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Office Boys 2 - Scene 4
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Pooch and Junior are back in the Pig Daddy Office for more business as usual. And Pig Daddy's Business is sex! This time two new "handymen" are there to be given the business, which means fucking, sucking, and of course cum eating. It's a return to all the Bareback Offices of Pig Daddy Productions.
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love the way the long haired guy and the read head dont have any underwhere on so so so sexy i want them in my bedSpam
Not that hot, unless you are into old chubby men. The only hot fact was that it was bareback.Spam
The chubby guy reminds me a lot of a friend I had on a gaming message board. O_OSpam
Me tooSpam
very hot. makes me wish i worked in an office!
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Desire2Learn Student Brochure
Phone: 580.774.7070
Fax: 580.774.7080
Canvas Student Brochure
How Do I Access Canvas?
A link to Canvas is provided from the Current Students page on the SWOSU web site, or you may go to http://learn.swosu.edu. All students receive a Canvas user account when they are admitted to SWOSU. Before logging in, please click on the System Check link to make sure that you are using the correct browser and have the appropriate plug-ins.
How Do I Know What My Username and Password Are?
Your Canvas username is your 'DawgTag'. Your 'DawgTag' will be comprised of your first initial + last initial of your legal name + your SWOSU ID #. Your initial password is your SWOSU default password. You will be required to change the password the first time you log in to the Canvas system. If you have problems logging in, be sure to double check your username. If you are still unable to login, call the ITS Helpdesk at (580)774-7070 for assistance.
How to Navigate Through Canvas
- When you log in, you will see the My Courses widget in the center of the homepage.
- Click the plus sign (+) on the semester (Fall 2008 for example) to reveal the departments and click on those plus signs (+) to reveal your courses.
- You may or may not see courses listed when you log in, depending on if your instructor chooses to use Desire2Learn or not. Any course you are officially enrolled in may appear in your course widget weeks before classes begin. Instructors can change this to be earlier, later, or remove the course entirely if they choose.
- To access the course, simply click on the title of the course and you will be taken to the course homepage.
NOTE: When you enroll in a course, it may be the next business day before you appear in that course in Canvas.
Navigating Through Your Courses
- Each course may appear different because instructors may customize the layout of their courses.
- The main area where most classes will have course related links is the area below the SWOSU logo that by default starts with "Course Home". Most course related links are found here, such as links to their class content, grades, quizzes, etc.
- Content will generally contain all the files your instructor wishes you to access such as lecture notes, syllabus, handouts, etc.
- Discussions are where you interact with one another by posting messages to topics, and reading and replying to messages posted by others.
- Dropbox is where you can submit (upload) your assignments.
- Quizzes are where you can take online quizzes.
- Classlist is where you can see who is in the course as well as the Instructor. You can check the box to the left of a name and choose the email icon to send them an email (through the SWOSU email system).
- Grades are where you would check your grades in the class.
- To take a quiz/test, click on Quizzes on the navigation bar. Click on the name of the quiz you want and read the instructions for taking the quiz.
- When you are ready to begin, click on Start Quiz. A pop-up window will appear with information; read it, and then click OK to start the quiz.
- As you are taking the quiz, be sure to save your answers. A grey Save button is located after each question (recommended) or a Save All Responses button at the bottom of the page. When taking a quiz with multiple pages, the answers will automatically save each time you click the directional arrow to go to the next page.
- When you are finished taking the quiz and all answers have been saved, click on Go to Submit Quiz.
- The screen will change and ask you to confirm. Click Submit Quiz. A pop-up will appear, click OK.
You can use Canvas to send email to your instructor and fellow students' SWOSU email addresses. Just look for the Email link found in each course. Because D2L email is sent through your SWOSU student email account, it is imperative that you check your SWOSU account often, or forward it to another email account that you use regularly. However, if you choose to forward to an outside account, keep in mind that SWOSU cannot guarantee that you will receive email if problems occur.
Using the Dropbox
- The dropbox is used to submit (upload) assignments for a class. To upload an assignment:
- Click on the Dropbox link from the navigation bar.
