#Living a happy and fulfilling life during the fall of the Roman Empire

[thatdisasterauthor]

Here's a thing I did during the worst of my depression that I'm going to start doing again under the circumstances:

I got one of those paper pads that has undated days of the week on it and every day I would write down the things I got done. My depression was VERY good at stealing away my feeling of accomplishment, so this gave me a concrete way to see that I did do things. And I would put EVERYTHING on there. Took a shower? On there. Brushed my teeth? On there. Watched a movie? On there.

Now, I'm also going to add writing down one thing that made me happy every day.

[amunvulcan]

Fortuna (Latin: Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at least the Renaissance. The blindfolded depiction of her is still an important figure in many aspects of today's Italian culture, where the dichotomy fortuna / sfortuna (luck / unluck) plays a prominent role in everyday social life, also represented by the very common refrain "La [dea] fortuna è cieca" (latin Fortuna caeca est; "Luck [goddess] is blind").

Fortuna is often depicted with a gubernaculum (ship's rudder), a ball or Rota Fortunae (wheel of fortune, first mentioned by Cicero) and a cornucopia (horn of plenty). She might bring good or bad luck: she could be represented as veiled and blind, as in modern depictions of Lady Justice, except that Fortuna does not hold a balance. Fortuna came to represent life's capriciousness. She was also a goddess of fate: as Atrox Fortuna, she claimed the young lives of the princeps Augustus' grandsons Gaius and Lucius, prospective heirs to the Empire.[1] (In antiquity she was also known as Automatia.)[2]

Fortuna's father was said to be Jupiter and like him, she could also be bountiful (Copia). As Annonaria she protected grain supplies. June 11 was consecrated to her: on June 24 she was given cult at the festival of Fors Fortuna.[4][5] Fortuna's name seems to derive from Vortumna (she who revolves the year).[citation needed]

Roman writers disagreed whether her cult was introduced to Rome by Servius Tullius[6] or Ancus Marcius.[7] The two earliest temples mentioned in Roman Calendars were outside the city, on the right bank of the Tiber (in Italian Trastevere). The first temple dedicated to Fortuna was attributed to the Etruscan Servius Tullius, while the second is known to have been built in 293 BC as the fulfilment of a Roman promise made during later Etruscan wars.[8] The date of dedication of her temples was 24 June, or Midsummer's Day, when celebrants from Rome annually floated to the temples downstream from the city. After undisclosed rituals they then rowed back, garlanded and inebriated.[9] Also Fortuna had a temple at the Forum Boarium. Here Fortuna was twinned with the cult of Mater Matuta (the goddesses shared a festival on 11 June), and the paired temples have been revealed in the excavation beside the church of Sant'Omobono: the cults are indeed archaic in date.[10] Fortuna Primigenia of Praeneste was adopted by Romans at the end of 3rd century BC in an important cult of Fortuna Publica Populi Romani (the Official Good Luck of the Roman People) on the Quirinalis outside the Porta Collina.[11] No temple at Rome, however, rivalled the magnificence of the Praenestine sanctuary.

Fortuna's identity as personification of chance events was closely tied to virtus (strength of character). Public officials who lacked virtues invited ill-fortune on themselves and Rome: Sallust uses the infamous Catiline as illustration – "Truly, when in the place of work, idleness, in place of the spirit of measure and equity, caprice and pride invade, fortune is changed just as with morality".[12]

An oracle at the Temple of Fortuna Primigena in Praeneste used a form of divination in which a small boy picked out one of various futures that were written on oak rods. Cults to Fortuna in her many forms are attested throughout the Roman world. Dedications have been found to Fortuna Dubia (doubtful fortune), Fortuna Brevis (fickle or wayward fortune) and Fortuna Mala (bad fortune).

Fortuna is found in a variety of domestic and personal contexts. During the early Empire, an amulet from the House of Menander in Pompeii links her to the Egyptian goddess Isis, as Isis-Fortuna.[13] She is functionally related to the god Bonus Eventus,[14] who is often represented as her counterpart: both appear on amulets and intaglio engraved gems across the Roman world. In the context of the early republican period account of Coriolanus, in around 488 BC the Roman senate dedicated a temple to Fortuna on account of the services of the matrons of Rome in saving the city from destruction.[15] Evidence of Fortuna worship has been found as far north as Castlecary, Scotland[16] and an altar and statue can now be viewed at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.[17]

The earliest reference to the Wheel of Fortune, emblematic of the endless changes in life between prosperity and disaster, is from 55 BC.[18] In Seneca's tragedy Agamemnon, a chorus addresses Fortuna in terms that would remain almost proverbial, and in a high heroic ranting mode that Renaissance writers would emulate:

O Fortune, who dost bestow the throne's high boon with mocking hand, in dangerous and doubtful state thou settest the too exalted. Never have sceptres obtained calm peace or certain tenure; care on care weighs them down, and ever do fresh storms vex their souls. ... great kingdoms sink of their own weight, and Fortune gives way ‘neath the burden of herself. Sails swollen with favouring breezes fear blasts too strongly theirs; the tower which rears its head to the very clouds is beaten by rainy Auster. ... Whatever Fortune has raised on high, she lifts but to bring low. Modest estate has longer life; then happy he whoe’er, content with the common lot, with safe breeze hugs the shore, and, fearing to trust his skiff to the wider sea, with unambitious oar keeps close to land.[19]

Ovid's description is typical of Roman representations: in a letter from exile[20] he reflects ruefully on the “goddess who admits by her unsteady wheel her own fickleness; she always has its apex beneath her swaying foot.”

Fortuna did not disappear from the popular imagination with the ascendancy of Christianity.[21] Saint Augustine took a stand against her continuing presence, in the City of God: "How, therefore, is she good, who without discernment comes to both the good and to the bad?...It profits one nothing to worship her if she is truly fortune... let the bad worship her...this supposed deity".[22] In the 6th century, the Consolation of Philosophy, by statesman and philosopher Boethius, written while he faced execution, reflected the Christian theology of casus, that the apparently random and often ruinous turns of Fortune's Wheel are in fact both inevitable and providential, that even the most coincidental events are part of God's hidden plan which one should not resist or try to change. Fortuna, then, was a servant of God,[23] and events, individual decisions, the influence of the stars were all merely vehicles of Divine Will. In succeeding generations Boethius' Consolation was required reading for scholars and students. Fortune crept back into popular acceptance, with a new iconographic trait, "two-faced Fortune", Fortuna bifrons; such depictions continue into the 15th century.[24]

The ubiquitous image of the Wheel of Fortune found throughout the Middle Ages and beyond was a direct legacy of the second book of Boethius's Consolation. The Wheel appears in many renditions from tiny miniatures in manuscripts to huge stained glass windows in cathedrals, such as at Amiens. Lady Fortune is usually represented as larger than life to underscore her importance. The wheel characteristically has four shelves, or stages of life, with four human figures, usually labeled on the left regnabo (I shall reign), on the top regno (I reign) and is usually crowned, descending on the right regnavi (I have reigned) and the lowly figure on the bottom is marked sum sine regno (I have no kingdom). Medieval representations of Fortune emphasize her duality and instability, such as two faces side by side like Janus; one face smiling the other frowning; half the face white the other black; she may be blindfolded but without scales, blind to justice. She was associated with the cornucopia, ship's rudder, the ball and the wheel. The cornucopia is where plenty flows from, the Helmsman's rudder steers fate, the globe symbolizes chance (who gets good or bad luck), and the wheel symbolizes that luck, good or bad, never lasts.

Fortuna lightly balances the

orb

of sovereignty between thumb and finger in a Dutch painting of

ca

1530 (

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg

)

Fortune would have many influences in cultural works throughout the Middle Ages. In Le Roman de la Rose, Fortune frustrates the hopes of a lover who has been helped by a personified character "Reason". In Dante's Inferno (vii.67-96), Virgil explains the nature of Fortune, both a devil and a ministering angel, subservient to God. Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium ("The Fortunes of Famous Men"), used by John Lydgate to compose his Fall of Princes, tells of many where the turn of Fortune's wheel brought those most high to disaster, and Boccaccio essay De remedii dell'una e dell'altra Fortuna, depends upon Boethius for the double nature of Fortuna. Fortune makes her appearance in Carmina Burana (see image). The Christianized Lady Fortune is not autonomous: illustrations for Boccaccio's Remedii show Fortuna enthroned in a triumphal car with reins that lead to heaven.[25]

Fortuna also appears in chapter 25 of Machiavelli's The Prince, in which he says Fortune only rules one half of men's fate, the other half being of their own will. Machiavelli reminds the reader that Fortune is a woman, that she favours a strong, ambitious hand, and that she favours the more aggressive and bold young man than a timid elder. Monteverdi's opera L'incoronazione di Poppea features Fortuna, contrasted with the goddess Virtue. Even Shakespeare was no stranger to Lady Fortune:

When in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes I all alone beweep my outcast state...

Ignatius J Reilly, the protagonist in the famous John Kennedy Toole novel A Confederacy of Dunces, identifies Fortuna as the agent of change in his life. A verbose, preposterous medievalist, Ignatius is of the mindset that he does not belong in the world and that his numerous failings are the work of some higher power. He continually refers to Fortuna as having spun him downwards on her wheel of luck, as in “Oh, Fortuna, you degenerate wanton!”

In astrology the term Pars Fortuna represents a mathematical point in the zodiac derived by the longitudinal positions of the Sun, Moon and Ascendant (Rising sign) in the birth chart of an individual. It represents an especially beneficial point in the horoscopic chart. In Arabic astrology, this and similar points are called Arabian Parts.

Al-Biruni (973 – 1048), an 11th-century mathematician, astronomer, and scholar, who was the greatest proponent of this system of prediction, listed a total of 97 Arabic Parts, which were widely used for astrological consultations.

Aspects[edit]

Lady Fortune in a

Boccaccio

manuscript

Sculpture of Fortuna,

Vienna

La Fortune

by

Charles Samuel

(1894), Collection

King Baudouin Foundation

Fortuna Annonaria brought the luck of the harvest

Fortuna Belli the fortune of war

Fortuna Primigenia directed the fortune of a firstborn child at the moment of birth

Fortuna Virilis ("Luck in men"), a woman's luck in marriage[26]

Fortuna Redux brought one safely home

Fortuna Respiciens the fortune of the provider

Fortuna Muliebris the luck of a woman.

Fortuna Victrix brought victory in battle

Fortuna Augusta the fortune of the emperor[27]

Fortuna Balnearis the fortune of the baths.[27]

Fortuna Conservatrix the fortune of the Preserver[28]

Fortuna Equestris fortune of the Knights.[28]

Fortuna Huiusce Diei fortune of the present day.[28]

Fortuna Obsequens fortune of indulgence.[28]

Fortuna Privata fortune of the private individual.[28]

Fortuna Publica fortune of the people.[28]

Fortuna Romana fortune of Rome.[28]

Fortuna Virgo fortune of the virgin.[28]

Fortuna Faitrix the fortune of life

Pars Fortuna

Fortuna Barbata the fortune of adolescents becoming adults[29]

[five-miles-over]

Why I Think ‘Gladiator’’s Commodus is a Better Character than Maximus

(Disclaimer: this schpiel is not intended to offend anyone, or any group of people. This is just a personal opinion I have based on the characters of the film, Gladiator. This has nothing to do with the historical Commodus. If you happen to disagree with some of the ideas here or might like to add on, I’m always happy to hear it. I welcome constructive criticism! Also SPOILER ALERT!!!)

So, without further ado...here are some of the reasons why I think Commodus is a better character than Maximus. 

Tag list: @beautifulyoungprospect @captain-el-writes @jokerflecker @cruellytearful @dreamingmaria @cherrymoon75​

(Note: When I talk about being a “strong character”, I don’t necessarily mean physical strength (I think I’ll leave that to your imaginations.) I think of strength as in emotional endurance and resilience combined with inherent good qualities present in both men. In addition, I factored in the ability to ‘win over’ the audience.)

1) Commodus is Self-Motivated

For this, I’d look no further than the scene in the first few moments of Gladiator, where Maximus checks on his camp and finds Commodus practicing with his sword. Aside from a little fanservice, I think this scene gives insight onto one of the ways Commodus acts upon his ambition. We (the audience) don’t see his father standing nearby or telling him to practice, thereby we can assume Commodus creates his own practice sessions. 

And by the looks of his fighting (I’ve only tried fencing for a few weeks so pardon my ignorance), Commodus looks like he is actually interested in perfecting his performance. He genuinely wants to be a good fighter, knowing how important it would be in the future.

Compared to Commodus, Maximus constantly needs other people to stir him into action - be it his wife and son, Proximo, or Lucilla and the senators. Even when he’s put in the gladiatorial area, Maximus initially refuses to fight and has to be goaded. This is possibly the consequence of being surrounded by people all his life - he constantly needs somebody else to be the catalyst for his actions. 

