whole world, its head the heavens, its eyes the Sun, its beak the Moon, its wings the wind, its feet the earth, and its tail the trees and plants. To the Japanese the Phœnix, or ho-wo bird, is a Talisman for Rectitude, Obedience, Fidelity, Justice, and Benevolence, and they consider it a manifestation of the Sun, its appearance on earth being considered a portent of great events. The torii, a kind of gate elaborately carved and decorated at the entrances of Shinto temples, is erected for the Phœnix to perch upon should it visit the earth (see Illustration No. 40, Plate III).“ Source: The Book of Talismans, Amulets and Zodiacal Gems, by William Thomas and Kate Pavitt, , at sacred-texts.com p. 38-39 [The phoenix is also a common emblem adorning the top of the roof of the portable mikoshi shrine]. The torii is explained as a sacred perch where the Phoenix alights In the excerpt “The Torii. [Shinto Gateway.] from the 1902 copy of the “Mythological Japan : the symbolisms of mythology in relation to Japanese art, with illustrations drawn in Japan, by native artists” by Alexander F. Otto and Theodore S Holbrook: “The whispering voices of tradition — how we treasure them — tell us that the Torii, the stately, well poised gateway of Shinto faith, has an office that lifts it far above the commonplace. The Sun at divers times and places, comes down to earth in the form of the great and wondrous Ho- Wo Bird, or Heavenly Phoenix, using for its perch one of the many Torii Gates, which the good people of Japan have built and placed throughout the land for that most exalted purpose. The traveller may still see the Torii at the entrance to the Shinto temple grounds, where it appears as the signification of the true gateway to a life of grace ; in art, it is used innumerable times in the decoration of Japan’s fairest ornaments.” This suggests a original and remoter provenance from some Persian influenced ideology upon early relic technology from the area of Anyang’s Yin ruins site, Shandong (or the other early Chinese tribes) where a rare small torii has been excavated from an underground burial tomb chamber. The earliest torii structures emerge in the transitory period just before the Kofun kurgan period from influences stemming from China (Anyang, see below), although the torii structure may have been later adopted more enthusiastically in Japan due to Indo-Iranic influences from incoming Saka migrants. Torii are gates have been observed to resemble the torana at Sanchi (see photo below), in India which betrays the Indo-Iranian Saka sun-worshipping tribes who settled mainly in the Northern and Northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent. In India (at Sanchi), the torana (Wikimedia Commons) Also in Gaya, India: Turning now to look at shrine gates of China: Anyang is one of the closest points in China to the Korean peninsula and southern Japan, and it is not unlikely that the ancient Anyang city established by Wang-Geon Silla king (900 AD) was established due to the influence of Anyang’s Bronze Age cultural sphere. Anyang is a Buddhist term signifying a heavenly land where unimaginable joy and freedom overflow. Moving to the archipelago of Japan, the earliest archaeological evidence of torii structures are to be found in Yayoi-period-Japan’s Yoshinogaru mega-village-settlement and at the Hirabaru site in Fukuoka prefecture (300BC-300AD) in the transitory period to the Tumuli Period (Kofun Period). The Japanese torii structures are so far earlier than any found on the Korean peninsula and antecedent to Wang-Geon’s founding of Anyang, so they may have originated directly across the sea from coast of China, although an origin via the Korean peninsula is not unlikely. At Hirabaru, the torii gate is an entranceway to a tomb where a female who was clearly venerated, for she was interred with 1,000 pieces of jewellery, and outside her coffin, was placed many bronze mirrors and swords. The site is close by to Hakata, a location and one of Japan’s most ancient cities linked to migrants who were known for their flourishing trade with both China and Korea, and according to historian Einosuke Obiya, “during the 500-year period before Sakai in Osaka became a port during the Kamakura period, foreign culture came to Japan almost exclusively through Hakata(source: “Hakata Culture” – Fukuoka city gov.” Hakata is also the location where the shamanic Jingu performed divination by fishing according to the earliest historical chronicles of the nation. Hirabaru site, was determined to have been the burial place for a high ranking person, probably a king/queen of Ito (see Barbara Seyock’s Hirabaru site and Wajinden Research). The birds that were sacred during this period (including those associated with the torii) were of a variety, mostly involving cranes, ducks and other migratory waterfowl, whereas birds such as the rooster, phoenix, griffin-like creatures emerged later from the Kofun period onwards. For a further evolution of torii structural styles in Japan see the JAANUS article “torii “for elaboration of the topic. According to Wikipedia’s entry on “Torii”: “Because the use of symbolic gates is widespread in Asia—such structures can be found for example in India, China, Thailand, Korea, and within Nicobarese and Shompen villages—historians believe they may be an imported tradition. They may for example have originated in India from the torana gates in the monastery of Sanchi in central India. According to this theory, the torana was adopted by Shingon Buddhism founder Kūkai, who used it to demarcate the sacred space used for the homa ceremony. The hypothesis arose in the 19th and 20th centuries due to similarities in structure and name between the two gates. Linguistic and historical objections have now emerged, but no conclusion has yet been reached. In Bangkok, Thailand, a religious structure called Sao Ching Cha strongly resembles a torii. Functionally, however, it is very different as it is used as a swing. During ceremonies Brahmins swing, trying to grab a bag of coins placed on one of the pillars. Other theories claim torii may be related to the pailou of China. These structures however can assume a great variety of forms, only some of which actually somewhat resemble a torii. This pailou in Xujiang, Jiangxi is similar to theMiwa shrine’s torii below. The Korean hongsalmun (紅箭門) is the most likely actual relative of the torii.