- Locate the assignment folder to upload your assignment to and click on the folder name.
- Now click Add File, then Browse and locate the file on your computer. Select the file and click Open. NOTE: If you have previously uploaded files into the Locker you can place them into the Dropbox by choosing My Locker instead of My Computer.
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Need More Help?
If you need further assistance, User Guides with help on specific tools are located inside each course.
Cnavas FAQs for Students are located on the web at the following address: http://www.swosu.edu/administration/its/students
The ITS Helpdesk is available to answer Canvas questions at 580.774.7070, 8am - 5pm, Monday thru Friday. Walk-in support is also available in the ITS Office located in Stafford 246.


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Gear Review
Plenty of calf room
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I just tried these boots on and I think there is extra room in the calf. The foot bed is comfortable and they appear to be very well made. If the calf was smaller I'd buy them, seems like a GREAT deal at $68
View More Details on KEEN Silverton Boot - Women's


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Stan Moeller
It has been said that painting ability is not measured by the paints or the brush, but in the ability to see how things come together. Artist Stan Moeller has the vision that allows him to capture the mood of his subjects. One collector commented, "Stan paints the things we cannot see."
A long time resident of York, Maine, Stan Moeller was born and raised in rural Indiana. Excelling in art at an early age, Stan always preferred modeling clay or a blank sheet of paper to coloring books. During high school, he took first place in every category of the school's art shows and went on to study life drawing and painting at Western Michigan University for several years.
Having abandoned art to pursue a music career for many years, Stan found that, upon returning to his first love, "the best teacher is the very act of painting" (Joaquin Sorolla). Further studies have included painting on location with his friend and mentor, Don Stone, and continued self-education via the writings and styles of Birge Harrison, Robert Henri, John Carlson and Charles Hawthorne.
An award-winning artist, Moeller excels in his ability to paint diverse subject matter: lanscapes, cityscapes, interiors and figurative works. Less interested in technical reality than the mood of reality, he uses spontaneous brushwork and vibrant color to capture the way light moves around and affects a subject as much as the subject itself.
Stan won the Marine Environment Wildlife Award for Best Depiction of Wildlife in its natural habitat, in the 25th Annual International Marine Art Exhbition at the Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT (2004) and was awarded a month-long residency by, Les Amis De La Grande Vigne in Finan France (Brittany) in 2003. He was also awarded Second Place by International Artist magazine for the Seascapes, Rivers and Lakes Chalenge, for his painting of Gull Rock (Monhegan), which was featured in International Artist #25, June/July 2002.
Stan was recently a featured artist in the December 2006/January 2007 issue of International Artist Magazine.
Moeller's paintings are represented in both private and corporate collections as well as in fine art galleries along the eastern seaboard, including The Brigham Galleries, Nantucket, Massachusetts, The Lupine Gallery, Monhegan Island, Maine, The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport, Connecticut and The Banks Gallery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A highly respected and popular instructor, Stan offers plein air painting workshops Northeast and abroad.


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Improving Data Management with the DMM
The CMMI Institute has launched the Data Management Maturity (DMM)SM model. It can be used to improve data management, helping organizations to bridge the gap between business and IT. Using the DMM, organizations can evaluate and improve their data management practices. The model leverages the principles, structure, and proven approach of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI).
Why Do We Need Self-Organising Teams?
Change is the only constant in our world and "business agility" is demanded. Our old maps for running organisations are no longer valid; we need new ones based on systemic thinking. This second article from a series on Leading Self-Organising Teams discusses why we need self-organising teams.
Quantifying the Impact of Agile Software Development Practices
Rally Software and Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute (SEI) are researching the impact of agile software development practices using data from Rally's Agile Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) platform. InfoQ interviewed Larry Maccherone and Jim McCurley about their collaboration, measurements from the study, conclusions from the analysis and plans for further research.