Commodus on the other hand knew he had to rely on none other but himself in order to get his things done. 

2) He knows himself....and he stands up for himself

“You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues. Wisdom, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance. As I read the list I knew I had none of them. But I have other virtues, father. Ambition, that can be a virtue when it drives us to excel. Resourcefulness. Courage. Perhaps not on the battlefield but there are many forms of courage. Devotion, to my family, to you. But none of my virtues were on your list.” 

For the record, ambition is a virtue when it drives us to excel. And in my opinion, it is a quality that Maximus lacks. I would rather trust a ruler like Commodus who had a clear vision of everything he wanted from his time on the throne, as opposed to someone simply thrusted the power of the empire with no intent (or possible idea) on how to rule. 

The ability of Commodus to advocate for his own virtues makes him look better than someone like Maximus, who constantly needs someone to remind him of his abilities. While someone could call Maximus ‘humble’ for refusing to brag about himself, it is Commodus’s ability to fight for his rights that enables him to fulfill his lifelong ambition.

And it is only when Maximus decides to stand up instead of letting someone else control his life that he is finally able to get his revenge. By deciding to win the crowd using his ‘mercy’ and ‘defiance of killing’, Maximus is able to get closer to winning over Commodus.

Moreover, Commodus’s ability to fight relentlessly to get what (he believes) he deserves is something desirable in today’s day and age. People like someone who knows what they have to offer, and isn’t afraid to use their talents to get what they want.

3) He appears to have learnt from his father on how not to raise a child

When it comes to being a father-figure, he appears to have learnt some of the things what not to do based on his experience with Marcus Aurelius. For proof of this, watch how he interacts with his nephew, Lucius. He plays with Lucius, reads to him, and encourages him. (”A gladiator? A gladiator fights only for the games. Wouldn’t you rather be a great Roman warrior like Julius Caesar?”) 

He never actively neglects him or berates him, like his father did. Most of all, once he finds out that Lucilla was conspiring against him, he made sure never to speak ill about her in front of Lucius. (Proof: the ��busy little bee” monologue) Commodus wanted Lucius to have a mother he could respect, and he also knew when to separate politics from his family life. 

(Also, side note to Lucilla and the conspiring Senators: don’t you all know better than to get an innocent child involved in political schemes that could endanger him? All he had to do was shout, “Maximus, the savior of Rome!” in front of Commodus.)

4) He wasn’t afraid to call out the Senate on their bullsh*t

“I doubt many of the people eat so well as you, Gracchus. Or have so such splendid mistresses as you, Gaius.” 

Let me start with this: I admire sassiness in all its glory. And with Commodus particularly, I like the fact that he used witty retorts as a way to establish his authority in a room. It was the perfect, non-verbal method of saying ‘don’t mess with me’.

The Senate was elected to represent the Roman public, the majority of whom certainly did not fall into the aristocratic class of the Senators. 

Commodus actually had a point when he stated this flaw- throughout the film, the Senate never really did anything to help Rome. All they cared about was gossiping about Commodus’s spending habits and plotting his assassination. Honestly, I would’ve ordered the Senate to be temporarily dismissed until those guys got their act together. The Senators needed to realize that they were elected to represent the people, not their own individual interests. 

5) He shows instances of having excellent knowledge on being an emperor

For this point, I’m going to use the (deleted?) scene in which Commodus has two of his soldiers executed for lying about Maximus’s escape. 

Many viewers use this scene as a way to emphasize how cruel of an emperor Commodus seemed to be. On the contrary, Commodus shows what an emperor is supposed to do. 

To a ruler, lying is one of highest sins ever. Commodus himself explained it quite clearly in the film. “If they lie to me, they don’t respect me. If they don’t respect me, how can they ever love me?” The other point Commodus didn’t mention is, what’s the likelihood they won’t do it again? If a liar is allowed to go free, that makes the Emperor more vulnerable to further betrayal. So, to take no further chances, execution would be the correct punishment. 

On another note, public execution is by far one of the greatest ways of establishing authority by intimidation. It was the one way Commodus could tell the entire kingdom what happens to people who lie to the emperor. 

Most emperors, fictional and historical, would’ve seen this logic and followed suit during their own instances of betrayal.

Another instance is his organization of the gladiatorial games. His willingness to empathize with this particular aspect of the Roman people made him well liked among citizens - the very same citizens he is supposed to rule over as an Emperor.

6) Commodus had no allies throughout his reign...and still lived with his head held high

Being Marcus Aurelius’s only son may have gotten him the throne, but staying on the throne was all Commodus’s effort. 

This guy had no allies throughout the entire film, no ‘personal cheerleader’ to encourage him. In fact he had the total opposite. He’s been criticized and belittled all his life, while Maximus was praised all the time - even as an emperor, Commodus was belittled by every one of the Senators. They never took him seriously or even considered Commodus’s ideas to be good in any way. 

In fact, it would be plausible to say that Commodus was also his own enemy at times - fighting his conflicting urges, trying to create an identity for History to remember him by. (Should he be Commodus the Invincible or Commodus the Merciful?)

Nevertheless, he still keeps his head held high at the end of the day - never once do we see him attempt to give up the throne or drown himself in vices (like women, gambling, etc.) to try to escape from his duty as Emperor. He never lost his determination to be the best Emperor he could be. 

7) Your Hero is Only as Good as Your Villain Is

This is by far one of the most interesting parts about stories involving a Hero’s Journey archetype. Based on the types of things the villain metaphorically “throws” in the hero’s way, audience members get to see the hero’s adaptability and even the depth, or the extent, to which the hero is truly heroic (or not). 

(Side note: this gif is freaking adorable. He looks like a (big) little boy enjoying himself. I once watched this on loop for a solid five minutes.)

In Gladiator, Commodus is someone that many love to hate, but also many love to sympathize. Commodus’s desires to be a successful (and popular!) Emperor and a devoted son are things people see within themselves as well. This complex mixture results in a character that needed something as unforgivable as patricide or incestuous-looking actions in order for the filmmakers to tell the audience, “You are not supposed to be cheering for him. You’re supposed to cheer for the vanilla, goody-two-shoes guy.” 

However, with the amount of things Commodus does to seem relatable or even likable by the audience, Maximus is expected to do more or show more heroism and charisma to be really considered the ‘good guy’ of this story. It’s something that each and every viewer decides for themselves.

8) Commodus is more attractive than Maximus

Now, this is not a comparison between Joaquin Phoenix’s and Russel Crowe’s looks- I think “People” magazine can do a better job of this than me. 

(My ex-friends fawn over Maximus, I’ve found friends that think Commodus is more gorgeous...the feud never ends, folks.)

Commodus is definitely more charismatic, offering plenty more for the attentive audience member to dissect in his personality. His actions and emotions attract viewers into asking questions and even creating their own theories to understand what makes him tick. 

Maximus, on the other hand, offers nothing of that sort. His profile ends at just, “loves his family, wants to do the right thing.” This is the main reason I call his character ‘boring’ - he brings no element of mystery. With him, what you see is pretty much what you get.

So there you have it, everyone. This is why I personally appreciate Commodus as a character more than Maximus.  Sorry I made this super long; I really like analyzing movie characters. I hope you liked reading this and I would love to hear your opinions. Feel free to comment or message me directly.

[dailyaudiobible]

09/14/2020 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 15:1-18:7, Galatians 1:1-24, Psalms 58:1-11, Proverbs 23:12

Today is the 14th day of September welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I'm Brian it is a joy and an honor to be here with you today as we get fully moved into this new week that we’re…we’re working our way into and through. It is a…it is a joy to come around the Global Campfire together, hear God's word speak, hear the Scriptures spoken aloud, listen to what they say, meditate on them, think about them, invite the Holy Spirit into them and move into our day with some clarity and direction. We’re working our way through the book of Isaiah right now in the Old Testament, and then once we get to the New Testament today we will be entering a new book, another of Paul's letters, this one known as the letter to the Galatians and we’ll talk about that when we get there. But first we’re reading from the English Standard version this week. Isaiah chapters 15, 16, 17 and 18 today.

Introduction to the letter of Paul to the Galatians:

Okay. So, as we said at the beginning, we are entering some new territory today now that we are at the New Testament and we are opening the letter to the Galatians which is…is one of the foundational pieces or foundational documents that form New Testament theology, like the gospel of freedom and grace, justification through faith. These are all spoken of in this letter, but they’re spoken of for a reason. Paul is battling some controversies and reiterating what it is he’s teaching. And, once again, we have to dispel with the myth that the early church was just unbelievably harmonious and full of unity. If we could just get back to that place, we could get back to where we’re supposed to be. This has not been the story. This is not the story that’s in the New Testament as we read it and it's not the historical story. In fact…I mean here's the thing, before there was a New Testament and all of the letters that we’re reading that are the New Testament, like before they were made the New Testament, they were letters that were passed around, documents that were passed around, and the ones that we have in the New Testament, they weren’t the only writings, Christian writings about what people thought and believed and had persuasions and convictions of surrounding Jesus and how…how to live a Christian life, how to live the faith that they were being given. Over time the letters and documents that we have that make up the New Testament now, these are the ones that sort of were preserved and held in esteem, sort of rose to the top with a cohesive type of message that could be adhered to. Because at some point if like…if there's an…if God is doing a new thing and it's being documented and there is no document and people are not people of the book, but they are rather people of the experience of what they sense the Holy Spirit is doing in…in them and in their community and in the world, well then you can have people all over the map with different nuances bringing parts of their story into the mix, and there's nothing to fall back on. So, there were lots of things being said and believed about Jesus in the earliest of days. And one of the primary controversies is well documented in the New Testament and that is between Hebrew believers and Gentile believers, the ultimate question about who gets to be included. Well, this “who gets to be included” argument went on and has gone on and continues to go on until this very day. So, Paul talks about freedom and grace and justification through faith and all of these things in this letter to reiterate what it is that he is teaching. And it's not unlike what we were reading in second Corinthians, right, where he has to essentially boast, kind of defendant himself against quote unquote “super apostles”. So, let’s just understand that, but let’s also understand Galatia and where this letter is being sent to. Galatia was a province in the Roman Empire. So, Galatia’s not a city, it's a region in the Roman Empire, which is now part of a modern-day Turkey. So, in previous eras Galatians were known as Gals or Celts. And we know from…from identification in the Bible of five different churches in Galatia that were established during Paul's first missionary journey. So, there was a church in the city of Pisidia, one in Antioch, one in Iconium, one and Lystra, and one in Derbe, and Paul addresses this letter to the churches in Galatia. So, we can assume pretty safely that Paul wrote to, at least those communities. There may have been more that we don't know about. What we can deduce from this letter is that as with the church in Corinth others had come to visit these churches in Galatia and there was nuanced teachings about Jesus that Paul was not on board with. And in particular this Hebrew understanding of Jesus, the fact that Jesus was a Hebrew, that he was a Hebrew rabbi, that he commented on Torah, that his teaching was within the Jewish community, it was considered then by the Hebrew people who believed in Jesus a Hebrew thing that they were not converting away from their Judaism, they were just following Jesus teachings and how to live it out whereas Gentiles were receiving the power of the Holy Spirit, with no knowledge of the law or Torah or any of that. And, so, controversy, right? Because it’s like, who gets to…do we…are we all in? Do we get to be in. For Hebrew people this is a problem because their religion is an exclusive one that separates them from everybody else. So, to include Gentiles means to include the whole world because everybody who is not a Hebrew is a Gentile. So, they have some hurdles to overcome. And that…that never really got figured out, like not everybody was ever on board until today. And, so, there were those who visited these churches of believers in Galatia and they came and told the Galatian people that they needed to essentially convert to Judaism, they needed to follow the Hebrew customs and the practices and rituals in order to follow Jesus and that included things like male circumcision to adhere to the Mosaic law. And Paul, obviously we’ve read enough of Paul to know that that is not his position at all, and he is completely against that because in his view, Jesus has fulfilled the law. A new covenant has been initiated. And, so, there's no point in trying to live up to the old one. It's accomplished. It is finished. And now there is a new covenant that Paul is…is leading people into. And he's not happy about what people are saying. We’ll find out…we’ll find that out for ourselves. What’s not unclear…what is unclear and makes Galatians maybe a little tricky to…to date is whether or not the Jerusalem Council had already happened when Paul wrote this letter. So, like if the Jerusalem Council that we read about in the book of Acts had not happened and Paul is just like defending an issue…like he's out on the front lines of this issue, if the Jerusalem Council had already happened then Paul’s simply reiterating what had been decided and he's not happy that people are undermining what they been decided by the church. If this letter’s written before the Jerusalem Council then it’s one of the earlier writings of Paul, maybe one of the earliest Christian documents we have. Most scholars don't think that particularly. They…the consensus of scholars believe that First Thessalonians is the earliest Christian document in existence, period. Of course, we haven’t got there yet. But that's the lay of the land. Like that’s what's going on as we go into this letter. And it doesn't take too much effort for us to understand that these types of issues that are bubbling in this letter are still bubbling today. And, so, it's not too hard for us to locate our own hearts and maybe allow God to change our minds, allow…allow us to repent or for us to…to live into what we already know as true. But anyway, let's dive in. Galatians chapter 1.