[note 2] Structurally, being red and composed by two vertical posts crossed by two horizontal lintels, it strongly resembles it. Hongsalmun also stand free in front or near a sacred location, and are just a symbolic borderline between sacred and profane. The major difference between the two lies in the fact that in Korea the two horizontal lintels do not lie on top of the pillars, but are surpassed in height by them. In spite of these obvious similarities which suggest a relationship, it is still unclear whether this is a case of parallel evolution, or if either one gave birth to the other.” The above ambivalent position taken on the origins of the torii notwithstanding, we would like to examine the possibility of the torii architecture being derived from Indo-Iranian (proto-Persian) religious symbolism and attendant influences upon mainland religions. The Simurgh(Simorgh)’s Perch The Persians have a mystical tale of the Touba as a (pomegranate) tree in Paradise where the mythical bird, the Simorgh loved to perch, according to Persian literature “Touba and the Meaning of Night” by Shahrnush Parsipur, Havva Houshmand. Although according to Hafiz, the Persian Poet, the Simorgh perched ” on the dewy boughs of stately pine” The Simorgh was a creature of Middle Eastern mythology which took hybrid form of a human head and figure of a bird. The legendary Simorgh was believed to be so old that it had seen the destruction of the world three times over. M. C. Escher owned this Simorgh figurine, a gift from his father-in-law, who acquired it as a wedding gift in Azerbaijan Photo courtesy: Cordon Art B.V., Baarn, The Netherlands The tale of the Simorgh “there was a carved wooden statue of a phoenix at the tip of the cliff. What’s that I asked my mother? It’s a phoenix, it’s really like our bird. The Simorgh she explained was a mystical bird, the leader king of all birds thousands of years ago . One day the birds were summoned and asked to undertake a journey to reach their king They accepted, though it was a hazardous journey fraught with obstacles and Some of the birds, the nightingale, the sparrow dropped out along the way. …in the end, the birds made it to the final valley gathered and waited expectantly to meet their leader. Their guide turned to them and announced there was no leader, no Simorgh, just themselves. That if they looked around them–they would realize that they themselves were the Simorgh. The tale relied on a play of words. In Farsi ‘si’ meant thirty, ‘morgh’ meant bird. The birds looked around and realized there were thirty of them. The goal of their journey which they had imagined as a quest for their king, was actually their quest for self.” Source: “Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran” By Azadeh Moaveni. The tale of the Simorgh is found in the tale of Zal or Zaal, a legendary Persian warrior from the old Persian “The Book of Kings/ The king of books” or Shahnameh, as well as in Peter Sis’ illustrated “The Conference of the Birds“, an adaptation of the classic twelfth-century Sufi epic, see review by Randall Hayes for the Audubon Bird Society excerpted below. Look at the troubles happening in our world! Desperate fights over territory, water, and food! Poisoned air! Unhappiness! I fear we are lost. We must do something! I’ve seen the world. I know many secrets. Listen to me: I know of a king who has all the answers. We must go and find him After a good bit of funny and very human arguing, the birds flap off to find their king, called Simorgh. Their search covers half the world, and at the end they realize that THEY are Simorgh…. Sassanid silver plate with a depiction of a simurgh (Sēnmurw), 7th-8th c. CE (Wikimedia Commons) Tomb mural painting depicting of the arrival of Saka(?) warriors from across the sea to Kyushu, with their hemp and horse (or griffin-dragon?) cultures Excerpted from Simurgh: “The simurgh is depicted in Iranian art as a winged creature in the shape of a bird, gigantic enough to carry off an elephant or a whale. It appears as a kind of peacock with the head of a dog and the claws of a lion; sometimes however also with a human face. The simurgh is inherently benevolent and unambiguously female… The simurgh has teeth. It has an enmity towards snakes and its natural habitat is a place with plenty of water. Its feathers are said to be the colour of copper, and though it was originally described as being a Dog-Bird, later it was shown with either the head of a man or a dog. … Iranian legends consider the bird so old that it had seen the destruction of the World three times over. The simurgh learned so much by living so long that it is thought to possess the knowledge of all the Ages. In one legend, the simurgh was said to live 1,700 years before plunging itself into flames (much like the phoenix). The simurgh was considered to purify the land and waters and hence bestow fertility. The creature represented the union between the earth and the sky, serving as mediator and messenger between the two. The simurgh roosted in Gaokerena, the Hōm (Avestan: Haoma) Tree of Life, which stands in the middle of the world sea Vourukhasa. The plant is potent medicine, is called all-healing, and the seeds of all plants are deposited on it. When the simurgh took flight, the leaves of the tree of life shook making all the seeds of every plant to fall out. These seeds floated around the world on the winds of Vayu-Vata and the rains of Tishtrya, in cosmology taking root to become every type of plant that ever lived, and curing all the illnesses of mankind. Dastan takes leave of the Simorgh The relationship between the simurgh and