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theshedding · 4 years ago

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Lil Nas X: Country Music, Christianity & Reclaiming HELL

I don’t typically bother myself to follow what Lil Nas X is doing from day to day, or even month to month but I do know that his “Old Town Road” hit became one of the biggest selling/streamed records in Country Music Business history (by a Black Country & Queer artist). “Black” is key because for 75+ years Country music has unsuspiciously evolved into a solidly White-identified genre (despite mixed and Indian & Black roots). Regrettably, Country music is also widely known for anti-black, misogynoir, reliably homophobic (Trans isn’t really a conversation yet), Christian and Hard Right sentiments on the political spectrum. Some other day I will venture into more; there is a whole analysis dying to be done on this exclusive practice in the music industry with its implications on ‘access’ to equity and opportunity for both Black/POC’s and Whites artists/songwriters alike. More commentary on this rigid homogeneous field is needed and how it prohibits certain talent(s) for the sake of perpetuating homogeneity (e.g. “social determinants” of diversity & viable artistic careers). I’ll refrain from discussing that fully here, though suffice it to say that for those reasons X’s “Old Town Road” was monumental and vindicating.

As for Lil Nas X, I’m not particularly a big fan of his music; but I see him, what he’s doing, his impact on music + culture and I celebrate him using these moments to affirm his Black, Queer self, and lifting up others. Believe it or not, even in the 2020′s, being “out” in the music business is still a costly choice. As an artist it remains much easier to just “play straight”. And despite appearances, the business (particularly Country) has been dragged kicking and screaming into developing, promoting and advancing openly-affirming LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈 artists in the board room or on-stage. Though things are ‘better’ we have not yet arrived at a place of equity or opportunity for queer artists; for the road of music biz history is littered with stunted careers, bodies and limitations on artists who had no option but to follow conventional ways, fail or never be heard of in the first place. With few exceptions, record labels, radio and press/media have successfully used fear, intimidation, innuendo and coercion to dilute, downplay or erase any hint of queer identity from its performers. This was true even for obvious talents like Little Richard.

(Note: I’m particularly speaking of artists in this regard, not so much the hairstylists, make-up artists, PA’s, etc.)

_____

Which is why...in regard to Lil Nas X, whether you like, hate or love his music, the young brother is a trailblazer. His very existence protests (at least) decades of inequity, oppression and erasure. X aptly critiques a Neo-Christian Fascist Heteropatriarchy; not just in American society but throughout the Music Business and with Black people. That is no small deal. His unapologetic outness holds a mirror up to Christianity at-large, as an institution, theology and practice. The problem is they just don’t like what they see in that mirror.

In actuality, “Call Me By Your Name”, Lil Nas X’s new video, is a twist on classic mythology and religious memes that are less reprehensible or vulgar than the Biblical narratives most of us grew up on vís-a-vís indoctrinating smiles of Sunday school teachers and family prior to the “age of reason”. Think about the narratives blithely describing Satan’s friendly wager with God regarding Job (42:1-6); the horrific “prophecies” in St. John’s Book of Revelation (i.e. skies will rain fire, angels will spit swords, mankind will be forced to retreat into caves for shelter, and we will be harassed by at least three terrifying dragons and beasts. Angels will sound seven trumpets of warning, and later on, seven plagues will be dumped on the world), or Jesus’s own clarifying words of violent intent in Matthew (re: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” 10:34). Whether literal or metaphor, these age old stories pale in comparison to a three minute allegorical rap video. Conservatives: say what you will, I’m pretty confident X doesn’t take himself as seriously as “The true and living God” from the book of Job.

A little known fact as it is, people have debunked the story and evolution of Satan and already offered compelling research showing [he] is more of a literary device than an actual entity or “spirit” (Spoiler: In the Bible, Satan does not take shape as an actual “bad” person until the New Testament). In fact, modern Christianity’s impression of the “Devil” is shaped by conflating Hellenized mythology with a literary tradition rooted in Dante’s Inferno and accompanying spooks and superstitions going back thousands of years. Whether Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, Scientologist, Atheist or Agnostic, we’ve spent a lifetime with these predominant icons and clichés. (Resource: Prof. Bart D. Erhman, “Heaven & Hell”).

So Here’s THE PROBLEM: The current level of fear and outrage is:

(1) Unjust, imposing and irrational.

(2) Disproportionate when taken into account a lifetime of harmful Christian propaganda, anti-gay preaching and political advocacy.

(3) Historically inaccurate concerning the existence of “Hell” and who should be scared of going there.

Think I’m overreacting?

Examples:

Institutionalized Homophobia (rhetoric + policy)

Anti-Gay Ministers In Life And Death: Bishop Eddie Long And Rev. Bernice King

Black, gay and Christian, Marylanders struggle with Conflicts

Harlem pastor: 'Obama has released the homo demons on the black man'

Joel Olsteen: Homosexuality is “Not God’s Best”

Bishop Brandon Porter: Gays “Perverted & Lost...The Church of God in Christ Convocation appears like a ‘coming out party’ for members of the gay community.”

Kim Burrell: “That perverted homosexual spirit is a spirit of delusion & confusion and has deceived many men & women, and it has caused a strain on the body of Christ”

Falwell Suggests Gays to Blame for 9-11 Attacks

Pope Francis Blames The Devil For Sexual Abuse By Catholic Church

Pope Francis: Gay People Not Welcome in Clergy

Pope Francis Blames The Devil For Sexual Abuse By Catholic Church

The Pope and Gay People: Nothing’s Changed

The Catholic church silently lobbied against a suicide prevention hotline in the US because it included LGBT resources

Mormon church prohibits Children of LGBT parents to be baptized

Catholic Charity Ends Adoptions Rather Than Place Kid With Same-Sex Couple

I Was a Religious Zealot That Hurt People-Coming Out as Gay: A Former Conversion Therapy Leader Is Apologizing to the LGBTQ Community

The above short list chronicles a consistent, literal, demonization of LGBTQ people, contempt for their gender presentation, objectification of their bodies/sexuality and a coordinated pollution of media and culture over the last 50+ years by clergy since integration and Civil Rights legislation. Basically terrorism. Popes, Bishops, Pastors, Evangelists, Politicians, Television hosts, US Presidents, Camp Leaders, Teachers, Singers & Entertainers, Coaches, Athletes and Christians of all types all around the world have confused and confounded these issues, suppressed dissent, and confidently lied about LGBT people-including fellow Queer Christians with impunity for generations (i.e. “thou shall not bear false witness against they neighbor” Ex. 23:1-3). Christian majority viewpoints about “laws” and “nature” have run the table in discussions about LGBTQ people in society-so much that we collectively must first consider their religious views in all discussions and the specter of Christian approval -at best or Christian condescension -at worst. That is Christian (and straight) privilege. People are tired of this undue deference to religious opinions.

That is what is so deliciously bothersome about Lil Nas X being loud, proud and “in your face” about his sexuality. If for just a moment, he not only disrupts the American hetero-patriarchy but specifically the Black hetero-patriarchy, the so-called “Black Church Industrial Complex”, Neo-Christian Fascism and a mostly uneducated (and/or miseducated) public concerning Ancient Near East and European history, superstitions-and (by extension) White Supremacy. To round up: people are losing their minds because the victim decided to speak out against his victimizer.

Additionally, on some level I believe people are mad at him being just twenty years old, out and FREE as a self-assured, affirming & affirmed QUEER Black male entertainer with money and fame in the PRIME of his life. We’ve never, or rarely, seen that before in a Black man in the music business and popular culture. But that’s just too bad for them. With my own eyes I’ve watched straight people, friends, Christians, enjoy their sexuality from their elementary youth to adolescence, up and through college and later marriages, often times independently of their spouses (repeatedly). Meanwhile Queer/Gay/SGL/LGBTQ people are expected to put their lives on hold while the ‘blessed’ straight people run around exploring premarital/post-marital/extra-marital sex, love and affection, unbound & un-convicted by their “sin” or God...only to proudly rebrand themselves later in life as a good, moral “wholesome Christian” via the ‘sacred’ institution of marriage with no questions asked.

Inequality defined.

For Lil Nas X, everything about the society we've created for him in the last 100+ years (re: links above) has explicitly been designed for his life not to be his own. According to these and other Christians (see above), his identity is essentially supposed to be an endless rat fuck of internal confusion, suicide-ideation, depression, long-suffering, faux masculinity, heterosexism, groveling towards heaven, respectability politics, failed prayer and supplication to a heteronormative earthly and celestial hierarchy unbothered in affording LGBT people like him a healthy, sane human development. It’s almost as if the Conservative establishment (Black included) needs Lil Nas X to be like others before him: “private”, mysteriously single, suicidal, suspiciously straight or worse, dead of HIV/AIDS ...anything but driving down the street enjoying his youth as a Black Queer artist and man. So they mad about that?