Prayer:

Father we thank You for Your word and we thank You for the many complexions that it leads us into and the many different stories and even controversies that existed and that exist and for the opportunity to explore these things, wrestle with them, think about them, meditate upon them and seek understanding as we are led by Your Holy Spirit. The anchor that we have is that You have promised to lead us into all truth and so we seek. And, so, as we move into new letters, the letter to the Galatians and as we continue to move forward we invite You to lead us forward in lockstep hand-in-hand step-by-step day by day with You as You guide us in our lives. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

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And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

[singing starts] raised you up on eagles wings bore you on the breathe dawn made you to shine like the sun and held you He’s holding you in the palm of His hands [singing stops]. My sweet sister Rosie from Oklahoma this is Soaring on Eagles wings from Canada and I just want to tell you how much I love you. And I’m so proud of you that you faced your fears and was obedient to what the Lord wanted you to do and you aired that very painful part of your life so it may be it may be of help to someone else. But look what the Lord has done for you. He’s healed your mind, He’s healed your body, He’s given you this ministry to pray for our children and grandchildren, He’s given you the sweetest, gentlest spirit that comes across to all of us your DAB family and I appreciate what you do for our children. I pray for you and your children, that your relationship will be cemented in the Lord and that you will see all your children serving Jesus. Thank you for what you do. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This family loves you. We surround you with our prayers and we thank God every day for what you’re doing. Every time we think of you, we pray for you. God bless you. God keep you safe, you and your children in Jesus…

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is Sue’s from California I’m a longtime listener and first-time caller. My husband and I just celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary today. God is so good, and He’s always been a part of our family. My family desperately needs your prayers. My husband is on hospice. He has Parkinson’s disease and dementia and today it was confirmed that are 25-year-old daughter has cancer. It has spread to her pancreas and lymph nodes. It cannot be removed surgically so she will begin chemotherapy in October. My 35-year-old son has something going on in his body also, but he doesn’t want to tell me because of everything else going on. I have major depression, diabetes and something’s wrong with my colon that I’m trying to get treated. This year has been the hardest time of our lives. We have many people praying for us, and I’d like you to pray for us too. We know God has a plan and a purpose for our lives not to harm us but to prosper us. We have very strong faith and we know God is with us and will bring us through this. Some days though when it all hits the fan like today it’s hard not to feel like it will never end and is hopeless. But God is good and faithful. Thank you, DABbers for your love and prayers. This is Sue’s in California.

Hey this is Daniel in Tennessee as well but I’m gonna go by my trail name now seeing though is I’m responding to Daniel in Tennessee. So, Running Bear, which is my wife would totally enjoy me going by my trail name. She was AT Princess and she passed away three years ago and me and the kiddos have definitely experienced a lot of suffering in our lifetime and walked through a long, long, long journey. Still in that journey. But I wanted to let you know Daniel in Tennessee that we are praying for you and our heart grieves for you guys in this very long journey that is incredibly hard of watching someone that you dearly love suffer and being helpless not to able to take that away from them. We get that and we’ll definitely be praying and praying that you see God’s faithfulness and His fingerprints on your life and on the life of the community around you. And, so, I hope that not only does the word come to life in a greater way, but that you guys will be able to find rest in spite of everything. All right, blessings upon you guys.

Hi DAB family this is All the Treasures in Wyoming with a quick update on our sweet Emily. She is out of the hospital. She is…has been transferred to a long-term rehab facility to help her with all of the deficits that still remain from her having those blood clots that caused her to code and her kidneys to fail. Our family is amazed as am I, I am in awe again of God’s goodness, His faithfulness, His mercy, and just thank you all so much for praying cause I know He answered your prayers in regards to this. So, thank you so much and to God be all the glory.

Hi everybody from my Daily audible Bible family this is Carmen in Germany and I just had to call in now because, listening to Brian’s reading or his commentary this morning was like it just turned on a light, it was like bonb. You know, if you’ve ever had that just something go, wow, I mean, it’s like cut through the brain fog. And I wanted to share it with you because, I don’t know, maybe it will be helpful to somebody else. But anyway if you want to listen to what I listened to it was September 10th about 20 minutes maybe a little bit less than 20 minutes into his reading, second Corinthians, he’s talking about Paul and, you know, the endurance that he had to endure basically. But anyway, the thing that really resonated with me or hit me was that I’ve been praying so often for the wrong things. You know, usually I pray for God to make everything go away, make the pain go away, make the difficulties go away, make the, you know, burdens, whatever go away. And Brian said, you know, maybe we’re praying for the wrong things. Maybe we need to pray for strength because through all these things that we go through we…we come out stronger. And, you know, a few years ago when my husband left me I thought I was at the bottom of the pit, wherever, but anyway it’s been three years now, I haven’t seen him, he’s filed for divorce and I thought I would never get through this time but I’ve come to realize that I’m getting stronger. I have become stronger and my relationship in the Lord has become stronger. So, this was just so encouraging to hear and I’m going to be asking God for __ now for strength. I just wanted to share that. Love you guys.

Hi, DABbers this is Kara from Denver. I have a…sort of what I consider a strange prayer request. It’s for my ex Nathaniel. And we were together seven years. We had three kids, one was an abortion and the other two are with separate adoptive families. So, I know at least are doing well. But we had an extremely tumultuous relationship and we did a lot of hard drugs and he has schizophrenia. And we both have sobered up at least. This was seven years ago that we broke up. But I really just would like to lift him up. I will always love him and care about him even though that part of our lives is…is over. And I request…I asked him specifically if he wouldn’t mind if…he wouldn’t mind if I prayed for him here and he said he didn’t mind. So, I consider that really…really progress and really great. So, if you guys wouldn’t my lifting him up. He just got done with a long probation and he is just looking to start living his life. I know he’s with someone else now and I just…I just…I always, yeah, that…that’s it guys. I would just really appreciate that. Lift up Nathaniel and thank you very much. I love you all you guys so much.

Hi guys this is Grin Life from Texas my name’s Tammy and I’m the one that recently on the Prayer Wall had asked for prayer because my husband lost his job and we’ve been looking for seven months for something. But I just wanted to shout out to the Lord that, you know, they…we found something and it’s even better than what we could imagine. And in the midst of all this I was diagnosed with colon cancer stage IIIC, which is the highest stage III, and I’m undergoing chemotherapy. But God is so good. I just want to let you all know that in the midst of suffering, it’s bittersweet, God blesses you. I’ve had friends and family come from all over giving me cards, bringing me food, just loving on me because the work my husband God is out-of-state. So, he’s gone and is not here with me. But it’s okay, God is carrying me. He really does sustain you. And I just want you guys to be encouraged that whatever you’re going through whether it’s those down in the hurricane area or the fires in California and Oregon or in your financial crisis or guys that have called in and said your…your wives or children don’t know the Lord and you’re the only one serving, hang in there, fight, fight on your knees and know that God will come through. It took us seven months but we knew, we knew God would come through for us and he will for you too and just keep a smile on your face and trust that He loves you and He sees you and keep walking in righteousness and faith and love and know that you will be blessed and you will have a story and I just want to…I just want to pray for all me DAB friends and family that you would hang in there, that God would come through and speak to you somehow, someway, through the word, through a friend, in your dreams and your visions and put peace over your heart, fill you up, which…

[wisdomrays]

The Invincible Power of Faith

QUESTION: What are the greatest obstacles faced by the volunteers who wish to share with others the inspirations of their souls and the beauties of the values in which they believe?

ANSWER: Worldly desires and wishes are the greatest components for a human’s trial in this world. In societies where these components have seized individuals’ feelings and thoughts, the consequences have been many cases of oppression and suffering. Many people on the path of truth faced relentless and faithless attacks, various kinds of insults and slanders, and even assassinations and massacres; the Prophets, peace be upon them, are prime examples of this.

The first heart-rending incident took place in Prophet Adam’s home, one blessed with showers of revelation. Although he was raised in such an atmosphere, Cain murdered his brother Abel for the sake of his worldly desires. Thus, the first story began with Satan’s deception and an unending chain of deceptions followed.

According to old scriptures, Prophet David’s once downtrodden people, whom he saved from disgrace and guided to dignity (with God’s permission and grace), slandered him with adultery and murder, terrible sins even ordinary believers do not easily commit. His people forced him to swear by placing his hand on the Holy Ark and put him in a difficult situation. The Pride of Humanity faced his enemies’ slanders—such as being, may God forbid a hundred thousand times, a magician and soothsayer—by means of which they tried to prevent the truths he told to reach hearts.

Do not destroy the eternal in this world!

Similar things can happen today as well—and they will not cease to exist in the future either. It is important not to express our troubles and hand future generations a heritage of complaints. What really matters is meeting all that befalls us with resignation and not complaining about it to people; we can open up to God when places and times provide us with due privacy, but must not let anyone know about this lamentation. The sole owner of time and space is God Almighty, and to Him belongs the final decree. Interfering with the result is not of our business.

If we live with this understand, we will meet His decrees about us with appreciation.

There can be troubles from His Majesty or graces from His mercy; one must welcome them both and neither feel joyful with favors nor complain about troubles. One must not say, “What did I do that these befell me? Why do I always come up against all these sufferings, troubles, gossip, and envy?” 

If you really expect to be rewarded with some perfection in the next world, it is a sign of lacking perfection to expect perfection in terms of worldly things here. Desires like expecting applause and flattering remarks from people means going bankrupt; this is a lost investment in terms of the Hereafter. The Qur’an warns us on this issue and states,

 “You consumed in your worldly life your (share of) pure, wholesome things, and enjoyed them fully (without considering the due of the Hereafter, and so have taken in the world the reward of all your good deeds)” (al-Ahqaf 46:20). 

Therefore, one must leave to the next world all Divine favors to be enjoyed, and not consume in this world all good things God promised for the Hereafter.

The following parable conveys a meaningful lesson about this subject: The wife of a saintly person complained to her husband about their humble livelihood. She asked him to pray for them to be saved from this state. So as not to turn down his wife’s wish, that righteous person prayed about it and his prayer was accepted. All of a sudden, a golden brick appeared near them, out of nowhere. That righteous man told his wife, “Here you are. This is a brick from our would-be mansion in Paradise.” Upon this, that conscientious lady felt regret for her previous words and told her husband, “Though we are truly needy, and God willing, we will have many other bricks like this one in the Hereafter. However, I do not wish to waste in this transient realm the reward we are to receive in the eternal one. Let not a single brick of our mansion in Paradise be missing. Therefore, please pray for this brick to go back to its place.” Upon this sincere wish, that righteous person prayed again, the golden brick disappeared, and went back to its place.

The invincible power of those devoted to the truth and a lofty ideal, and who seek to have a bright future for their people again, is keeping away from worldliness, acting with a spirit of dignified contentment, and devoting themselves completely to the happiness of others. There is nothing wrong if the people who earn from trade and support the services for faith and the Qur’an seek material prosperity. However, the devoted souls who are in a position of representing their values must take a clear stance against worldliness and always act with dignified contentment against it; this is their greatest credit. As they behave with genuine indifference to worldliness, people will listen to their words attentively, welcome every matter they point out, and fulfill the duties they are supposed to do without the least hesitation.

While this is what should have been, unfortunately it seems that there is a considerable number of people who set forth with a spirit of devotion, then inclined to the world by initially saying that a bit of enjoyment will bring no harm; this led to deeper indulges, and they could not manage to straighten afterwards, and finally lost against worldliness. 

These people came one by one—and they unfortunately perished one by one. If the devoted souls are ever taken by these devilish considerations and say, “Let me also earn and live like them; let me also have a house and fortune...” this will mean ruining their credit with their own hands. Divine destiny issues a decree for their losing the blessings in their hands; they will slip and fall. Then God Almighty will remove from the scene those lifeless ones who entirely lost their spirit; and as the Qur’an states, God brings a fresh group of people who are not weary, and have never been dazzled by the world.

The way to bring haughty ones to their knees

The esteem and honor of devotedness must be protected against all odds. Like in every other virtue, the Pride of Humanity is the prime devoted one who represents the peak of this virtue. When he died and passed to the horizons of his spirit, his armor was held in pawn by a Jewish merchant, which he had given in return for an amount of barley he had taken in order to treat his guests. After his demise, Muslims realized the situation and they took back the armor from pawn.