Exchanging Industry Experiences with Agile Methodologies
The Agile Consortium Belgium, Sirris and Agoria organized an event to share experiences with agile methodologies like Scrum, Kanban, visual management, XP, DSDM and Lean.
Interview with Jan de Baere about the Rise and Fall of an Agile Company
What happens when a director of a consulting company decides to drastically change the culture? An interview on the change approach, culture and trust, and lessons learned from an agile journey.
Agile Fluency: Finding Agile That's Fit-for-Purpose
How to use The Agile Fluency model: a way of thinking about and planning investments to create the conditions of Agile that best fit your development effort, business need, and customer value.
Interview with Tiago Garcez about Why Agile?
Interview with Tiago Garcez about why agile is better suited to the challenges that companies are facing, the value that agile can deliver, and how you can start an agile transition.
Planning and Controlling Complex Projects
Planning and budgeting large complex projects leads most often to (unwanted) surprises. Insights from beyond budgeting can help to increase flexibility, and focus on business value. 1
Interview with Brian Murray from Yammer about Lean Startup and using Minimum Viable Products
Enterprises want to understand customer needs and deliver products that create value. How Yammer test their business customer hypotheses, and why they focus on the architecture of their products.
The Corporate Agile Journey – A Practical Viewpoint
Large organisations wishing to benefit from greater agility can establish a compelling roadmap building on existing pockets of best practice and overcoming various cultural and other obstacles. 2
Windows and Line of Business Applications: No Good Options
Without a deployment story WinRT simply isn't viable for LOB applications. Meanwhile WPF, like Silverlight and WinForms, has entered its twilight phase leaving developers with a hard choice. 18
Software Development: How the Traditional Contract Model Increases the Risk of Failure
Susan Atkinson and Gabrielle Benefield argue that the standard contract model for software development is contributing to the high rates of failure in IT projects and is in need of a total overhaul. 13


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* Ban worried about spike in violent civilian deaths
* UN plans aid appeal for relocating Iran dissidents
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, April 4 (Reuters) - Iraq should impose a moratorium on executions in the country, which has seen a sharp rise in the number of people put to death in recent months, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report released on Wednesday.
Ban said he was "concerned by the continued and increased implementation of the death penalty." His report said Baghdad executed 80 people between December 2011 and February 2012 compared with 68 in January-November 2011.
Most of those put to death were executed under the country's anti-terrorism laws, the report said.
"I therefore ... urge the Iraqi authorities to establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty," he said.
Last month the human rights group Amnesty International said the number of executions carried out around the world jumped last year, largely due to a surge in use of the death penalty in Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Ban also voiced concern about the increase in the number of civilians killed in Iraq in the months since U.S. troops departed. He said 302 civilians killed were in violent attacks in January, the highest monthly civilian death toll since 2007.
Army and police forces are frequently targeted in Iraq, where bombings and shootings still occur almost daily.
Al Qaeda's Iraq wing and allied Sunni Muslim insurgent groups say that despite the withdrawal of U.S. forces they will not lay down arms and will continue to battle the Shi'ite-led government.
They have claimed responsibility for nearly all the major attacks so far this year, mounting days of coordinated bombings across the country about once a month since the Americans left.
Although overall violence has declined since the height of sectarian fighting in 2006 and 2007, Iraqis fear their government lacks the wherewithal to impose security nine years after the U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein.
Ban also said the United Nations was planning to launch an appeal soon for financial aid to help with the relocation of an Iranian dissident group in Iraq that has been living at a base called Camp Ashraf, which the Iraqi government is closing down.
He reiterated previous calls on the Iraqi government and the Iranian dissidents to cooperate with each other and avoid violent confrontations.
The group, which calls for the overthrow of Iran's Islamist government, has long been based in Iraq. It was supported by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, but is no longer welcome in Iraq under the Shi'ite-led government that came to power following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and Saddam's downfall.
The Iraqi government plans to expel the residents of Camp Ashraf and is in the process of moving them to a processing center at a former U.S. military base in Baghdad.
Camp residents, who numbered about 3,000 and had been under the protection of the U.S. forces since 2003, agreed to be moved earlier this year. U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq in December.