Hōm is extremely close. Like the simurgh, Hōm is represented as a bird, a messenger and as the essence of purity that can heal any illness or wound. Hōm – appointed as the first priest – is the essence of divinity, a property it shares with the simurgh. The Hōm is in addition the vehicle of farr(ah) (MP: khwarrah, Avestan: khvarenah, kavaēm kharēno) “[divine] glory” or “fortune”. Farrah in turn represents the divine mandate that was the foundation of a king’s authority. It appears as a bird resting on the head or shoulder of would-be kings and clerics, so indicating Ormuzd’s acceptance of that individual as His divine representative on earth. For the commoner, Bahram wraps fortune/glory “around the house of the worshipper, for wealth in cattle, like the great bird Saena, and as the watery clouds cover the great mountains” (Yasht 14.41, cf. the rains of Tishtrya above). Like the simurgh, farrah is also associated with the waters of Vourukasha (Yasht 19.51,.56-57). In Yašt 12.17 Simorgh’s (Saēna’s) tree stands in the middle of the sea Vourukaša, it has good and potent medicine, is called all-healing, and the seeds of all plants are deposited on it. In the Shahnameh The Simurgh made its most famous appearance in the Ferdowsi’s epic Shahname (Book of Kings), where its involvement with the Prince Zal is described. According to the Shahname, Zal, the son of Saam, was born albino. When Saam saw his albino son, he assumed that the child was the spawn of devils, and abandoned the infant on the mountain Alborz. The child’s cries were carried to the ears of the tender-hearted Simurgh, who lived on top this peak, and she retrieved the child and raised him as her own. Zal was taught much wisdom from the loving Simurgh, who has all knowledge, but the time came when he grew into a man and yearned to rejoin the world of men. Though the Simurgh was terribly saddened, she gifted him with three golden feathers which he was to burn if he ever needed her assistance. Upon returning to his kingdom, Zal fell in love and married the beautiful Rudaba. When it came time for their son to be born, the labor was prolonged and terrible; Zal was certain that his wife would die in labour. Rudabah was near death when Zal decided to summon the simurgh. The simurgh appeared and instructed him upon how to perform a cesarean section thus saving Rudabah and the child, who became one of the greatest Persian heroes, Rostam. Simurgh also shows up in the story of the Seven Trials of Esfandiar and the story of Rostam and Esfandiar. In Azeri folklore Simurgh also goes by the name of Zumrud (emerald). It was an ancient tale about Malik Mammad, the son of one of the wealthiest kings of Azerbaijan. That king had a big garden. In the center of this garden is a magical apple tree which yields apples every day. One ugly giant called Div decides to steal all the apples every night. The king sends Malik Mammad and his elder brothers fight the giant. In the middle of this tale Malik Mammad saves Simurgh’s babies from a dragon. Simurgh takes pleasure of Malik Mammad and decides to help him. When Malik Mammad wants to pass form The Dark world into the Light world Simurgh asks him to provide 40 half carcasses of meat and 40 wineskin filled with water. When Simurgh puts water on its left wing and meat on its right wing Malik Mammad is able to enter the Light world…. In Kurdish folklore Simurgh is shortened to Sīmīr in the Kurdish language. The scholar Trever quotes two Kurdish folktales about the bird. These versions go back to the common stock of Iranian Simorḡ stories. In one of the folk tales, a hero rescues Simurgh’s off-springs by killing a snake that is crawling up the tree to feed upon them. As a reward Sīmīr(Simurgh) gives him three of her feathers; which the hero can call for help by burning them. Later the hero uses the feathers, and Simurgh carries him to a distant land. In the other tale, Simurgh carries the hero out of the netherworld; here Simurgh feeds its young with its teats, a trait which agrees with the description of the Simurgh in the Middle Persian book of Zdspram. “ From the above, we can see that the Simurgh symbolizes purity, divinity, and the gateway to the Netherworld and the journey from the Dark World into the Light World. The Parthian city was the city of the Simorghian bird, the torii is residence of sacred bird and Asuka the capital city of Japan in Asuka era (500-645). Asuka was derived from Persian word “Ark Saca” which means the sacred place of the Saccas (Scythians). Parthian “Arsaces” has the same origins. Hi 飛 means flying, Tori 鳥 means bird. Asuka 飛鳥 means “flying bird”. The bird is Simorgh (Goddess Div). TOJO Masato concluded in his great treatise “An introduction to Simorghian Culture and Mithraism in East Asia” on Persian influences in Japan: “Torii is the gate of Shintô shrine. Tori 鳥 means bird, I 居 means residence. Therefore Torii 鳥居 means a residence of a bird (Simorgh). Shintô shrines are residents of Simorgh. This word is also Iranian origin. The shape of torii is symbolical representation of Simorgh as the winged disk widely used in Persia” (Source: Imoto. Ancient Iranian Culture and its influences on Japanese Culture, Panel Discussion, 2007 January 21th Sunday). While in the Asuka period, Asuka 飛鳥 means “flying bird” and its symbolism is strongly associated with the phoenix or as argued by scholars, the Simorghian bird, as a bird perch the tori architecture is also often strongly associated with the rooster or cock perch, therefore showing perhaps a stronger Sraosa affinity as gate to the Underworld or possibly paradise, since Sraosa was better known as accompanied by messenger cockerels (with ancient statuary found in Luristan). Another more remoter but possible early prototype of the shrine gate is the Jewish doorpost and gateway: Lechis – Strip used to represent a doorpost. Can be made of anything solid from a length of twine to a 2×4 or I-beam. In the Boston Eruv, lechis are usually made of black plastic U-guard, of the type employed by the