The first caliph Abu Bakr followed in his footsteps; he had left an earthen jar to be handed to the next caliph after him. After he passed away, the trust was handed to the second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab. When they broke the jar with curiosity, the contents turned out to be the bits of money that remained after meeting the needs of his family, and a note. The note read: “The money you allocated for me was more than necessary some days. I felt ashamed against God to spend it, for it belongs to the people and should go back to the state treasury.” This message by the blessed Abu Bakr moved Umar ibn al-Khattab, who said with tearful eyes, “May God have mercy on Abu Bakr! He left such a difficult example to follow for those who remained behind.”

Umar continued his caliphate with the same understanding. He never had a throne; he always sat in the mosque and carried out his tasks from there. He did not claim to be representing the dignity of the state as a pretext for leading a life of luxury, lavishness, and pomp. On the contrary, he brought the world powers of the time into line with his modest conditions. When they were going to take over the keys of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the leaders met him in sumptuous clothes, but he rode the same mount with his slave (in turns), came with his patched clothes, and his general air was modest. As it is also plainly understood from this, the way to bring down the conceited ones of the time is effacement and modesty. This state and attitude will bury all types of conceitedness. This was the understanding of Umar ibn al-Khattab. He never cherished a thought like, “let me leave some worldly wealth for my children and grandchildren…” He entrusted his children to the faithful understanding of the blessed Companions and passed to the other world thus.

The third caliph, Uthman ibn al-Affan, was very rich. He was engaged in trade. However, he forsook the world in his heart, even if he did not necessarily forsake earning, as Bediüzzaman put it in The Seedbed of the Light. As a matter of fact, when Muslims were asked to donate to equip the army to meet the advancing Byzantine army in Tabuk, he donated hundreds of camels, together with their loads, without having the least bit of regret in his heart and purely for the sake of God’s good pleasure. Had the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, told him that he was supposed to give everything he had, he would no doubt have done so without any hesitation.

The life of the fourth caliph Ali was no different. He ruled a vast territory, one that was larger than Europe. The area of the lands he ruled, in spite of some political rivalries and strife, was large enough as to contain the Persian and Roman empires of the time. On the other hand, caliph Ali used to wear summer clothes during winter, causing him to tremble, and winter clothes during summer, causing him to sweat. When asked about the reason, he answered, “This is what I can afford with my own means.”

If this is Islam, then where are we?

Some claim today that “We are also on the path of the Righteous Caliphs,” but spend their lives in luxurious mansions in summer and winter, try to secure a fortune for their children and grandchildren, and thus misappropriate state money. It is necessary to ask them, “Who is your example? Is not a believer supposed to totally keep away from such thoughts, which normally belong to greedy pharaohs, and feel ashamed before God?”

It is my wish from God Almighty that the people devoted to a lofty ideal always retain this noble feeling of shame, that they are not taken by the temptations of this world, and that they do not let these trip them up and bring about their fall. Let them say, “We can show patience in this world, so that nothing will be missing in the next one.” 

Let the volunteers consent to suffering troubles, but not covet others’ ostentatious lives. Let them see worldly things as dirt that smear a corner of their foot. And let them pass to the next world so nobly that when they are asked in the presence of God, “What did you leave in the world?” they should be able to say, “I cannot remember anything.” The essential of our path is dignified contentment, effacement, and modesty. Other codes of conduct by the idealist souls devoted to restoring a ruined heritage will not only shake the people’s trust in them, but also cause them to lose credit in the sight of God. As seen throughout history, those who commit injustice and misappropriation will fall like Qarun (Korah) in the end, even if they appear like Prophet Aaron, peace be upon him, at the beginning.

Even if they offer a title of a great conqueror, the thought of devotedness must not be sacrificed for anything. Just as we did not possess anything when we came to this world, one must similarly pass to the next world with zero wealth; just like in the examples given above. Let those who do see those examples appreciate them; their appreciation will turn to a blessing in the Hereafter. As for those refuse to appreciate? Their non-appreciation will slam on them like a sledgehammer.

They fear not the censure of any who censure!

Many roses have been taken by thorns, and many nightingales have lamented this. And today, it falls to the heroes of noble ideals to lament. They meet slanders, condemnations, derision, intrigues, and plots... In the face of all these, it is necessary to act with the understanding voiced by a Sufi poet: “Neither the world welcomed us, nor did we expect from worldly ones; nor do we seek refuge in any door but God’s.”

It is necessary to present a stance of dignity. As Sadi Shirazi put it, “If a stray stone touches a golden bowl, neither the stone gains value, nor the bowl loses value at all.” Therefore, if you are a golden bowl, let them stone you; with God’s permission and grace, nobody will be able to harm you.

The Qur’an states that steadfast believers do not fear the censure of any who censure (al-Maedah 5:54), and shows us the attitude to be taken in such situations. On the other hand, it is necessary to know that everything that befalls us is a trial which serves as a means for further closeness to the Eternally Beloved Creator, thanks to a perspective that sees beyond apparent causes.

Without being hindered by the evil words they hear, they must focus their attention on the task they need to carry out and walk uprightly on the righteous path.

Have no doubt about it: with God’s permission and grace, they will keep serving under Divine protection and no one will be able to stop them. They must keep walking with the understanding, “Whatever it is that God ordains, it is sure to be goodness.”

[rachel-koo-grad505]

Week 3: Research and Design 2

During the lecture today, we learnt about pre historical and early type, the Scientific Revolution and the Arts and Craft movement.

Pre Historical and Early Type

Before the written language was invented, humans graphically expressed themselves through images on caves, like the Chauvet Cave in France which is 17, 000 years old, which depicts hunting and animal migrating. The first forms of type were Egyptian hieroglyphs, the ancient Egyptian writing system, from 3000 BC which used scripts that looked like logos and imagery. It was often used on stone, until they used papyrus. Phoenician (Phoenicia is an ancient civilisation located in the middle east, mostly in the area of Lebanon today) was written with cuneiform (writing system used in the ancient Middle East) symbols, that seem to be derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics. The first alphabet was the Greek alphabet that has been used since around the ninth/eighth century BC, which is derived from a Phoenician alphabet. It is the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letter for vowels and consonants.

Gutenberg Press, Scientific Revolution and Other Printing Processes

The Dark Ages:

The Dark Ages is the time period from the late 4th to the 10th century in Europe after the fall of Western Roman Empire. It was a time of economic, intellectual and cultural decline. The population of the world was decreased by one third, the human life span decreased and the Black Plague wiped out 2/3 of Europe.

Renaissance:

After the Dark Ages, art that showed thoughts/information begun to show. Philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato became popular where they created a system for logic and reasoning.

Scientific Revolution:

The Scientific Revolution began after Copernicus, and astronomer, asserted that the sun was at the centre of the Universe, not the Earth. The philosophical movement called the Enlightenment arose where philosophers questioned politics and society. Science had replaced Christianity in Europe. Enlightenment was the celebration of reason and the goals of humanity was considered to be knowledge, freedom and happiness.

Johannes Gutenberg:

Gutenberg, born in 1398 in Germany, invented a movable mechanized type which helped the development of the renaissance, the reformation and the scientific revolution. Nicholas Jenson also helped Gutenberg develop type. Other important people who helped develop the renaissance with type/books were Aldus Pius Manutius, Francesco Griffo and Albrecht Durer.

Printing Techniques History:

Wood Block (200)

Movable Type (1040)

Printing Press (1440)

Etching (1515)

Relief Printing (1690)

Chromo/Lithography (1837)

Offset (1875)

Silkscreen Printing (1911)

Linotype (1941)

Phototypesetting (1949)

Inkjet (1950)

Digital (1991)

Arts and Crafts Movement (1880 - 1910)

The Arts and Crafts movement began during the late Victorian period in England, from 1880 to 1910, inspired by the Anglo-Saxon tradition of craftsmanship which spread internationally in the 1920s.

The movement began due to the Industrial Revolution where the improvement of machinery and transportation created many factories where they made large amounts of cheap products. Many people migrated from the country to the city to work in such factories and lived in horrible living conditions due to pollution, health, disease, poverty and crime. Cynicism, pessimism and a widespread belief that civilization leads to decadence were prominent in the 1880s and 1990s. Workers were easily replaceable due to high unemployment rate, wages were low, no unions, long hours with no paid vacations (12 to 16 hours a day, 6 hours a week), safety hazards and children got no sunlight, physical activity or education which was very unhealthy.

People wanted to return to a simpler and more fulfilling way of living.

In the arts and crafts movement, people criticized the rise of consumer society and the poor design and craftsmanship of products. Mass produced items were highly ornamented to hide flaws in the craftsmanship which lead to design leaning toward style rather than substance. The Arts and Crafts movement sought to bring back the joy of high quality craftsmanship.

The ideology of the arts and crafts movement is derived from art critic, John Ruskin and writer and designer, William Morris.

They resisted the use of factory machines and believed in the beauty of hand-made quality goods.

Ornamentation: There was an emphasis of nature by glorifying in by presenting in realistically or in simplified, elongated graphic representations to contrast the rise in urban lifestyle.

Ceramics: They wanted to emphasize craftsmanship over style, in contrast to mass produced products and it was believed that high-quality materials plus the skills of craftsmen was the true beauty of an object.

The Kelmscott Press was founded by William Morris and Emery Walker to reinform the art and craft of fine printing, type design, paper production and binding techniques. The Nature of Gothic by John Ruskin and printed by William Morris at the Kelmscott Press was a sort of manifesto for the Arts and Crafts movement (handmade paper, special ink, designed typefaces, easy to read, based on 15th Century books). Many bookmakers were influenced by Morris.

Architecture was also influenced by the movement.

The movement also caused the revival of stained glass, wallpaper and textiles.

In conclusion, the Arts and Crafts movement shows the importance and beauty of the craftsmanship, material and simplicity.

[dfroza]

A baptism of the heart and body

is the pure seed of the Spirit that is (already inside) and gently waiting to be clearly chosen by those who have already been first chosen by Love to be in Love

A point of cleansing made in the paired chapters of the Testaments for Today in Luke 3 and Daniel 6

from the ancient book of Luke:

Our story continues 15 years after Tiberius Caesar had begun his reign over the empire. Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod ruled Galilee, his brother Philip ruled Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruled Abilene.

In Jerusalem Annas and Caiaphas were high priests in the temple. And in those days, out in the wilderness, John (son of Zacharias) received a message from God.

John brought this divine message to all those who came to the Jordan River. He preached that people should be ritually cleansed through baptism as an expression of changed lives for the forgiveness of sins. As Isaiah the prophet had said,

A solitary voice is calling:

“Go into the wilderness;

prepare the road for the Eternal One’s journey.

In the desert, repair and straighten

every mile of our True God’s highway

Every low place will be lifted

and every high mountain,

every hill will be humbled;

The crooked road will be straightened out

and rough places ironed out smooth;

Then the radiant glory of the Eternal One will be revealed.

All flesh together will take it in.”

In fulfillment of those words, crowds streamed out from the villages and towns to be baptized by John at the Jordan.

John the Baptist: You bunch of venomous snakes! Who told you that you could escape God’s coming wrath? Don’t just talk of turning to God; you’d better bear the authentic fruit of a changed life. Don’t take pride in your religious heritage, saying, “We have Abraham for our father!” Listen—God could turn these rocks into children of Abraham!

God wants you to bear fruit! If you don’t produce good fruit, then you’ll be chopped down like a fruitless tree and made into firewood. God’s ax is taking aim and ready to swing!

People: What shall we do to perform works from changed lives?

John the Baptist: The person who has two shirts must share with the person who has none. And the person with food must share with the one in need.

Some tax collectors were among those in the crowd seeking baptism.

Tax Collectors: Teacher, what kind of fruit is God looking for from us?

John the Baptist: Stop overcharging people. Only collect what you must turn over to the Romans.

Soldiers: What about us? What should we do to show true change?

John the Baptist: Don’t extort money from people by throwing around your power or making false accusations, and be content with your pay.

John’s bold message seized public attention, and many began wondering if John might himself be the Anointed One promised by God.

John the Baptist: I baptize you with water, but One is coming—One far more powerful than I, One whose sandals I am not worthy to untie—who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is coming like a farmer at harvesttime, tools in hand to separate the wheat from the chaff. He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire, and He will gather the genuine wheat into His barn.

He preached with many other provocative figures of speech and so conveyed God’s message to the people—the time had come to rethink everything. But John’s public preaching ended when he confronted Herod, the ruler of Galilee, for his many corrupt deeds, including taking Herodias, the ruler’s sister-in-law, as his own wife. Herod responded by throwing John into prison.

