text:
My review of Chris Tilling's monograph,, Paul's Divine Christology is now published (in SCJ). If you click the SCJ link, you can gain (free) access to all of the book reviews in the current edition. There's more than 60-pages worth, so you'll certainly get your fill. Happy reading.
Tag Archives: bible
review of the really, very, holy, Dr Tilling
Filed under Biblical-theology, Book Reviews
let's go easy on the Cremer
Recently I began going over my notes on NT Greek, mainly trying to decide on matters of content if I were to teach it. (Since I've never had to teach NT Greek, I figured it be best to know how I would if called on to do so). In the midst of this review, I (re)discovered one little anecdote that commonly appears in Greek textbooks: the "old" proposal that the NT was written in a special type of Greek for a specific purpose. As the late Rodney Decker says:
In the nineteenth century, it was frequently assumed that the Greek of the New Testament was not Classical Greek, but rather a special dialect of Greek created by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of accurately conveying divine revelation: "Holy Spirit Greek" as it was sometimes called.
–Koine Greek Reader (2007), 246.
Two things struck me about this claim (and others like it):
- The use of "frequently" to describe the assumption. Admittedly, I am neither a grammarian nor a student of the history of ancient languages–specifically NT Greek. I say that to say this: I'm open to correction for what I'm about to say. In all the searching/reading that I've done, I have not seen this assumption as widespread as the term, "frequently" suggests. However, I have frequently (almost routinely) seen the assumption that this assumption (or understanding) was widespread. But that's a different discussion for another time.
- The use of "special dialect" to describe the nature of the language. This is important because it signals the crucial difference between a dialect and a language. For comparison, think: Eubonics vs. Klingon. One is an adaptation and form of an existing language, while the other is language sui generis. Thus, I appreciate Decker's more tame (or even sober) description, in comparison to how others have portrayed things.¹ For example, Reggie Kidd describes the old view as: "many concluded that the New Testament was written in a secret, in-house 'Holy Ghost Greek' " (With One Voice [2005], 166). That's simply taking things (and the evidence) a bit too far.
Almost without fail, the culprits involved in perpetrating this "Holy Spirit/Ghost Greek"–especially as an entirely new language–are identified as Hermann Cremer (1834-1903) and Joseph Henry Thayer (1828-1901). Occasionally, some (e.g. Decker) will briefly mention Richard Rothe (1799-1867) as the source or inspiration for Cremer's ideas, with Thayer following suit. However, after I read Cremer's argument in context, and his use of Rothe, I did not see him advocating a NT Greek language sui generis via the Holy Spirit. Here's why:
Lexical works upon the New Testament Greek have hitherto lacked a thorough appreciation of what Schleiermacher calls "the language-moulding power of Christianity." A language so highly elaborated and widely used as was Greek having been chosen as the organ of the Spirit of Christ, it necessarily followed that as Christianity fulfilled the aspirations of truth, the expressions of that language received a new meaning, and terms hackneyed and worn out by the current misuse of daily talk received a new impress and a fresh power. But as Christianity stands in express and obvious antithesis to the natural man (using this phrase in a spiritual sense), Greek, as the embodiment and reflection of man's natural life in its richness and fulness, presents this contrast in the service of the sanctuary. This is a phenomenon which repeats itself in every sphere of life upon which Christianity enters, not, of course, always in the same way, but always with the same result–namely, that the spirit of the language expands, and makes itself adequate to the new views which the Spirit of Christ reveals. The speaker's or writer's range of view must change as the starting-point and goal of all his judgments change; and this change will not only modify the import and range of conceptions already existing, but will lead to the formation of new conceptions and relationships. In fact, "we may," as Rothe says. . ."appropriately speak of a language of the Holy Ghost. For in the Bible it is evident that the Holy Spirit has been at work, moulding for itself a distinctly religious mode of expression out of the language of the country which it has chosen as its sphere, and transforming the linguistic elements which it found ready to hand, and even conceptions already existing, into a shape and form appropriate to itself and all its own." We have a very clear and striking proof of this in New Testament Greek.
–H. Cremer, Lexicon of New Testament Greek (1892), vi.
The usual criticisms laid against Cremer's statement are:
- he spoke way too soon and concluded too much, because
- later papyri discoveries (cf. Deissmann) revealed that the Greek of the NT was the everyday language of the Empire in and around the time of Jesus; thus "the Greek of the NT was not a language invented by the Holy Spirit (Hermann Cremer had called it 'Holy Spirit Greek')"², and
- his assumptions relied upon faulty views of inspiration–namely, the so-called "mechanical inspiration theory", whereby not only the content of the NT but also its very language were given by the Holy Spirit³
My problem is that I do not see any of these criticisms as relevant or applicable to Cremer's statement. He was not (as I read him) advocating a language sui generis, as the criticisms suggest; he was arguing primarily for the Holy Spirit's role in using existing language and giving existing terms and concepts fresh meanings to be used by NT writers. Moreover, while I acknowledge the existence of a "mechanical inspiration theory", I do not think we can see it as a presupposition to Cremer's argument, mainly because he is not assuming (or even agreeing with) one of the necessary premises of that theory–i.e. the Holy Spirit invented that language.
All of that to say: if we're going to mention the Holy Spirit Greek anecdote, let's give Cremer (and possibly even Rothe) better credit.
¹ Nigel Turner is said to declare: "Bibl[ical] Greek is a unique language with a unity and character of its own" and that "We now have to concede that not only is the subject-matter of the Scriptures unique but so also is the language in which they came to be written or translated" (Syntax [1963], 4, 9–quoted [and slightly adapted] from Wallace, Greek Grammar [1996], 26). However, S. Porter suggests that Turner backed off a bit from this definitive position–i.e. that we're dealing with a unique language. Turner's slightly revised view, according to Porter, says the Greek of the NT is "distinguishable dialect of spoken and written Jewish Greek" (Grammatical Insights [2004], 183–quoted from Porter, "Introduction" in The Language of the New Testament: Classic Essays [1991], 29).
² D. Wallace, Greek Grammar (1996), 25.
³ cf. C.-W. Jong, The Original Language of Luke Infancy Narrative (2004), 8.
two helpful resources on Revelation
Let's be honest: the book of Revelation (or, the Apocalypse) is a bit wild and even tantalizing, often resulting in confusion and debate. Unfortunately, these results persist due to the rather unhelpful (and other "un-" adjectives) interpretations of people like CI Scofield, Hal Lindsey, John Walvoord, and Harold Camping (just to name a few)–all of whom seem to find delight in debates, and who tend to read the text of Revelation through a predetermined (or pre-established) theological grid for the sake of maintaining that grid.
Fortunately, there are a handful of people who are committed to reading the text in a way that is sensitive to the history, culture, and theology of the time in which it appeared, with the hope of alleviating (some of) the confusion and debate, while allowing (most of) the wild and tantalizing bits to remain–primarily because they serve a purpose. Two of these people have written on the book of Revelation, and both now have lecture files available online for intellectual (and spiritual) consumption:
- The first is by M. Robert Mulholland. These are video files of his Seminary course at Asbury (KY).
- The second is by G.K. Beale. These are audio files of his lectures given at Lanesville Church (MA), back in the early-to-mid 90s, .
I cannot recommend either (or both) of these highly enough. While I have not listened to his lectures (yet), Beale's work (especially his little pamphlet in the NIGTC series) was influential in my earlier studies and subsequent teaching of Revelation. I can only imagine that the lectures stress the needed balance between scholarship and pastoral concerns. And I can say that Mulholland's lectures are worth every minute. He is engaging, insightful, knowledgeable, and deeply considerate of the needs of the students.
Filed under Uncategorized
writing assistance needed
I need your help and would greatly value your input/insight. For the past two years (maybe more), I've been toying with the idea of writing commentaries on the NT–primarily, to begin with, the letters of Paul. I know: go figure. My plan is to start small(ish) and work my way toward the longer Pauline letters. I should say this plan also involves a consideration of the level of theological detail/content of the letters. In other words: I want to begin with letters that address only a small handful of topics and work my way through those where discussion is more involved. (NB: this is not to suggest that the ones with fewer topics are less important than the others). Accordingly, my tentative schedule is as follows:
- 1-2 Thessalonians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Galatians
- Colossians and Philemon
- Pastorals (i.e. 1-2 Timothy, Titus)
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Romans
However, when it comes to coverage and content, I've been rather stuck on what to include. There are loads of details that I find fascinating but would surely bore the socks off of just about everyone else. That is to say: I realize and accept that commentaries are not everyone's cup of tea (or coffee) and that their often technical nature tends to be kryptonite for most would-be readers. Because of this, I thought it best to ask around and see what would be interesting or of value to readers. Hence, I need your help.