telephone company for protecting ground wires coming down the side of a utility pole. The lechis are affixed to the pole using U-shaped nails. The lechi is attached to a utility pole side starting at the ground and continuing upwards until just beneath whichever cable is being used as the vertical member of the Tzurat HaPesach (see below). Korah The lintel portion of the Tzurat HaPesah (see below). This horizontal member can be an existing physical structure such as an existing utility (phone or cable, usually phone) cable that is already in place between a set of two poles. If no cables are located where the two Eruv poles are being used (for example along the Massachusetts Turnpike where the Eruv erected standalone poles), a length of plastic (polypropylene) baling twine is stretched between the tops of the two poles. The twine is insensitive to moisture and cold and only mildly sensitive to sun, i.e. ultraviolet radiation exposure. It holds little moisture and does not tend to build up ice during the winter. It does suffer from abrasion damage if tree branches rub against it. However, since it is electrically non-conductive, the various granting agencies allow the Eruv to use it. Tzurat HaPesach A doorway opening. The construction of two doorposts and an overhead lintel. This construction is used when the Eruv fence or border is open and some way must be found to maintain perimeter continuity. In one case, two poles can be erected at the edges of the gap and a length of non-conducting twine is stretched carefully between the two pole tops. It is critical that the twine be attached to the pole over the absolute top of the pole and not to the pole side. The term eruv refers to the act of mixing or combining, and is shorthand for eruv hazerot–the mixing of domains, in this case, the private (rashut hayahid) and the public (rashut harabim). An eruv does not allow for carrying items otherwise prohibited by Jewish law on Shabbat, such as money or cell phones. Having an eruv does not mean that a city or neighborhood is enclosed entirely by a wall. Rather, the eruv can be comprised of a series of pre-existing structures (walls, fences, electrical poles and wires) and/or structures created expressly for the eruv, often a wire mounted on poles. In practice, then, the eruv is a symbolic demarcation of the private sphere, one that communities come together to create Despite its symbolic nature, the eruv is intended to mimic in some way the form of walls, which need doorways–defined as two posts with a crossbeam over them, strong enough to withstand an ordinary wind. The eruv likewise needs openings, consisting of crossbeams resting or passing directly over the top of the doorpost (lehi). This is how modern rabbis arrived at the solution of having the eruv be made of a wire: The poles holding up the wire represent the “doorposts,” and the wire itself represents the “crossbeam.” Many communities construct their eruvim by using lighting (or utility) poles to fulfill the requirement of doorposts and a continuous cable, string, or wire to represent the crossbeam. In order for this arrangement to be acceptable, the “beam” must rest directly above the top of the doorposts It has also been nicknamed–using the Yiddish word for carrying–“the magic schlepping circle.” Since the social aspect of Shabbat is one of the most significant elements fostering community bonding, the eruv proves to be instrumental in enhancing the Shabbat experience, though disagreements and disputes surrounding its very nature and essence are likely to continue. It may be that early forms of the eruv doorpost emerged from and were carried by an extremely ancient migratory lineage of Semitic-Arab origin who are represented by haplogroup D-bearing (Y-DNA) ethnic population groups including the Druzes, the Kalash(pre-Vedic culture of Pamir-Hindu Kush mountains), the Sindhi of Pakistan, etc. (see the map of the haplogroup D trail) who eventually reached Japan during the Kofun Period in substantial numbers as bearers of pre-Vedic rituals and horse and sacrificial culture with them. MtDNA studies also show presence of Western Asian or West Eurasian genetic components in Japan. Another bird-symbolism cultural zone may be associated with the Y-DNA haplogroup N. Haplogroup N1b forms two distinctive subclusters of STR haplotypes, Asian and European, the latter now mostly distributed in Uralic-speakers and related populations. Haplogroup N1b (N-P43)..is defined by the presence of the marker P43 and is found frequently among Northern Samoyedic peoples; also found at low to moderate frequency among some other Uralic peoples, Turkic peoples, Mongolic peoples, Tungusic peoples, and Siberian Yupiks. Haplogroup N1c (N-M46)is approximately 14,000 years old. The mutations that define the subclade N-M46 (old name N3) are M46/Tat and P105. This is the most frequent subclade of N. It arose probably in the region of present day China, and subsequently experienced serial bottlenecks in Siberia and secondary expansions in eastern Europe. In Siberia, haplogroup N-M46 reaches a maximum frequency of approximately 90% among the Yakuts, a Turkic people who live mainly in the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. However, it is practically non-existent among many of the Yakuts’ neighboring ethnic groups, such as Tungusic speakers. It also has been detected in 2.4% (2/85) of a sample from Seoul, South Korea and in 1.4% (1/70) of a sample from Tokushima, Japan. The haplogroup N-M46 has a low diversity among Yakuts suggestive of a population bottleneck or founder effect. This was confirmed by a study of ancient DNA which traced the origins of the male Yakut lineages to a small group of horse-riders from the Cis-Baïkal area. Subclade of N-M178 Haplogroup N1c1 (previously known as N3a) is defined by the presence of markers M178 and P298. Miroslava Derenko and her colleagues noted that there are two subclusters within this haplogroup, both present in Siberia and Northern Europe, with different