But before John’s imprisonment, when he was still preaching and ritually cleansing through baptism the people in the Jordan River, Jesus also came to him to be baptized. As Jesus prayed, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit came upon Him in a physical manifestation that resembled a dove. A voice echoed out from heaven.

Voice from Heaven: You are My Son, the Son I love, and in You I take great pleasure.

[Son of Adam, Son of God]

When Jesus entered public life he was about thirty years old, the son (in public perception) of Joseph, who was—

son of Heli,

son of Matthat,

son of Levi,

son of Melki,

son of Jannai,

son of Joseph,

son of Mattathias,

son of Amos,

son of Nahum,

son of Esli,

son of Naggai,

son of Maath,

son of Mattathias,

son of Semein,

son of Josech,

son of Joda,

son of Joanan,

son of Rhesa,

son of Zerubbabel,

son of Shealtiel,

son of Neri,

son of Melchi,

son of Addi,

son of Cosam,

son of Elmadam,

son of Er,

son of Joshua,

son of Eliezer,

son of Jorim,

son of Matthat,

son of Levi,

son of Simeon,

son of Judah,

son of Joseph,

son of Jonam,

son of Eliakim,

son of Melea,

son of Menna,

son of Mattatha,

son of Nathan,

son of David,

son of Jesse,

son of Obed,

son of Boaz,

son of Salmon,

son of Nahshon,

son of Amminadab,

son of Admin,

son of Arni,

son of Hezron,

son of Perez,

son of Judah,

son of Jacob,

son of Isaac,

son of Abraham,

son of Terah,

son of Nahor,

son of Serug,

son of Reu,

son of Peleg,

son of Eber,

son of Shelah,

son of Kenan,

son of Arphaxad,

son of Shem,

son of Noah,

son of Lamech,

son of Methuselah,

son of Enoch,

son of Jared,

son of Mahalaleel,

son of Kenan,

son of Enos,

son of Seth,

son of Adam,

son of God.

The Book of Luke, Chapter 3 (The Voice / The Message)

and in the writing of Daniel from chapter 6 we see a time when he was spitefully persecuted and threatened, yet He trusted in God anyway and didn’t listen to those who wronged him:

[Daniel in the Lions’ Den]

Darius reorganized his kingdom. He appointed one hundred twenty governors to administer all the parts of his realm. Over them were three vice-regents, one of whom was Daniel. The governors reported to the vice-regents, who made sure that everything was in order for the king. But Daniel, brimming with spirit and intelligence, so completely outclassed the other vice-regents and governors that the king decided to put him in charge of the whole kingdom.

The vice-regents and governors got together to find some old scandal or skeleton in Daniel’s life that they could use against him, but they couldn’t dig up anything. He was totally exemplary and trustworthy. They could find no evidence of negligence or misconduct. So they finally gave up and said, “We’re never going to find anything against this Daniel unless we can cook up something religious.

For the next thirty days no one is to pray to any god or mortal except you, O king. Anyone who disobeys will be thrown into the lions’ den.

“Issue this decree, O king, and make it unconditional, as if written in stone like all the laws of the Medes and the Persians.”

King Darius signed the decree.

When Daniel learned that the decree had been signed and posted, he continued to pray just as he had always done. His house had windows in the upstairs that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he knelt there in prayer, thanking and praising his God.

The conspirators came and found him praying, asking God for help. They went straight to the king and reminded him of the royal decree that he had signed. “Did you not,” they said, “sign a decree forbidding anyone to pray to any god or man except you for the next thirty days? And anyone caught doing it would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

“Absolutely,” said the king. “Written in stone, like all the laws of the Medes and Persians.”

Then they said, “Daniel, one of the Jewish exiles, ignores you, O king, and defies your decree. Three times a day he prays.”

At this, the king was very upset and tried his best to get Daniel out of the fix he’d put him in. He worked at it the whole day long.

But then the conspirators were back: “Remember, O king, it’s the law of the Medes and Persians that the king’s decree can never be changed.”

The king caved in and ordered Daniel brought and thrown into the lions’ den. But he said to Daniel, “Your God, to whom you are so loyal, is going to get you out of this.”

A stone slab was placed over the opening of the den. The king sealed the cover with his signet ring and the signet rings of all his nobles, fixing Daniel’s fate.

The king then went back to his palace. He refused supper. He couldn’t sleep. He spent the night fasting.

At daybreak the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. As he approached the den, he called out anxiously, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve so loyally, saved you from the lions?”

“O king, live forever!” said Daniel. “My God sent his angel, who closed the mouths of the lions so that they would not hurt me. I’ve been found innocent before God and also before you, O king. I’ve done nothing to harm you.”

When the king heard these words, he was happy. He ordered Daniel taken up out of the den. When he was hauled up, there wasn’t a scratch on him. He had trusted his God.

Then the king commanded that the conspirators who had informed on Daniel be thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. Before they hit the floor, the lions had them in their jaws, tearing them to pieces.

King Darius published this proclamation to every race, color, and creed on earth:

Peace to you! Abundant peace!

I decree that Daniel’s God shall be worshiped and feared in all parts of my kingdom.

He is the living God, world without end. His kingdom never falls.

His rule continues eternally.

He is a savior and rescuer.

He performs astonishing miracles in heaven and on earth.

He saved Daniel from the power of the lions.

From then on, Daniel was treated well during the reign of Darius, and also in the following reign of Cyrus the Persian.

The Book of Daniel, Chapter 6 (The Message)

with a reflection of maintaining integrity in the midst of betrayal seen in the reading of the Psalms and wisdom of the Proverbs:

[Psalm 15]

A song of David.

Eternal One, who is invited to stay in Your dwelling?

Who is granted passage to Your holy mountain?

Here is the answer: The one who lives with integrity, does what is right,

and speaks honestly with truth from the heart.

The one who doesn’t speak evil against others

or wrong his neighbor,

or slander his friends.

The one who loathes the loathsome,

honors those who fear the Eternal,

And keeps all promises no matter the cost.

The one who does not lend money with gain in mind

and cannot be bought to harm an innocent name.

If you live this way, you will not be shaken and will live together with the Lord.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 15 (The Voice)

[Psalm 54]

For the worship leader. A contemplative song of David when his friends, the Ziphites, betrayed him to Saul. Accompanied by strings.

Liberate me, O God, by the authority of Your name.

Vindicate me through Your legendary power.

Hear my prayer, O God;

let the words of my mouth reach Your sympathetic ear.

The truth is, these strangers are rallying against me;

cold-blooded men seek to slay me;

they have no respect for You.

[pause]

But see now! God comes to rescue me;

the Lord is my valiant supporter.

He will repay my enemies for the harm they have done; they are doomed!

According to Your faithful promises, silence them.

I will sacrifice to You willingly;

I will lift Your name by shouts of thanksgiving, O Eternal One, for Your name is good.

God has pulled me out from every one of the troubles that encompass me,

and I have seen what it means to stand over my enemies in triumph.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 54 (The Voice)

[Proverbs 15]

Respond gently when you are confronted and you’ll defuse the rage of another. Responding with sharp, cutting words will only make it worse.

Don’t you know that being angry can ruin the testimony of even the wisest of men?

When wisdom speaks, understanding becomes attractive. But the words of the fool make their ignorance look laughable.

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere and he takes note of everything that happens. He watches over his lovers, and he also sees the wickedness of the wicked.

When you speak healing words, you offer others fruit from the tree of life. But unhealthy, negative words do nothing but crush their hopes.

You’re stupid to mock the instruction of a father, but welcoming correction will make you brilliant.

There is power in the house of the righteous, but the house of the wicked is filled with trouble, no matter how much money they have.

When wisdom speaks, revelation-knowledge is released, but finding true wisdom in the word of a fool is futile.

It is despicable to the Lord when people use the worship of the Almighty as a cloak for their sin, but every prayer of his godly lovers is pleasing to his heart.

The Lord detests the lifestyle of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue purity.

Severe punishment awaits the one who turns away from the truth, and those who rebel against correction will die.

Even hell itself holds no secrets from the Lord God, for all is exposed before his eyes, and so much more the heart of every human being.

The know-it-all never esteems the one who tries to correct him. He refuses to seek good advice from the wise.

[Living an Ascended Life]

A cheerful heart puts a smile on your face, but a broken heart leads to depression.

Lovers of God hunger after truth, but those without understanding feast on foolishness and don’t even realize it.

Everything seems to go wrong when you feel weak and depressed. But when you choose to be cheerful, every day will bring you more and more joy and fullness.

It’s much better to live simply, surrounded in holy awe and worship of God, than to have great wealth with a home full of trouble.

It’s much better to have a kind, loving family, even with little, than to have great wealth with nothing but hatred and strife all around you.

A touchy, hot-tempered man picks a fight, but the calm, patient man knows how to silence strife.

Nothing seems to work right for the lazy man, but life seems smooth and easy when your heart is virtuous.

When a son learns wisdom, a father’s heart is glad. But the man who shames his mother is a foolish son.

The senseless fool treats life like a joke, but the one with living-understanding makes good choices.

Your plans will fall apart right in front of you if you fail to get good advice. But if you first seek out multiple counselors, you’ll watch your plans succeed.

Everyone enjoys giving great advice. But how delightful it is to say the right thing at the right time!

The life path of the prudent lifts them progressively heavenward, delivering them from the death spiral that keeps tugging them downward.

The Lord champions the widow’s cause,but watch him as he smashes down the houses of the haughty!

The Lord detests wicked ways of thinking, but he enjoys lovely and delightful words.

The one who puts earning money above his family will have trouble at home, but those who refuse to exploit others will live in peace.

Lovers of God think before they speak, but the careless blurt out wicked words meant to cause harm.

The Lord doesn’t respond to the wicked, but he’s moved to answer the prayers of his godly lovers.

Eyes that focus on what is beautiful bring joy to the heart, and hearing a good report refreshes and strengthens the inner being.

Accepting constructive criticism opens your heart to the path of life, making you right at home among the wise.

Refusing constructive criticism shows you have no interest in improving your life, for revelation-insight only comes as you accept correction and the wisdom that it brings.

The source of revelation-knowledge is found as you fall down in surrender before the Lord. Don’t expect to see Shekinah glory until the Lord sees your sincere humility.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 15 (The Passion Translation)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for november 15, the 54th day of Autumn and day 319 of the year:

will you support the translation of the Scriptures to share it with people so that they may read in their own language about the path of grace revealed by God’s dream of rebirth?

i personally support IllumiNations

[theaeneidnyuad-blog]

Character Descriptions

The Human Characters

Character List and Descriptions Sourced from CliffsNotes

Acestës (uh-sehs-teez) The king of Drepanum, in western Sicily, he gives refuge to Aeneas and his people in Books III and V after storms drive them off course.

Achaemenidës (a-kuh-mihn-ih-deez) A Greek crewman of Ulysses, he is accidentally abandoned on Sicily, home of the Cyclopes, when his companions flee from the angry one-eyed giants. The Trojans rescue him in Book III.

Achatës (uh-kay-teez) Known as "the faithful Achatës," he is Aeneas's armor-bearer and a devoted follower of the Trojan hero throughout the epic poem.

Aeneas (uh-nee-us) Romans regarded Aeneas as the ancestor of Augustus — the emperor for whom Virgil wrote the Aeneid — and of the entire Roman state, since Romulus and Remus, Rome's legendary cofounders, were believed to be descended from the race of kings established by Silvius, Aeneas's son by his second wife, Lavinia. Aeneas became the object of exceptional veneration by the Romans, the embodiment of all of the virtues that they prized most: steadfastness, courage, patience, obedience to the will of the gods, and reverence for ancestors. As such, he was not only the ancestor of Rome's first emperor but also Augustus's moral prototype, or model, exemplifying in his heroic person all the qualities that loyal Romans attributed to their first emperor.

As a result of this patriotic role assigned to him, Aeneas sometimes appears too good to be true. He possesses a superhuman excellence that makes it hard for us to believe he is a man and not a symbol or a god. Still, Virgil endows him with his share of human qualities: He is subject to discouragement in Book I when his fleet is struck by Aeolus's storm; in Book II, he is uncertain as to what course of action to take on the night that Troy is invaded by the Greeks; and in Book IV, he is torn between his love for Dido and his need to fulfill his mission. Only gradually does he obtain heroic stature, but he is all the more believable because of his initial weaknesses.

Amata (uh-mah-tuh) The wife and queen of Latinus, her name — Latin for "beloved" — ironically contradicts the actual nature of this highly disagreeable character. From the moment of her first appearance in Book VII, she is an obstacle to the harmony that Latinus and Aeneas seek. Her influence is always negative: Favoring Turnus rather than Aeneas as the husband for her daughter, Lavinia, she is easily swayed by the fury Allecto, sent by Juno, and becomes a human agent of that goddess's campaign against the Trojans.