In the main, and if you are unfamiliar with commentaries, most writers will adhere to a general two-part format, which might include any number of sub-topics:
- Introductory matters
- Authorship
- Date and place of writing
- Audience
- Occasion (i.e. why the letter was written)
- Major themes
- Structure (i.e. outline of the letter)
- Placement in the canon
- Detailed comments on the text/document
- Text-critical issues (i.e. dealing with variants in the Greek manuscripts)
- Analysis of key words, phrases, clauses, sentences–usually referring to the Greek
- Connections with (similar) NT ideas/themes/teachings
- Relevance for the church–whether past, present, and/or future
Riveting stuff, I know. By and large, this format and many of its features, specifically their content, reflect the ongoing dialogue between scholars in the field, with the hope that non-specialist wanderers will find it interesting or even informative. Moreover, the kinds of topics discussed–and the level at which they are discussed–are often determined by the aims or purpose of a given commentary series.
For example: the International Critical Commentary (ICC) series is geared more for academics while the Interpretation (Int) series is orientated more for pastors and church-goers. (NB: this is not to suggest that the Interpretation series is not academically minded; all of the contributors in this series are experts in their respective fields). For comparison, with regard to the letter to the Galatians: the ICC¹ expends 65 pages on introductory matters, while the Int² covers just shy of 11 pages. And in terms of total coverage, the Int falls short of 160 pages (excluding bibliography) and the ICC swells to just over 500 pages (excluding bibliography and indexes).
So, to come back round to my request for assistance: what kinds of things, or level of details, would you like to see in a NT commentary? What interests you? What bores you tears? What would be something that would enhance your reading and/or understanding of a NT text? What questions would you like answered–or at least addressed? What about style and/or format? I'm looking for insight from anyone who is willing to offer it, no matter if you are an expert in NT scholarship or if you have a scintilla of understanding about Christianity or somewhere in between. I would love to hear from you so that I can write for you.
¹ This refers to E. de Witt Burton's 1920 commentary in the ICC series.
² This refers to C. Cousar's 1982 commentary in the Int series.
literary license, or forgot to read the whole thing?
Monday, 06-Jan-2014 marked the beginning of my first (official) online course that I'm teaching for Johnson University. The course is a 7-week intensive study of 1 Corinthians for the MA in Intercultural Studies program. To be fair, the course is really a 5-week intensive on 1 Corinthians, seeing that week 1 deals with introductory matters and week 7 is missions orientated–in view of what we learn from 1 Corinthians, of course.
While preparing for/writing the course, I had the opportunity to revisit the text in a rather detailed manner–something that I have not done since the middle of October. (I took a break from 1 Corinthians because I needed to, seeing that I spent nearly 5 years exegeting the thing). In this revisiting, I was also able to look at a few things more closely–things that I could only consider briefly when doing my PhD. One of these bits was the Thanksgiving portion of the letter (i.e. 1 Cor 1.4-9), which contains a number of salient details relevant to what Paul argues in the letter.
In my preparations for this course, I wanted to interact with English translation and consider how they deal with certain portions of the text. When I did this with the Thanksgiving section, something struck me as rather surprising. The specific passage in mind is 1 Cor 1.4-5, which I translate as: "I always give thanks to my God concerning you for the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus, since in all things you were made rich in him [Jesus]–in all speech and all knowledge" (εὐχαριτω τω θεω μου παντοτε περι ὑμων ἐπι τη χαριτι του θεου τη δοθειση ὑμιν ἐν Χριστω ͗Ιησου, ὁτι ἐν παντι ἐπλουτισθητε ἐν αὐτω, ἐν παντι λογω και παση γνωσει).
By and large, the majority of English translation agree on the big ticket items in this passage: God is always the recipient of Paul's thanksgiving, the Corinthians are always the indirect object, God's grace is always the "thing" given to the Corinthians, Christ Jesus is always the agent through whom God's grace comes, the Corinthians are always rich in/because of Christ, and there is always something about "speech" and "knowledge." Admittedly, some will add a flourish here and there, ostensibly to make the text "come alive" to its readers, and these flourishes range between "Hey, that's quite good" (e.g. "Every time I think of you–and I think of you often!–I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus" [MSG]) and "Okay . . . I think I see what you're doing" (e.g. "I never stop thanking my God for being kind enough to give you Christ Jesus" [CEV]).
Moreover, especially when comparing translations on the final clause (i.e. "in all speech and all knowledge"), there are a few that offer what look to be explanatory interpretations of what (they think) Paul is saying. For example, while the Greek simply says, "in all speech and all knowledge", others will suggest further details:
- Amplified Bible: "in full power and readiness of speech (to speak your faith) and complete knowledge and illumination (to give you full insight into its meaning)"
- Complete Jewish Bible: "particularly in power of speech and depth of knowledge"
- Darby's Translation: "in all word (of doctrine), and all knowledge"
- Living Bible: "He has helped you speak out for him and has given you a fill understanding of truth"
- New Living Translation: "with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge"[1]
All of these kinds of flourishes and explanatory interpretations could be seen as exercising artistic or literary license, which is sometimes needed when doing translation. However, in one translation it appears as though the excitement of receiving their literary license caused the translators to forget everything else. The translation in question? The New International Reader's Version (or NIrV)–published by the same people who did the NIV (and tried to corner the market with multiple types of it) and the late TNIV.[2] The over-exuberant reading? Here you go (with reference to the Greek for comparison):
- Greek: ἐν παντι λογω και παση γνωσει ("in all speech and all knowledge")
- NIrV: "All your teaching of the truth is better. Your understand of it is more complete"
Excuse me?! How the . . . Have you read 1 Corinthians!? Did you happen to pick up a commentary on 1 Corinthians or even a scholarly article and, I don't know, see what scholars have to say?! "Better" and "more complete" than what–a rock? Two minutes more reading of the letter will demonstrate that the Corinthians' teaching and understanding are precisely what Paul addresses. And it's clear that he ain't happy with either (or both). "All your teaching of the truth is better. Your understanding of it is more complete." Give me a break. You should have your license revoked, or at least suspended.
[1] I happen to like this one, mainly because I think it brings out Paul's sarcasm, which obviously appeals to mine.
[2] Although, you can still access this version online.
ignoring context to sustain an existing interpretation
On two separate occasions now, I've heard and read persons appealing to 1 Cor 3.10-15 in ways that make me a bit unsettled–or at the very least, a little worried. In both cases, the ultimate focus of the discussion was the same: the (eternal) status of believers before God. However, the specific emphases of the two persons were distinct, and one's appeal to the text was more explicit than the other.
In the first instance, I heard a pastor[1] use and teach through 1 Cor 3.10-15 to support 1) the conjoined ideas of "the judgment seat of Christ"–not to be confused with the "great white throne of judgment", which is (supposedly) separate–and "the judgment of believers" on the basis of (good, faithful) works, and 2) the heavenly "rewards and responsibilities" that come as a result of that works-focused judgment.[2] In fact, this pastor confidently asserted that this text is one of roughly two dozen passages that speak directly to the judgment of believers before/at the (so-called) millennial reign of Christ. What is vitally important to note is that the pastor made it abundantly clear that the notion of rewards is separate from one's salvation-status before God. Specifically, an eternally secured "saved" status is assumed for all believers and the kinds or levels of reward do not affect that status.
In the second instance, I read a scholar[1] who used 1 Cor 3.10-15–specifically 3.15–as support for reading Heb 6.1-8 as referring to a believer's "loss of rewards at the judgment seat of Christ" due to his/her hardheartedness, which inhibits faithful "progress in the Christian life". (This scholar appeals to the Corinthian text because he sees it speaking to the very idea of [loss of] rewards). Specifically, this scholar reads Heb 6.1-8 as addressing the issue of believers regressing to and being content with the elementary "doctrines of the faith" and their subsequent neglect of "the more complicated doctrines at hand"–i.e. those that presumably foster progress in the Christian life.
With regard to the first instance, the gist of 1 Cor 3.10-15 does appear to support 1) the idea of heavenly rewards on the basis of faithfulness post-belief in the gospel, and 2) the assurance that one's status before God is secured regardless of the degree of faithfulness. Paul's argument does seem to suggest that those who build (i.e. live their lives) on the foundation already laid (i.e. belief in Christ) in complete faithfulness and obedience (i.e. using the best materials) will receive a better reward at "the end" than those who build with weak or shoddy materials (i.e. live their lives with minimal faithfulness and reluctant obedience). And it does seem that Paul emphasizes the fact that the second builder is not the recipient of condemnation; only his crappy work is punished. Thus, the builder's status before God remains intact while his efforts are less fortunate.
I could accept this type of reading and interpretation and the theological/doctrinal teaching that follows from it–i.e. the one advocated by the pastor–only if I read 1 Cor 3.10-15 as a stand-alone passage, divorced from its surrounding context. I know that might sound harsh but after spending nearly four years with 1 Corinthians,[3] specifically 1 Cor 1-4, I cannot read the metaphor of 1 Cor 3.10-15 as referring to rewards given to believers before/at the millennial reign of Christ on the basis of faithful works. Paul's specific argument in 1 Cor 1-4 does not advocate or even deal with that idea. I would be willing to bet that if Paul were alive and someone said, "This is how I read your argument" he would say, "Excuse me?"