Also known as the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran, the group led a guerilla campaign against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran during the 1970s that included attacks on U.S. targets.
As a result, the United States placed it on its list of foreign terrorist organizations. The group has said that it has renounced violence. (Editing by Cynthia Osterman)


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Dr. Christopher Boyd Brown, Assistant Professor of Church History, Boston University
["Turretinfan's" (my affectionate nickname: "Tao" -- for "The Anonymous One") words will be in red; Martin Luther's in green]
Our anti-Catholic friends won't give up the ghost, having been shown over and over (with tons of documentation) that the consensus of the great majority of Luther scholars (who deal with the subject at all) is that Luther held to the Immaculate Conception in slightly different form (compared to the Catholic dogma), his entire life. A very few (notably the Catholic H. Grisar and Lutheran H. Preuss) are convinced that he changed his mind after 1527.
As always with Luther, his position is seemingly or at least possibly at times self-contradictory. He has a tendency (generally speaking) to vacillate and waffle back and forth. This is a constant problem in interpreting his points of view. Therefore, there is some "dissent" on this issue among a small number of Luther scholars, but the "change" position is a distinctly minority view. See my prior papers:
Martin Luther's Mariology (Particularly the Immaculate Conception)
Luther's Belief in Mary's Immaculate Conception: Much Lutheran Scholarship)
Luther and the Immaculate Conception: More Opinion From (Mostly or All) Non-Catholic Historians and Other Scholars
In any event, there is no ground (in light of the scholarly consensus) for anti-Catholic Protestants like Tao to childishly mock Catholics who simply agree with the scholars' position on this (many if not most of them Lutheran or otherwise Protestant in affiliation). Lutheran scholar Arthur Carl Piepkorn (1907-1973) thought that Luther held to the Immaculate Conception of Mary his entire life:
Yet three years before his death [Luther] was still affirming in print the opinion . . . that through the merits of her Son-to-be the Blessed Virgin was marvelously preserved from the taint of sin from the first moment of her existence as a human being [#13].
(footnote #13. Vom Schem Hamphoras und vom Geschlect Christi, 1543, Weimar edition, 53,640)(The Church: Selected Writings of Arthur Carl Piepkorn, New York: ALPB Books, 1993, 289)
I wrote in my first published article: "The Real Martin Luther" (The Catholic Answer, Jan/Feb 1993, 32-37):
The eminent Lutheran theologian Arthur Carl Piepkorn (1907-73), of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, after years of study, confirmed Luther's unswerving acceptance of the Immaculate Conception until his death.
Luther in a 1532 sermon (second sermon on Luke 2:41-52) stated (my italics):
32. This should shut the mouths of vain babblers who exalt the holy Virgin Mary and other saints as if they knew everything and could not err; for you can see here how they err and falter, not only in this that they seek Christ and know not where to find him until they accidentally come to the temple, but also that they could not understand these words with which he censured their ignorance and is compelled to say to them: "Knew ye not, that I must be in the things of my Father?" . . .39. To this we should reply as is taught in this Gospel: Be they called holy, learned, fathers, councils, or any other name, even though they were Mary, Joseph and all the saints it does not follow that they could not have erred and made mistakes. For here you learn that the mother of Christ though she possessed great intelligence and enlightenment, showed great ignorance in that she did not know where to find Christ, and in consequence was censured by him because she did not know what she should have known. If she failed and through her ignorance was brought to such anxiety and sorrow that she thought she had lost Christ, is it a wonder that other saints should often have erred and stumbled, when they followed their own notions, without the guidance of Scripture, or put their own notions into Scripture.