Anchises (an-ky-seez) As the father of Aeneas by the goddess Venus, Anchises is a venerable figure of wise counsel and instruction, above all in Book VI, when he reveals Rome's future to Aeneas. Aeneas's respect for Anchises exemplifies an important aspect of the Roman virtue pietas, the appropriate deference one shows to parents, gods, and country. Virgil strongly implies that the respect paid by Aeneas to Anchises, especially in Book V in the form of funeral games, foreshadows the pietas shown by Augustus to his father by adoption, Julius Caesar.

Andromachë (an-drah-muh-kee) The widow of the Trojan prince Hector, and later the wife of his brother, the prophet Helenus. She and her husband are visited by Aeneas in Buthrotum in Book III.

Anna (ahn-nuh) The warmhearted and impulsive sister of Carthage's Queen Dido, Anna has little importance as a character in her own right, but with her unwise counsel she initiates a series of actions and events that have overwhelmingly important consequences. Good-intentioned, she disastrously encourages Dido to give in to her love for Aeneas and forget her vow to remain chaste and faithful to the memory of her dead husband. Anna's only wish is to see her widowed sister find happiness; ironically, she puts Dido in jeopardy and prepares her to become the victim of two overpowering goddesses, Juno and Venus.

Ascanius (as-kay-nee-us) Also known as Iulus; the son of Aeneas and his first wife, Creusa.

Camilla (kuh-mihl-uh) A female warrior of the Volscians and Turnus's ally in his battle against Aeneas's forces. In Book XI, she leads a courageous but doomed cavalry attack against the Trojans and their allies. Slain by the Etruscan Arruns, she is avenged by the goddess Diana, who sends the nymph Opis to slay Arruns in turn.

Creusa (kray-ooh-suh) Aeneas's first wife, Creusa is a one-dimensional, colorless character, whose sole function is to appear as a sacrificial victim to the great cause of the future Roman Empire by exhorting Aeneas to escape Troy without her.

Dido (dy-doh) Unlike most female characters in the Aeneid, Dido is a strong woman who possesses heroic dimensions and a will of her own. Leading her people from Tyre after her brother murders her husband, she founds the new city of Carthage, whose construction she is directing when Aeneas arrives there.

Virgil portrays Dido as Aeneas's equal and his feminine counterpart. Her hopeless passion for him is not a flaw in her splendid character: She is forced by Juno and Venus to become his lover, a role that she cannot play for long because fate wills otherwise. Her decision to commit suicide gives her a tragic stature.

Diomedes (dy-oh-mee-deez) A Greek hero of the Trojan War. In Book XI, he refuses, via a messenger, Turnus's request to fight against the Trojans and their allies.

Drancës (dran-seez) A Latin nobleman, in Book XI he acts as an ambassador between Latinus and Aeneas, decrying Turnus's aggressive stance and calling for a peaceful settlement with the Trojans.

Euryalus (yu-ry-uh-lus) A young Trojan warrior and the inseparable companion of Nisus, in Book IX, he is slain by the Rutulians while attempting to inform Aeneas of Turnus's attack on the Trojan camp.

Evander (ee-van-duhr) Pallanteum's king and Pallas's father, he allies himself with Aeneas, who visits him in his city, built on the site of the future Rome. Related to Aeneas through their common descent from Atlas, Evander is depicted as a benevolent ruler who favors the Trojans's mission.

Hector (hehk-tuhr) A son of Troy's King Priam and Queen Hecuba, and the first husband of Andromachë. Hector's ghost appears to Aeneas in Book II on the night Troy is invaded by the Greeks and warns the Trojan prince to flee the stricken city.

Hecuba (heh-kyoo-buh) Priam's wife and Troy's queen.

Helenus (heh-lay-nus) The ruler of a group of Trojan exiles living in the city of Buthrotum, and Andromachë's second husband. In Book III, he warns Aeneas of the dangers along the sea route to Italy and advises him to consult the sibyl of Cumae.

Laocoön (lay-ah-koh-uhn) In Book II, suspecting trickery on the part of the departing Greeks, Laocoön warns his fellow Trojans against bringing an immense wooden horse, left behind by the Trojans's enemy, inside Troy's walls. He and his two sons are slain by two giant sea serpents sent by the goddess Minerva.

Latinus (luh-tee-nus) Because the civilization of Rome was supposed to have arisen from the cooperation of the Latin natives with the Trojan newcomers, Virgil found it appropriate to depict the Latin king, Latinus, as a man of moderation and goodwill, ready from the very start to marry his daughter, Lavinia, to Aeneas.

Although Latinus is an admirable character, he is rather ineffectual. He has little place in the action after Book VII, in which he makes his futile bid for peace after having experienced supernatural portents that dispose him in favor of the Trojans. In Book XI, when it appears certain that the Trojans will win, he is again eager to make peace with them, and his terms are generous.

Lausus (law-sus) Mezentius's son, killed by Aeneas in Book X.

Lavinia (luh-vihn-ee-uh) This sole surviving child of Latinus and Amata is probably the most passive and one-dimensional character in the Aeneid, even more so than Creusa, Aeneas's first wife. Destined to become Aeneas's second wife, Lavinia has no will of her own, no personal expression. In Book XI, she is designated as the prize that will be awarded either to Aeneas or to Turnus, depending on who wins their personal battle.

Mezentius (muh-zihn-tee-us) The former king of the Etruscans, he was deposed by his own subjects because of his cruelty toward them and becomes Turnus's ally. Virgil portrays him as a complex character: Villain though he is, he is devoted to his son, Lausus, who is slain by Aeneas while defending his father. Mezentius's attempt to avenge his son's death by killing Aeneas endows him with a tragic nobility.

Nisus (ny-sus) A Trojan warrior and Euryalus's inseparable companion. In Book IX, he is slain while trying to rescue his friend from Rutulian troops, who waylay the two young Trojans as they are crossing enemy territory with a message for Aeneas.

Palinurus (pa-lih-noo-rus) Aeneas's steadfast and loyal ship's pilot, whose life Neptune exacts as the price of the Trojans's safe crossing from Sicily to Italy in Book V. Murdered by savages as he swims ashore after Somnus, the god of sleep, induces him to fall overboard, Palinurus, more than any other character in the epic poem, dies as the result of a god's mere caprice.

Pallas (pal-luhs) The son of Evander, Pallas resembles Lausus, Mezentius's son, in his youth, bravery, beauty, and pietas. Pallas's death at the hands of Turnus in Book X is avenged when Aeneas kills Turnus, who brazenly wears Pallas's swordbelt slung unceremoniously over his shoulder.

Pandarus (pan-duh-rus) A courageous Trojan warrior slain by Turnus in Book IX while defending the Trojan encampment.

Priam (pry-am) Troy's aged king, who is cut down in his palace by Pyrrhus in Book II during the Greeks's siege of the city.

Pyrrhus (pihr-rus) One of the warriors who hide in the wooden horse, he slays Priam's son Politës and then the king himself.

Sinon (see-non) The Greek warrior who cleverly persuades the Trojans to bring the wooden horse inside Troy's protective walls.

Sychaeus (sy-kee-us) Prince of Tyre and husband of Dido, he is already dead at the time of the Aeneid's action. His spirit is united with Dido's in the underworld, where Aeneas sees them together in Book VI.

Tarchon (tahr-kahn) The leader of Aeneas's Etruscan allies.

Turnus (toor-nus) A prince of the Rutulian tribe and the leader of the Latin forces who oppose the settlement of the Trojans in Latium, Turnus is the only male human character in the Aeneid whose stature is comparable to Aeneas's. However, unlike the Trojan hero, who always tries to act for the good of his people, Turnus is motivated by intense pride and a desire for personal fame. His doomed future, sealed by fate, signifies the triumph of the ideal of civic virtue embodied by Aeneas.

[deythbanger]

Bible Arguments

By DeYtH Banger "The delusional belief that what we do matters for all of eternity provides a false hope. Such a false hope falls under the Marxist critique that religion acts like a drug to numb us from the pain of injustice on earth through hope of a heaven in the afterlife. Having eyes on a heaven in the sky causes believers to be no earthly good. In fact, the hope of an afterlife devalues human life. Who really cares if people die when we go to war? The righteous will go to heaven. So let’s go to war. What does it matter if we abuse the environment? This earth is not our eternal home. What does it really matter that a tsunami wiped out a quarter of a million people? God will reward believers with eternal life. “The poor you will always have with you,” Jesus reportedly said (Matt. 26:11)." - John W. Loftus "Neither Sinatra’s boots nor rocks nor human beings were created by a deity for any purpose. Unlike boots and rocks though, we have evolved to be our own meaning makers. We were thrust into this world and must now make the best of this life. We cannot do otherwise Let’s talk about what we need to have a happy and fulfilling life. We need people. No one is an island. Social ostracism is painful, as is poverty, illness, or a life lived in prison. It’s doubtful any reasonable person prefers these things to having friends, wealth, food, health, and freedom. So in order to gain these benefits a person must have a kind and trustworthy character, earn his or her keep, stay healthy and fit, and obey the law. People who pursue risky behaviors or sick fantasies will eventually lose their freedom; so reasonable people don’t chase after those things.    Since we cannot turn on and off what we value like a faucet, we must sometimes act contrary to our immediate self-interests for an overall life plan that includes friendship, love, and worth. Holistic happiness is its own reward. That is all the meaning we need in life." - John W. Loftus "Once locked inside the house of life we must get along if we want the benefits of a life worthy to be lived, and that means mutual cooperation. Those who refuse we ostracize. Those who choose to hurt others will eventually be caught and banished from society in jail." - John W. Loftus "There are other conceptions of gods with their own moralities. And how does this being communicate to us what is permitted? Isn’t it evident that the Christian God has not effectively done so, given the biblical record and the history of the church? There is no evidence that a Christian God is needed for morality since many non-Christian cultures have done very well for themselves in their own time periods with no Christian influence at all, such as Greece during the Golden Age, the Roman Empire, China, and Japan. This is nothing but a parochial, narrow-minded, and uninformed claim. I think all a believer has to do is travel the globe to see this." - John W. Loftus "Morality evolves. It has done so from the very beginning. Morality is not even unique to human beings. We find precursors of it in the nonhuman species.    But maybe I’ve missed the point?    If this is supposed to be an argument for the existence of God, not even Richard Swinburne, one of the greatest living Christian apologists, thinks it works: “I cannot see any force in an argument to the existence of God from the existence of morality.”[3] If it doesn’t convince him, why should it convince me, or anyone else for that matter." - John W. Loftus "Does God create morality? If so, he can create any kind of morality at all. Then any acts—even horrific ones—could be morally obligatory simply because God commands them. Or must God instead derive morality from a higher source? If so, even God must obey it. Christian philosophers have all but abandoned the divine command theory, or at least modified it. All they can say is that God is what he is and that he does what he does. That’s it!" - John W. Loftus "‘Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.’ Really? What do you mean? You want me to kill my children? Why them? Yes, I know they are unrighteous, lacking a care for godly things. That’s my fault as a mother. Why me? You want to test me just like you tested Abraham with Isaac? Are you sure? I just can’t do that. You want me to drown them in the bathtub? If you insist, Lord." - John W. Loftus "Contrary to Randal, if there is a God, everything can be permitted, for faith-based reasoning can justify any evil deed. In fact, religion is what turns otherwise good people into evil monsters because they think God told them what to do, either “audibly” or from something they read in the Bible." - John W. Loftus "John’s Opening Statement    Child sacrifice was commanded of the Israelites by Yahweh, the biblical God. In Exodus 22:29–30 we read: You shall not delay to offer from the fulness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The first-born of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do likewise with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its dam; on the eighth day you shall give it to me. (RSV)    The context of this passage concerns offerings and sacrifices, and it says God requires firstborn sons to be literally sacrificed to him. Later on we find Yahweh admitting he commanded this in Ezekiel 20:25–26, where he purportedly said:    Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not have life; and I defiled them through their very gifts in making them offer by fire all their first-born, that I might horrify them; I did it that they might know that I am the LORD [Yahweh]. (RSV)." - John W. Loftus "The case of Micah 6:6–8 is an interesting one. In it child sacrifice is considered the greatest and highest form of sacrifice, for the prophet has a progression of three parts in pondering what will please Yahweh the most. Micah first considers sacrificing one-year-old calves; then he considers sacrificing thousands of rams; then he culminates in considering the highest offering he could give Yahweh: his firstborn son. His logic depends on child sacrifice being the greatest sacrifice of all—more than that of sacrificing the calves or rams—for the shocking conclusion of his ruminations is that even this greatest sacrifice is unacceptable to Yahweh without justice. For while all of these acts were required by Yahweh, they meant nothing without also doing acts of justice.    Child sacrifice was only later considered evil after Josiah’s reforms and even more so after the Babylonian exile. Even the later rhetoric in Deuteronomy 12:29–31 and Jeremiah 7:31, 19:5, and 32:35 which condemns the practice all assumes that people thought it was acceptable to Yahweh. Otherwise why would these later authors find a need to condemn it? In other texts the practice was condemned primarily because it was offered to other deities (2 Kings 17:17; 23:10; 2 Chron. 28:3; 33:4–10; Ps. 106:38; Isa. 57:5–6; Ezek. 16:20–21; 20:26, 31; 23:37, 39)." - John W. Loftus

[djgblogger-blog]

What is heaven?

http://bit.ly/2uOlq8P

Illustration of Dante's Paradiso. Giovanni di Paolo

When a family member or a friend passes away, we often find ourselves reflecting on the question “where are they now?” As mortal beings, it is a question of ultimate significance to each of us.