Paul's argument in 1 Cor 3.10-15, as read within the surrounding context of 1 Cor 1-4, is primarily (if not exclusively) about the way or manner in which the gospel of Christ crucified is proclaimed and subsequently judged–both by the Corinthians and by God. Specifically, Paul asserts (cf. 2.1-4) that his original proclamation of the gospel lacked rhetorical flare (and even without the need for such flare), a lack that the Corinthians–relying on worldly wisdom–now judge as evidence of a worthless and substantively foolish message. In their minds, Paul built a house with hay, wood, and straw. By contrast and implication, Apollos[4] continued the message of the cross but (presumably) did so with his usual rhetorical eloquence (cf. Acts 18.24)–a method that the Corinthians, again relying on worldly wisdom, now judge as evidence of a meaningful and substantively wise message. In their minds, Apollos built with gold, silver, and precious stones.
Paul's (implied) counterargument that in terms of proclaiming the gospel of Christ crucified–i.e. the foundation for one's faith–the manner of delivery is ultimately of little to no consequence in the eyes and/or judgment of God. Part of the emphasis in 1 Cor 3.10-15 is that if Apollos proclaimed the gospel with rhetorical giftedness, then bravo to him. Well done. And if Paul originally proclaimed the gospel without needing to rely on rhetorical skill or conventions, then so what? Christ was proclaimed! (cf. Phil 1.12-18). Judgments about the method or means are inconsequential and ultimately superficial in relation to judgments about the substance or content of what is proclaimed. The problem, and the other part of the emphasis in 1 Cor 3.10-15, was that the Corinthians were casting judgments about the substance of the message on the basis of the method in which it was delivered. Thus, Paul's message was deemed foolish only because it lacked eloquence. Paul's point is that while it may be the case that he lacked eloquence, the foundation he laid remains (3.10) and he himself is unscathed in judgment (3.15; hence 1 Cor 4.3).
With regard to the second instance (i.e. the Heb 6.1-8 passage), I have to be somewhat brief–primarily because this post is getting away from me but also because it dips into a discussion that requires its own post. Suffice it to say that the scholar's reading of Heb 6.1-8 as referring to a believer's "loss of rewards at the judgment seat of Christ" due to his/her hardheartedness, which inhibits faithful "progress in the Christian life" is also based on overlooking (or dare I say, ignoring?) the surrounding context. Such a reading the text overlooks a key point about the argument: nowhere in Heb 6.1-8 is the discussion of rewards on the basis of faithful/good works mentioned. The focus of the argument in Heb 6.1-8 deals with the consequences of a believer's rejection of the salvation they originally accepted (cf. 2.1-4; 3.7-4.13; 5.11-6.20; 10.19-39; 12.12-13.19).
However, in what appears to be an attempt to sustain a particular interpretation of Heb 6.1-8–an interpretation that sidesteps the obvious reading of the text so as to maintain a pre-existing theological position–1 Cor 3.10-15 is brought in as supporting the idea of a loss of rewards but the eternal security of the believer despite the loss. The problem with this should be obvious: that type of appeal only works if 1) the idea of eternal security of believers is accepted unequivocally, and 2) the argument of 1 Cor 3.10-15 does in fact refer to rewards as distinct from one's salvation status. You already know my thoughts about the second point. I'll withhold my thoughts on the first point for now.
My aim for this post was not to debate the idea of eschatological rewards for believers or even the question of one's eternal secured vs. conditioned status before God, specifically in the Hebrews passage. Rather, my point was to say that I do not see 1 Cor 3.10-15 as directly (if at all) speaking to either rewards or status in the way the above pastor and scholar interpret it.[5] Specifically, to ignore the surrounding context (i.e. 1 Cor 1-4) and thus read Paul's argument in 1 Cor 3.10-15 as primarily about–or to assume that his argument advocates–one or both of these points is to misread or even misconstrue Paul and to impose on his argument a pre-existing set of theological/doctrinal presuppositions that are essentially foreign–or at least unrelated–to the substance of the text.
[1] This individual will remain unnamed because of my respect for him.
[2] For the record, I do not think the NT is clear or definitive enough about the notion of "rewards" in heaven based on a believer's faithful works while on earth to form a theological or doctrinal position. Specifically, I see the bulk of the passages brought to bear on this idea as being interpreted in such a way that they validate an existing conclusion rather than forming the basis for a conclusion.
[3] Cf. my PhD thesis, when it gets published.
[4] In contrast to some recent commentators (e.g. R. Collins), I see Paul's remarks in 1 Cor 3.10-15 as relating primarily to his work and that of Apollos. Thus, while I do think the implications of Paul's argument can be extended to Christians in general, I see it as only that–i.e. an extension.
[5] At best, we could say the ideas of rewards and/or status are tangential to the wider argument.
Filed under Biblical-theology, Random
trying to see it from all sides, and not just from the stands
This is something I wrote for my brother early last year. It's a brief(ish) exposition on John 3.16–the favorite verse placarded at football games. This exposition was mostly me thinking out loud. I'm completely open to further insights and/or criticisms.
1. Historical Setting
The meeting with Nicodemus takes place early in Jesus' public ministry. To summarize: in Galilee, Jesus calls a small handful of disciples; with his disciples and mother, Jesus attends a wedding-feast in Cana (of Galilee), at which point he performs his first miracle—although the source or cause of the miracle is known only by the disciples; he then makes a short stay in Capernaum (15 miles east of Cana) before traveling roughly 80 miles south to Jerusalem, in order to attend the Passover. However, instead of celebrating Jesus is enraged by what is being done in the Temple, and his actions bring him into immediate conflict with the religious elite.
It is on the heels of this conflict that the meeting with Nicodemus occurs. Since 2.23 says Jesus remained in Jerusalem for the Passover, and since 3.22 says Jesus and his disciples traveled into the region of Judea, and since the encounter with Nicodemus falls between these passages; it is safe to assume that the conversation takes place while Jesus is still in Jerusalem. Whether or not the conversation occurred specifically in the Temple proper, we cannot be absolutely sure; it seems reasonable enough to assume that it happened somewhere within the Temple complex.
With regard to the meeting itself, two points should be noted. First, Nicodemus comes with an awareness of the "signs" (or miracles) that Jesus performed in the Temple (see 2.23). We can assume either that news about the "signs" quickly spread to Nicodemus or that he himself witnessed the "signs." Second, Nicodemus meets with Jesus at night, most likely in an attempt to safeguard himself from the Jews, those angered by Jesus' previous statements (see 2.18-20; cf. 19.38). Although it is entirely possible that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night because it would ensure an "uninterrupted conversation" (Beasley-Murray 1987: 47). Both of these points (i.e. "signs" and night-visit) will be crucial when we come to the question of theological themes.
2. Literary Relationship
John 3.1-21 is both preceded and followed by a discussion of Jesus' identity, a discussion that pervades the entire Gospel narrative and one that has a specific goal (see 20.30-31). At the start of chapter 1, we read a theological summary of Jesus' true identity, one that remains virtually unknown to many throughout the narrative. (Only the readers of the Gospel have knowledge of Jesus' true identity). Following this we read various testimonies about Jesus, although they tend to be quite vague and even cryptic. Moreover, it becomes apparent in these instances that those testifying about Jesus are unaware of the full implications of what they are saying.
In chapter 2, we find illustrations of Jesus' identity revealing itself in what he is able to do—e.g. water into wine, prophesying, performing signs and wonders. It is here that we find evidence of the disciples (and others witnessing the words and deeds of Jesus) as not fully aware of Jesus' true identity; they simply marvel at what he does. In one text, John provides a parenthetical statement about the disciples' later understanding of the events they witness now—see e.g. 2.20-22 (cf. 12.16). Then, following the dialogue with Nicodemus, we have John the Baptizer's testimony about Jesus' identity, although once again we are confronted with vague and cryptic remarks (see 3.22-36). However, despite the vagueness, these testimonies function as clues for understanding Jesus' identity as the Gospel unfolds.
Between the descriptions of what Jesus is able to do and who he is, there is a discussion of why Jesus came. This specific discussion is the dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus, where the conversation begins with a question of identity but quickly moves to the topic of purpose. To say this differently: we see how Jesus' identity is necessarily connected with his role in God's plan of salvation, a plan that remains hidden but is being revealed in and through Jesus. Absolutely central to this conversation is the dilemma of how one is able to know Jesus' true identity and purpose, and it is here we find a necessary distinction between ways of knowing.