Well those days are over.

-Rogiérs is a writer, international recording artist, performer and indie label manager with 25+ years in the music industry. He also directs Black Nonbelievers of DC, a non-profit org affiliated with the AHA supporting Black skeptics, Atheists, Agnostics & Humanists. He holds a B.A. in Music Business & Mgmt and a M.A. in Global Entertainment & Music Business from Berklee College of Music and Berklee Valencia, Spain. www.FibbyMusic.net Twitter/IG: @Rogiers1

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theorynexus · 5 years ago

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Double Fives are first, today-- or two together-arranged, 55, I should say.

Also, we’re at Meat 30. It would seem Jake, Karkat, and Dave are spending time together, this time.

Oh gosh... I hope Karkat wasn’t made to endure that, considering he supposedly only ever left his house once per year, even if that might be a hyperbole. @w@ His interests and Jake’s are strongly opposed on that from, it would seem. Thus, it might have been bad for deal-making, for reasons of souring Karkat’s mood; regardless, let’s see whether their other interests might align, or some non-detrimental arrangement (for Karkat, but hopefully for Jake too) might be found between them.

Ouch. On the other hand, at least Karkat seems to have (likely) become more comfortable with outward signs of his blood’s color. I doubt he would have failed to realize that it likely gives that impression, even if he originally intended it to be a sign of his closeness with Dave. He almost certainly would have semi-paranoid-ly weighed the pros and cons for his emotional well-being and/or all other consequences involved, and only come to the decision that the suit was acceptable for him to wear after deciding both connotations were acceptable.

Honestly, all things considered, Jake is very much correct. Considering the boost from all his rungs on the escheladder, there’s no way his physical capabilities should be that bad. ... Though Jake’s estimates probably would be wrong for any other sort of being that was traveling with him. I don’t think his expectations are probably all that well gauged to the individuals in his company. It’s not that I think poorly of his intelligence, mind you. It’s just that Jake can be... rather oblivious, sometimes, if memory serves.

Yeah, his judgment is totally based on his own experience. Still, though, even coated in like 5 layers of fur, Karkat shouldn’t be that worn out. At least, from a world-building perspective, this doesn’t contradict the established rule that-- oh, wait, that was ghosts changing to fit the person’s perceptions, not God Tier players’ appearances, wasn’t it? Hmmm.

Yes. Karkat’s diplomatic skills are impeccable. There is absolutely nobody that can beat this guy when it comes to maintaining good relationships and reputations among the important powers of the world--- nobody!

I would suspect that Alt!Calliope is being petty, here, but I think it’s just Karkat being so tired that his coordination has dropped a bit. (Also, this is honestly rather cute, and I appreciate the opportunity to giggle at it.)

Frack, Dave is good at bringing things up in the most awkward way possible. Also, that Karkat only estimates himself as being able to beat 99% of all humans in a “threshecution threshing match” is both quite comical and somewhat sad. ._. One Percent is a whole lot of people.

***facepalms with the greatest of groans*** SHE REALLY SHOULD FRICKING NOT!!! (Internet freedom for all!) That said: GAH, Dave, are you trying to sabotage Karkat’s chances, here? On the other hand: Maybe this propensity for blunt, careless words is one of the reasons that he decided he didn’t want to run for President, himself. If so, good on him, I guess, for knowing himself that well.

( I will say, though, that that was honestly a nice segue, despite the fact that he sortof botched the lead-up to this via his rudeness. Karkat gets a pass, though, because everyone knows he’s crude, and that’s part of the appeal.)

The real question is: Are these campaign dollars as in a certain allocated amount that is allowed for each candidate, or money which was donated to the campaign by those who support them and/or Dave/Karkat? That is a pretty important distinction, politically. Not that either will likely be addressed and/or matter directly to the outcome of the race, probably. Oh, and those adds sound incredibly silly. I am not 100% sure that they will actually in all likelihood be effective, but they sure do sound comic-(sans)-ical. On the other hand: Jake seems to be trying to mentally suppress what’s happening to him, probably due to his feelings toward Jane. Welp. :|

This is a very complicated issue, and for the sake of not offending either side, I shall choose to remain silent on the real world matter at hand, here. On the other hand, I love the way that Karkat is just like, “SHUT UP, ALREADY.” XD

Reminds me of Caliborn. Indeed, that is definitely the reason why such committees are actually put into place (other than the compelling economic reasons incentives). Doesn’t mean that they actually succeed in doing so perfectly, however. It just makes it a grey “I guess maybe they were involved,” regardless of whether the person actually suggested such adds ought go into effect or not. Buuuuut... I’m going to refrain from pushing my promised non-commentary further than that-- and only did comment with this because of its relevance to Jake’s thought process.

It seems that Karkat agrees with my assessment of this matter. Also, Alt!Calliope sure is quite sassy, compared to the grim and highly reserved person I thought she was. I wonder if it’s because she’s been watching essentially television for eons in order to properly understand humanity+maybe the trolls or whatever, or if it’s because she’s doing it on accident, as was my initial guess/impression, as related earlier in my liveblogs.

That’s not the point, Dave. The point is that, for one, it probably makes the audience think of you as irresponsible; secondly, it wastes the most precious resource in politics: the citizens’ limited attention spans; finally, it may actually make the two of you come off as being condescending and/or not having any actual idea what you’re talking about, which would be absolutely horrible for your chances, come election time. While campaigns can indeed turn around in the latter months of election season, first impressions are also very important!

That is a very interesting point/question. And very ironic for him to ask; not that Dave actually can’t be properly understood through his layers of irony-- but rather, while he does indeed have a talent for that, his other qualities obscure it so badly as to make it seem quite unremarkable and hidden. And there Dave goes again, saying “thats basically true [sic.]”. Magnificent. ***will not touch the matter of how straight-forward Dirk is***

... Man. Hopefully, this will serve as a lesson to the both of them. Jake’s reaction is so bloody on the point, though. @w@

I do honestly appreciate that too. Wow, though, he is being surprisingly civil and respectful as a result of this. It shouldn’t honestly be a surprise, considering who Jake is. It’s just... wow. I really appreciate the breath of fresh air.

Yeeeeesss!!!~ <3 I love everything about this that follows! While he can be quite oblivious at times, I have always thought that Jake’s intelligence was top-notch, and I quite appreciate his flexing it, as well as that wonderfully noted breath of FREEDOM whizzing into his sails!

Boooooo!!!~ I really quite appreciate the correct and excellent display of entomological knowledge, here, but DANG, if Dirk isn’t a slimy piece of garbage, sometimes! I mean, my gosh, the sociopathic logic, here. It’s horrific! As for Jake: I am very proud of him, and appreciate his very appropriate question. Everyone should ask the qualities that politicians bring to the table, policy-wise, and their (+ dis-)advantages--- not just how charismatic they are. Of course, such a statement is stating the obvious. ‘s still good to see it in practice. ... Wow, I really love Alt!Calliope’s sass. So much.

HECK YES! :’D

***grooooaaan***

FINALLY, CERTAINTY!!!

Aside from his lack of attraction for her, which says nothing of importance, I do in fact agree with Karkat, here. This is essentially the equivalent of the moment when the United States switched to the Constitution, and the country absolutely needed a Washington. If Adams had actually been elected, instead of getting the second-highest sum of votes, then both the contry and the entire world could have turned out quite differently. I, too, do believe that Crocker could be reasonably said to have a fair chance at acting as a President who doesn’t really shake things up too terribly, and actually manages to set a perfectly fine, perhaps above average standard for Presidents to come. There are, however, certain points in history which require great leaders if things are going to pan out well in the long-term. Crocker just presents far too many potential problems while not offering enough in the way of positives for me to give a strong endorsement of her, despite my desire to see a female president eventually take office in the United States’ equivalent of the station she and Karkat are competing over.

(SUPPORT KARKAT FOR HIS BETTER APPRECIATION OF FUNDAMENTAL PHILOSOPHICAL ORDERS OF IMPORTANCE.)

