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Friday, August 24, 2012
The Survey: Equality at the Founding
14 comments:
- Shag from Brookline said...
Excluding slaves and indentured servants back at the Founding, what was then the extent of inequality (in today's dollars) to compare with the current inequality that Nobel Laureate Stiglitz identifies in his book?
- August 24, 2012 at 4:46:00 PM EDT
Two or three comments: Greenwald's book is With Liberty and Justice for Some. Second, Greenwald would probably not deny that extreme disparities in wealth are unconstitutional, nor would he find that the Constitution prohibits taking certain measures to reduce inequality. Finally, I don't believe the authors of the Federalist Papers celebrated inequality. Madison simply acknowledged it as a fact of human condition, but sought to deploy it in the service of the goals of liberty and freedom for citizens of the new nation.
- August 24, 2012 at 5:15:00 PM EDT
- Patrick S. O'Donnell said...
Whatever else the authors of the Federalist Papers or the Founding Fathers believed, I'm quite confident they did not envision the extent or depth—that is, the extreme sort—of inequality equality one finds in our country today. No one argues they believed in anything remotely close to "absolute equality," they were, after all, Liberals of a kind. In other words, they did not envision economic liberalism of the neoliberal variety (a species of libertarian liberalism that differs in significant respects from its earlier laissez-faire incarnation) that prevails across our political spectrum today, the sort of liberalism that effectively undermines, not supports, political liberalism. They did not envision the sort of economic power wielded by large transnational corporations that operate in an global environment in a manner corrosive of the basic ability of national governments to effectively exercise sovereign control over their economies, in other words, to integrate the virtues of both economic and political liberalism, not simply the former at the expense of the latter. As John Dewey would remind us, these men did not foresee the enormous economic power of capitalist organizations on the order we find today, be it the transnational corporations or the financial institutions that answer only to the logic and rules of capitalist imperatives as they understand and shape them. They managed to liberate us from the aristocratic control of society and the stranglehold of mercantilism, thus the problems that beset us today are not their problems, and they would, I believe, therefore be largely sympathetic if not supportive of our attempts to address the increasing inequality we find in our country today, an inequality such that libertarian economic liberalism makes mincemeat of political liberalism, rather than the two liberalisms working in a mutually fecund or complementary fashion. Indeed, even John Stuart Mill, a quintessential historical Liberal, was neither a laissez-faire nor a neoliberal capitalist, for reasons deserving of re-examination. No doubt his views on worker self-management in privately owned firms would today be dismissed as socialism or communism. Given the enormous and unprecedented power of capitalist financiers and firms today, I can imagine at least several of the Founding Fathers coming to endorse what Rawls, a quintessential contemporary Liberal, called "liberal socialism" (the essential features of which he introduced in his posthumously published Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy (2007) (Rawls cites John Roemer's 1994 volume, Liberal Socialism, for elaboration of these features).
- August 25, 2012 at 12:38:00 AM EDT
- Patrick S. O'Donnell said...
erratum: Whatever else the authors of the Federalist Papers or the Founding Fathers believed, I'm quite confident they did not envision the extent or depth—that is, the extreme sort—of inequality one finds in our country today.
- August 25, 2012 at 12:40:00 AM EDT
- Patrick S. O'Donnell said...
The comparison between Marx and Madison is unavailing owing to a confusion and conflation of concepts and conceptions. First, as Elster points out, Marx warned of any attempt to "define classes in terms of the kind or the amount of property owned." Moreover, for Marx, the emergence of different classes in the sense of a class being "for itself" is in fact a "positive" insofar as it represents qualitative progress to the extent that that class is no longer simply "for itself, and even beyond the intermediate position (formulated by Elster) of a "class for others." The class "for itself" has attained "class consciousness," which is "not merely a matter of shared ideas and sentiments, but above all a capacity to overcome the free-rider problem in collective action." So, Madison "did not in any way, shape or form "anticipate Marx" with regard to the latter's concept (and conceptions) of class. Of course it is true that Marx could never countenance the rather naïve idea that differences in amounts or kinds of the possession of property accurately and fairly represent the meritricious distributive effects of individual differences in faculties and talents, however much individual properties will play a role in such possession, if only because he conceived "the central relations between classes [as involving] the transfer of surplus from below and the exercise of power from above." And, given his ideas on the "good life" and "self-realization" (involving, for example, the 'free actualization and externalization of the powers and abilities of the individual;' one might compare Martha Nussbaum on 'capabilities' here), Marx would have dismissed if not laughed at the Social Darwinian notion and fashionable neoliberal idea (based on a troubling, if not always explicit, conception of human nature) that inequality is the primary cause necessary for "innovation and incentive to work."
- August 25, 2012 at 10:05:00 AM EDT
- Patrick S. O'Donnell said...
erratum: Moreover, for Marx, the emergence of different classes in the sense of a class being "for itself" is in fact a "positive" insofar as it represents qualitative progress to the extent that that class is no longer simply "in itself," and even beyond the intermediate position (formulated by Elster) of a "class for others."
- August 25, 2012 at 10:24:00 AM EDT
- Patrick S. O'Donnell said...