3. Logical Structure
Based on the content and flow of the passage, John 3.1-21 divides fairly evenly. In the first half (3.1-11) we have Nicodemus (and ostensibly a select group of Jews—many of the pronouns in this section are plural) expressing a particular view of who Jesus is. It becomes obvious that this view is inadequate or even faulty, and the failure stems from an improper way of understanding or interpreting reality. In the second half (3.12-21) we have Jesus (and ostensibly his disciples—cf. 3.11 and Jesus' use of "we") expressing an alternate view, one that is perfectly adequate or reasonable—and not simply because Jesus is the one giving it. It is adequate or reasonable because it is consistent with the proper way of understanding or interpreting reality, and in this case that proper way is shaped by God's revealed wisdom.
4. Theological Themes
In terms of order, the first theme to recognize is the tension between darkness and light. As noted earlier, Nicodemus "came to him [Jesus] at night" (3.2). While it might be historically the case, John's interest in the time of the encounter is more theological. John has already used "darkness" as a description for the state of the world at the time of Christ's incarnation, which he further describes as "light" coming into the world (see 1.4-5, 9-10). Moreover, the "darkness" is portrayed as unable to know (or comprehend) the "light," and as a result the "darkness" rejects the "light." The sting of 3.11 is that while Nicodemus and some of the Jews are sympathetic to Jesus because of his deeds (cf. 2.23; 3.2b), they remain opposed to him because they reject his testimony concerning who he is (see Lincoln 2005: 152). This introduces the second theme.
John 2 ends with Jesus not trusting those who only came to him because of the "signs" he performed (see Haenchen 1984: 1.192), a theme that reappears in the Gospel (e.g. 4.46-48; 6.14-15, 25-27). In short: faith dependent upon "signs" (or miracles) is neither a stable nor adequate faith (see Bultmann 1971: 131). Moreover, such faith operates according to a particular way of understanding or interpreting reality—especially the things of God—and this way is insufficient. However, it is this faith (or belief) and this particular way of understanding that stand behind Nicodemus' question and dialogue with Jesus. Nicodemus understands only on a superficial (tangible?) level, which therefore hinders his ability to understand Jesus' (hidden) meaning. For Jesus, true belief (or true faith) is about seeing beyond the "signs" and coming into the presence of the one who has the power and authority to perform them (see 6.32-40, 51-58).
This (in)ability to see beyond the superficial represents the third theme: the tension between ignorance and knowledge. Jesus' refusal to trust those only seeking "signs" is said to be rooted in his knowledge of "what was in man" (2.25), which suggests a knowledge of identity and purpose, whereas Nicodemus' failure to understand Jesus' teaching is rooted in an improper way of knowing. In other words: Nicodemus is ignorant of God's revelation in Jesus whereas Jesus has full knowledge of God's wisdom. To put it yet another way: Nicodemus attempts to know God's wisdom via human efforts or reasoning (bottom-up), while Jesus says such wisdom can only be known by God's revelation (top-down). Thus, only by a transformation of mind can one know God's wisdom and thereby his salvation, which results in entering the kingdom (see 3.3, 5; cf. 3.13; Rom 12.1-2; 1 Cor 2.10-12). Hence, one must be "born from above" (3.3).
Closely associated with this is the last theme: the tension between death and (eternal) life. Throughout the conversation the emphasis falls on (eternal) life, with death being primarily an implication (cf. 3.16, which contains the only [direct] reference to death in the entire passage). It is worth noting that the discussion on (eternal) life occurs in the context of God's kingdom, God's revelation, God's salvation in Jesus, and the appropriate way for understanding all of these things. Moreover, it is no mistake that only here in John's Gospel is (eternal) life necessarily linked with Jesus' identity and purpose (see Brown 1971: 1.147; Ridderbos 1997: 136-39) and true belief in Jesus' identity and purpose as the only way to (eternal) life (cf. Acts 4.12). We see this in 3.14b where Jesus affirms: "it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up", with the reason for the necessity given in 3.15: "so that whoever believes in him might have eternal life." Thus, the possibility of (eternal) life is dependent upon Christ being "lifted up" (i.e. crucified) and participation in that (eternal) life is dependent upon belief in both the purpose and work of Christ.


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Isaac is on the attack, better get out of his way puny human!
Art done by Seasonfade
This plushie was done by kimrhodes
I can't even start to say how beautiful this is. I'll be able to have Isaac in my hands later this week. I can't stop staring at him!
This beautiful piece of work was done by kimrhodes
I was amazed how perfectly she captured Isaac. Just the right amount of tiger and wolf.
Jack visits humans trying to get in touch with that part of his heritage. He really likes their style, it beats being nude!
Done by Reviro
A wonderful reference piece done by Reviro.
I post the full detailed reference sheet of Jack that i'll be using for his bios (I'll be into the story section later). I spliced this one up to get closer looks at the wonderful detail the artist did.
-If you are interested doing a reference sheet on a full blooded Klaxarr, please contact me! (sigfried.mausi at yahoo)
This is an example of a basic Snow Clan Klaxarr. They are shades of white, gray and black with various patterns and markings.
Feel free to color this line-art! (By Pinkiepi!) I'm so happy she made this for me! He's wonderful!
Any Questions about the colors of their eyes or fur, just ask me! I'll soon be uploading all that information in the Biology tab.
Here is the transparent imagine! [x]
A wonderful art project done by Actor and Gal in their art class. His fur is made of paper towels, which is said to be super soft. They didn't get a chance to paint it, but still very nice!

subset: commoncrawl


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New Color Nook Leaked on Barnes & Noble Site
It's a bit of an open secret that Barnes & Noble plans to unveil a new version of the Nook e-book reader tomorrow, and the company may have inadvertently given a look at the new device on its own website.
Following a tip, CNET found an image of a brand-new Nook on the Barnes & Noble website. The device is certainly not a current generation Nook . It has a single large screen, and there are no buttons, which indicates that it's a touchscreen.
The image is likely of the new Nook device because it was found on a page of the company site advertising the "Nook Color Screen Film Kit." There would be no need to have such a kit unless the company planned to sell this device. Also, the rumors indicated the new Nook would have a color screen , which fits nicely with the words "Nook Color" on the site.
There is little to be gleaned from the image other than that it is a very simple design and Barnes & Noble will sell protective screens for the display (another common practice for touchscreen devices). There are no other buttons on the front side and there don't even appear to be buttons along the sides. There is a single half-ring of metal protruding out of the bottom-left corner, but it's unclear what B&N intend for it.
Unsurprisingly, the entire page featuring this image was taken down as soon as the news broke. Stay tuned for more details from B&N's e-reader press event tomorrow afternoon.
Android Tablet to Challenge iPad on November 11th for $600
Amazon Adds e-Book Sharing Feature for Kindle Users


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Posts tagged playstation 3 cost
Where the $60 for new games goes
With the 20% price hike in PS3 and Xbox 360 games, gamers wonder exactly where it all goes. We hear it is because of the increase in production costs, but we still would like to know the breakdown of where our triplet of $20 bills gets sent. Now, Forbes has given us the skinny on the whole deal,...
Featured Stories
A Golden Wake review: The City Beautiful
Posted on Oct 20th 2014 3:30PM
Editor's Note: We Are Always Fighting
Posted on Oct 20th 2014 12:49PM
Joystiq Weekly: Mordor's photo mode, The Evil Within review, Devolver's appeal and more
Posted on Oct 18th 2014 1:30PM


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Baby elephants playing soccer?! Hold the mother-loving phone. I can't believe people kill elephants! Save the elephants!
(Sorry if this plays a commercial before the video but this was too cute not to share. If it didn't play a commercial, I'm not sorry. JK, I wasn't really sorry before. OK OK I was, you know I love you.)
∞ posted at 11:30 by youtalkfunny


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The Leading eBooks Store Online
for Kindle Fire, Apple, Android, Nook, Kobo, PC, Mac, BlackBerry ...
Three-Dimensional Flows
Preview (read now) Add to my own site Give this ebook to a friend Add to my wishlist Author's page Publisher's page
moreIn this book, the authors present the elements of a general theory for flows on three-dimensional compact boundaryless manifolds, encompassing flows with equilibria accumulated by regular orbits. The book aims to provide a global perspective of this theory and make it easier for the reader to digest the growing literature on this subject. This is not the first book on the subject of dynamical systems, but there are distinct aspects which together make this book unique. Firstly, this book treats mostly continuous time dynamical systems, instead of its discrete counterpart, exhaustively treated in some other texts. Secondly, this book treats all the subjects from a mathematical perspective with proofs of most of the results included. Thirdly, this book is meant to be an advanced graduate textbook and not just a reference book or monograph on the subject. This aspect is reflected in the way the cover material is presented, with careful and complete proofs, and precise references to topics in the book. less
Springer; June 2010
367 pages; ISBN 9783642114144
Read online, or download in secure PDF format
367 pages; ISBN 9783642114144
Read online, or download in secure PDF format
More Science
What If? 2014 US$ 18.95 320 pages
Physical Geography: The Basics 2011 US$ 24.95 177 pages
The Botany of Desire 2001 US$ 11.99 1 pages
IB Course Book Chemistry 2014 2014 US$ 57.60 816 pages
Subject categories
- Academic > Mathematics > Geometry. Trigonometry.Topology > Global analysis (Mathematics)
- Academic > Mathematics > Geometry. Trigonometry.Topology > Differentiable dynamical systems
- Academic > Mathematics > Geometry. Trigonometry.Topology > Flows (Differentiable dynamical systems)
- Academic > Mathematics > Tables
- Mathematics > Differential Equations
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The Bruins are reporting defenseman Johnny Boychuk has been cleared to travel with his teammates. This good news comes less than 24-hours after he and Max Pacioretty slammed into the end boards, resulting in Boychuk being stretchered from the ice.