Yeeeeaaaahhh... She was already quite twisted up (read: pained) inside during the session as a result of her concern for maintaining appearances and manipulating peoples’ perceptions of her, unless my memory is horrible in this particular act of dredging up long-ago readings’ implications, so I could certainly see that growing to be a problem as she grew up. I’d sortof hoped that that would cease to be so much of an issue, after their session was won, considering the rewards involved/gained as a result of that. :/

... Yeah, that is a good deal of whiplash. I am honestly pained.

Dangit, I was so swept up in my spiel about the direct political consequences of that decision/strategy that I forgot to emphasize the very obvious danger of it actually alienating Jake from her!

***sobs*** I am so proud of him! (Though this is not exactly the best reason for choosing one’s political decisions, I can definitely get behind the idea of him striving for independence from that manipulative cur.)

What Dave said, but less profanity-laced! Also: Am I incorrect in remembering that God Tier players past a certain Tier are able to wield any weapon they desire, regardless of whether they have a Kind Abstratus of the appropriate sort in their strife specibus? That could become relevant, some time in the near future.

#Homestuck Spoilers #Homestuck Liveblog #Homestuck Epilogue #Political Theory #Homestuck Analysis

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my-mystic-messenger · 8 years ago

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Mystic Slice of Life: Ep. 1

Mystic Slice of Life is a project me and a friend - who as of now wishes to remain anonymous - will be working on together. It will focus mainly on the relationships between the characters of Mystic Messenger as opposed to the relationships they have to their significant others. Of course those will play certain roles as well, but they will be minor. It is something that hasn’t really been done before and something we wanted to explore further. What do these people do while they aren’t online? What happened in their past and what will happen in their future? All of that shall be explored.

Fandom: Mystic Messenger Rating: General Warnings: None Categories: platonic Relationships: Jumin/Zen Word count: 1900

MC’s mentioned Masterlist

“I can’t believe I agreed to this”, Zen mumbled to himself, trailing off as he looked at himself in the mirror. He turned to every side, looking at himself from every angle. Despite his body doing everything in its power to reject the ridiculous costume he’d been put into, Zen attempted to remain positive about it. “Even as a damn furball I still look good!” It was a feeble attempt. The actor was supposed to be a model for one of Jumin’s cat projects and the corporate heir insisted he dress up as a cat. A cat.

Zen let out a flustered sigh as he adjusted the cat ears that adorned his head. Although he’d tried everything humanly imaginable to get himself excited, the prospect of being photographed dressed like he was left him feeling uncomfortable. Needless to say that the actor was hesitant. The very thought of these animals sent him into a sneezing mess but Jumin was prepared. He’d made sure there was enough allergy medication on set to start a pharmacy of his own.

This didn’t stop Zen from having small sniffles although it did stop any swelling around his eyes and kept his skin free of red patches. “He better appreciate me”, Zen muttered to himself as he paced around the room. Even though it was time for him to go out to the set, he couldn’t bring himself to. “I’m putting my name on the line for him!”

It was in that moment that Jumin knocked at the door of the changing room, not waiting for a reply before stepping in. Zen was being tardy and the shoot hadn't even begun. "If anything it is me putting my name on the line for you, but let us not focus on such semantics", Jumin said to announce himself. Zen's expression soured immediately as he heard Jumin's aloof statement, the tone that always seemed to rile up the young man. “I didn’t say come in.”

"You are late, Zen, and every minute you decide to stall I have to pay for." The words were spoken without mean intent. To Jumin it was merely stating certain facts in order to hurry the process up. However, it was rather obvious that Zen seemed unamused by the corporate's words. Still, as much as the actor wanted to prattle off petty insults and rebuttals he straightened up to look towards the door, "Of course, I apologize for the delay”, Zen replied curtly.

"I do not understand where your issue lies, Zen. The costume has an impeccable fit and your fans most certainly won't be disappointed." It was true, however silly some people might think the costume, the fit was perfect. It hugged Zen's body in all the right places and the cat ears and tail added a charm that appealed to girls as well as Jumin. Not that the way he was holding his chin and smiling at Zen's outfit in appreciation did anything to make the situation any less awkward.

If the color in Zen's face could have gotten any more pale, it would have. He was almost terrified at Jumin's seemingly lusty gaze, the kind that a man would give to a beautiful woman passing by. "C-could you not look at me like that? You're creeping me out!" Jumin rolled his eyes, huffing at the other man’s remark.

"I am not looking at you, but the costume you are wearing. I was trying to imagine how it would be possible to remodel it. I would love to see Madeleine in it", Jumin explained bluntly, letting his hand fall from his face to fold behind his back. Letting out a soft shudder Zen hurried past to leave the room, "This is the only time I'll ever do anything like this for you, understand?" He took a deep breath, put on a sparkling smile, and walked onto the set.

Jumin frowned a little, perplexed at Zen’s behaviour. He refrained from commenting on the other man’s obviously irritable tone of voice. While he had no understanding as to why the job was such a hardship for Zen, everyone in the RFA - especially their respective partners - had blown up Jumin’s private messenger, reminding him time and time again to be polite and tone down the arrogance. Apparently the job was 'degrading enough as it is' and didn't need Jumin's commentary to make matters worse.

While he’d refused to understand why anyone would call him arrogant, Madeleine had begged him to be a little more understanding so naturally he would try his best. In an attempt to mend the tension, Jumin stepped up to Zen. "Thank you, Zen", he spoke up as the lighting was adjusted. "I appreciate your cooperation. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." It was a an attempt at offering a truce for the duration of the shoot.

Zen hesitated momentarily as Jumin changed his tone. This wasn't the response he’d expected from his rival. "You're welcome. What's with you? I don't see you as the type to act nice in front of others just to make yourself look good." Grabbing the tail that hung from his backside he held it to his person as he subconsciously wanted to keep it as far away from Jumin as possible thinking the man may try to reach for it at some point.

Jumin merely shrugged. "Call it a fleeting moment of compassion", he explained, an actual smile curling about his lips. "That and the influence of the people that have recently entered and thereby enriched our lives. Despite being grown men the two of us are ever evolving. We still have a long way to go, but I'm attempting to make the effort and take a step towards you, as you took one towards me. Now enough of such things. We are here to work and I have a schedule to keep up with."

Zen simply nodded as he was taken back by the sincerity of other man’s words. Had Madeleine really affected Jumin that much? She had asked him to try to understand this man and get along with him but it seemed to be harder for the actor to bite back his tongue. "She better be glad that I like her”, he grumbled under his breath before walking to towards the photographers. Zen waited for any instructions or last minute touch-ups to his face and upon seeing Jaehee standing behind the crew he waved to the familiar face.

Jumin frowned when he followed Zen’s gaze only to see his Assistant standing in between the crew members. He distinctly remembered giving her a lot of tasks to make sure that she would not be on set, for both his and Zen's sake. It was a precaution, an attempt at stopping her from taking unauthorized photos that might end up in the wrong hands; namely Saeyoung’s. He didn't put it past him to hack Jaehee's phone for those photos to have his strange spam bot post them somewhere or sell them.

The moment Zen waved she was interupted of her daydream and before she could return the greeting she felt a familiar presence approach her. Jumin walked up to Jaehee, frown in place and arms crossed over his chest. At least she had the decency to look ashamed. "Why are you here, Assistant Kang?" Scrambling to compose herself, she handed him the clipboard in her hands along with a pen, "Apologies, Mr. Han. I simply came by to get you to sign a few documents”, she replied quickly.

“I need to send those out before the end of today. I have a lot of work to do so if you could place a signature here." She pointed towards a dotted line. Jumin bit his tongue not to reply, knowing full well why she'd come and his signature most certainly not being it. He took the pen and signed all the documents she'd given him and purposefully ignored the glances she kept throwing the actor’s way. Maybe they should find someone for Jaehee as well?

Zen had a girlfriend, Yoosung too, Luciel - no, Saeyoung - was soon to be engaged, if Jumin was right in his behaviour analysis of the hacker, and he himself had only recently gotten married. Meanwhile Jaehee still seemed hung up on a man she would quite probably never have. It was a little miserable, Jumin realized as he thought about it. "Assistant Kang, why don't you take next week off", he suggested while signing.

"Yes!" She exclaimed loudly which fostered the attention of the people around them. Clearing her throat she spoke in a more composed manner, "I will accept the time off if you will allow it. There are many things around the house that I have neglected. Are you sure next week would be ideal? The deadline for two contracts is next Friday." Jumin nodded. "I am certain. I can handle the workload by myself. Otherwise I'll just ask my wife to assist me.”