It perhaps should also be noted that because Madison viewed the rights of property as "'positive,' that is, conventional and revocable" rather than "natural," the opportunity, however difficult, to repeal laws and amend the constitutional order existed. We might, with Stephen Holmes, look at Madison's views in Federalist no. 10 as designed to assure the cooperation of property-owners in the new, and thus by definition "fragile system of collective rule." Unlike, say, contemporary libertarians and neoliberals (who prefer to let free markets set the terms and conditions of social justice), Madison could be said to share Locke's belief in the government regulation of private property (even if, as Liberals, they understood markets to be the most efficient method for redistributing social wealth), which brings it out of the realm of pre-political, "natural," or sacred rights (in the sense of belonging to some inviolable private sphere). Seen this way, the early Liberal views on private property "initiated a partial transfer of security from the old monopolists of land to other, less well-established, groups. What was 'loosed' onto the world, in fact, was not acquisitiveness but disrespect for inherited status." So, again, we might (counterfactually) imagine a Madison in the modern period not necessarily siding with that part of the Liberal tradition that "dogmatically opposed curtailments of property rights," if only because he would be intelligent enough to appreciate "the insecurities and maldistributions that these rights, because unqualified, tended to generate in new circumstances." Madison and his colleagues, we might imagine, would once again demonstrate the courageous if not experimental spirit of their Liberalism, by "agree[ing] to infringe some property rights, by establishing a progressive income tax system, for instance, for the greater and more justly distributed security" (Holmes). While this is part and parcel of the justification of the "welfare state" and does not amount to the "Liberal socialism" I mentioned above, nonetheless, and again, it seems to at least capture the historically progressive nature of the Founding Fathers' Liberalism and preclude a more anachronistic reading of their political philosophy.
In keeping with the focus of your post, we can, once more with Holmes, ask ourselves, "Why did James Madison cling to the rights of private property with what now seems like monomaniacal zeal?"
"For one thing, private property was a symbol of security against the whims of political authority and the violence of rowdy neighbors, not to mention more impersonal forces. It was one of the few supports an individual could cling to in a sea of turbulence. As other sources of security, such as a more reliable legal system, became established, private property had to bear less of this burden and thus absorbed fewer of life's uncertainties. Hence, it lost its former aura, its immunity to criticism. It even became visible as a source of insecurity itself."
Classical Liberals endorsed the proposition that the subsistence needs of the poor could be satisfied by infringing, or better, curtailing, the private property rights of the rich. As a classical Liberal, I suspect Madison would have seen the wisdom of welfare-state liberalism that sets limits on the kind of inequality that leads to material insecurity and the failure to meet basic needs, a liberalism "based on the indubitable premise that the children of the poor have done nothing to merit their disadvantages in life" (Holmes).
- August 26, 2012 at 10:10:00 AM EDT
After reading Patrick's as usual informative comment, I realize my own comment included an error. I did not mean to write, "Greenwald would probably not deny that extreme disparities in wealth are unconstitutional." Rather, I meant the opposite, that Greenwald wouldn't argue that inequality of the sort we're discussing is unconstitutional. But that's pretty much beside the point, just as Anders' extrapolation from Madison's acknowledgment of inequality to an argument that he endorsed or preferred it misses a lot of territory.
- August 26, 2012 at 4:26:00 PM EDT
- Anders Walker said...
So when Madison wrote that demands for "an equal division of property" constituted a "wicked project," who did he have in mind?
- August 26, 2012 at 6:37:00 PM EDT
- Dean C. Rowan said...
He had in mind "factious leaders" who "rage" for "an equal division of property." That has nothing to do with the species of equality to which Greenwald refers. Dismissal of a rage for an equal division of property is not a wholesale rejection of more suitable efforts at redistribution.
- August 26, 2012 at 7:51:00 PM EDT
- Patrick S. O'Donnell said...
That's a good question (had you proposed an answer to that question in your post?). Descendants of Diggers, Ranters, or Thomas Jefferson's apparent view that all citizens should have at least some property? As Ben Barros has written,
"Jefferson proposed in Notes on the State of Virginia that 'Every person of full age neither owning nor having owned [50] acres of land, shall be entitled to an appropriation of [50] acres in full and absolute dominion, and no other person shall be capable of taking an appropriation.' In this context, Jefferson had in mind distribution of currently unowned or unused land on the frontier, not redistribution of property that was currently being put to productive use."
- August 26, 2012 at 8:16:00 PM EDT
- Patrick S. O'Donnell said...
Indeed, let's look at the two previous sentences in Federalist 10: "The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular States, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other States. A religious sect may degenerate into a political faction in a part of the Confederacy; but the variety of sects dispersed over the entire face of it must secure the national councils against any danger from that source." This suggests a concern with religious sects that become political factions. Moreover, notice the full reading of the very next sentence: "A rage for paper money, for an abolition of debts, for an equal division of property, or for any other improper or wicked project, will be less apt to pervade the whole body of the Union than a particular member of it; in the same proportion as such a malady is more likely to taint a particular county or district, than an entire State." The concern is with schemes proposed by such sects, moreover, it may be that an equal division of property is not so much "wicked" as "improper."
- August 26, 2012 at 8:26:00 PM EDT
- Anders Walker said...
Helpful. Got a citation for the Barros quote?
- August 27, 2012 at 6:33:00 PM EDT
- Patrick S. O'Donnell said...
It was from a PropertyProf Blog post in 2006: http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/property/2006/11/thomas_jefferso.html
- August 27, 2012 at 9:16:00 PM EDT


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Third time's the charm. It's time for MGSIII. This contest is similar to the first 2 contests, but again, I'll repost the rules.