histories. The one that they labelled N3a1 first expanded in south Siberia (approximately 10,000 years ago) and spread into Northern Europe (Finns -60%; Latvians – 40%; Estonians – 35% frequencies) while, the younger subcluster, which they labelled N3a2, originated in south Siberia (probably in the Baikal region). Source: Haplogroup N (Wikipedia) The upshot of the above is that given the two ancient migratory lineages Y-DNA haplogroups D and N present in Japan, both regions have strong bird-death-netherworld cultures, the former from the Middle Eastern semitic-Arab lands, and the latter from Siberian lands, the theory (see Wikipedia’s “Torii”) advancing the bird-Netherworld association that is strongly associated with the Middle East becomes highly plausible: Because in Japan birds have long had a connection with the dead, this may mean it was born in connection with some prehistorical funerary rite. Ancient Japanese texts like the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki for example mention how Yamato Takeru after his death became a white bird and in that form chose a place for his own burial. For this reason, his mausoleum was then called shiratori misasagi (白鳥陵?, white bird grave). Many later texts also show some relationship between dead souls and white birds, a link common also in other cultures, shamanic like the Japanese. Bird motifs from the Yayoi and Kofun periods associating birds with the dead have also been found in several archeological sites. This relationship between birds and death would also explain why, in spite of their name, no visible trace of birds remains in today’s torii: birds were symbols of death, which in Shinto brings defilement (kegare) The last sentence is however, somewhat incorrect since rooster symbolism and sacrifice remains associated with Ise Shrines and the Amaterasu myth, and are seen on Rooster Market Day (Tori-no-ichi festivals) held at O-Tori-jinja shrines, as well as Tengu- or three-legged-crow- motifs that are widespread and iconic in many mountain shrines). It is thus suggested here that the early toriis were architecture that originated in the pastoral nomadic cultures of the Indo-Iranian Saka sun-worshipping lineages (and their sun-kings and rock-sky-vault and Earth-Womb-Cave-Passage-Netherworld burial culture) that had arrived in Japan from the mainland continent in China as well as Korea, especially associated with the elite royal lineages. Sources and references: Eruv By Sharonne Cohen James Edward Ketelaar.Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji Japan. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990. p.59 Derenko M, Malyarchuk B, Denisova GA et al: Y-chromosome haplogroup N dispersals from south Siberia to Europe. J Hum Genet 2007; 52: 763 – 770 Malyarchuk B, Derenko M: On the origin of Y-chromosome haplogroup N1b. Eur J Hum Genet. 2009 Dec;17(12):1540-1; author reply 1541-3. doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2009.100. Epub 2009 Jun 17.

UPDATE: this post won the 2011 3QD Politics and Social Sciences Prize. In the warped mind of Anders Behring Breivik, his murderous rampage in Oslo and Utoøya were the first shots in a war in defence of Christian Europe. Not a religious war but a cultural one. Breivik acknowledged that he was not religious but, he wrote in his manifesto in a section entitled ‘Distinguishing between cultural Christendom and religious Christendom’: Myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God. We do however believe in Christianity as a cultural, social, identity and moral platform. This makes us Christian Few but the most psychopathic have any sympathy for Breivik’s homicidal frenzy. And most Christians have rejected the Breivik’s claim to be one of them. Yet the idea that Christianity is a ‘cultural, social, identity and moral platform’ that provides the underpinnings of ‘Western civilization’ and that ‘Christian Europe’ is under threat finds a widespread hearing. From Mark Steyn to Christopher Caldwell to Melanie Phillips to Martin Amis and beyond, alarm about Muslim immigration, the rise of ‘Eurabia’ and the collapse of the Judeo-Christian tradition is rife. At the heart of the argument lie two claims. First, that the political ideals and ethical values of ‘Western civilization’ are underpinned by Christianity (or the Judeo-Christian tradition). And, second, that this vital and unique tradition is under threat, from Islam on the one side and Marxists and the ‘liberal intelligentsia’ on the other. The erosion of Christianity, in this narrative, will lead inevitably to the erosion of Western civilisation and the end of modern, liberal democracy. Many writers (myself included) have challenged the argument about the ‘Muslim takeover’ of Europe and about the growth of ‘Eurabia’. The idea of Christianity as the cultural and moral foundation of Western civilisation is, however, accepted as almost self-evident. Europe, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the Archbishop of Prague argued recently, ‘has denied its Christian roots from which it has risen and which could give it the strength to fend off the danger that it will be conquered by Muslims, which is actually happening gradually’: At the end of the Middle Ages and in the early modern age, Islam failed to conquer Europe with arms. The Christians beat them then. Today, when the fighting is done with spiritual weapons which Europe lacks while Muslims are perfectly armed, the fall of Europe is looming. It is not just believers who are worried that Europe is ‘denying its Christian roots’. It is an argument being increasingly heard from non-believers and non-Christians too. The late Oriana Fallaci, the Italian writer who perhaps more than most promoted the notion of ‘Eurabia’, described herself as a ‘Christian atheist’, insisting that only Christianity provided Europe with a cultural and intellectual bulwark against Islam. The British historian Niall Ferguson calls himself ‘an incurable atheist’, cautions against ‘any idealisation of Christendom’ and is critical of the ‘clash of civilizations thesis’. Yet he is alarmed by the decline of Christianity in Europe because it is leading to a world in which ‘there isn’t… any religious resistance’ to radical Islam. The erosion of Christianity makes more difficult ‘the transmission… of ethical values between generations’. Melanie Phillips, a non-believing Jew, argues in her book The World Turned Upside Down that ‘Christianity is under direct and unremitting cultural assault from those who want to destroy the bedrock values of Western civilization.’ Christianity has certainly been the crucible within which the intellectual and political cultures of Western Europe have developed over the past two millennia. But the claim that Christianity embodies the ‘bedrock values of Western civilisation’, and that the weakening of Christianity inevitably means the weakening of liberal democratic values, is a Janet and John reading of history and ethics. It greatly simplifies both the history of Christianity and the roots of modern democratic values – not to mention underplaying the tensions that often exist between ‘Christian’ and ‘liberal’ values. Here are some initial thoughts on some of the myths and misconceptions about the history of ‘Christian Europe’ and of the Christian tradition, thoughts which hopefully I will eventually work into a fully-fleshed thesis. Christianity may have forged a distinct ethical tradition, but its key ideas, like those of most religions, were borrowed from the cultures out of which it developed. Early Christianity was effectively a marriage of Athens and Jerusalem, a fusion of the Ancient Greek tradition and Judaism. Few of what are often thought of as uniquely Christian ideas are in fact so. Take, for instance, the Sermon on the Mount, perhaps the most influential of all Christian ethical discourses. The moral landscape that Jesus sketched out in the sermon was already familiar. The extensions of the Mosaic law upon which Jesus insisted were already part of the Jewish tradition. The Golden Rule – ‘do unto others as you would have others do unto you’ – has a long history, an idea hinted at in Babylonian and Egyptian religious codes, before fully flowering in Greek and Judaic writing (having independently already appeared in Confucianism too). The insistence on virtue as a good in itself, the resolve to turn the other cheek, the call to look inwards, the claim that correct belief is at least as important as virtuous action – all were important themes in the Greek Stoic tradition. Similarly, the concept of universalism, often seen as a key Christian ideal, was also drawn from Stoicism. In his famous Elements of Ethics the Stoic philosopher Hierocles imagines very individual as standing at the centre of a series of concentric circles. The first circle is the mind, next comes the immediate family, followed by the extended family, the local community, the community of neighbouring towns, the country, and finally the entire human race. To be virtuous, Hierocles suggested, is to draw these circles together, constantly to transfer people from the outer circles to the inner circles, to treat strangers as cousins and cousins as brothers and sisters, making all human beings part of our concern. Or, as another Stoic philosopher Epictetus put it, Never in reply to the question, to what country you belong, say that you are an Athenian or a Corinthian but that you are a citizen of the world. It is a cosmopolitan vision that would be startling today, let alone two thousand years ago. Hierocles and Epictetus lived at a time when Christianity was tearing itself apart in doctrinal conflict, when heretics were put to death and non-Christians often treated with contempt. In time Christianity helped develop some of the Stoic ideas about a universal humanity, as did the other monotheistic faiths. The origins of these ideas, however, lay in pagan philosophy. And their full development had to await the Enlightenment and more secular philosophies. Perhaps the most original and profound contribution of Christianity to the ‘Western’ tradition is also its most pernicious: the doctrine of Original Sin, the belief that all humans are tainted by Adam and Eve’s disobedience of God in eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. It was a doctrine that led to a bleak view of human nature; in the Christian tradition it is impossible for humans to do good on their own account, because the Fall has degraded both their moral capacity and their willpower. The story of Adam and Eve, and of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, was, of course, originally a Jewish fable. But Jews read that story differently to Christians. In Judaism, as in Islam, Adam and Eve’s transgression creates a sin against their own souls, but does not condemn humanity as a whole, nor does it fundamentally transform either human nature or human beings’ relationship to God. In the Christian tradition, God created humanity to be immortal. In eating the apple, Adam and Eve brought mortality upon themselves. Jews have always seen humans as mortal beings. In the Garden, Adam and Eve were as children. Having eaten of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they had to take responsibility for themselves, their decisions and their behaviour. This is seen not as a ’fall’ but as a ‘gift’ – the gift of free will. As the Hertz Chumash, the classic Hebrew-English edition of the Pentateuch and Haftorahs, observes, ‘Instead of the Fall of man (in the sense of humanity as a whole), Judaism preaches the Rise of man: and instead of Original Sin, it stresses Original Virtue, the beneficent hereditary influence of righteous ancestors upon their descendants’. The story of Adam and Eve was initially, then, a fable about the attainment of free will and the embrace of moral responsibility. It became a tale about the corruption of free will and the constraints on moral responsibility. It was in this transformation in the meaning of the Adam and Eve’s transgression that