"Take the time off and use it to take care of personal matters." Jaehee bowed towards him, "Thank you, Mr. Han. I will get going and try to prepare as much as possible before this week ends." As soon as she straightened up, she felt a bit odd. It wasn't like Jumin to do willingly offer vacation time but she decided not to press her luck and have him change his mind. Stealing a few last glances of Zen, she hurried off to return to the office.

Meanwhile, Zen was still posing in front of the cameras but an audible claim of disbelief would be heard as the photographer instructed him to emulate a cat licking it's paw, "You want me to do what?!" It was those words that greeted Jumin upon his return behind the camera. He let out an exasperated sigh. Actors could be so problematic and irrational. "Zen, don't make this any more complicated than it needs to be. Be a cat."

Zen shot a glare at the man but all that ran through his head was the sweet-natured pleads of Jumin's wife for him to try his best to suck it up and go with the flow. He closed his eyes as he let in a deep breath. Upon opening them he smiled that smile that he swore could shatter cameras before doing as he was told. "Wow! Perfect! How about giving us a few cat sounds? Here kitty, kitty!" If there were ever a time he wanted to murder Jumin Han in cold blood, it would have been that moment...

Or so he thought...

Jumin: The photoshoot was very successful.

Wouldn't you agree? Yoosung★:

Jaehee: It's just as magnificent as I thought it would be. 707: Can I play with this kitty?

Macy: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Saeran: Can I please leave this chat, Saeyoung? 707: But this is so much fun!

Saeran has left the chatroom Madeleine has entered the chatroom Madeleine: It's...interesting. Darling, is that really the final concept? Jumin: Oh this? No, my father rejected the whole concept. He thought of it as too cartoonish. Zen, you have to come in tomorrow again. We'll re-shoot the entire thing. ZEN: I'd like to apologize in advance, Maddy. I'm going to strangle your husband tonight. TAKE IT DOWN, TRUST FUND JERK. AND IM NOT DOING THAT AGAIN.

He did.

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johnchiarello · 5 years ago

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Acts 5

ACTS 5 Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. https://youtu.be/e3_HgRrIVis Acts 5 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/3-16-17-acts-5.zip ON VIDEO- .Mark Scott . Carolyn Vaughn .Sandusky- Innocent? .Church as community .Some sold all .Solomon’s porch .Why Deacons? .Why lie? .CNN special- on Jesus- yeah- ‘fake news’ .Gift of miracles break forth- again .Stop preaching Jesus! .No way! .Angels on assignment .2nd Mile? [I think] .Trump tweet .Nixon- Watergate .Media .4ht estate . ‘Judges can do no wrong’! .Really? .They once ruled Black people are ‘less than’ White people

NEW [past links- verses below. I also added a note at the end of the entire post- about Trump] Just a few notes- I’ll add my commentary on this chapter below. By this time in the early Christian movement- we have seen how Peter and the apostles have already been warned not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus. And Peter continues to practice ‘civil disobedience’ and obeys God- rather than men. The council throws Peter into jail- and the angel of the Lord sets him free- Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, Acts 5:18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. Acts 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, He is told to go ‘preach the words of this life’. Acts 5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. And sure enough- Peter goes back to the temple and preaches Christ- Acts 5:25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. When the religious leaders get word- they go and bring Peter- gently- before their court- Acts 5:26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. Peter once again preaches strongly ‘Jesus has been ordained of God- he is the Messiah- and you killed him’- Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. Yes- Peter’s pattern is rough. But in previous experiences- the people ask ‘what shall we do’? This time they want to kill him- Acts 5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. Why the difference now? They also say ‘are you trying to hold us accountable for this man’s Blood’- Acts 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. The Sadducees were the ruling sect at this time- the high priest was a Sadducee- Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, Despite the miracles and wonders still being done in the name of Jesus- they are now worried about the actual injustice itself- done in the criminal proceeding- that executed Christ. We must remember that from the simple standpoint of the law- there was corruption and criminality in the execution of Christ on the Cross. We read in the gospels how they had false witnesses- and even Pilate himself said Jesus was an innocent man- 59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, Matt. 26 Now- imagine the pressure on those who were a part of this. The Sadducees are actually worried about this preacher- this simple fisherman- going around in the power of the Spirt- healing the sick- raising the dead [later on in Acts] and then telling everyone ‘you killed an innocent man’. Yes- we as believers understand why this happened- he died for us. But from the religious leaders standpoint- they are thinking ‘yeah- we killed an innocent man- unjustly- and we hoped it would fade from the scene- but if Peter keeps bringing it up- we too might be held accountable’. I think that might be why these ‘hearers’ wanted to kill Peter. As the chapter closes- Gamaliel- a respected teacher of the law- and having a famous student under him by the name of Saul- stands up and saves the lives of Peter and his men. The Pharisees did believe in the supernatural elements of God. The Sadducees did not. And in the midst of this whole debate- they are not too willing to side with the Sadducees- in the attack against this new sect- Especially being this ‘new sect’ seems to be operating in all of these supernatural gifts- which the Pharisees themselves believe in. So yes- just like in our day- there are bias’s involved. So Gamaliel tells the council ‘wait- before we do something to these men that we might later regret- remember- there have been other movements- and followers of those men. Yet- they came to nothing in the end’- Acts 5:34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; Acts 5:35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. Acts 5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. Acts 5:37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. ‘Therefore- if we simply leave this new movement alone- if it’s not of God- it too will fail. But if it is of God- well we don’t want to find ourselves fighting against God- do we’? Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. Wise advice indeed. At the end of the chapter- they beat them- and let them go- Acts 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And the apostles praise God that they were found ‘worthy to suffer shame for his name’- Acts 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. Ok- Those are some of the high points I hit on in today’s video. My old commentary on this chapter will cover the rest [Below] I encourage you to read thru the book of Acts- as well as the other studies I’m currently doing. And mediate on the Word of God. Try and enter into the context of the time- see how there were real dynamics going on- things that people today also deal with. There were many things at play- that caused people to not want to admit that Jesus was alive- and his disciples were going around proving it by the miraculous signs that were being done. Do we too have ulterior motives for why we- in our day- also look for reasons to deny the message of Christ? Are all atheists sincere in their unbelief? Or are there other reasons why the deniers of Jesus- actually deny him? Is it because they also do want to give an account for their actions? [sins] Yes- for the Sadducees- if this Jesus was really alive- then indeed- Peter was ‘bringing upon them the Blood of this innocent man’- In more ways than one. PAST LINKS [verses below] Here are my past teachings that relate to today’s video ‘Acts 5’. https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/14/mark-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/acts/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/ News link [stuff I mentioned about local politics] http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2017/02/28/council-votes-disqualify-scott-mayoral-candidate/98479374/