1) Just like MGSI and MGSII, there are 3 songs to be composed. These songs will correspond with the next 3 levels of Marathon 2. They are called, Ex Cathedra, Nuke And Pave, and Curiouser and Curiouser.... These levels make up the chapter Garrison, and that is what the resulting album will be called.
2) Each song must have a reasonable song length. I would consider 10 seconds or 10 minutes a bit outside this reasonable range. Try to keep the songs from 2 min to 5 min. I'm flexible so going outside those boundaries a little bit won't lose you any points. Cutting a song down to around 1 min though may lose you a point in the "Length" category.
3) These submissions are songs for Marathon levels. Please don't include a full chorus or obnoxious singing in any of your submissions. A little bit, and I mean a very small amount of singing or background chorus is ok, but don't go overboard.
4) Deadline: All songs must be sent to me at [email protected] by August 31st. That's over a month to make 3 songs.
5) Don't name your songs after the levels. Come up with creative names!
Your entries will be judged on the following material:
1) Interpretation of the Level: Does your song complement the level provided? Does it help set the atmosphere of the level and contribute to the gameplay? A bad example would be to play "Happy Birthday" during a war scene, while a good example might be to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" during a scene where a little kid is pondering the universe. 20 points
2) Musicality: How well the tempo, rhythm, notes, etc fit together. It shouldn't sound like a 6th grader randomly hitting stuff or pressing down keys on his first instrument. 20 points
3) Creativity: This is your music so make it unique. I understand that many background parts repeat over and over, but don't create a whole song where the majority of the melody is the same eight notes played repeatedly. Jazz it up and make it enjoyable and fun to listen to, while still staying within the other requirements. 10 points
4) Sound Quality: If it sounds like trash or is poor quality, you will obviously lose points here. I'm looking for clean, high quality music with no white noise, unless the white noise is intended. 10 points
5) Originality: Remixes sound great and all, but the point of this contest is too create something NEW that complements the given level. Remixing M1A1 music or any other music will cause you lose points here and probably in a few other sections of the judging scale. 5 points
6) Length: If the song length is too long or short, points will be lost. The song should be long enough to show effort, but short enough to be precise. 5 points
TOTAL: 70 points/song. Each participant will be judged out of a total of 210 points because there are 3 songs.
As usual, the song that receives the highest score for a level will be included in the final M2 Soundtrack. I'm looking forward to a good turnout and some great songs! Enjoy making music.

subset: commoncrawl


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I haven't written for a while, because I was distracted by other activities for a few days. I have no code or pretty pictures to show this time, just a few words on what I intend to do next.
This week's milestone is a working network protocol for the grapher that can also be used by other tools, e.g. to monitor the heap of a remote application. Next week will be mainly about improving this feature and implementing some more functionality in the grapher that will hopefully make it a more useful tool. The rest of July shall be dedicated to the history manager.


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Since his debut performance 26 years ago, he has missed only one Kiel Week, when crewing on Abap, Hasso PLATTNER's (GER) successful offshore racing machine.
'The 125th anniversary of Kiel Week 2007 is a must for me and my crew,' said GAEBLER, a multiple European and World Champion in the Olympic Tornado class. He is looking forward to meet his former 'employer' PLATTNER again, who will helm his new 505 dinghy in the second part of the International Classes regatta from 21-24 June, which follows on from the ISAF Grade 1 Olympic Classes Regatta from 16-20 June.
From 1987, GAEBLER has won the Kiel Week title in the Tornado four times, with his crew on different occasions Frank PARLOW, René SCHWALL, and, most recently, Gunnar STRUCKMANN.
In last year's Kiel Week, GAEBLER, now 42, only finished ninth overall and consequently his is looking for a return of his winning form in 2007. GAEBLER and STRUCKMANN will be aiming to a timely confidence boost before they head to Cascais, Portugal and the ISAF Sailing World Championships from 28 June-13 July, where GAEBLER will be gunning for another Tornado World title and also aiming to qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
National Battle
GAEBLER and STRUCKMANN are well prepared to face strong international competition and also have their German rivals Johannes POLGAR and Florian SPALTEHOLZ (GER), to deal with. POLGAR and SPALTEHOLZ have been on top form this year and have already qualified for the German spot at this year's Olympic Test Event in Qingdao.
GAEBLER is an experienced Olympian, with five appearances, highlighted by a bronze medal-winning performance in Sydney 2000. However, the German Tornado ticket for 2008 is still very much open. Whilst GAEBLER might have experience on his side (he was representing Germany in Korea whilst POLGAR was just starting his sailing career in Optimists), the form book currently points to POLGAR and SPALTEHOLZ, who hold an ISAF World Sailing Ranking of #4 compared to #12 for GAEBLER and STRUCKMANN.
Other big-name German entries in the Olympic Classes include Marc PICKEL and Ingo BORKOWSKI (GER) in Star, Kiel winners in 2003, and Marcus BAUR and Hannes BAUMANN (GER) in the 49er.
All Kiel Week Races 2007 will have the support of the following presenter and partners: BMW AG, HSH Nordbank, freente and boot Duesseldorf, b+m Informatic AG, B + S Card Service, Canon, Fuerst Bismarck, Quelle, Helly Hansen, Hugo Hamann, International Farbenwerke, Jever, Kapsch, CarrierCom, Kielnet, Lankhorst/Hohorst, Nexus, SVG Service Verlag/Segler-Zeitung, Tutima.
For all the news on Kiel Week CLICK HERE.
Kiel Week will be included in the first running of the ISAF World Cup© series for the Olympic Classes. For more on the ISAF World Cup© CLICK HERE.