Christianity has perhaps secured its greatest influence, a bleak description of human nature that came to dominate Western ethical thinking as Christianity became the crucible in which that thinking took place. Not till the Enlightenment was the bleakness of that vision of human nature truly challenged. What we now think of as the Judeo-Christian tradition has been created as much despite the efforts of the Christian Church as because of them. Western Europe endured the so-called ‘Dark Ages’ between the extinguishing of the final sparks of Hellenism in the fifth century and the re-ignition of cultural life in the Renaissance almost a millennium later. This is often seen as a period ushered in by the barbarian invasions of the fourth and fifth centuries that brought down the Roman Empire. In fact the intellectual darkness was ushered in also by the policies of the Church itself. The collapse of the Roman imperial institutions under the weight of the myriad invasions left the Church as almost the only body capable of maintaining some semblance of social order in Western Europe. It also left the clergy as the sole literate class in the Western world and the Church as the lone patron of knowledge and the arts. But if the Church kept alive elements of a learned culture, Church leaders, particularly in Western Europe, were ambiguous about the merits of pagan knowledge. ‘What is there in common between Athens and Jerusalem?’, asked Tertullian, the first significant theologian to write in Latin. So preoccupied were devout Christians with the demands of the next world that to study nature or history or philosophy for its own sake seemed to them almost perverse. ‘Let Christians prefer the simplicity of our faith to the demonstrations of human reason’, insisted Basil of Caesarea, an influential fourth century theologian and monastic. ‘For to spend much time on research about the essence of things would not serve the edification of the church.’ Augustine, who with Thomas Aquinas is the greatest of all Christian philosophers, came to see uninhibited curiosity as an evil, in his Confessions condemning as a ‘disease’ the yearning to discover ‘the hidden powers of nature… which to know profits not’. The most significant casualty of the Christianising of learning was Aristotle whose empirical, this-worldly approach to knowledge was most at odds with the dictates of faith. Aristotle, in historian Charles Freeman’s words, ‘vanishes from the western world; his work only reappears in the thirteenth century thanks to its preservation by Arab interpreters.’ Christian Western Europe rediscovered the Greek heritage, and in particular Aristotle, in the thirteenth century, a rediscovery that helped transform European intellectual culture. It inspired the work of Thomas Aquinas, perhaps the greatest of all Christian theologians, and allowed reason to take centre stage again in European philosophy. But how did theologians and scholars in Western Europe find their way back to Greek thought? Primarily through the Muslim Empire. As Christian Europe endured its ‘Dark Ages’, an intellectual tradition flowered in the Islamic world as lustrous as that of Ancient Athens before or Renaissance Florence after. Centred first in Baghdad and then in Cordoba, in Muslim Iberia, Arab philosophy and science played a critical role not just in preserving the gains of the Greeks but in genuinely expanding the boundaries of knowledge, both in philosophy and in science. Arab scholars revolutionsed astronomy, invented algebra, helped develop the modern decimal number system, established the basis of optics, and set the ground rules of cryptography. But perhaps more important than the science was the philosophy. The Rationalist tradition in Islamic thought, culminating in the work of Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd, is these days barely remembered in the West. Yet its importance and influence, not least on the ‘Judeo-Christian’ tradition, is difficult to overstate. Ibn Rushd especially, the greatest Muslim interpreter of Aristotle, came to wield far more influence within Judaism and Christianity than within Islam, his commentaries shaping the thinking of a galaxy of thinkers from Maimonides to Aquinas himself. Christians of the time recognized the importance of Muslim philosophers. In The Divine Comedy, Dante places Ibn Rushd with the great pagan philosophers whose spirits dwell not in Hell but in Limbo ‘the place that favor owes to fame’. One of Raphael’s most famous paintings, The School of Athens, is a fresco on the walls of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, depicting the world’s great philosophers. Among the pantheon of celebrated Greek philosophers including Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras and Diogenes stands Ibn Rushd. Today, however, that debt has been almost entirely forgotten. There is a tendency to think of Islam as walled-in, insular, hostile to reason and freethinking. Much of the Islamic world came to be that way. But the fact remains that the scholarship of the golden age of Islamic thinking helped lay the foundations for the European Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution. Neither happened in the Muslim world. But without the Muslim world, it is possible that neither may have happened. What are now often called ‘Western values’ – democracy, equality, toleration, freedom of speech, etc – are the products largely of the Enlightenment and of the post-Enlightenment world. Such values are, of course, not ‘Western’ in any essential sense but are universal; they are ‘Western’ only through an accident of geography and history. A complex debate has arisen about the relationship between the Enlightenment and the Christian tradition. As the notion of the Christian tradition and of ‘Western civilization’ have become fused, and as the Enlightenment has come to be seen as embodying Western values, so some have tried to co-opt the Enlightenment into the Christian tradition. The Enlightenment ideas of