(739) ACTS 5 – As the word spreads rapidly, all the surrounding towns bring the sick and vexed to lie in the streets. Even the possibility of Peters shadow passing over them for healing is hoped for. Notice the charismatic reality of this early church. I do realize the many reasoning’s that intelligent people use to explain the miracles as limited to the Apostolic period, but for the most part we see a supernatural church in Acts as well as thru out the epistles and well into the first few centuries of Christianity. The 20th century story of Pentecostalism and the awakenings just prior, seem to show the reality of a supernatural church existing alongside a theological one! There is much proof to the orthodoxy and giftings of the church all thru out scripture and church history. Peters shadow healed people, how can we explain this away? [p.s. Phillip, who is not an Apostle, will also perform miracles. Just thru this in for those who teach the Apostles were the only miracle workers!] Now, the immediate response of the high priest and religious leaders was ‘if we don’t do something about this, their movement will gain momentum’. They imprison Peter and the Apostles. An angel appears and frees them and tells them ‘go back to the temple and speak the words of this life’. When the authorities realize what has happened they once again warn them about using Jesus name in their ministry. They even say ‘do you intend to bring this mans blood upon us’. Basically Peter says ‘yes’. Peter has been ‘putting it in their face’ ever since Pentecost. He has blamed BOTH the nation of Israel and her leadership for the death of Christ. He does not worry about offending them! During this time some priests become believers. The majority of them do not. Why? What has happened is common among movements. When an initial movement starts up, there is always the question of ‘is it from God or not’? A few years back the church went thru a renewal movement. Some referred to it as ‘the Toronto blessing’ ‘the laughing revival’ and other names. You had those who were 100 % against it and those 100 % for it. Who was right? Well, to a degree both of them! The point is there were some things that were needing rebuke, but to throw it all out was wrong. The defenders appealed to Jonathan Edwards’s writings and how during the first great awakening he experienced many of the same manifestations as the Toronto movement. Edwards left quite a bit of room for God being present in the religious emotions of the people. The critics were offended that the revival guys were appealing to Edwards and they would appeal to other stuff Edwards wrote in concern over the religious affections. You also had the same manifestations a century later under the second great awakening. The revivals in Kentucky had laughter and ‘strange barking’ and other weird stuff. The point is you always have a response to a religious movement. Once the battle lines are drawn, it is very hard to switch sides. In this chapter we see Gamaliel, a very respected Pharisee, stand up for the Apostles and say ‘lets give them some room, others before them rose up and gained a following, they all passed on. If this work is of God you can’t stop it, if it’s of men it will fail’. There was some breaking thru to the religious mind that was taking place in the elite religious thinkers of the day. After all, Peter has been quoting Psalms and Joel in ways that were confounding the religious thinkers. Don’t forget, Peter is an uneducated fisherman. Jesus deposited some stuff in his men that was way beyond the basic understanding of the day. Some ‘thinkers’ and intellectuals were humble enough to listen, most were not! [parts] SUNDAY- 2-19-17 Fatima [2nd mile] https://youtu.be/YcfnxpqOOo4 Fatima [2nd mile] https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/2-19-17-fatima-2nd-mile.zip NOTE- I’m not sure if I will keep doing a daily journal type post. As of today I hit most of the spots I wanted to catch on video. I hope to do at least one more post walking over the G.W. bridge. But I did journal every day for one week- and I’ll see how it goes from here. ON VIDEO- .Herodians .2nd mile .Sin unto death I went to the Mass at Our Lady of Fatima- The church I went to as a kid. Turned the camera on right at the end- then walked down Kennedy Blvd. – a walk I did many times as a kid. I talked about some of the verses that the Priest shared- and elaborated a bit on ‘the 2nd mile’. I always liked that scripture- and compared it to the law versus grace. I also mentioned the passage from Corinthians about the body being the temple of the Holy Spirit. All stuff I taught before- but felt it was good to mention them again [past teaching- verses below] PAST TEACHING [Stuff I taught before that relates- verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ . The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times. Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered. They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule. Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community. This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century. A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls. The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes- Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along. I did read up this week- and basically had it right. The earliest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D. These manuscripts went back about 1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the Old testament- and some complete books. The only book missing was Esther. So- this was indeed a very significant find for scholars. But the Scrolls also contain some of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so this too was significant. There were Jews at the time of the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of Christ]. These are referred to as Herodian’s in the bible. Some wanted a revolution to rid Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this group]. Some thought if they returned to a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the Pharisees. And some took more of a political compromise- these were the Sadducees. Eventually a war with Rome would be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he went to Rome and wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are very valuable to scholars]. NOTE- In time I’ll try and cover how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement]. Frankly- there is a lot of confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church had some type of plot to keep certain books out]. Or stories about how the Church taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her. Actually- we read in the gospels that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of life- And Jesus had a ministry to the down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women- And if true- it would not demean her in any way- That’s how this tradition more than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure. So a few years back the Church officially said ‘we don’t know’. Ok- Plot? [parts]

VERSES- Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, Acts 5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Acts 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Acts 5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. Acts 5:6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. Acts 5:7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. Acts 5:8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Acts 5:9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Acts 5:10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. Acts 5:11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. Acts 5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. Acts 5:13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. Acts 5:14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) Acts 5:15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. Acts 5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one. Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, Acts 5:18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. Acts 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Acts 5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. Acts 5:21 And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. Acts 5:22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told, Acts 5:23 Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within. Acts 5:24 Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Acts 5:25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. Acts 5:26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. Acts 5:27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Acts 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. Acts 5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. Acts 5:34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; Acts 5:35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. Acts 5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. Acts 5:37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. Acts 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Acts 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Luke 12:1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations LATE NOTE- I made the video- post- the other day. As I type this- the news broke that there were indeed trump associates [campaign folk] who were ‘tapped’. Now- to some this is a surprise- even in the media [though they are now saying ‘But Obama did not do it’!]. Why should it no be a surprise? Because the media already ‘leaked’ this fact. How? The reason General Flynn stepped down- was because the media reported on an actual fact- that he had contact with the Russians- and they knew this because our intelligence agencies leaked the fact that they had actual surveillance on it. Which is simply the fact they did it- at least with Flynn. It’s also possible that they actually ‘surveilled’ Trump. Ok- if this is true [which today some reports in the media say it is] then Trump was partiality right. I only get into this issue to simply show how we are manipulated. For instance- if the congressional committee now has actual evidence that Trump- an/or- his team were ‘surveilled’ then that’s the opposite of what the media has been reporting. When director Comey [FBI] says ‘I have not seen any evidence’ that’s actually political speak- meaning- it might be there- but I personally have not ‘seen it’. Now- I actually do not care about it- but this is a classic example of media manipulation. Months ago- the media told us themselves- that Trump associates were picked up thru surveillance [Flynn]. Probably thru FISA warrants on Russians. But the head of the committee looking at it [Nunes] said today that some of what he has now seen seems to show that some of the surveillance had nothing to do with Russia- and it ‘puzzles’ him. Why should it ‘puzzle’ anyone to think that intelligence people [CIA- FBI] could ‘do wrong’? Why should it puzzle anyone that judges could do ‘wrong things’? Why should anyone that reads/watches the news be surprised that Trump associates were possibly ‘wire tapped’? Because the media themselves broke the story- when they reported the leaks from the intelligence agencies months ago- that told us this. The New York Times ran an article a few weeks ago that said people who work for the intelligence agencies gathered- and purposefully leaked information about this. Yes- the New York Times reported this. The main story is this- if in fact former intelligence people both gathered- and leaked information on American citizens- info they obtained- even if it was ‘incidental’- that is a crime. There are now questions about ‘incidental’- meaning- did people basically target Trump and his campaign – because they had the power to do so? It’s possible that they did. Do our intelligence people ever lie about this? Yes- James Clapper lied to congress- in public about NSA data collection. Yes- he lied- to congress- under oath. How do we know this? Because he later admitted it. Part of ‘intelligence’ involves the collecting of data- secretly. And part of those who collect it- lie. Because that’s part of so called ‘intelligence’ [I’m referring to our agencies]. We find corruption in all humans- whether they be presidents- media- Republicans- Democrats- it’s in ‘their nature’. I see the ‘spin’- I just heard Susan Rice say ‘to my knowledge no ORDERS were ever given to do this’ [ break the law]. Of course- no ORDERS are ever given [officially]. In the end- there probably were indeed former ‘Obama’ people- working for the agencies- that did wrong- illegal stuff. That’s what trump said at the start. Politics is brutal- and to think that intelligence officials would never lie about it- Well just ask James Clapper- he was the ‘head’- and he lied- to congress. As I watch the evening news [3-22-17] The ‘new spin’ is ‘How dare the chairman [Nunes] reveal this to Trump’- Huh? Yes- the story is not ‘wow- we found out that Trump- and his people were surveilled’. No- the story is ‘Trump is in collusion with the republican chairman of the committee- yes- because the chairman told Trump about the surveillance that was collected on him- incidentally’. The spin never stops. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/22/trump-team-communications-captured-by-intelligence-community-surveillance-nunes-says.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/devin-nunes-trump-communications/ http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/devin-nunes-donald-trump-surveillance-obama-236366

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Acts 3

Acts 4

Sunday sermon

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happymetalgirl · 7 years ago

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My 50 Favorite Metal Songs of 2017

50. Kreator – Satan Is Real

Despite the corny lyrics, the song is some catchy well-produced mid-tempo thrash, and the key shift near the end has repeatedly brought me to a sprint despite being deep into exhaustion on many a run.

49. Boris – Memento Mori

“Memento Mori” is one of the more ethereal moments on the already ascendant Dear, and it’s a great moment in Boris’ massive career. The vocal melody that slowly floats across the song is what lifts the song to its emotive height.

48. Dead Cross – Bela Lugosi’s Dead

One of the album’s stylistic outliers, the song’s low register vocal melody and its brooding tom-heavy drum beat make it strange, not really in the same trashy hardcore punk field of the rest of the album, but also immersive. It’s one of the more unique metal songs of the year.

47. Full of Hell – Gnawed Flesh

On an album already full of pummeling deathgrind with a few noisy/industrial experimental moments, what makes “Gnawed Flesh” standout after seven tracks of extreme blast beat battery and scathing shrieks of agony is the breakdown (not like a metalcore breakdown) that finishes the song with the “Man will fail, man shall always fail” line bellowed from the bottom of the throat increasingly more slowly and sustained increasingly longer.