Obviously Boychuk is destined to miss game time, but the amount of time is not yet clear. Coach Claude Julien did mention the details regarding the severity of Boychuk's injury were a bit foggy, but it's serious enough to have warranted a hospital visit.
When asked about the hit, Pacioretty said he "felt terrible." Montreal's forward went on to say, "I hope he gets better quick."
In closing, Julien was hesitant to comment on whether he thought an injury to Boychuk's back was in question. Boychuk will have an MRI upon returning to Boston and more details should arise on Saturday.
Tags: Boston Bruins Johnny Boychuk


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All items have been reduced in price since our first sale! Saturday, October 25, 9:00 a.m. -- 3:00 p.m. (rain or shine) 275 Short Hills Drive, Bridgewater, NJ 08807 (non-smoking, pet free household) Sale items include furniture (couch, dressers, tables, chairs, vintage record player, etc), glassware, kitchenware, household items, small appliances, televisions, lamps, books, records, women's clothing (size 4-8), shoes, handbags, linens and more! CASH ONLY.
Garage Sale - Furniture, toys, linens, etc. Fri. Oct 24th - 9am-3pm Sat. Oct 25th - 9am-Noon 52 Hoagland Drive & 158 Wilshire Drive
7th Annual Rummage Sale - the best yet! Friday, October 24th, 9am - 3pm Sunday, October 26th, 9am - 1pm (not on Saturday). 1000s of items for the house, yard, kids, hobbies, sports, electronics; also books, clothing, & light furniture. - Donate bicycles for the Boys and Girls Club in Trenton. We will take them to the Bike Exchange. Located at Congregation Kehilat Shalom, 253 Griggstown Road, Belle Mead (off Route 206 or River Road, just north of Princeton).
Garage Sale portion of estate sale.buy a bag for $1 and stuff it ! clothes, books and select shoes. Better shoes, coats, and unique items priced separately but to sell fast. If you don't see it ask for it. this is 1st sale.
Multi family garage sale
Toys, furniture, dvd's, linens, everything!
Fri Oct 24th 9-2pm
Sat Oct 25th 9-Noon


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|30 May 2012
Problems importing Outlook express messages into Windows live Mail
I have been trying without success to export Outlook express mail from an XP computer into Windows live Mail on a brand-new Windows 7 HP computer. I have followed the directions on the Internet to copy the Outlook express mail folder onto a flash drive. The directions I followed were to go to Outlook express, click on tools, options, maintenance, store folder. Then copy store location, go to start menu, click run. Then when the Outlook express folder opens with the DBX files, I copied the entire folder to a flash drive.
I have followed the directions on the Internet to copy the Outlook express mail folder onto a flash drive. I go into Windows live Mail import and follow the prompts. It acts like it is copying the DBX folders, however when it is finished there are no e-mails in the imported folder. I have tried over and over and have no luck. I have no idea where the e-mails are or if they are actually available. What am I doing incorrectly?
Please help with more detailed instructions. Thanks.
|My System Specs
|30 May 2012
Have you seen this thread: Importing mail from Outlook to Windows Live Mail
|My System Specs
|30 May 2012
Yes, I have read that thread and have tried the procedure I outlined previously. Has anyone copied Outlook express mail into Windows live Mail with no problems? Please advise on the next course of action. Thanks
|My System Specs
|30 May 2012
Do you see any storage folder around?
Have you gone through this link: Is there a way to open .dbx files from Outlook Express which - JustAnswer
|My System Specs
|31 May 2012
Thanks for the above link. I have read through all those directions which are quite complex. When I try to import the Outlook express folder into Windows Mail, it does copy, but nothing shows up in the storage folder. Where did the files go?
|My System Specs
|31 May 2012
Could you post a screenshot of how your mail box looks? Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Seven Forums
|My System Specs
|01 Jun 2012
x64 (6.3.9600) Win8.1 Pro & soon dual boot x64 (6.1.7601) Win7_SP1 HomePrem
It sounds as though you've already done these steps and are just trying to find the darn messages.
You should have an Imported Messages folder in Storage Folder. You'll have to move the messages to where you want them, or you could just leave them there.
If you didn't do the the steps below, try it and post back your results. Thanks.
--> edit2: don't worry about the different Windows versions, basically all you want to do is copy the whole OE folder to your flash drive, put it on your new machine and import from there when WLm asks where is the stuff.
Microsoft Import / Export Mail
1) Outlook Express messages
The folder that contains the Outlook Express messages is marked as a hidden folder in Windows. To view this hidden folder, click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Appearance and Themes, and then click Folder Options. Click the View tab, and under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.2) Windows Live Mail
Open Windows Live Mail by clicking the Start button Picture of Start button. In the search box, type Mail, and then, in the list of results, click Windows Live Mail.
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No rating
GreatSchools Rating
Teacher quality
Principal leadership
Parent involvement
After attending this school for many years, it is clear that Norfolk Collegiate provides an excellent educational environment that encourages students to think for themselves. While it can be challenging, students quickly develop a strong work ethic at a young age. Additionally, teachers frequently go out of their way to support students academically and beyond. There are plenty of leadership opportunities and great college counselors. Collegiate combines innovative and traditional teaching methods to produce the most well rounded students in Hampton Roads. Over the past few years, the school built a new Center for the Arts and introduced smart boards into the Lower, Middle, and Upper schools. This year, the school will be using 3-D printers and students in grades 6-12 will each have an iPad. On a more personal note, the students at Norfolk Collegiate are genuinely kind. This bond between the "NoCo" community is one that cannot be found in other schools throughout this region.
Norfolk Collegiate I recently moved to a different part of Virginia and was finally introduced to the real world. Norfolk Collegiate has clueless parents, spoiled children, and an over sheltering staff. Some of the teachers are good, yet when I took math 7, my math teacher taught us NOTHING. She showed only us completely useless power points, so I had to rely on my parents to teach me the subject. It was not a very challenging school except for the 7th grade science teacher who taught the material extraordinarily well. If you are planning to go to this school I advise against all of these "five star reviews." Unless you want your child to attend a school that is "cliquey", has poor education, and you plan on buying your child top of the line Abercrombie&Fitch and Hollister clothes, I advise that you buy a house in Virginia Beach. Your child will develop better social skills, more confidence, and he/she will have more competition in sports not to mention the better education. If you are stuck living in Norfolk I wish you luck in finding a truly, good school, I hope that my review will assist you if you are trying to find a school for your child. Best of luck, previous student.
The way you want school to be!!!!!! Happy empowered teachers challenging kids in a variety of learning environments. Small classes (20 or less THRU high school). Children gives choices in assignments to fit their learning style. PE everyday. Awesome healthy lunches. Great resource and elective classes. Nurturing environment where teachers are accessible and stay in touch. Can't say enough great things. The school keeps getting better and better.
We have a 1st grader and a 3rd grader at Norfolk Collegiate Lower School, and they have attended since kindergarten. In this area, choosing a school can be a daunting task. We chose and have stuck with NCS due to the community of the school. Our children are not just one of many, they are an incorporated part of the school. Each child knows and interacts with students from all grade levels - both older and younger than they are. The teachers and faculty know each student's personality and watch him/her grow. There was some re-organization at the Lower School of teachers this past year, and it has been for the best of the students and parents. There are many opportunities for the students to become involved - from SCA to violin to science club to tennis. NCS emphasizes the entire student, not just the academics, but also the citizenship of the child in the world.
Academically tailored to our child with a warm caring environment, our child loves Norfolk Collegiate. She has been to other schools over her academic career and this one is the tops. Teachers who care, a staff who knows each child individually and an administration with a vision for the future. Parent involvement can be whatever level you want it to be.
We have two children in school at Norfolk Collegiate and have loved it! They have a very caring and nurturing environment and a true "family" feel. The teachers have been incredible at personalizing instruction an have truly inspired success. For a school this size they have a remarkable number of unique opportunities in the classroom as well as extra-curricular offerings.
My oldest son has been at Norfolk Collegiate since kindergarten, and is now a third grader. My youngest has just started kindergarten. They are both thriving in the warm, caring environment provided by the faculty and staff. The small class size allows the teachers to work individually with the students. They can provide extra challenges or extra assistance as needed. The teachers are always available to talk with my husband and I about any questions or concerns that we may have. Most importantly, my children are excited to go to school and feel part of a community there. They have made wonderful friends at the lower school, and have also had the opportunity to interact with older students at the middle and upper schools who have become role models for them.