[I dealt with a similar misguided argument about Mary and young Jesus in the temple]
46. You say further: Yea, the church and the fathers were endowed with the Holy Spirit, who kept them from error. The answer to this is not difficult: The church and councils may have been ever so holy, they did not have the Holy Spirit in greater measure than Mary, the mother of Christ, who was also a member, yea, at the time, the most eminent member of the Church. And although she had been sanctified by the Holy Spirit; yet he permitted her at times to err, even in the important matters of faith. From this it does not follow, that the saints, who were endowed with the Spirit, could on this account not err, nor that everything they said would have to be correct. Great weakness and ignorance may be found to exist even in the most eminent people and hence we cannot judge concerning doctrines and matters of faith on the basis of personal holiness, for all this can fail. But here you come to the Word of God which is sure and infallible, where you shall certainly find Christ and the Holy Spirit, and can be and remain firmly fortified against sin, death, and the devil.
Source: Complete Sermons of Martin Luther (Volume 1) [Michigan: Baker Books, 2000] (First Sunday After Epiphany, Volume 1.2, pages 31-53).
In a Christmas 1532 sermon (erroneously thought to be from 1544 by some scholars and myself, following their lead; more on that below), Luther proclaimed:
[H]ow great an honor was conferred upon us in that the Son of God became man; not like Eve nor Adam, who was made of the earth; but He is still more nearly related to us, since He was born of the flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary, like other men, except that the virgin was alone, and being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, conceived this blessed fruit without sin and by the Holy Spirit. In other respects He is like unto us, and a natural Son of a woman.
Adam and Eve were not born, but created. God made Adam out of the dust of the earth, and the woman of his rib. How much nearer is Christ to us than Eve to her husband Adam, since He is truly our flesh and blood. Such honor we should highly esteem and well take to heart, that the Son of God became flesh, and that there is no difference at all between His and our flesh, only that His flesh is without sin. For He was so conceived of the Holy Ghost, and God poured out so richly His Holy Spirit into the soul and body of the Virgin Mary that without any sin she conceived and bore our Lord Jesus. Aside from this, in all other respects, He was like other men; He ate, drank, was hungry, thirsty, cold like other men. Such and similar natural infirmities, which have descended upon us by reason of sin, He, who was without sin, bore and had like unto us, as St. Paul says: "He was made in the likeness of men, and found in fashion as a man."
(Hauspostille of 1544 [House Postil]; sermon from Christmas 1532; from the German WA 52:39; my purple highlighting)
One fully expects to find contradictions within such a mentality as Luther's (and he commits such errors innumerable times). I had already noted this in my 2003 treatise on Luther's Mariology, where I cited Piepkorn himself:
Martin Luther's personal adherence to the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God (barring two lapses) seems to have been life-long . . .
("Mary's Place within the people of God according to Non-Roman Catholics," Marian Studies 18 [1967]: 46-83; quotation from p. 76)
I also mentioned this conclusion in my first book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism (completed in 1996, and published by Sophia Institute Press in 2003). I noted Piepkorn's opinion on p. 206, including the "lapses" in Luther's opinion. So this is nothing new; I knew of it as least as early as 1996.
The same Piepkorn journal paper (as I also noted in my 2003 paper), was cited approvingly ("splendid and learned summary") in footnote 25 (for chapter 11 [p. 157], on p. 249), in the great Lutheran scholar Jaroslav Pelikan's book, Mary Through The Ages (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996), that has been in my own personal library for years. In my 2003 Internet treatise, I freely noted the dissenting opinion, citing Grisar and Preuss, and Catholic Thomas A. O'Meara, O. P., who regarded the opinion of Luther's later change of mind, "likely, but not certain."
The huge difference between anti-Catholic polemicists and myself is that I actually respect the work of Lutheran Luther scholars, as well as other Luther scholars (i.e., those of a Christian affiliation other than my own); hence I present their conclusions (whatever they are) and cite them in excruciating detail. The usual anti-Catholic modus operandi is the exact opposite: eagerly utilizing whatever quotes support their positions and either ignoring or spinning away and minimizing any that do not.