tolerance, equality and universalism, they argue, derive from the reworking of notions already established within the Christian tradition. Others, more ambiguous about the legacy of the Enlightenment, argue that true liberal, democratic values are Christian and that the radicalism and secularism of the Enlightenment has only helped undermine such values. Both views are wrong. For a start, the historic origins of many of these ideas lie, as we have seen, outside the Christian tradition. It is as apt to describe a concept such as equality or universalism as Greek as it is to be describe it as Christian. In truth, though, contemporary ideas of equality or universality are neither Greek nor Christian. Whatever their historical origins, they have become peculiarly modern concepts, the product of the specific social, political and intellectual currents of the modern world. Moreover, the great figures of the Christian tradition would have been appalled at what we now call ‘Western’ values. In his book Reflections on the Revolution in Europe, Christopher Caldwell argues that Muslim migration to Europe has been akin to a form of colonization, threatening the very foundations of European civilization. Islam, Caldwell argues, ‘has broken… a good many of the European customs, received ideas and state structures’, not ‘enhancing or validating European culture’ but ‘supplanting it.’ Yet Caldwell also acknowledges that ‘What secular Europeans call “Islam” is a set of values that Dante and Erasmus would recognize as theirs’. On the other hand, the modern, secular rights that now constitute ‘core European values’ would ‘leave Dante and Erasmus bewildered.’ There is, in other words, no single set of European values that transcends history and binds together ‘the Christian tradition’ in opposition to a single corpus of timeless set-in-stone Islamic values. Those who decry Enlightenment secularism as being in some sense anti-Christian are right – but only because they hold on to a very particular notion of what constitutes Christian ideals. Not only are ‘Christian values’ and ‘Islamic values’ more complex, and with a more convoluted history than contemporary narratives suggest, so is the relationship between Enlightenment ideas and religious belief. There were, in fact, as historian Jonathan Israel pointed out in his wonderful three-part history of the period, Radical Enlightenment, Enlightenment Contested and Democratic Enlightenment, two Enlightenments. The mainstream Enlightenment of Kant, Locke, Voltaire and Hume is the one of which we know and which provides the public face of the Enlightenment. But it was the Radical Enlightenment, shaped by lesser-known figures such as d’Holbach, Diderot, Condorcet and, in particular, Spinoza that provided the Enlightenment’s heart and soul. The two Enlightenments divided on the question of whether reason reigned supreme in human affairs, as the radicals insisted, or whether reason had to be limited by faith and tradition – the view of the mainstream. The mainstream, Israel writes, ‘aspired to conquer ignorance and superstition, establish ideas and revolutionise ideas, education and attitudes by means of philosophy but in such a way as to preserve and safeguard what were judged as essential elements of the older structures, offering a viable synthesis of old and new, of reason and faith.’ By contrast, the Radical Enlightenment ‘rejected all compromise with the past and sought to sweep away existing structures entirely’. This distinction was to shape the attitudes of the two sides to a whole host of social and political issues such as equality, democracy and colonialism. The attempt of the mainstream to marry traditional theology to the new philosophy, Israel suggests, constrained its critique of old social forms and beliefs. The Radicals, on the other hand, were driven to pursue their ideas of equality and democracy to their logical conclusions because, having broken with traditional concepts of a God-ordained order, there was no ‘meaningful alternative to grounding morality, political and social order on a systematic radical egalitarianism extending across all frontiers, class barriers and horizons.’ The moderate mainstream was overwhelmingly dominant in terms of support, official approval and prestige. But in a deeper sense, and in the long run, it proved less important than the radical strand. As Israel shows the ‘package of basic values’ that defines modernity – toleration, personal freedom, democracy, racial equality, sexual emancipation and the universal right to knowledge – derive principally from the claims of the Radical Enlightenment and has been profoundly shaped by radicals’ challenge to the Christian tradition. To argue all this is not to deny the distinctive character of the Christian tradition (or traditions), nor the important role that Christianity has played in incubating what we now call ‘Western’ thought, nor yet the significant philosophical advances made within that tradition. But the Christian tradition, and Christian Europe, is far more a chimera than a pure-bred beast. The history of Christianity, its relationship to other ethical traditions, and the relationship between Christian values and those of modern, liberal, secular societies is far more complex than the trite ‘Western civilization is collapsing’ arguments allow. The irony is that the defenders of Christendom are riffing on the same politics of identity as Islamists, multiculturalists and many of the other ‘ists’ that such defenders so loathe. The reason to challenge the crass alarmism about the decline of Christianity is not simply to lay to rest the myths and misconceptions about the Christian tradition. It also because that alarmism is itself undermining the very values – tolerance, equal treatment, universal rights – for the defence of which we supposedly need a Christian Europe. The erosion of Christianity will not necessarily lead to the erosion of such values. The crass defence of Christendom against the barbarian hordes may well do.