My son is a third grader and has been at Norfolk Collegiate since kindergarten. We have had such a great experience at this school - from the smiles and enthusiasm that greet him daily, to all of his amazing teachers, who have challenged and cared for him, to the amazingly warm and approachable staff. When I drop my son off at school each day, I know that he is in a safe, caring environment. When I pick him up each day, I always leave with a smile - it's a happy place where my son is surrounded by the best teachers and staff we could ask for. We look forward to having our daughter there next year!
Norfolk Collegiate has provided a challenging and personalized educational experience for my three children. The teachers have tailored lessons to fit each of my children's abilities, pushing them when necessary and aiding when needed. I have also been amazed at the warmth of all the staff, not just the teachers. They greet the children and me with smiles and hellos. Once the lunch room worker said she told my son he would grow up to do great things because he was so smart. I was amazed that she had gotten to know my child and had conveyed such a positive message to him. When your child is surrounded by people who encourage them, from teachers to staff to lunch room workers, the odds of them succeeding in life are tremendous.
Like several parents, I have been underwhelmed by NCS. Moving from out of state, I expected the school to have a high level of academics, especially given the lip service by the admissions representatives. I have continually tried to address issues that my child is not being challenged and despite platitudes by the principal and the teacher, it has not been adequately addressed over several months. My daughter loves the environment of the school, but her preschool was more rigorous.
As an alumna of the school, I was so excited that my children would have the opportunity to attend one of the best private schools in our area. NCS has given my children the opportunity to take advantage of academics, arts and athletics. They are well-rounded individuals, who will have the tools to achieve success in college and beyond. I have seen many students come and go over the years, and they have flourished in the college environment--I am excited for the opportunities that my children will have in the next 5 years as they move up into the high school. I cannot wait for them to take advantage of the many international field trips to the Galapogos Islands, Peru, Spain, France or even Cuba!
My two children have graduated from NCS & are thriving at their colleges. They are both well prepared for all the challenges of college-both academically and socially. Both kids come back to Norfolk Collegiate to visit their teachers. In additon, they both keep in touch with other students from school. One child took advantage of art classes while the other played sports every season. The camaraderie that develops between the students as well as the sports teams is a wonderful asset. I'd recommend NorfolkCollegiate to all parents.
Norfolk Collegiate School is one of the best schools in Hampton Roads. My children enjoy playing sports and are surrounded by students who have a passion for learning. The best part of having our children attend an independent school is meeting families that have the same values and motivations that focus on the ultimate goal of attending college. Our oldest child entered his Freshman year with 20 credits hours from the AP courses taken at Norfolk Collegiate.
I have two students who attend the lower school. Our time at Norfolk Collegiate has been wonderful. My children are both nurtured and challenged. While they are receiving a strong academic foundation, they are also learning the importance of character, honor and respect. The teachers take the time to get to know each child and to see (and value) their unique qualities while maintaining high expectations for all. That is not an easy task, but they seem to balance well acknowledging each child's individuality within a challenging environment. My children look forward to going to school each day, they have loved their teachers and their classmates. As a parent, I have really appreciated the open dialogue with the teachers and have felt like a partner in my child's education.
This is a disappointing school. Norfolk Collegiate will happily accept you tuition money, but it doesn't mean the school community will ever welcome your child--especially if your family is not from Hampton Roads. Overall, the school is not culturally open-minded, and does not welcome outsiders easily (despite what the school advertises). Instead, the school provides a homogeneous island within Norfolk for well-to-do parents to send their kids. There is a tackiness to the entire enterprise.
I have two children who attended Norfolk Collegiate from kindergarten on. One is a senior there; the other is a senior in college. Obviously while no school is perfect, it's hard for me to imagine a school that would have been better. The faculty genuinely care about the kids and want to see them do well. The new college counselor, Mike Kaplan, has been amazing. My daughter adores Ms. Claywell and Ms. Parker (administrators) and drops in to spend time with them often. The thing that I have appreciated most is that while my two children are very, very different, NCS has gone out of its way to make a path for each that is suited to their own needs. They have truly capitalized on each child's strengths. Further, when there were issues, I always felt comfortable picking up the phone. There was never a time when my concerns went unanswered. Once I got a note from my daughter's English teacher telling me how much he enjoyed having her in his class. It made my day. While I know it's expensive, I think of it as an investment. My kids better pay for me to live in a really, really nice nursing home!
My granddaughter goes here and she loves it. As a third graded she is playing violin, participating in sports and has lots of great friends and teachers. What a thrill to hear that school is a fun place!
This is an outstanding institution. There is a very stable school with strogn leadership that has been recruited from around the nation. Students are challenged, but cared for. Probobly the top school in the Tidewater area.
My daughter is in K with Mrs. White and so far I have been really pleased with NCS. I love the full day K, the early intro to Spanish, the daily PE and the art, music, library and computer classes each week. We are only 2 1/2 months into the school year and she is starting to read independantly! The facilities are well maintained and functional. My only complaint (if you can call it that) is the expense, but I guess you get what you pay for! The parents seem well-invested in their kids doing well and I know that makes all the difference. Go Oaks!
Norfolk Collegiate (NCS) is a really great school. I will be a Senior this upcoming school year. It's the perfect size, not too big, not too small. I have only been a student at Norfolk Collegiate for 2 years, but I've gotten involved in a lot of activities like National Honor Society and Oak Society. All of my teachers, except for a few, have been wonderful. I feel, no matter what school someone goes to, there is always going to be teacher that is not as great as the others. There are a ton of AP classes available at NCS. I have taken AP Human Geography, AP Biology, and AP US History. As a Senior I will take AP English Language, AP Government, AP Statistics, and AP Environmental Science. NCS has tons of sports teams. NCS is a great school and it has prepared me well for college.
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7336 Granby Street
Norfolk, VA 23505
Phone: (757) 480-2885
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text: Welcome to yet another week of NBA player rankings for week 10 of the regular season. This season really has been a year of injuries as some of the league's biggest stars have been bit by the injury bug. Chris Paul is the latest of the stars to go down and will join the likes of Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Brook Lopez on the list of marquee players riding the pine due to injury. As 2014 opens with a bang, we recognize those players who have made a serious impact on both their teams and the league with extraordinary play. And with that, we continue ranking the NBA's top 20 players of 2013-14.


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"Today" Channels "SNL" for Halloween
The "Today" show hosts put on another Halloween Boo-Nanza, turning NBC's morning show into a "Saturday Night Live" set, channeling favorite characters from years past. »
Kanye West Surprises Crowd at Jersey City Open Mic
Rapper Kanye West shocked the crowd at a hip-hop open mic event in Jersey City when he dropped by unannounced to watch the daughter of a close family friend perform, the venue owner said. »
Meyers: Ken Marino's Talks "The State" Reunion
On "Late Night With Seth Meyers" Thursday, Ken Marino revealed that his kids have picked up the famously inappropriate catchphrase his character Louie coined on the MTV sketch show "The State." »
Chris Rock Lists This Year's Top Halloween Costumes
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Late at Night on NBC
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Seth Meyers shares some tips to help you pick the right costume for Halloween, and one costume that is "very important" to never do. »
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Yuri Gagarin, first cosmonaut, proud owner of a beautiful smile that trascends decades old photos, amazing man.
YTMND's presentation of our future in all its horrifying glory.
November 26, 1922: Archaeologists Enter King Tut's Tomb
On this day in 1922, British archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon were the first to enter King Tut's tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
Carter discovered a step leading to a mud-brick door that revealed a passageway to the untouched, four-room tomb for more than 3,000 years. The excavation yielded thousands of cultural objects and the most fascinating was a stone sarcophagus containing three coffins and the mummified body of teenage King Tut.
Discover the treasures of King Tut's tomb with Secrets of the Pharaohs' interactive game and tour of the sacred, ancient artifacts.
Photo: Howard Carter opens the innermost shrine of King Tutankhamen's tomb near Luxor, Egypt which one of carter's water boy found the steps down to (The New York Times/Wikimedia Commons).
I am a certified Mars Rover pilot, and you can be too.
(Thanks to Mission To Mars 3D, anyway)
Chances are, if I polled 100 people on whether they'd like to command a space mission to Mars, or pilot a six-wheeled rover as if it were the universe's most advanced remote-controlled vehicle (I mean, it has a nuclear power source, for cryin' out loud), 99 of them would say HELL YES. I don't know what the other person would be thinking, honestly.
Well, you can do that now. Thanks to a collaboration between the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and Mozilla's Ignite competition, you can simulate a future trip to the red planet inside your browser with the Mission to Mars 3D Experiment.