46. Project 86 – Dead Man’s Switch

I much brighter moment in contrast to “Gnawed Flesh”, “Dead Man’s Switch” finds Project 86 spicing up some traditional post-hardcore with a glorious pairing of guitars and vocals on a fist-raising melody backed by sufficiently hard drum pounding.

45. Sepultura – Phantom Self

With a super groovy drum/palm-muted rhythm to give the song some tasty low-end verses and an orchestral backing to tastefully accent the melody and bring the song to its chaotic climactic end rather than overblow the whole track, Sepultura deliver one of their most unique tracks on Machine Messiah and one that petty naysayers of the Max-free lineup should be pointed toward for reference.

44. Motionless in White – Queen for Queen

Not a lyrical masterpiece, though certainly better than some other tracks on Graveyard Shift in that department, “Queen for Queen” is the crunchy production and industrial flair of the album at its best, underneath infectious vocal melodies.

43. Integrity – 7 Reece Mews

The most epic song on the album, “7 Reece Mews” captures the hard gruffness of the rest of the album, but swirls it into a building, elevated piece proggier than most of the other songs on the album.

42. Mastodon – Toe to Toes

Going for a sound closer to prog rock than what they’re known for, Mastodon capture a feeling of alleviated sorrow and enlightenment on “Toe to Toes” with shiny guitar leads and revealing, emotive vocal melodies. It sounds like a song that the band actually had a specific idea for and took their time to make, which I feel like they didn’t do so thoroughly on Emperor of Sand.

41. Suffocation �� Clarity Through Deprivation

It was hard to pick from all the songs on Suffocation’s new album, but I eventually kept coming back to the excellent opener, straightforward technically crushing death metal finished off with a seamless breakdown that offers no breath and delivers the final punches with finesse.

40. Fit for and Autopsy – Heads Will Hang

The Gojira influence the band marinated in during this album’s sessions is all over this track. The pick slide incorporated into the song’s main groovy riff, the groove of the riff itself, and the melodically shouted vocals all point to the band jamming Magma all last year and this year, and it made for a great song.

39. Deadspace – Nostalgia, Like a Plague, She Rapes Me to Sleep

At the finishing climax of a short but rewarding group of songs to land on a split album this year, Deadspace show all their cards with vocal features of unique styles for ambient black metal, well combined and structured with an increasingly heavy instrumental that focuses more on playing to the song’s progress and on trying to impress any hardened hearts.

38. Trivium – The Sin and the Sentence

Trivium came back harder and more convincingly with gruff vocals again on The Sin and the Sentence, and the title track has continued to grow on me as it’s helped me through some tough workouts. I wish the whole album was as similar in feeling to Shogun and In Waves as this track was. Matt’s more clinical style of clean singing certainly helps this song’s hook, and his growls are a much-welcomed treat.

37. Soen – Orison

Soen, in their notably Tool-familiar style, routed Opeth a little bit with a smooth, proggy head-banger absent of any harsh vocals, sounding like what I wish more of Sorceress sounded like. Right from the palm-muted intro, the song gives hint of the motion it soon induces, addictively sing-able the entire way through.

36. Chelsea Wolfe – Vex

One of her more directly menacing albums, the featured growls on “Vex” alongside Chelsea’s chilling voice embody so boldly that darkness she resides so comfortably in, and in more metallic fashion than ever before. Chelsea sounds like she’s remorselessly summoning the very collapse of the sky on this song, with the growls seemingly a representation of the extreme of the darkness in her tearing its way out of her.

35. Sólstafir – Hula

“Hula” was hardly the heaviest number on Berdreyminn, in fact probably the most mellow, more post-rock than post-metal. But like good post-rock is supposed to (and hasn’t for a long time for the most part), “Hula” builds on its ethereal foundation to a soul-opening vocal crescendo.

34. Thantifaxath – Cursed Numbers

Thantifaxath turned up the experimentation on the closing track of their new EP, venturing deeper with the first drum punch into abysmal black metal psychosis. Whether the band are going willingly or falling further into the void is hard to tell as the song only gets more and more chaotic.

33. Oceano – Dark Prophecy

I kept coming back to this song in particular for the unabashed deathcore brutality it condenses so well. Well-produced, eviscerating guitars and merciless drumming tear through this song from beginning to end, but what wraps it all up so nicely is the ridiculously guttural vocals so dense they slow the pace of even the fiery instrumentation beneath.

32. Power Trip – Waiting Around to Die

The clinical execution with which Power Trip helped lift thrash into 2017 with exactly what lifted it up in the 80’s is astounding, and the precision with which they channel Kill 'Em All-era Metallica on this song especially deserves immense respect.

31. Cannibal Corpse – Code of the Slashers

“Code of the Slashers” is an exhibition of Cannibal Corpse doing what they do best, at their best, making crushing, classic death metal infectious and groovy. Cannibal Corpse let the sustain of the guitars do the talking for the most part on the intro, but they sound like the battle howl of a massive army more than plain talking, and the Corpsegrinder’s echoed refrain seals the catchiness factor expectedly bloodily.

30. Marilyn Manson – Saturnalia

Manson went a little bit proggy on this one, and with quite a rewarding pay-off. While he’s known for his weird musicality and shocking presence, Manson has kept himself controlled and tenacious even through his roughest eras, and on this song he flies under the radar for a more brooding Mechanical Animals-ish set of verses and choruses in his signature low moaning vocals, which eventually explode into a captivating climax with the swell of the metal underneath the ambient rock above it with Manson screaming high with applaudable execution.

29. Slaughter to Prevail – Chronic Slaughter

Deathcore song of the year for me, Slaughter to Prevail came through with the hunger a newer band should have driving them from within. The band bring not only the high bar of brutality of the deathcore flavor to the table, but they shuffle it up with unique structure and dynamic changes across the song, which at a couple of sections sounds much like Nergal came on board for a few seconds.

28. Alestorm – Fucked with an Anchor

I had to give Alestorm a spot for this song. The upfront stupid tongue-in-cheek humor that I wouldn’t want any differently from them is exponentiated with the goofy folky pirate metal on this song and God am I glad for it.

27. Goatwhore – Those Who Denied God’s Will

Goatwhore close Vengeful Ascension with quite an epic and apocalyptic blackened death/thrash sandstorm of a song, made so grand by the majestic guitar coverage and the thundering drums that tear through everything on the ground below.

26. Code Orange – Kill the Creator

Despite being a short and perhaps awkwardly structured track, “Kill the Creator” captures the hardcore, the industrial, the massiveness, the primal savagery, and the unpredictability of Code Orange in an entirely unforgettable and uncopiable manner, whose big choral-backed ending is quite justified.

25. Primitive Man – My Will

It was so hard to pick a track out of this album so I just went with the first one that told me right from the get go how uneasy, unempathetic, and ceaselessly powerful and flattening this whole album is. Not to say the other songs are far below this or that they’re just an indistinguishable mush of sludge and death, but the album is really meant to be experienced as a whole, an unapologetic session of soul abuse, with the physical aspect conveyed by the music. Someone should slip this into a sex playlist and document the mood change because if any song breaks up, crushes, and grinds into crumbs immediately any romance, love, intimacy, and joy, it’s this one.

24. Havok – Intention to Deceive

From the news anchor reel sample to the intricate thrash riffing and all-too-relevant commentary, Havok do Megadeth much better than Dave Mustaine himself has for years now. With lyrics striking at the purposefully manipulative and pathetically inept media shitstorm, Havok make light of a huge part of what has fueled the toxicity of the political climate so nastily as of late: media outlets becoming less veiled in their partisan agenda-pushing and their ego-patting of their constituents, be it Fox News for Trump or CNN against him. It’s not new, and Havok isn’t trying to start any kind of revolution with this song, but damn is it good to hear thrash taking a well-played stab at the relevant and incredibly infuriating flaws of the political climate of today, and in classic thrash fashion so expertly performed.

23. Zeal and Ardor – Children’s Summon

One of the most exciting songs from one of the year’s most exciting bands, I only wish this song was produced to better accentuate the volume dynamic and the punchiness the song plays on. But despite it needing a remaster, each choral chant paired with pounding bass drum and the black metal sections make for an incredible listen.

22. Converge – A Single Tear

Kicking off The Dusk in Us with no presumptions and no pretense, “A Single Tear” eventually turns unexpectedly but expectedly sorrowful and wraps up a raw expression of loss beautifully. No less furious in its vulnerability than its directness, the song captures multiple facets of Converge’s sound at their most potent.