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Joseph Gordon-Levitt's upcoming film, "Premium Rush," is poised to add two crucial cast members, the villain and the ex-love interest.
"Premium Rush" stars Gordon-Levitt as a bike messenger who picks up a package at Columbia University and ends up getting chased across New York City by a dirty cop, to be played by Michael Shannon, desperate to get his hands on the package.
Shannon's character is described by The Hollywood Reporter as "deceptively affable cop with a violent temper," which is funny because that's exactly how I imagine Shannon is in real life.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
And Jamie Chung ("Sorority Row") has been cast as Gordon-Levitt's ex, a fellow bike messenger who helps him outwit Shannon, according to the same report from THR.
But this seems to contradict Variety's report from two weeks ago that Dani Ramirez ("X-Men: The Last Stand") had been cast in the female lead. Could it be there are two female leads? Unlikely, but possible. It's strange that the THR report makes no mention at all of Ramirez.
The film is being written and directed by David Koepp, and is "a big-budget actioner... (with) the kind of elaborate chases associated with a William Friedkin pic," reported Variety last fall.
Though Koepp's last directorial effort was Ricky Gervais' "Ghost Town," he's no stranger to big-budget spectacles, having penned the last Indian Jones, "War of the Worlds," and "Spider-Man" among others.


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This is our LAST challenge here at the PSS blog! Be sure to join in the fun:)
This week's challenge - October Sketch
- Create a NEW project (card, tag, layout, altered item, etc).
- You must use at least one Paper Smooches stamp, die or free digital stamp
- Post your Paper Smooches SPARKS project on your blog. Submit a direct link to your blog post using our linking system below.
- Please link to our web site: www.papersmoochesstamps.com - and include Paper Smooches somewhere on your post.
- If you do not have a blog, please upload your project to our Splitcoaststampers Gallery (use keywords: papersmooches) or our Flickr Gallery and link to our web site in your description. Submit a direct link to your gallery image using our linking system below.
- Our banner must be displayed on your blog post (right click on the banner and save to your computer. If you have any trouble, I am happy to e-mail the image to you- savannahland2 at comcast dot net)
- The deadline: Saturday, October 31st at 11:59pm PST.
- Our NEW monthly challenge will start on the Paper Smooches blog on Sunday, November 1st!
- Our winner for this challenge will be announced on Sunday, November 1st on the PSS blog.
Here's what you are playing for:
- One player will be chosen and named our PS Pro for the week. Our PS Pros receive a $30 credit to the Paper Smooches store!!! This player will also be featured here as well as our Paper Smooches blog and receive a blog button to display on their blog.
- Two or more players will be chosen as our Featured Players


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|* June 12 - 18
|Desire of Nations
|But your iniquities have separated
between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that
he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers
with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered
perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they
trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth
iniquity. . . . The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath
anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening
of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of
the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord,
that he might be glorified"
This week we look at how the Lord planned to take His people from one spiritual place to another.
The Week at a Glance:
|How does sin separate us from God? What is the only basis of redemption? What was God's plan for the Hebrew nation? How was Jesus revealed in Isaiah 61:1-3? How do we understand God's vengeance?
Memory Text:
|"Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn" (Isaiah 60:3, NRSV).
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 19.
|June 13
The Effects of Sin (Isaiah 59).
In Isaiah 58:3 the people asked God: " 'Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?' " (NRSV).
In contrast, Isaiah 59:1 implies another question, something like: "Why do we call for the Lord's hand to save us, but He does not? Why do we cry to Him, but He does not hear?" Isaiah answers that God is able to save and hear (vs. 1). His failure to do either is, however, another matter entirely.
Read Isaiah 59:2. What message is being given here that answers the question in verse 1?
God chooses to "ignore" His people, not because that is His desire, but because, as Isaiah reveals, "your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God" (vs. 2, NRSV). Here is one of the clearest statements, in the Bible regarding the effect of sin on the divine-human relationship. Isaiah spends the rest of chapter 59 elaborating on this point, which is seen all through human history: Sin can destroy our relationship with the Lord and thus lead to our eternal ruinnot because sin drives God away from us, but that it drives us away from God.
Read Genesis 3:8. How does this example reveal the principle expressed in the above paragraph?
Sin is primarily a rejection of God, a turning away from Him. The sin act actually feeds upon itself in that not only is the act a turning away from God but the result of the act causes the sinner to turn away even more from the Lord. Sin separates us from God, not because God wouldn't reach out to the sinner (indeed, the whole Bible is almost nothing but the account of God reaching out to save sinners) but because sin causes us to reject His divine overtures to us. That is why it is so important that we tolerate no sin in our lives.
|In what ways have you experienced the phenomenon of sin causing a separation from God? What, in your own experience, is the only solution to the problem?
|June 14
Who Is Forgiven
Isaiah 59 presents a startling picture of the problem of sin. Fortunately, the Bible also presents the hope of redemption.
To begin, the first question is, How many of us have sinned? The Bible is unequivocal: All of us have. Redemption, therefore, cannot be based on lack of sin; it must be based on forgiveness (Jer 31:34). Paul agrees. All have sinned (Rom. 3:9-20, 23), so there can be no distinction on that basis (Rom. 3:22). Those who are justified can be judged as just, only because they receive by faith the gift of God's righteousness through the sacrifice of Christ.
Read Romans 3:21-24. What are those texts telling us about how we are saved? What hope should they give us in the judgment?