In yet another 1532 sermon from Luther (often the Waffle-King), he takes the position he usually did:
Mother Mary, like us, was born in sin of sinful parents, but the Holy Spirit covered her, sanctified and purified her so that this child was born of flesh and blood, but not with sinful flesh and blood. The Holy Spirit permitted the Virgin Mary to remain a true, natural human being of flesh and blood, just as we. However, he warded off sin from her flesh and blood so that she became the mother of a pure child, not poisoned by sin as we are . . . For in that moment when she conceived, she was a holy mother filled with the Holy Spirit and her fruit is a holy pure fruit, at once God and truly man, in one person.
(Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, Vol. 3, ed. John Nicholas Lenker. [Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996], 291)
This exhibits the common notion of that time, of a "first" and "second" conception, because it was believed that the soul didn't enter the body at biological ("first") conception, but later ("animation"). That issue has been addressed several times in my other papers on the topic and I need not reiterate it.
The notorious anti-Catholic Reformed polemicist Tao has responded to three of my Luther citations, taken from the end of my first (2003) paper on the topic (and documented there):
1540: "In his conception all of Mary's flesh and blood was purified so that nothing sinful remained . . . Each seed was corrupt, except that of Mary."
1544 [later shown to be 1532]: "God has formed the soul and body of the Virgin Mary full of the Holy Spirit, so that she is without all sins."
1545: ". . . the pure Virgin Mary, who has not sinned and cannot sin for ever more."
About one thing he was correct: "With respect to the third quotation, it relates to acts of sin, not to original sin." Technically, he is right. The quote is consistent with a belief in Mary's Immaculate Conception (since actual sinlessness flows from it), and I think it plausibly suggests it, but is not proof of it.
The second quotation, from "1544" (actually, originally from 1532, as Tao has shown), is also, I agree, "borderline," strictly speaking. I believe it could be interpreted either way. It's consistent with the Immaculate Conception but ambiguous enough to not make the fuller hypothesis a solid or indisputable interpretation. Tao writes of it:
With respect to the middle one, I would want to see more context before I concluded anything from it. As it stands it could conceivable [sic] be part of a passage in support of the IC view, but it certainly doesn't mention original sin with any specificity.
I agree. It's remarkable enough that Tao concedes that it "could" possibly be a supporting passage for a view that Luther thought Mary was immaculately conceived. Tao makes great hay out of the fact that what I produced as a 1544 citation actually dates from 1532. Good for him. If that is the best "silver bullet" that he has, then it is hardly a major "victory." Tao wrote in his post about it:
That citation is actually to a sermon from 1532. Although WA 52 is titled "Hauspostille 1544," that is Luther's "House Postils" published in 1544, but containing mostly sermons from the first half of the 1530's. Luther did assent to having the sermons published, but the work was earlier work. Specifically, Veit Dietrich published these sermons based on Veit Dietrich's sermon notes, with Luther's assent (see discussion here). This particular sermon was apparently first publicly preached in 1532 and then again in 1533, according to the index in WA 52.
Good detective work. I commend him. Occasionally anti-Catholics do produce something of value, amidst all of their usual mud and raving polemics. After all, even an unplugged clock is right twice a day. My mistake is certainly an understandable and perfectly innocent, honest one, even based on the information seen above. I deduced the 1544 date from not one scholar, but two, in my 2003 paper: Thomas A. O'Meara and also Catholic scholar Hilda Graef, who wrote:
He seems to have given up this belief later on, though he held even in 1544, two years before his death, that she was completely without sin when she conceived the Lord Jesus. [WA, 52,39]
(Mary: A History of Doctrine and Devotion, Vol. II: New York: Sheed & Ward, 1965, 11)
I took both statements together and concluded that the date was 1544. Mea culpa. But (here's a bit of trivia) I actually discovered that the 1532 sermon was found in a collection from 1544, in my last paper on the topic, written before I saw Tao's discoveries about the date. Luther scholar Beth Kreitzer, had in one of her footnotes: "Hauspostille 1544 (Christmas, 1532)." It's necessary to note things like this, because Tao is always quick to accuse others of lying, and trying to deliberately fudge facts.
If my biggest error is reporting a wrong date based on what two scholars stated (and then discovering the error before Tao did), then I'm not doing that bad at all!