This educational game/tool challenges you to plan and carry out two missions off the bat. First, you devise a rocket launch scheme to send an emergency resupply payload to a science colony on Mars, using a planetary orbit simulator. After you master "the slingshot", you pilot a Mars Curiosity rover clone, using its onboard instruments to locate a good spot to drop a greenhouse module. I decided to launch my mission using the private SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, and had it arrive at Mars on my birthday … in 2038.
I'll be old, but what a birthday present, eh?
The folks behind the project told me that the 3D platform is completely open source (their GitHub page) and missions can be remixed, but I haven't played with that part yet. Teachers will enjoy the educational resources attached, because face it, this beats the physics lesson you had planned this week.
See you on Mars! More info available on the Webmaker blog.
Oh yeah … and this is especially appropriate since India just launched a Mars mission today, and it was beautiful (more info on that from Emily Lakdawalla at The Planetary Society):
Young Charlie Chaplin without makeup. I think so.
This Is the Most Detailed Image of the Universe Ever Captured
NASA has just published the most detailed view of the Universe ever taken. It's called the Extreme Deep Field—or XDF for short. It took ten years of Hubble Space Telescope photographs to make it and it shows some the oldest galaxies ever observed by humans, going 13.2 billion years back in time.
It's a mindblowing, extremely humbling view. Not only for what it shows, but for what it doesn't show. While this image contains about 5,500 galaxies, it only displays a tiny part of the sky, a ridiculously small slice of the Universe. As you can see in the image below (make sure to expand it to see it complete), the photo only focus on a small area of the constellation Fornax.
This illustration compares the angular size of the XDF field to the angular size of the full moon. A finger held at arm's length would appear to be about twice the width of the moon in this image.
This graphic shows (click to expand) the foreground (galaxies less than 5 billion light years away from us), background (between 5 and 9 billion years ago) and very far background galaxies (more than 9 billion years), which are "one ten-billionth the brightness of what the human eye can see.
Click Here to download the full image (13mb TIFF image)
About a year ago, we originally posted this. Far and away our most successful post, still getting hundreds (if not thousands) of notes every day.
Isn't Physics, and more generally Science, just awesome?
Neat! Terrestrial lunar libration.
via explore-blog:
The Hubble Space Telescope outshines even its very best with this magnificent photo of a "cosmic caterpillar" 6 trillion miles long.
Do cosmic caterpillars turn into cosmic butterflies? If only …
Solar Eclipse on Mars
The Curiosity rover captured Mars' moon Phobos as it traveled in front of the sun on August 20, 2013. The sequence above is taken from photos snapped three seconds apart and spliced into video form.
This sort of eclipse, where the nearer body doesn't quite cover the sun, is called an annular eclipse, after the Latin word for "ring-shaped".
These sort of annular astronomical coincidences happen on Earth, too, since our distance from the moon changes throughout each body's elliptical orbit. Beautiful stuff:
Curiosity is becoming quite the skywatcher. Last month it aimed its camera up and captured Mars' two moons in one shot!
Decode the solar rainbow palette using this handy guide. Each wavelength tells scientists different things about solar physics, the various elements and the layers at which they reside.
And here's a nice solar spectrum GIF, because.
via crookedindifference:
Best scale of the universe since this video version of the scale of the universe.
via thescienceofreality:
Cassini Releases Image of Earth Waving at Saturn
From more than 40 countries and 30 U.S. states, people around the world shared more than 1,400 images of themselves as part of the Wave at Saturn event organized by NASA's Cassini mission. That event on July 19, 2013, marked the day the Cassini spacecraft turned back toward Earth to take our picture as part of a larger mosaic of the Saturn system. The images came via Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and email. The mission has assembled this collage from the shared images, using an image of Earth as the base image.
People around the world shared more than 1,400 images of themselves as part of the Wave at Saturn event organized by NASA's Cassini mission on July 19 — the day the Cassini spacecraft turned back toward Earth to take our picture. The mission has assembled a collage from those images. The collage is online here.
"Thanks to all of you, near and far, old and young, who joined the Cassini mission in marking the first time inhabitants of Earth had advance notice that our picture was being taken from interplanetary distances," said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "While Earth is too small in the images Cassini obtained to distinguish any individual human beings, the mission has put together this collage so that we can celebrate all your waving hands, uplifted paws, smiling faces and artwork."
The images came from 40 countries and 30 U.S. states via Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and email.
From its perch in the Saturn system, Cassini took a picture of Earth as part of a larger set of images it was collecting of the Saturn system. Scientists are busy putting together the color mosaic of the Saturn system, which they expect will take at least several more weeks to complete. The scientists who study Saturn's rings are poring over visible-light and infrared data obtained during that campaign.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
- For more information on the Wave at Saturn campaign, visit here.
- For more information about the Cassini mission, visit here and here.
This collage almost crosses the "too cheesy" line, but not quite.
It is truly awesome to remember that, over a billion kilometers from Earth, there resides something built by humans, something so technologically advanced, so scientifically successful, so inspiring, that we were able to turn it around and take a selfie.
There's some symbolism in there, and I like it. I think.
Of course, you probably don't want to hear the part about the astronomically small chance that Cassini's camera actually registered a photon from your waving hand, right? Because, well, this guy calculated the odds.
Sorry ;)
Newspaper boys pose in front of a bank in Jersey City, 1912.
Detroit-born Photographer Mark Laita explores social and cultural clashes between different social backgrounds by juxtaposing people of United States in his stunning series "Created Equal". By contrasting social inequality, Laita invited the viewers to think about how and why they took these different directions.People born equal but turned out totally different in real life. Mark Laita in his photo series compare different people from all walks of life such as a bank robber and a policeman, a high school dropout and a college graduate, a company president and a janitor etc. It took almost 8 years for Mark Laita to complete the project.(Click the photos to see the captions)1. Amish Teenagers / Punk Teenagers2. Marine / War Veteran3. Vegetarian / Butcher, 1999 / 20044. College Graduate / High School Dropout5. Indigent Couple / Wealthy Couple6. Rock Band / Polka Band, 2006 / 20067. Baptist Minister / Ku Klux Klan8. Catholic Nuns / Prostitutes9. Homeless Man / Real Estate Developer10. Gang Member / Mafioso


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Penalty shoot-outs
7 October 2002
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If you punch someone at work, you stand to lose your job - you do not have to be schooled in the finer points of employment law to know that much. So how did the Football League's newly-formed disciplinary committee, headed by a former Court of Appeal judge, arrive at the conclusion that docking the former Leicester City player Dennis Wise two weeks wages was an appropriate punishment for an unprovoked attack that left a fellow team member with a broken jaw?
"If it was any other job in the world and an employee punched another repeatedly and broke his jaw he would get the sack, there would simply be no question of him staying," says solicitor-agent Mel Stein, who used to represent Gazza and who has some 70 players on his books. "Why should football be any different?" he adds.
Why, indeed? The Wise debacle was the first case to be tackled by the Football League's Football Disciplinary Commission, which has been established to sort out disputes between players and clubs "to avoid messy legal battles which can ruin the reputation of the game". Last week, an appeals committee, chaired by the eminent sports lawyer Sir Robert Reid QC, righted the perceived wrong of the new body - that was headed by no less a lawyer than Sir Philip Otton - and allowed Leicester to sack Wise. The initial tribunal had concluded, after a six-hour hearing, that the 35-year old player had assaulted team-mate Callum Davidson during the club's pre-season tour of Finland. However, the tribunal concluded such an assault "did not warrant the termination of Wise's contract". An apparently regretful Wise last week signed up to Millwall, a team whose image is tainted by the violence of its fans.
"At the end of the day, clubs are employers, players are employees, and why should employment law not apply to them?" says Peter McCormick, Leeds United director and senior partner at McCormicks. "I think that a number of players, particularly at the high end of the scale, are acting as if they are above the law, above ordinary employer/employee relationship considerations. It's bad for the game, the image of the game and it's certainly an appalling example for young people," he adds.
The attack was particularly vicious and Davidson sustained a double fracture of his right cheekbone. It was revealed that the blow was not delivered in a brawl following a game of cards as was first reported, but as the Scottish defender lay in bed in his hotel room. Leicester's manager Micky Adams acted instantly by sending Wise home.
Of course, bad behaviour on and off the pitch has always been part of the game. But there is now an uneasy feeling that the game's top stars are beyond the reach of the law following a series of high-profile cases. This month, Roy Keane will have his hearing into charges of bringing the game into disrepute. He is to refute the charge that he deliberately set out to injure Manchester City's Alfe-Inge Haaland as revealed in his own autobiography. And last season, Lee Bowyer refused to pay a four-week fine for his involvement in a drinking session that led to the brutal beating of an Asian student (although Bowyer was acquitted of assault charges).
Stein believes that high-earning players have "no respect for the rules of the game and the law, because money has no meaning for them. If the ultimate penalty is only money why should they care about the rules?" he argues. The lawyer tells the apocryphal "but probably true" story of a player who wanted a match day off to pursue his commercial interests and so he asked his manager how much he would be fined if he missed the game. Stein says: "When the manager quoted the figure he simply drew out his cheque book, wrote out a cheque and tossed it on the manager's desk."