21. Persefone – Aathma

The epic four-part drama that closes their 2017 album, Persefone turn their prog, their scope, and their immensity all up to eleven for the title piece, bringing a sense of satisfying completion to the album and standing alone magnificently. Moving through numerous sections of varying intensity the band sound as spiritually elevated as they need to for the song.

20. Mutoid Man – Bone Chain

Mutoid Man make a perfect, delicious blend of thrash, stoner metal, and hard rock that I cannot think of coming from anywhere else and “Bone Chain” captures them at some of their most sludgy. The tasty groove of the low palm muted riff and the exquisitely clean vocals make this song in particular.

19. Stone Sour – Fabuless

So much of Hydrograd and so much of this song were very overcharted territory for Stone Sour, but “Fabuless” flows through the more hard-rocking and metallic vein as one of the band’s best with that goddamn infectious chorus chant. The band’s pushing no boundaries at all, but it sure as hell doesn’t matter during “Fabuless”.

18. Converge – I Can Tell You About Pain

Wrestling wild guitar feedback into a noisy hardcore beatdown with syncopated drumbeats bashing in the head of anything nearby, Converge put another violently emotional confessional to tape brilliantly.

17. Elder – Sanctuary

Like Soen with Opeth, Elder ended up doing Mastodon better than Mastodon with Reflections of a Floating World and the mental space-odyssey-ish vibe is captured best on the opening “Sanctuary” with the echoed grand vocal melodies and big guitar lines stringing together a series of proggy sludge.

16. Zeal and Ardor – Blood in the River

The more I worked out with this song playing the more I came to appreciate it for the variety of musical elements that pepper its loud, soulfully sung refrain. Like much of the album, I think a remaster would benefit the song’s dynamic shifts, but it is not unenjoyable as it is due to its current mastering.

15. Full of Hell – Trumpeting Ecstasy

Definitely the most unique song on the album, the title track’s eerie muffled and distorted riff is made sweetly poisonous by the inviting female singing atop it, only priming the song to bit hard when the screams of deathgrind burst in.

14. Decapitated – Kill the Cult

With a death metal riff so groovy and double bass so precise, Decapitated brought themselves out of a bit of a dry spell with this song especially on their new album. I remember getting to my post about Anticult late and the next day seeing the ominous, unsavory, and still-unclear news about the band’s accusation of kidnapping and rape in Washington. I wish I didn’t have to mention it because it’s just a terrible situation no matter what the reality of it is. At this point, from what I know about it, it could go either way really and while the band still have their presumed innocence I think their work this year is worth praising. I’m not saying I side with them or against them in their legal battle, nor that I condone or excuse at all what they’re accused of having done. It should go without saying really, regardless of the future legal outcome, this praise is solely for the art and the artistic facet of the band members, not their personal decisions outside their music that have essentially zero connection to their art.

13. Code Orange – Real

Of all the applause Code Orange have been getting, I don’t see enough of it directed toward “Real”. The band tells everyone right upfront: “This is real now, motherfucker.” But really, Code Orange kick up some straight-up aggressive hardcore/metalcore of all shapes and sizes through the instrumental shifts on this song, each section full of chest-pounding accents, grinding guitar leads, and impassioned gruff vocals that prove that Code Orange is not just a front, they’re not playing around, they’re not a façade. Code Orange is real. Motherfucker.

12. Chelsea Wolfe – 16 Psyche

Chelsea Wolfe made metal bend to her whim on Hiss Spun, and especially on “16 Psyche”, playing the heaviness and creepiness of the music to her strengths and her stylistic comfortabilities and experiences. Not that she at all dismembered or butchered the metal instrumentation, the main motifs of the verses and chorus are sticky and swooning, and sufficiently massive.

11. Trivium – The Revanchist

This is how Trivium fans have wanted the band to sound, yet I don’t see anyone talking about this song either. It’s epic, it’s chorus is so sing-along worthy and it’s melody is so emboldening, I’m surprised people are talking more about “Endless Night” than this song, it sounds like it could have landed on Ascendency. This is what everyone has wanted from Trivium since Vengeance Falls and they definitely delivered, so appreciate it.

10. Igorrr – Ieud

Igorrr are no less weird on this song than they are all over their discography, but the passionate vocal opening on here finds Igorrr tugging shockingly well at the heartstrings, staying true to their eccentric metal creed. It’s Igorrr as strange as they usually are, but catching the ears off guard and giving a truly emotional performance.

9. Igorrr – Homous

That’s right, two in a row. I put this song ahead of “Ieud” because it kind of captures the essence of Igorrr a little more completely. With accordion opening the song at allegretto, the blast beats that follow somehow feel right at home, which highlights Igorrr’s strength. While other metal bands will often try to throw a sax or a xylophone in for eccentricity’s sake or prog points, Igorrr show themselves to be masters of eccentricity and blending unlikely musical elements into something enjoyable. Their not-so-serious approach is something that speaks personally to me in a way that I can understand being off-putting, but damn how can anyone get worked up over this not in a positive way? Horns, 8-bit music, slappy bass, blast beats, wacky shrieking, somehow cohesively enjoyable, it’s astonishing. Also, this is the song with a chicken.

8. Mutoid Man – Bandages

The ballad that closes the album, “Bandages” is another surprise, kind of. I just didn’t expect a ballad at all from this band, nor for it to be so goddamn heart-wrenching. Good ol’ Chelsea Wolfe makes another great feature providing the vocal harmonies that help take the song to the upper echelons during the heavy choruses. This song is just so cathartic, every time, I cannot deny it a sing-along ever.

7. Septicflesh – Portrait of a Headless Man

Septicflesh have mastered the symphonic alchemy of death metal and this song, with a fucking violin section riff that’s impossible to not headbang to, is the pinnacle of their progress. Brutal and grandiose, the band’s symphonic approach is anything but cheesy and they sacrifice no deadliness of their metal to make room for it, rather welcoming in the sounds of strings and horns to season it.

6. Emmure – Smokey

I never thought I’d ever think this highly of Emmure but “Smokey” is a powerful, violent kickback from a band reinvigorated with new blood and new ideas. I almost picked “Flag of the Beast” for this spot, but Frankie sounds so fucking animalistic on this track, the guitars and drums synch with such pounding force, and it really sounds nothing like Emmure at the end of the day. It really is more of a somewhat djenty powerviolence song than anything else, almost like Code Orange even. The band really elevated their game on this song and they definitely turned a lot of heads back around to see what’s next, mine included.

5. Death from Above – Caught Up

The most anthemic chorus of the year definitely goes to Death from Above for “Caught Up”, I cannot stop listening to this song. There’s not much to say about the Muse-y hard rock and sort of metal edge across the song. It’s just catchy as all hell, and not in the annoying way.

4. Pallbearer – A Plea for Understanding

Definitely the most heartfelt catharsis of the year for me came out of this song. Finishing off Pallbearer’s Heartless, “A Plea for Understanding” opens up its soul from the very title and in a fashion unheard of before from the band, continues baring it more and more, with the ending declaring “these feelings are real, all I ask, won’t you please understand” in the most goosebump-inducing melody that can bring any sludge/stoner metal fan with anything resembling a heart to tears.

3. Full of Hell – At the Cauldron’s Bottom

“At the Cauldron’s Bottom” captures everything that makes Full of Hell incredible, plus more. With a vicious deathgrind intro full of blast beats and terrifying screaming, the song eventually gives way to a simple but apocalyptic riff over pummeling drums that close the song perfectly like the gates of heaven to the damned world as it engulfs in flames while the guitar fades to let the drums beat away all on their own. It’s a chilling and magnificent moment for Full of Hell and such a fucking incredible song.

2. Code Orange – Forever

Code Orange have had a hell of a year and “Forever” has been a big part of it, helping get them on the map early last year, deservedly so. The song blasts through violently from the start and only gets bloodier with each transition between sections. It’s a perfect mission statement for the fierce young band who made their own wave of hype with no bullshit and no shortcuts, just hard work. The song feels like being beaten with a tree branch, then a baseball bat, then a chainsaw on fire. Jami Morgan’s hardcore vocals are more visceral and more esophageally painful than most and his bandmates thrash with finesse, but also unbridled rage. Not a damn second of the song is dull.