Most people think the question in the judgment is: Who has sinned? But that is not a question that needs to be asked, because everyone has sinned. Instead, the question is: Who is forgiven? God is just when He justifies "the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26, NRSV). The deciding factor in the judgment is, Who has received and continues to receive forgiveness by having faith in Jesus?
Now, it is true we are judged by works, but not in the sense that works save us. If so, then faith is made void (Rom. 4:14). Instead, our works reveal whether we truly have been saved (James 2:18).
Why can't works save us, either now or in the judgment? See Rom. 3:20, 23.
It is too late for good works, or obedience to the law, to redeem anyone. The purpose of the law in a sinful world isn't to save but to point out sin. Instead, "faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6, NRSV), love that is poured into the heart by God's Spirit (Rom. 5:5), demonstrates that a person has living faith in Jesus (compare James 2:26).
Works are an outward expression, the human manifestation of a saving faith. Hence, a true Christian experience is one in which faith is expressed in a daily commitment to the Lord that is revealed by obedience to the law. In the judgment, God uses works as evidence for His creatures, who cannot read thoughts of faith as He can. But for the converted person, only works following conversion, when the life is empowered by Christ and the Holy Spirit, are relevant in the judgment. The preconversion life of sin has already been washed away by the blood of the Lamb (see Romans 6).
|June 15
Universal Appeal (Isa. 60:1, 2).
What is Isaiah 60:1, 2 talking about? What principle is at work there that's seen all through the Bible? What hope does it offer?
In these two verses, we are given a picture of God's deliverance of His people, following the exile, expressed with the imagery of God creating light out of darkness and pointing forward to an ultimate fulfillment in salvation through Christ.
In verse 3, to whose light do nations and kings come?
In Hebrew this person is feminine singular (see also vss. 1, 2). It must be "Zion," personified as a woman, who is mentioned near the end of the previous chapter (Isa. 59:20). So the people of the earth, who are covered in darkness, will come to Zion. They will be drawn by the light of God's glory that has arisen over her (Isa. 60:2). "Zion is summoned to enter into the light that is hers and then to observe and react to the nations as they gather to the same light."J. Alec Motyer, p. 494. Notice that although Zion is Jerusalem, the emphasis is more on the people than on the physical location of the city.
The rest of Isaiah 60 develops the theme introduced in verses 1-3: The people of the world are drawn to Jerusalem, which is blessed because of God's glorious presence there.
How does this prophecy compare with God's covenant promise to Abraham? Gen. 12:2, 3. Are they not saying the same thing?
God had a universal purpose when He chose Abraham and his descendants: Through Abraham all families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3, 18:18, 22:18). So, God's covenant with Abraham was ultimately intended to be a covenant with all humankind through Abraham. He and his descendants would be God's channel of revelation to the world.
Isaiah sought to bring his people back to their ancient, universal destiny. As the representatives of the true God, they were responsible not only for themselves but for the world. They should welcome foreigners who seek God (compare Isa. 56:3-8), for His temple "shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (Isa. 56:7, NRSV).
|In this context, how do you understand the role of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, or your role in that church?
|June 16
"The Year of the Lord's Favor" (Isaiah 61).
Who is speaking in Isaiah 61:1?
The Spirit of God is on this anointed person, which means that he is a messiah or the Messiah. He is to "bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners" (vs. 1, NRSV). Who does that sound like? Compare Isaiah 42:1-7, where God's Servant is described in very similar terms.
Isaiah 61:2 talks about the "acceptable year of the Lord." The Messiah, who is anointed as the Davidic King and Deliverer, proclaims a special year of divine favor at the time when He proclaims liberty. Compare Leviticus 25:10, where God commands the Israelites to proclaim liberty in the holy fiftieth year: "It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family" (NRSV). This means that persons who had been forced to sell their ancestral land or to become servants in order to survive hard times (vss. 25-55) would reclaim their land and freedom. Because the jubilee year began with the blowing of a trumpet on the Day of Atonement (vs. 9), we have mentioned this passage before in connection with Isaiah 58.
While "the year of the Lord's favor" (NRSV) in Isaiah 61:2 is a kind of jubilee year, it is not simply an observance of Leviticus 25. This year is announced by the Messiah, the King, when He reveals Himself through a ministry of liberation and restoration. This is similar to some ancient Mesopotamian kings who promoted social kindness by proclaiming release from debts during early years of their reigns. The Messiah's ministry goes far beyond the scope of the Leviticus 25 law. Not only does He "proclaim liberty to the captives," He also binds up the brokenhearted, comforts those who mourn, and brings about their restoration (Isa. 61:1-11). Furthermore, in addition to "the year of the Lord's favor," he proclaims "the day of vengeance of our God" (vs. 2, NRSV).
|When was Isaiah's prophecy fulfilled? Luke 4:16-21. How did Jesus' ministry accomplish this? We, of course, are not Jesus, but we are to represent Him to the world. Also, ask yourself this important question: What are the things the Messiah does, as expressed in Isaiah 61:1-3, that we, in our limited capacities, should be doing, as well? And what are some of the practical ways in which we can do these things?
|June 17
"The Day of Vengeance of Our God" (Isa. 61:2, NRSV).
Amidst all the good news, why does the Messiah, as depicted in Isaiah 61, proclaim God's vengeance? When is this prophecy fulfilled?