Different cultural groups, and different individuals within them, respond with numerous, often conflicting, answers to questions about life after death. For many, these questions are rooted in the idea of reward for the good (a heaven) and punishment for the wicked (a hell), where earthly injustices are finally righted.

However, these common roots do not guarantee contemporary agreement on the nature, or even the existence, of hell and heaven. Pope Francis himself has raised Catholic eyebrows over some of his comments on heaven, recently telling a young boy that his deceased father, an atheist, was with God in heaven because, by his careful parenting, “he had a good heart.”

So, what is the Christian idea of “heaven”?

Beliefs about what happens at death

The earliest Christians believed that Jesus Christ, risen from the dead after his crucifixion, would soon return, to complete what he had begun by his preaching: the establishment of the Kingdom of God. This Second Coming of Christ would bring an end to the effort of unification of all humanity in Christ and result in a final resurrection of the dead and moral judgment of all human beings.

Christians believe, when Christ returns, the dead too will rise in renewed bodies. Waiting For The Word, CC BY

By the middle of the first century A.D., Christians became concerned about the fate of members of their churches who had already died before this Second Coming.

Some of the earliest documents in the Christian New Testament, epistles or letters written by the apostle Paul, offered an answer. The dead have simply fallen asleep, they explained. When Christ returns, the dead, too, would rise in renewed bodies, and be judged by Christ himself. Afterwards, they would be united with him forever.

A few theologians in the early centuries of Christianity agreed. But a growing consensus developed that the souls of the dead were held in a kind of waiting state until the end of the world, when they would be once again reunited with their bodies, resurrected in a more perfected form.

Promise of eternal life

After Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the early fourth century, the number of Christians grew enormously. Millions converted across the Empire, and by the century’s end, the old Roman state religion was prohibited.

Based on the Gospels, bishops and theologians emphasized that the promise of eternal life in heaven was open only to the baptized – that is, those who had undergone the ritual immersion in water which cleansed the soul from sin and marked one’s entrance into the church. All others were damned to eternal separation from God and punishment for sin.

In this new Christian empire, baptism was increasingly administered to infants. Some theologians challenged this practice, since infants could not yet commit sins. But in the Christian west, the belief in “original sin” – the sin of Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God’s command in the Garden of Eden (the “Fall”) – predominated.

Following the teachings of the fourth century saint Augustine, Western theologians in the fifth century A.D. believed that even infants were born with the sin of Adam and Eve marring their spirit and will.

But this doctrine raised a troubling question: What of those infants who died before baptism could be administered?

At first, theologians taught that their souls went to Hell, but suffered very little if at all.

The concept of Limbo developed from this idea. Popes and theologians in the 13th century taught that the souls of unbaptized babies or young children enjoyed a state of natural happiness on the “edge” of Hell, but, like those punished more severely in Hell itself, were denied the bliss of the presence of God.

Time of judgment

During times of war or plague in antiquity and the Middle Ages, Western Christians often interpreted the social chaos as a sign of the end of the world. However, as the centuries passed, the Second Coming of Christ generally became a more remote event for most Christians, still awaited but relegated to an indeterminate future. Instead, Christian theology focused more on the moment of individual death.

Judgment, the evaluation of the moral state of each human being, was no longer postponed until the end of the world. Each soul was first judged individually by Christ immediately after death (the “Particular” Judgment), as well as at the Second Coming (the Final or General Judgment).

Deathbed rituals or “Last Rites” developed from earlier rites for the sick and penitent, and most had the opportunity to confess their sins to a priest, be anointed, and receive a “final” communion before breathing their last.

Medieval Christians prayed to be protected from a sudden or unexpected death, because they feared baptism alone was not enough to enter heaven directly without these Last Rites.

Another doctrine had developed. Some died still guilty of lesser or venial sins, like common gossip, petty theft, or minor lies that did not completely deplete one’s soul of God’s grace. After death, these souls would first be “purged” of any remaining sin or guilt in a spiritual state called Purgatory. After this spiritual cleansing, usually visualized as fire, they would be pure enough to enter heaven.

Only those who were extraordinarily virtuous, such as the saints, or those who had received the Last Rites, could enter directly into heaven and the presence of God.

Images of heaven

In antiquity, the first centuries of the Common Era, Christian heaven shared certain characteristics with both Judaism and Hellenistic religious thought on the afterlife of the virtuous. One was that of an almost physical rest and refreshment as after a desert journey, often accompanied by descriptions of banquets, fountains or rivers. In the Bible’s Book of Revelation, a symbolic description of the end of the world, the river running through God’s New Jerusalem was called the river “of the water of life.” However, in the Gospel of Luke, the damned were tormented by thirst.

Another was the image of light. Romans and Jews thought of the abode of the wicked as a place of darkness and shadows, but the divine dwelling place was filled with bright light. Heaven was also charged with positive emotions: peace, joy, love, and the bliss of spiritual fulfillment that Christians came to refer to as the Beatific Vision, the presence of God.

Christ Glorified in the Court of Heaven. Fra Angelico

Visionaries and poets used a variety of additional images: flowering meadows, colors beyond description, trees filled with fruit, company and conversation with family or white-robed others among the blessed. Bright angels stood behind the dazzling throne of God and sang praise in exquisite melodies.

The Protestant Reformation, begun in 1517, would break sharply with the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe in the 16th century. While both sides would argue about the existence of Purgatory, or whether only some were predestined by God to enter heaven, the existence and general nature of heaven itself was not an issue.

Heaven as the place of God

Today, theologians offer a variety of opinions about the nature of heaven. The Anglican C. S. Lewis wrote that even one’s pets might be admitted, united in love with their owners as the owners are united in Christ through baptism.

Following the nineteenth-century Pope Pius IX, Jesuit Karl Rahner taught that even non-Christians and non-believers could still be saved through Christ if they lived according to similar values, an idea now found in the Catholic Catechism.

The Catholic Church itself has dropped the idea of Limbo, leaving the fate of unbaptized infants to “the mercy of God.” One theme remains constant, however: Heaven is the presence of God, in the company of others who have responded to God’s call in their own lives.

Joanne M. Pierce is a Roman Catholic member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Consultation in the USA, a national ecumenical dialogue group sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and The Episcopal Church.

[pamphletstoinspire]

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE, TO 1 Timothy - From The Latin Vulgate Bible

Chapter 6

PREFACE.

St. Paul passing through Lycaonia, about the year A.D. 51 , some of the brethren at Derbe or Lystra recommended to him a disciple, by name Timothy, who from his infancy had studied the Holy Scriptures. St. Paul took him, making him his companion and fellow-labourer in the gospel: and not to offend the Jews, who could not be ignorant that Timothy's father was a Gentile, he caused him to be circumcised. Afterwards he ordained him bishop of Ephesus.

Chapter 6

Duties of servants. The danger of covetousness. Lessons for the rich.

1 Whosoever are servants under the yoke, let them count their masters worthy of all honour, lest the name and doctrine of the Lord be blasphemed.

2 But they who have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren: but serve them the rather, because they are faithful and beloved, who are partakers of the benefit. These things teach, and exhort.

Notes & Commentary:

Ver. 1-2. Lest the name and doctrine of the Lord be blasphemed, or ill spoken of by infidels, when such as were converted refused to be servants. --- Let them not despise them, &c. That is, they who were servants under Christian masters, ought to think themselves more happy on that account, being brethren, and partakers of the same benefit of faith and grace. (Witham) --- If servants be insolent and disobedient, their infidel masters will blaspheme the Christian religion, as if that were the cause of their disrespectful behaviour. And let them not be arrogant, or aspire to an equality with their Christian masters, under pretence that the profession of the same religion makes them brothers; but rather serve them with greater submission and affection, as partakers of the benefit of the same faith, the same baptism, the same hope, &c. (Calmet)

3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to that doctrine which is according to piety:

Ver. 3. No explanation given.

4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but sick about questions and strifes of words: from which arise envies, contentions, blasphemies, evil suspicions,

Ver. 4. But sick about questions,[1] unprofitable disputes, blasphemies, which may either signify against God, or railing one against another, conflicts, &c.[2] and dissensions of men corrupted in their minds: such is the character and description he gives of those ancient heretics, which applies to heretics in general. (Witham)

Note 1:

Ver. 4. Languens, noson. Ægrotans; Erasmus, insaniens.

Note 2:

Ver. 4. Conflictationes, paradiatribai, exercitationes.

5 Conflicts of men corrupted in mind, and who are destitute of the truth, supposing gain to be piety.

Ver. 5. Supposing gain to be piety.[3] The sense is the same, that they make a shew of piety only for gain-sake. (Witham)

Note 3:

Ver. 5. Existimantes quæstum esse pietatem, porismon einai ten eusebeian. In the ordinary Greek copies follows, aphistato apo ton toiouton, and so the Protestant translation, from which withdraw thyself. But Grotius and Dr. Wells leave them out, preferring those manuscripts that agree with the Latin Vulgate and with the Syriac.

6 But piety with sufficiency, is great gain.

Ver. 6. But piety with sufficiency, or when a man hath what is sufficient to support his necessities, is certainly great gain, is accompanied with the most valuable advantages, the treasure of a good conscience, peace of mind, the grace of God, and hereafter a recompense of eternal glory. (Witham) --- That man is certainly rich, however small his possession, if he desire nothing more below, and aspires eagerly after that blessing above, which alone can fill his heart. Mediocrity is an enviable state; it frees us from the dangers of riches, and from the temptations of extreme poverty: with this lot let us be content. Why should we fix our hearts on the fleeting possessions of the day: we had not them yesterday, and to-morrow they will not be ours; for as we were born so we must die.

7 For we brought nothing into this world: and certainly we can carry nothing out.

Ver. 7. No explanation given.

8 But having food, and wherewith to be covered, with these we are content.

Ver. 8. No explanation given.

9 For they who wish to become rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

Ver. 9. For they who wish to become rich.[4] He does not say, as St. Chrysostom observes, they who are rich; as persons may be rich, and make good use of their riches to God's honour, and the good of others. But such as would be rich, who seek riches, and have their heart and affections upon riches, fall into various temptations of injustice, of pride, and vanity, into hurtful lusts, which drown and plunge[5] men into perdition, &c. (Witham)

Note 4:

Ver. 9. Qui volunt divites fieri, oi boulomenoi. St. Chrysostom, (log. iz. p. 321.) ouk aplos eipen, oi ploutountes, all oi boulomenoi.

Note 5:

Ver. 9. Mergunt, buthizousi.

10 For covetousness is the root of all evils; which some desiring, have erred from the faith, and have entangled themselves in many sorrows.

Ver. 10. The root of all evils is covetousness,[6] or the love of money, as it is in the Greek; a covetous man being ready to sacrifice his soul for money. (Witham) --- This truth is verified and illustrated by the example of Judas, in the gospel; of Ananias and Saphira, in the Acts; of Demas, mentioned by St. Paul in his second epistle to Timothy; and many others, who have made shipwreck of their faith through eagerness to gain riches. Whoever seeks visible and terrestrial goods with great avidity, cannot be supposed to retain much faith in things that are celestial and invisible. He quits a future real and substantial good to seek for a delusive happiness that presents itself, but which will prove a source of present and future evils.

Note 6:

Ver. 10. Cupiditas, philarguria, amor pecuniæ.

11 But thou, O man of God, fly these things: and pursue justice, piety, faith, charity, patience, meekness.

Ver. 11. But thou, O man of God.[7] This, says St. Chrysostom, is one of the highest title and commendations that can be given to any man. So are called Samuel, Elias, Eliseus. (1 Kings ii and ix.; 3 Kings xxxiii.) (Witham)

Note 7:

Ver. 11. O homo Dei. See St. Chrysostom, (log. iz. p. 321.) mega axioma, &c. magna dignitas, &c.

12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life whereunto thou art called, and hast confessed a good confession before many witnesses.