1. Havok – F.P.C.

Like with “Intention to Deceive”, I’m so glad to hear Havok bringing the thrash attitude to current phenomena, “F.P.C.” being a resounding middle finger to the speech policing of political correctness. While it’s mostly people on the less far “left” end of political issues usually complaining about political correctness, Havok attack the weak ideology of the core motivation of toxic political correctness rather than resorting to MAGA-pandering (and I’m pretty sure the band don’t even lean that way politically either). Referring to it boldly as a social disease, seizing free speech, Havok hit at an important issue impeding social progress and being weaponized to silence opposition and do nothing but drive deeper the many wedges between political camps. Musically, too, the song is a political thrash masterclass that gives Dave Mustaine a run for his money.

#list #music list #metal songs #best songs of 2017 #metal #heavy metal #thrash #deathcore #death metal #black metal #groove metal #technical death metal #songs of 2017 #2017 #metalcore #doom metal #sludge metal #favorite songs

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johnchiarello · 6 years ago

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Acts 5

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Acts 3

Acts 4

Sunday sermon 4-29-18

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johnchiarello · 8 years ago

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Acts 5

ACTS 5

Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:

Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

https://youtu.be/e3_HgRrIVis Acts 5

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/3-16-17-acts-5.zip

ON VIDEO-

.Mark Scott

. Carolyn Vaughn

.Sandusky- Innocent?

.Church as community

.Some sold all

.Solomon’s porch

.Why Deacons?

.Why lie?

.CNN special- on Jesus- yeah- ‘fake news’

.Gift of miracles break forth- again

.Stop preaching Jesus!

.No way!

.Angels on assignment

.2nd Mile? [I think]

.Trump tweet

.Nixon- Watergate

.Media

.4ht estate

. ‘Judges can do no wrong’!

.Really?

.They once ruled Black people are ‘less than’ White people

NEW [past links- verses below. I also added a note at the end of the entire post- about Trump]

Just a few notes- I’ll add my commentary on this chapter below.

By this time in the early Christian movement- we have seen how Peter and the apostles have already been warned not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus.

And Peter continues to practice ‘civil disobedience’ and obeys God- rather than men.

The council throws Peter into jail- and the angel of the Lord sets him free-

Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,

Acts 5:18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.

Acts 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,

He is told to go ‘preach the words of this life’.

Acts 5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

And sure enough- Peter goes back to the temple and preaches Christ-

Acts 5:25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.

When the religious leaders get word- they go and bring Peter- gently- before their court-

Acts 5:26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.

Peter once again preaches strongly ‘Jesus has been ordained of God- he is the Messiah- and you killed him’-

Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

Yes- Peter’s pattern is rough.

But in previous experiences- the people ask ‘what shall we do’?

This time they want to kill him-

Acts 5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.

Why the difference now?

They also say ‘are you trying to hold us accountable for this man’s Blood’-

Acts 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

The Sadducees were the ruling sect at this time- the high priest was a Sadducee-

Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,

Despite the miracles and wonders still being done in the name of Jesus- they are now worried about the actual injustice itself- done in the criminal proceeding- that executed Christ.

We must remember that from the simple standpoint of the law- there was corruption and criminality in the execution of Christ on the Cross.

We read in the gospels how they had false witnesses- and even Pilate himself said Jesus was an innocent man-

59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;

60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,

Matt. 26

Now- imagine the pressure on those who were a part of this.

The Sadducees are actually worried about this preacher- this simple fisherman- going around in the power of the Spirt- healing the sick- raising the dead [later on in Acts] and then telling everyone ‘you killed an innocent man’.

Yes- we as believers understand why this happened- he died for us.

But from the religious leaders standpoint- they are thinking ‘yeah- we killed an innocent man- unjustly- and we hoped it would fade from the scene- but if Peter keeps bringing it up- we too might be held accountable’.

I think that might be why these ‘hearers’ wanted to kill Peter.

As the chapter closes- Gamaliel- a respected teacher of the law- and having a famous student under him by the name of Saul- stands up and saves the lives of Peter and his men.

The Pharisees did believe in the supernatural elements of God.

The Sadducees did not.

And in the midst of this whole debate- they are not too willing to side with the Sadducees- in the attack against this new sect-

Especially being this ‘new sect’ seems to be operating in all of these supernatural gifts- which the Pharisees themselves believe in.

So yes- just like in our day- there are bias’s involved.

So Gamaliel tells the council ‘wait- before we do something to these men that we might later regret- remember- there have been other movements- and followers of those men.

Yet- they came to nothing in the end’-

Acts 5:34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;

Acts 5:35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.

Acts 5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.

Acts 5:37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.

‘Therefore- if we simply leave this new movement alone- if it’s not of God- it too will fail.

But if it is of God- well we don’t want to find ourselves fighting against God- do we’?

Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:

Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

Wise advice indeed.

At the end of the chapter- they beat them- and let them go-

Acts 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

And the apostles praise God that they were found ‘worthy to suffer shame for his name’-

Acts 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

Ok- Those are some of the high points I hit on in today’s video.

My old commentary on this chapter will cover the rest [Below]

I encourage you to read thru the book of Acts- as well as the other studies I’m currently doing.

And mediate on the Word of God.

Try and enter into the context of the time- see how there were real dynamics going on- things that people today also deal with.

There were many things at play- that caused people to not want to admit that Jesus was alive- and his disciples were going around proving it by the miraculous signs that were being done.

Do we too have ulterior motives for why we- in our day- also look for reasons to deny the message of Christ?

Are all atheists sincere in their unbelief?

Or are there other reasons why the deniers of Jesus- actually deny him?

Is it because they also do want to give an account for their actions? [sins]

Yes- for the Sadducees- if this Jesus was really alive- then indeed- Peter was ‘bringing upon them the Blood of this innocent man’-

In more ways than one.

PAST LINKS [verses below]

Here are my past teachings that relate to today’s video ‘Acts 5’.

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/14/mark-4/

https://ccoutreach87.com/acts/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/

News link [stuff I mentioned about local politics]

http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2017/02/28/council-votes-disqualify-scott-mayoral-candidate/98479374/

[parts]

SUNDAY- 2-19-17

Fatima [2nd mile]

https://youtu.be/YcfnxpqOOo4 Fatima [2nd mile]

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/2-19-17-fatima-2nd-mile.zip

NOTE- I’m not sure if I will keep doing a daily journal type post. As of today I hit most of the spots I wanted to catch on video. I hope to do at least one more post walking over the G.W. bridge. But I did journal every day for one week- and I’ll see how it goes from here.

ON VIDEO-

.Herodians

.2nd mile

.Sin unto death

I went to the Mass at Our Lady of Fatima- The church I went to as a kid.

Turned the camera on right at the end- then walked down Kennedy Blvd. - a walk I did many times as a kid.

I talked about some of the verses that the Priest shared- and elaborated a bit on ‘the 2nd mile’.

I always liked that scripture- and compared it to the law versus grace.

I also mentioned the passage from Corinthians about the body being the temple of the Holy Spirit. All stuff I taught before- but felt it was good to mention them again [past teaching- verses below]

PAST TEACHING [Stuff I taught before that relates- verses below]

https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/

. The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times.

Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.

They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.

Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.

This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century.

A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls.

The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes-

Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along.

I did read up this week- and basically had it right.

The earliest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D.

These manuscripts went back about 1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the Old testament- and some complete books.

The only book missing was Esther.

So- this was indeed a very significant find for scholars.

But the Scrolls also contain some of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so this too was significant.

There were Jews at the time of the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of Christ].

These are referred to as Herodian’s in the bible.

Some wanted a revolution to rid Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this group].

Some thought if they returned to a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the Pharisees.

And some took more of a political compromise- these were the Sadducees.

Eventually a war with Rome would be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he went to Rome and wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are very valuable to scholars].

NOTE- In time I’ll try and cover how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement].

Frankly- there is a lot of confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church had some type of plot to keep certain books out].

Or stories about how the Church taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her.

Actually- we read in the gospels that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of life-

And Jesus had a ministry to the down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women-

And if true- it would not demean her in any way-

That’s how this tradition more than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure.

So a few years back the Church officially said ‘we don’t know’.

Ok- Plot?

[parts]

VERSES-

Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

Acts 5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Acts 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

Acts 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

Acts 5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

Acts 5:6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

Acts 5:7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

Acts 5:8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

Acts 5:9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

Acts 5:10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

Acts 5:11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

Acts 5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.

Acts 5:13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.

Acts 5:14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

Acts 5:15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.

Acts 5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,

Acts 5:18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.

Acts 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,

Acts 5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

Acts 5:21 And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

Acts 5:22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told,

Acts 5:23 Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.

Acts 5:24 Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.

Acts 5:25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.

Acts 5:26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.

Acts 5:27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,

Acts 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.