When in Nazareth, Jesus, the Messiah, read Isaiah 61 as far as" 'to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor'" (vs. 2; Luke 4:19). Then he stopped and said: " 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing' " (Luke 4:21, NRSV). So, He deliberately and specifically avoided reading the next words in the same verse: "the day of vengeance of our God" (Isa. 61:2, NRSV). While His ministry of good news, liberty, and comfort was beginning to set captives free from Satan's tyranny, the day of vengeance was not yet to come. In Matthew 24 (compare Mark 13, Luke 21) He predicted to His disciples that divine judgments would come in the future.
Indeed, in Isaiah 61 the day of God's vengeance is the "great and terrible day of the Lord" (Joel 2:31, NRSV; Mal. 4:5), to be fulfilled when Christ will come again to liberate planet Earth from injustice by defeating His enemies and setting the oppressed remnant of His people free (Revelation 19; compare Dan. 2:44, 45). So although Christ announced the beginning of "the year of the Lord's favor," its culmination is at His second coming.
How do you reconcile the notion of a loving God with a God who also promises vengeance? Are the ideas incompatible? Or, do you understand vengeance as a manifestation of that love? If so, how so? Explain your answer.
Though Jesus has told us to turn the cheek (Matt. 5:39), in other places He is very clear that justice and punishment will be meted out (Matt. 8:12). Though Paul tells us not to "render evil for evil" (1 Thess. 5:15), he also says that when the Lord is revealed from heaven, He will with flaming fire take "vengeance on them that know not God" (2 Thess. 1:8).
The difference, of course, is that the Lord in His infinite wisdom and mercy can alone bring justice and vengeance in a completely fair manner. Human justice, human vengeance, comes with all the faults, frailties, and inconsistencies of humanity. God's justice, of course, will come with none of those limitations.
|How do we understand the link between God's love for us and the warnings of vengeance?
|June 18
Further Study:
|See also Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets,
pp. 376-378; also The Desire of
Ages, pp.
"Jesus stood before the people as a living expositor of the prophecies concerning Himself. Explaining the words He had read, He spoke of the Messiah as a reliever of the oppressed, a liberator of captives, a healer of the afflicted, restoring sight to the blind, and revealing to the world the light of truth. His impressive manner and the wonderful import of His words thrilled the hearers with a power they had never felt before. The tide of divine influence broke every barrier down; like Moses, they beheld the Invisible. As their hearts were moved upon by the Holy Spirit, they responded with fervent amens and praises to the Lord."The Desire of Ages, p. 237.
"The day of God's vengeance cometh-the day of the fierceness of His wrath. Who will abide the day of His coming? Men have hardened their hearts against the Spirit of God, but the arrows of His wrath will pierce where the arrows of conviction could not. God will not far hence arise to deal with the sinner. Will the false shepherd shield the transgressor in that day? Can he be excused who went with the multitude in the path of disobedience? Will popularity or numbers make any guiltless? These are questions which the careless and indifferent should consider and settle for themselves."Ellen G. White, Faith and Works, p. 33.
Discussion Question:
|A Seventh-day Adventist pastor thoughtfully stated that his number one problem in ministry is the exclusiveness of church members who do not want others to join them. How can "Christians" take the love, hope, and good news of Christ's kingdom to all the world so others can have an opportunity to be saved before the end comes (Matt. 24:14) when they do not even want to accept people who go out of their way to show up in their church?
|God purifies an unjust society by removing the rebels and by restoring the remnant who turn from the sins that have separated them from Him. Due to the blessings of God's presence, people from other nations are drawn to God and His people, so that they also can enjoy the time of God's favor that is proclaimed and delivered by the Messiah.
|I N S I D E Story
|Air Force Major
Joins God's Army
Major Andrew Babentsov joined the Ukrainian Air Force and quickly moved through its ranks, becoming a pilot, an officer, and finally a flight commander. While on a leave to visit his parents, Andrew accepted an invitation to attend some evangelistic meetings. He went out of curiosity and found the topics compelling. He made friends with the pastor and spent hours discussing the Bible and Bible prophecy with him. But before all his questions were answered, Andrew had to return to his military unit. He wanted to maintain contact with Adventists, but he could not find an Adventist church near his base. Even so, he tried to follow the biblical principles he had learned during those short visits home.
During duty in Yugoslavia for the United Nations, Andrew often saw God's hand of mercy and protection over him. He made a covenant to follow Christ in baptism. While preparing for baptism, he became convicted of the importance of Sabbath keeping.
After his baptism he wrote a letter to his commanding officer explaining his faith and asking to be released from the military. The commander refused, but released Andrew from work assignments on the Sabbath.
Andrew's integrity won him much respect, and when he began studying the Bible with other officers at the base, he was well received. He also shared literature and books with those who showed an interest.
Andrew wanted to share his faith with people in the town near his military base, so he began selling literature in his free time. He met some Adventists who had moved to the town to help establish a church and began working with them. Again he wrote a letter requesting release from his duties, so he could work full time for God. The commanders did not want to lose Andrew and offered him more privileges to entice him to remain in the air force.
But God was calling Andrew into higher service, and at last he received approval to resign from the military so he could become a leader in God's army instead.
ANDREW BABENTSOV (left) is studying theology as Zaoksky Theological Seminary in Russia. CHARLOTTE ISHKANIAN is editor of Mission.
|Produced by the General Conference Sabbath
School and Personal Ministries Dept.
Email: email@example.com
Join the SSNET moderated email discussion group. You are also warmly invited to join a group discussion of this lesson Sabbath morning with your local Seventh-day Adventist congregation.