Ver. 12. Fight the good fight. Literally, strive[8] a good strife. St. Paul oftentimes brings this comparison of men striving for a prize. --- And hast confessed a good confession before many witnesses, not only when baptized, not only when thou wast ordained a bishop, but by thy constancy and sufferings and persecutions, says St. Chrysostom, though we know not the particulars. (Witham) --- Timothy had made profession of his faith at his baptism, at his ordination, and during the whole course of a life which, through many labours and persecutions, had been dedicated entirely to promote the faith. (St. Thomas Aquinas) --- Like him let us also combat, if we aspire after the same triumph and prize.

Note 8:

Ver. 12. Certa bonum certamen, agonizou ton kalon agona, which may be by running as well as by fighting.

13 I charge thee before God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate, a good confession:

Ver. 13. Under Pontius Pilate, &c. Some expound it of the words and particular testimony Christ gave when he said he was king, but not of this world, who came to teach the truth. We may rather understand it with others, of all Christ taught and suffered under Pilate, or whilst he was governor of Judea. (Witham)

14 That thou keep the commandment without spot, blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Ver. 14. That thou keep the commandment. Some understand that of fighting manfully; others of loving God; others rather comprehend all that St. Paul had commanded him, and all the instructions given. --- Unto the coming of our Lord;[9] which coming, he in due time will shew. This is the construction by the Greek. (Witham) --- This coming will be desirable for Christians who have preserved or recovered their baptismal innocence, and for pastors who have faithfully fulfilled their ministry; but terrible, in the extreme, for all who have lived in the constant neglect and omission of their duties.

Note 9:

Ver. 14. Usque ad Adventum Domini, quem, &c. mechri tes epiphaneias...en, not on, and so must agree with adventum.

15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the Blessed and only Mighty, the King of kings, and Lord of lords:

Ver. 15. No explanation given.

16 Who only hath immortality, and inhabiteth light inaccessible, whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and empire everlasting. Amen.

Ver. 16. No explanation given.

17 Charge the rich of this world not to be high-minded, nor to hope in uncertain riches, but in the living God (who giveth us abundantly all things to enjoy)

Ver. 17. Charge the rich of this world not to confide in such uncertain goods; to strive to be rich in good works; to communicate[10] in lending, assisting, giving to others, by which they will lay up an everlasting treasure. (Witham)

Note 10:

Ver. 17. Communicare, koinonikous. See koinonein, Romans xii. &c.

18 To do good, to be rich in good works, to distribute readily, to communicate.

Ver. 18. No explanation given.

19 To lay up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may obtain true life.

Ver. 19. No explanation given.

20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane novelties of words, and oppositions of knowledge falsely so called,

Ver. 20. O Timothy, keep that which is committed[11] to thy trust. He does not mean his charge of bishop, nor the graces of God, but the true and sound doctrine delivered to him either by writing or word of mouth, according to the common interpretation. See St. Chrysostom, Vincentius Lirinensis, Commonitorii, chap. xvii. This is confirmed by the following words, avoiding the profane novelties[12] of words: (in the Greek empty, vain, babbling). The apostle here condemns new words, which change the doctrine; but sometimes to express the ancient doctrine, new words may be found necessary, as those of trinity, incarnation, consubstantiality, transubstantiation, &c. as St. Athanasius, St. Augustine, and others observed. See 2 Timothy i. 14. --- Oppositions of knowledge falsely so[13] called. St. Chrysostom understands in particular the errors of the Gnostics, so called from the same Greek word, who were the successors of Simon Magus. But they perhaps not having the name when St. Paul wrote, we may rather understand heretics in general, who all pretend to an uncommon knowledge in Scriptures, when they follow their own private judgment, and so fall from the faith. (Witham) --- Keep the deposit, viz. of faith, which has been committed to thee. Throughout this whole epistle the apostle beseeches Timothy, in the most earnest manner, as a guardian of the faith, to preserve it without change. He every where condemns sects, heresies, and changes in faith. It would be well for the modern religionists, to inform us and themselves, why St. Paul is so particular in insisting upon union of faith, under pain of damnation, if it was the intention of Christ that men should differ on questions of religion. Let them tell us what St. Paul means, or else say plainly that they differ from the apostle's religion, and have formed theirs upon a more liberal scale. (Haydock)

Note 11:

Ver. 20. Depositum custodi, ten parakatatheken phulaxon. See St. Chrysostom on these words.

Note 12:

Ver. 20. Profanas vocum novitates; though all the Greek copies have now kenophonias, vocum inanitates: the Latin interpreter must have read, kainophonias.

Note 13:

Ver. 20. Falsi nominis scientiæ, pseudonuma gnoseos. St. Chrysostom, (log. ie.) tines eautous ekaloun tote Gnostikous.

21 Which some promising, have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

Ver. 21. No explanation given.

[dailyaudiobible]

09/14/2018 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 15:1-18:7, Galatians 1:1-24, Psalms 58:1-11, Proverbs 23:12

Today is the 14th day of September. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It's great to be here with you today as we do what we do every day, take the next step forward in the journey that were on to take a complete revolution through the Bible, as we take a complete revolution around the sun, all in one year. And hopefully it creates a revolution in our lives. So, we’ll take the next step forward, which is to pick up where we left off yesterday, which will be in the book of Isaiah. When we get to the New Testament we’ll be moving into some new territory, a new letter from the apostle Paul. But first, from the New International Version this week, Isaiah chapter 15 verse 1 through 18 verse 7.

Introduction to the book of Galatians:

Okay. So, as I mentioned at the beginning, we’re beginning a new letter from the apostle Paul today, the letter to the Galatians. So, let's talk about that a little bit. Galatia at the time of Paul was a province of the Roman Empire, but that area is in modern-day Turkey now. Previously, the Galatians were known as Gauls or Celts before becoming part of the Roman Empire. And, so, we know about five different churches in Galatia that were established during Paul's first missionary journey because he mentions them. The churches in Placentia, Antioch, Encomium, Lysistrata, and Derby. And since Paul addressed this particular letter that we’re about to read to the churches in Galatia we can safely assume these were the churches that he was writing to, at least those churches. So, we'll see why this letter is revered as we go through it, why it's such an important document in New Testament theology. But we’re gonna also notice that the issues Paul was dealing with in second Corinthians, the letter we just finished, these were also issues in Galatia. People had visited these churches behind Paul after he had come and establish them and they taught what Paul considered to be a different gospel. Specifically, the Galatians were being told that they needed to obey Jewish customs and practices in order to follow Jesus. And this included everything, including male circumcision, and the adherence to the Mosaic law, which is something Paul opposed. He was staunchly against this because in Paul's view Jesus had fulfilled the law and a new covenant had been initiated. So, Paul uses letter to the Galatians as a way to passionately dispel what he considered to be inaccuracies. Ironically, this problem was one of the earliest theological issues that the church had to navigate, period. So, the book of acts records the outcome of the Jerusalem Council. And of course, we’ve already traveled through that territory, but the Jerusalem Council was a meeting that was initiated to arrive at a consensus over exactly this. What was required for a Gentile to become a believer in Jesus? And if you want to revisit that territory, that's Acts chapter 15. So. We’re not clear whether Paul wrote Galatians before this Jerusalem Council or after the Jerusalem Council. He doesn't refer to the Jerusalem Council explicitly in the letter. So, some scholars hold the view that Paul wrote this letter before the Council, or maybe even on his way to the Council. If this is the case, visitors to the Galatian churches were undermining Paul's message and an attempt to align the teachings of Paul with those of the Jerusalem church before they had the chance to wrestle with the issue. And Paul, Paul wasn't happy about it. And we find that a lot of times, through references in his letters, he’s not happy about these people who come in behind him and try to change what he's taught. And if all of this is the case, Galatians would be one of the very earliest Christian writings. And it may be Paul's first letter to any church. But if Paul wrote Galatians after this Council then Paul was using this letter to completely and forcefully reiterate what the Council had decided, right? This would mean that people had come in after the Council behind Paul and were trying to change things around. But alas, that’s the problem about dating some of these documents. We don't know for sure. We just know in general. But the argument Paul's gonna layout and Galatians for us and all of those issues that we just talked about, that prompted him to write, these were very weighty issues at the time. Judaism was an exclusive religion for Jews. So, allowing faith in Jesus without the cover of Judaism opened up salvation through Jesus Christ to everyone in the world. This is a very different mindset for a Hebrew person who has been told they were chosen and set apart and were a part of something very exclusive. So, when the church got together to talk about Gentiles, and they were only talking about Gentiles because the Holy Spirit was falling upon Gentiles and people were following Jesus, first, everyone assumed this was a Jewish only thing. But the Holy Spirit revealed clearly otherwise. So, once they got together and made this decision, it clearly separated what we would call Christianity today from Judaism, which ultimately brought persecution from the Jews and the Romans alike. And…I mean…as we continue through the New Testament we’re gonna find the backdrop of persecution because of what we’re talking about right now to be a theme. So, this is the backdrop for the writing of Galatians, but the content of Galatians is foundational in New Testament theology, right? Things like the gospel of freedom and grace, justification through faith. These are all outlined in this little letter. So, off we go into the wild frontier and into some new territory. Galatians chapter 1.

Prayer:

Father we thank you for your word. We thank you for new territory that were moving into as we move into this letter of Galatians and we invite your Holy Spirit to speak the truths of our faith to us, reigniting us, and reconnecting us with our reality in You. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

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And, as always if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial. 

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for here is tomorrow. 

Community Prayer and Praise: 

Hey DAB family this is Josh from Indiana. I just want to take a moment and thank God for this community. One thing I hate in churches is when our denominations separate. And one thing I love about the DAB family is I never hear anything about one way versus the other and I just love that about this community. God just put on my heart to call in and say something about that. Love you all.

Beautiful family, this is Pastor Gene from Bradenton Florida. I love you so much. Please join me in prayer. Father, we thank You so much for Your work in our life and we thank You for this community. We thank You for Brian. We thank You for Jill. Father, we lift up our brother __ from Ohio. We pray for Your mighty hand of deliverance over his life. Father, in the name of Jesus we also pray for our sister Prophetic Intercessor. We pray that You will encourage her, that You will help her, that You will lift her up. We pray for our sister Joanne Ray who is feeling very scared and she was about to have issues with her dad. Father, in the name of Jesus we pray for open doors for care for her dad and we pray Father that Your mighty hand will be upon her sister and that all that anxiety will be replaced by peace that surpasses all understanding. Father, we pray for our brother Darrell from __ and his encouragement to thank those that have led us to the Lord. I did that after listening to my brother’s call and I know it was a blessing for the ladies at church, invited my mom to church 41 years ago. So, thank You brother Darrell. Thank You for that powerful testimony. Thank You oh God for our brother Will from Bozeman Montana. Continue oh God working in his marriage. Continue Father the work that You have started. You are more than faithful to complete it. And thank You, thank You so much Father for delivering our brother Terry, the truck driver from death. And we pray for special comfort in his life over the death of his pet. God…our sister B’s mom is experiencing health issues. We pray for Your healing touch upon her life. And I pray for all my brothers and sisters and bless them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. Pastor Gene from Bradenton Florida.

Hi Daily Audio Bible this is Emily of Houston of Jim and Emily. And first of all, I want to thank you Brian and Jill are the amazing gathering and everyone involved. I’m just still favoring it and the sweetness of the communion and meeting everybody. So wonderful. Thank you. And a praise report, I did finish my book along the way. Now I need prayer just to get the rest of it done, the next steps. But the main reason I’m calling for prayer is that this weekend on Friday I’m going to Orange County California for a memorial service for a family friend. You know those family friends you called uncle, and aunt, and go to their house for holidays, at least my family did while immigrant. Well, he passed away and I don’t know if they were believers or not, they weren’t when I was kids. But…so…and my sister’s going to be there with my 12-year-old nephew and they are total atheists. So, I just ask you guys to pray that the Lord would use me not only to bring comfort but to shine the love Jesus and that the Lord would give divine appointments and openings for me to pray for people and to shower them with the love of the one true God. I love you guys and I appreciate your prayers, I covet your prayers. Continue to pray for Emily and Jim as we continue to pray for you. Thank you and bless you. Bye.

Dear amazing friends this is Candace from Oregon thanking you for your prayers for my son Micah. He is not drinking, not at least this week. And he is having really long talks with me, mostly about his dad who, many of you know, we lost on March 11, 2017. Would you pray with him for me right now? Dear Lord, as Micha’s court date approaches he will very likely lose his driver’s license on…at this court date September 24. Come what may, I pray that You continue to work in his heart. At this point he continues to say that he is not sure that you are real. So, Lord, would you reveal yourself to him unmistakably and help him by Your Holy Spirit to come to trust you with his entire life, with everything that he is? Thank you that he dreams of being a dad. He’s 35 years old and would really like to meet that…that right person to have a family with and make a lifetime commitment. This is a good dream and Lord I pray that you bless him in Jesus name.