There is further "late" historical evidence of Luther's belief in the Immaculate Conception of Mary, from Luther's 1543 work, Vom Schem Hamphoras und vom Geschlecht Christi, that was mentioned by Luther scholars as corroborating evidence (as noted in my 2003 paper), but without direct citation. After more research, I have located the relevant citation, in English (in three versions):
Yet he still, in 1543, felt able to write that Mary was 'a holy virgin, who was saved and purified from Original Sin by the Holy Ghost', although he no longer specified at what point this purification took place. [157]
[157] WA, vol. 53, p. 640.
(Bridget Heal, The Cult of the Virgin Mary in Early Modern Germany: Protestant and Catholic Piety, 1500-1648 [Cambridge University Press: 2007], p. 59)
In a later writing Luther insists that Mary was "saved and purified from original sin through the Holy Spirit" at some point before Christ's incarnation, although he does not specify when this happened. [99]
[99] Vom Schem Hamphoras und vom Geschlecht Christi, 1543, WA 53, 640: "[Maria ist] ein heilige Jungfraw, die, von der Erbsunde erloset und gereiniget, durch den heiligen Geist." Ebtener thinks that because this statement falls in the context of a defense of the incarnation, Luther means that Mary was purified at that point. Others (e.g., Schimmelpfennig) believe that this phrase still supports the immaculate conception. See Ebneter, "Martin Luthers Marienbild," 78-79.
(Beth Kreitzer, Reforming Mary: Changing Images of the Virgin Mary in Lutheran Sermons of the Sixteenth Century [Oxford University Press: 2004], p. 124)
I also ran down, myself, a third English translation:
". . . a holy virgin . . . freed of original sin and cleansed by the Holy Ghost . . ."
(Gerhard Falk, The Jew in Christian Theology: Martin Luther's Anti-Jewish Vom Schem Hamphoras [McFarland & Co.: 1992], p. 217)
Thus, we have three English translations of the 1543 utterance (take your pick), with the German thrown in for good measure:
Falk (1992): "a holy virgin . . . freed of original sin and cleansed by the Holy Ghost"
Kreitzer (2004): "saved and purified from original sin through the Holy Spirit"
Heal (2007): "a holy virgin, who was saved and purified from Original Sin by the Holy Ghost"
All three mention original sin, so there is no doubt that Luther had it in mind. Therefore, Luther stated that Mary was purified from original sin in 1543, three years before his death. The only question that scholars debate is the exact time that Luther thinks this occurred. I think the evidence from 1544 conclusively shows that Luther believed (at that time) that it was at or near Christ's conception. But if Tao wants a "late" Luther quote that will "mention original sin with any specificity," then this fits the bill: from 1543.
Tao goes on to provide (in a comment on 10-2-10) a fuller context for the 1545 Luther quote that is mentioned in this regard (my purple coloring added):
What is the use of spending such great pains and effort on a council if the pope has decided beforehand that anything done in the council should be subjected to him, that nothing should be done unless it pleased him very much, and that he wants the power to condemn everything? To avoid all this trouble it would be better to say, "Most Hellish Father, since it makes no difference at all what is or will be decided before or in or after the council, we would rather (without any council) believe in and worship Your Hellishness. Just tell us beforehand what we must do; "Good Teacher, what shall I do?" [ Mark 10:17 ]. Then we shall sing the glad hymn to Your Hellishness, "Virgin before, in, and after childbearing," since you are the pure Virgin Mary, who has not sinned and cannot sin for ever more. If not, then tell us, for God's sake, what need or use there is in councils, since Your Hellishness has such great power over them that they are to be nothing, if it does not please Your Hellishness. Or prove to us poor, obedient "simple Christians" whence Your Hellishness has such power. Where are the seals and letters from your superior that grant such things to you? Where is written evidence which will make us believe this? Won't Your Hellishness show us these things? Well then, we shall diligently search for them ourselves, and with God's help we shall certainly find them shortly."