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Spring, MD 20904.
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text:
OK, really esoteric question time:
So I went to the cinema with a female friend on the weekend. I was going to buy some of the horrendously overpriced popcorn there, but then she said:
And she had already brought some in her bag. Apparently, ~ちゃった is quite girly though. How could I say this in a more male (but still funny) way?


text:
"What were the Ice Age dwellers like who engineered this big rock into place? Primitive, freshly-emerged-from-apes sub-humans known only from ape-to-man illustrations would not have carved, drilled, transported, and erected such tremendous stone monuments—but Noah's descendants sure could have."
Oh yes - evolutionists are well known for claiming that at the time at which this Pantelleria Vecchia Bank monolith was constructed 'primitive, freshly-emerged-from-apes sub-humans' were roaming the Earth, aren't they Mr science denier Brian Thomas. (A 'recent' date - but which nevertheless is LESS recent than the date YEC science deniers assign to 'Noah's Worldwide Flood'.)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 9X15300535
"The monolith is composed of calcirudites of Late Pleistocene age, as determined from radiocarbon measurements conducted on several shell fragments extracted from the rock samples... Extrapolating ages from the local sea level curve, we infer that seawater inundated the inner lands at 9350 ± 200 year B.P., the upper limit which can be reasonably taken for the site abandonment. This discovery provides evidence for a significant Mesolithic human activity in the Sicilian Channel region."
But Thomas ignores this and hopes his readers will too - and he hasn't finished: "Ancient monument-building geniuses don't fit the evolutionary scheme". Garbage. All they don't fit is the Thomas strawman with all its false dates, with millions of years of Earth history being 'crammed' into less than 10,000 years.


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Penyanyi : Guest - Kate Hill
Judul lagu : Guest - Kate Hill
Guest - Kate Hill
Good morning! Happy July 1st. July always makes me think Summer with all the heat, fireworks and parades. And mosquitoes. But that's the cost of summer...biting insects. So I'm always looking for some way to ward the little blood suckers off so if you have hints, feel free to share.
In the meanwhile, we have author Kate Hill visiting today with an excellent post about the price of power. What are your thoughts? Authors? Readers? Let's discuss.
In the meanwhile, we have author Kate Hill visiting today with an excellent post about the price of power. What are your thoughts? Authors? Readers? Let's discuss.
Often in stories involving the paranormal, characters have powers that give them an advantage over others. Characters who use magic, for example, can perform tasks quicker and with more efficiency than normal humans. Mediums have inside information about the afterlife and shapeshifters aren't limited by their bodies as humans are. Vampires have the gift of long life.
Characters with special powers add an interesting layer to a story, but should those powers come at a price to at least help level the playing field between them and average people?
If a character is all powerful, they run the risk of being less interesting. As humans, our flaws are part of what make us unique and because we all have them, it's easier for us to relate to flawed characters. If everything came easily to paranormal characters, they would probably have no interest in us and vice versa. Since most paranormal romances deal with the very human emotion of love, character flaws are especially important because part of real love is accepting each other's imperfections.
In general, most paranormal creatures have their own set of trials to overcome. In many werewolf movies, for instance, the werewolf endures quite a bit of pain when shifting shape. For some shifters, the change might not be painful, but a natural occurrence for their species. When that happens they usually have other issues to deal with. Maybe they come from a strict pack and if the rules are violated, a member might be cast out or worse.
Vampires have long lives, but the price they pay is that they much leech off others, absorbing either blood or energy. In a romance, that flaw can actually be an important part of the love relationship. Instead of stealing blood or energy, their partner offers it willingly, creating a bond between them.
Many characters are born with their powers, but must develop them. Witches and others who use magic often take years to learn how to control their gifts.
In my novel The Red King, the antagonist, Hypatios, has some otherworldly gifts. He can speak to animals and to the dead. His powers have come at a price, however, and because of this he is known as the mad prince of Zaltana. He is a powerful enemy of the hero, Areus, and doesn't hesitate to use his powers against him. The excerpt below features a scene with a wounded Hypatios dealing with his powers in the presence of his love interest.
Do you think characters with otherworldly powers should pay their dues for these abilities? If paranormal characters are flawed, do you find them easier to relate to?
by Kate Hill
Erotic Fantasy Romance
Available July 01, 2015
Torn from her beloved convent home, Delia is forced to marry Areus of Lortia. The contract states she must deliver an heir within a year or the marriage can be annulled. Delia vows to control her fate by ensuring there will be no child--until she is mesmerized by Areus, the proud, virile warrior king.
Areus agrees to marry Delia to gain her father's army to continue his fight against Hypatios, the mad prince of Zaltana. He doesn't expect to fall in love with a convent-reared mouse, but from the first, Delia rouses his lust and touches his heart.
Their life together hangs in the balance as the war with Zaltana advances and Areus discovers Hypatios is far more than just his sworn enemy.
"Hypatios!" Mira stepped inside. She dropped her armload of firewood and ran to the bed.
"Mira, no, stay back!" he bellowed, momentarily forgetting that she could neither see nor feel the spirits.
As she neared, the spirits continued fighting, rolling across the floor.
"What happened?" Mira asked, taking his hand and cupping his cheek. "You're hot. I hope your fever isn't rising again."
"No, I'm fine," he said, catching his breath. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, the spirits were gone.
"You must have been dreaming." Mira reached for the mug of water and offered him some. "What was it about?"