So a two-week fine is not going to hurt Dennis Wise, but being booted out of the club clearly sends out the message to the rest of the game. Tim Marshall, head of DLA's employment practice, acted for Leicester City. He sees last week's ruling by the appeals committee as, at last, laying down a "hard line" as to what is unacceptable behaviour. "When we were looking at the Wise case we were looking for precedents," he explains. "There were quite a lot of precedents in the lower leagues of people being dismissed for all sorts of incidences, but that approach hasn't filtered through to the higher echelons of the game."
So why did the commission feel constrained to demand that the errant player be reinstated in the first place? Jonathan Taylor, a lecturer in sports law at King's College London and partner at Hammonds, explains that the standard football Premier League and Football League contracts set out the provisions for taking disciplinary action against players. Under the standard contract, clause 16 gives the club the right to terminate the contract for any player found guilty of gross misconduct. The club also has the discretion, under clause 18, to waive the right to dismiss and instead impose a fine of two weeks wages. Most commentators have observed that the commission found that the club had waived their discretion because Leicester's manager Micky Adams acted instantly by sending Wise home and docking his wages. "It was simply a question of the legal issue as to whether or not Leicester had waived the right to terminate," says Taylor. "There was said to be a waiver, but it was argued that it wasn't in fact a waiver because Adams didn't have the full facts at the time, and he didn't have the authority to make the decision for the club."
In fact, DLA's Marshall believes that the waiver point was "kicked out of touch immediately" by the commission, which comprised Sir Philip, ex-Wimbledon captain Robbie Earle and former Nottingham Forest manager Frank Clark.
The commission ruled on a 2:1 split that the savage assault did not amount to an action worthy of dismissal. Although the tribunal's reasons have not been made public, it is not too difficult to work out the identity of the dissenting voice. Marshall says that the prevailing view from "every professional person you speak to in the game" is that it is a rough-and-tumble sport and such antics should be tolerated. "One of the problems that we encountered was bringing everyone around to accepting that this was in fact an extreme case, where a player, at 2.30 in the morning, went and broke his colleague's cheek bone," says Marshall. "And, yes, there is a difference between that and some kind of dispute on the pitch in training."
Marshall admits he had concerns about the composition of the appeal tribunal, but, clearly, they delivered the right result. The appeal body was expanded and headed by Robert Reid QC, backed by ex-Spurs manager Keith Burkinshaw, and John Barnwell and Andy Williamson from the Football League.
While the Football League hopes that its new tribunal will prevent the game being dragged through the courts, some commentators would like to see it take a tougher line. "It really has to be more legalistic and less the old boy network," says Stein. "This smacks almost of a bunch of prefects sitting around and saying to a fifth former, 'You should know better'."
Taylor argues that similar tribunals work well in other sports, such as rugby. He was involved in a case involving Leicester Tigers' Austin Healey, who appeared before a British and Irish Lions disciplinary board for calling an Australian player a "plod" and a "plank" in an article. One of his team mates Martin Johnson was a member of the three-man panel. According to Taylor, Johnson was able to take a detached view, "bring the players' perspective to the factual issues that were to be judged" and also to be fair.
"Part of the point of having internal discipline in sport is to try and make sure that the forum that hears the dispute has some sort of sensitivity to the context," says Taylor. "It's not that sport is above the law, but you need to take account of its special characteristics and at the same time have a lawyer to keep them thinking along the right lines."
Apparently, Wise defended himself before the tribunal by arguing that Leicester was only trying to dump him to cut costs. Certainly, the parlous financial health of the game following the collapse of ITV Digital means that some clubs might well be looking to follow Leicester's example and attempt to off-load troublesome players to save money. "When money is awash in the game it's easier to forgive players their trespasses," says McCormick. "If money is tight, then, like any business, if someone isn't performing properly or they're causing a problem they will look to drop them."
Mel Goldberg, a partner at sports law specialist Max Bitel Greene, who up until a year ago acted for the hotheaded midfielder, also considers the first ruling "a strange decision". He says: "In any other walk of life, if one employee attacks someone else then the employer would sack him on the spot without notice."
In the immediate aftermath of the recent appeal, Wise's agent Eric Hall was not ruling out an appeal against the decision to terminate his contract with Leicester City. "Of course, we can take monster, monster legal action if we want to, but we haven't decided," Hall says.
Goldberg believes that a breach of contract action by the player could be for as much as £3.5m in lost salary, but he doubts that such talk will come to anything. "I think that it would be unwise - if you will excuse the pun - bearing in mind his conduct," he adds.
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For more than 30 years, Airport Valet Parking has eased traveling stress with valet-parking services to and from Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. Valets drop off and pick up clients, spending the interim tuning up or detailing autos and filling their gas tanks before tucking them in each night inside a secure, gated lot. Additional fees apply for additional services.
Led by experienced builders Craig Render and Tony Robinson, the experts at ATL Contracting breathe new life into existing living spaces. Contractors perform services like domestic magicians, making an unwanted kitchen wall disappear to give a room better flow or conjuring a backyard fence for increased privacy. Teams can re-imagine drab existing exteriors in smooth lines and fresh colors, or piece together an ideal kitchen or bathroom with each piece of textured tile. ATL Contracting can also restyle basements with the intimate lighting and fuzzy carpet ideal for a movie night or grazing rocking horses.
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In 1993, after years as a tech in the carpet cleaning industry, Gregory Cole founded Pro Carpet as a one-stop shop providing the best carpet-cleaning practices he had learned during his career. Gregory's team, which now numbers more than 30 techs, begins each carpet-cleaning service with a thorough walk-through, during which customers can point out specific soiled areas before the techs evaluate carpets for their levels of dirt, stains, and rainbow sprinkles. As they begin to clean, they employ steam-based cleaning and stain-specific products, such as the company's proprietary enzyme-based pet-stain formula, to remove odors and soils.
Pro Carpet's expertise also extends beyond carpeting, tackling upholstery and area rugs with the same thoroughness. They can also be called upon to repair water damage, clean office cubicles, and sweep dust and allergens from inside air ducts with professional-grade tools that improve air quality.
It isn't every day that a student and teacher become partners in business, but that's what happened after Robin Dickson took his first dance class with Matthew Gann. A friendship formed between Dickson, a special-event planner since the age of 17, and Gann, an award-winning ballroom dancer who already owned studios of his own. After realizing ways their backgrounds complemented each other, the two decided to open Allure Dance Studio right next to Cumberland Mall. Experienced dance instructors cultivate twinkle toes in private and group dance lessons across the studio's sleek hardwood floor. Up to 25 students practice salsa, tango, or merengue rhythms in front of a wall of mirrors that display each student's progress and most intimidating dance face. All students of Allure can practice what they've learned at various parties and events organized by the studio that provide a place where all types of dance can be performed and celebrated.
Since 2001, the friendly, professional technicians at Peach Design, Inc. have installed more than 1.25 million square feet of hardwood flooring—and that's not counting how many floors they've deep cleaned, recoated to restore shine, or re-sanded to a like-new finish. To them, hardwood represents an environmentally friendly, durable choice for home flooring that helps reduce allergies and is easier to clean than carpeting. When they install new floors, they approach the project with expertise and care—they always make sure the new flooring has gone through an acclimation process, where it adjusts to the home's environment and makes small talk with baseboards for two to four days before the installation itself.


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News of the dogs' death has outraged a small neighborhood in the Town of Tonawanda.
"Oh I'm aggravated! I want to go down there!" said Joseph Nye, a close by neighbor.
"That's sad. I would never do that to my own animals. I keep my animal in the house and the only time I bring them outside when it's really hot is when it has to go to the bathroom. And I always make sure that she has ice water all day," said Ryan Spaulding who also lives in the area.
It was an unthinkable way to die. Two adult american bulldogs chained in a backyard on Boswell Place in the Town of Tonawanda. The dogs were left under the blistering sun with no water in sight for more than five hours. They died from heat stroke.
"At approximately 12:40 the SPCA received an anonymous call from someone who witnessed the dogs outside for most of the morning and it didn't look like the dogs weren't doing well," said Gina Browning, a spokesperson for the SPCA.
The dogs' owner, 27-year old Aisha Luper is being charged with two-counts of animal cruelty in court today. She says she put the dogs outside at 7:30 this morning and fell asleep.
"Unfortunately, she made a mistake and she fell asleep on the hottest day of the year so far. It costs the dogs' life and she'll have to answer to that in court," said Captain Jon Scott of the Town of Tonawanda Police.
The dogs' temperatures were so high, medical thermometer's couldn't record them. They were more than 110 degrees. Neighbors say this isn't the first time there's been trouble with animals at Luper's home.
"My parent's have complained about them, and nothings been done," said Nye.