His brow furrowed and a quirky smile touched his lips. "You want to know what I dreamed?"
"Do you want to tell me?"
She nodded and stood to collect the scattered firewood.
"It wasn't a dream," he said.
Still squatting on the floor, she glanced at him. "What happened then?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Don't be so sure. I've always had a wild imagination."
He grinned. "That sounds enticing."
Mira's smile faded and she turned away, picking up the wood.
"I apologize," he said. "I didn't mean that how it sounded."
She stood, her hands on her hips, and held his gaze. "Didn't you?"
Purchase Links: http://kate-hill.com/theredking.html
About Kate
Always a fan of romance and the paranormal, Kate Hill started writing over twenty years ago for pleasure. Her first story, a short erotic vampire tale, was accepted for publication in 1996. Since then she has sold over one hundred short stories, novellas and novels.
When she's not working on her books, Kate enjoys reading, working out and spending time with her family and pets.
She enjoys hearing from readers and she can be contacted at email@example.com. Kate also writes under the name Saloni Quinby. Find her online at http://www.kate-hill.com, http://www.twitter.com/katehillromance, and http://www.facebook.com/katehillsaloniquinby.
Lynda Again --
Hope you've enjoyed our guest today. Please click on the Google (g+) button to help spread the word and be sure to leave a comment to let her know. Remember, if you're a member of my newsletter, you'll get the latest news on my books along with the newsletter. Sign up. It's free!
Have a Blessed day!
Contact me
Website: http://www.lyndakscott.com.
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— In a performance befitting their dismal, error- and injury-filled campaign, the Washington Redskins stumbled their way through a 34-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in their final game of the season Sunday.
Rex Grossman kept team and individual turnover streaks intact with his 20th interception of the season. Poor tackling and breakdowns in pass coverage led to big scoring plays for the Eagles (8-8). Ineffective red zone play and penalties kept the Redskins from scoring themselves.
At one point, the Redskins had both running backs — Roy Helu and Evan Royster — receiving treatment from the medical staff on trainer's tables. Linebacker Brian Orakpo missed the second half with a pectoral injury. There was a 21-point fourth-quarter by the Eagles. And of course, the package wouldn't have been complete without a blocked field goal, so Washington allowed one of those as well.
The primary bright spots of the game for Washington were a 47-yard touchdown by Helu, a second straight 100-yard rushing outing by Royster (19 carries for 104 yards, including a long of 28) and two sacks by Orakpo, who finished the season with nine, the third straight year he has led the team.
But beyond that, highlights were few for the Redskins. The Eagles racked up 390 yards of offense — 190 in the fourth quarter — and had three receivers with at least 86 yards apiece. Washington's defense gave up at least 30 points for the fourth time in the last five games, and the 24-point loss was the Redskins' largest margin of defeat this season.
So ended the worst year in Mike Shanahan's 17 full seasons as a head coach.
The 5-11 finish was worse than a pair of 6-10 campaigns recorded by Shanahan last year and in 1999. It also gave Shanahan an 11-21 record in his first two seasons with the Redskins, who went 12-20 in the two seasons under Jim Zorn before Shanahan's arrival.
It also marked a third consecutive losing season for one of the NFL's most storied franchises, and the eighth time in the past 10 seasons that the Redskins have failed to post a winning record.
"Extremely frustrating to lose 11 ballgames, another game to a divisional opponent," linebacker London Fletcher said. "Felt like we played good football in the first half, and then in the fourth quarter, it got away from us. . . . Not enough good football for 60 minutes."
The Redskins trailed 10-0 at halftime and saw their best chance for an early touchdown slip through their hands midway through the first quarter. On third-and-9 from the Philadelphia 43, Grossman had Santana Moss open down the center of the field. His pass was slightly underthrown, and Moss had to slow up for it, but the ball slipped between Moss's arms for an incompletion at the goal line.
And then came an unfortunate second quarter, which featured the same types of misfortunes that have the Redskins have seen all season.
On the third play of the quarter, wide receiver Anthony Armstrong slipped past two defenders 54 yards downfield. But Grossman's underthrown pass bounced off the helmet of cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and into the hands of safety Nate Allen at the Philadelphia 7-yard line. Allen returned the interception 31 yards. It marked the 13th consecutive game with a turnover for Grossman, who finished the game 22-for-45 for 256 yards, a touchdown and an interception; for the Redskins, it sealed their league-worst 30th straight game with at least one turnover.
Later in the second quarter, kicker Graham Gano lined up for a field goal at the Philadelphia 18-yard line, only to have it blocked as the Eagles mowed down the right side of the line and Derek Landri batted the ball down. That gave Washington its league-worst fifth blocked field goal of the season and Gano, a former Raven, his 10th failed field-goal attempt.
Philadelphia scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Michael Vick to receiver Chad Hall, who slipped feeble tackle attempts by DeAngelo Hall and Perry Riley, then stepped into the end zone.
The Redskins moved to the Philadelphia35 before turning over the ball on downs with 44 seconds left in the half, but Orakpo sacked Vick and forced a fumble, which Washington recovered at the 17.
The Redskins, who had no timeouts left, reached the 4-yard line, but Grossman threw an incompletion in the end zone to Moss.
Moss thought he had been interfered with and took off his helmet while arguing the lack of a call, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that backed Washington up 15 yards with 23 seconds left.
Two plays later, the Redskins reached the 8-yard line but couldn't stop the clock and couldn't line up in time to try a field goal. They entered halftime scoreless.