(LW [Luther's Works] 41:263-264)
Tao opines:
As you can see, the comment is one that is made in the midst of a rhetorical and sarcastic comment directed at the pope. Luther isn't necessarily setting out his own view of Mary any more than he is trying to analyze the pope's view of her. He's simply trying to mock the pope.
And, of course, the conception of Mary isn't in view at all. In other words, even if we assumed that Luther was describing his own view of Mary, it would only describe her sinlessness, not her immaculate conception.
Again, we see that the Romanist who brought this quotation was taking the comment out of context and distorting its meaning.
This is thoroughly wrongheaded. Simply because Luther was in one of his frequent mocking, sarcastic moods doesn't mean that the reference to Mary is to be regarded as not indicative of his views. That doesn't follow. It certainly doesn't follow necessarily. In fact, the opposite is far more plausible. The very mocking has to do with Luther saying, in effect, "O, holy pope, so you think you're so pure and holy and infallible; let's mockingly call you, then, the pure, perpetually Virgin Mary, who not only has not sinned, but cannot ever sin."
The Marian doctrines that Luther believes were used to mock the pope, whom, Luther thinks, is exalted far beyond measure; so that he mocks him by comparing him to someone who is indeed exalted. Otherwise, the mocking has no force, if the strong contrast between a sinless person and the pope isn't part of it. We know that Luther did certainly believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary (even in partu); that is disputed by virtually no scholars or anyone else who knows anything about Luther's Mariology.
Therefore, if Luther uses the example of her perpetual virginity in the course of mocking, and we know that he literally believed that, then it is likely that he also believed in Mary's sinlessness, if not her Immaculate Conception, by analogy. The majority of Luther scholars hold that he continued to believe the latter (i.e., in its essentials: more on that below), up to his death (with a few exceptions of earlier statements, as noted).
Let's now take a look at how Tao interprets the relevant 1540 Luther quotation. Here I think my esteemed brother in Christ (who denies that I am a Christian) fares much better than with his argument concerning the 1545 citation:
Let me take the first example:
1540: "In his conception all of Mary's flesh and blood was purified so that nothing sinful remained . . . Each seed was corrupt, except that of Mary."
"His conception" refers to Jesus' conception, not Mary's. Mary's seed is Jesus. Joachim & Anna's seed was Mary. This quotation from 1540, therefore, stands opposed to the dogma of the IC.
The reference to "purified" is a reference to the flesh that Jesus took from Mary. Again, that reference shows that Mary was not pure and consequently the flesh taken from her had to be purified. Had Mary been preserved from all taint of sin, she (i.e. her flesh) could not have been purified any more than one can remove inclusions from a flawless stone. (9-30-10)
I think that after further evidence from Luther's opinion in 1543-1544 was brought forth by Tao (dealt with below), that explicitly tied in the timing of this event at Christ's conception, it is more plausible to interpret this as referring to Christ's conception, not Mary's. Thus, I have changed my mind about the 1540 statement from "leaning to its meaning Mary's conception" to "most likely Christ's conception," based on the explicit 1544 evidence and a comparison of similar Luther utterances. I thank Tao for bringing this additional information to the fore. More good "detective work." It is very helpful to clarify the "late Luther views."
In other words, I think Tao is right with regard to whose conception Luther referred to in 1540. But when he says, "This quotation from 1540, therefore, stands opposed to the dogma of the IC," well, yes and no. If we mean the dogma as it is believed by the Catholic Church, and the timing of God's special act of grace, yes, but if we mean "removal of original sin," which is the essence and heart of the doctrine, then he did not deny it. I discuss this at some length near the end of this paper.
Luther never believed that the act occurred at Mary's conception, because he originally thought it occurred at ensoulment, which he separated from conception (as most people still did in the late Middle Ages). So the timing in his view was always different; it simply shifted from the time of ensoulment, to the time of Christ's conception (or, as some think, possibly in the interim period). The common ground in his views is the removal of original sin: whenever it happened.
Later (10-2-10), Tao provides a fuller context, with a citation that was word-for-word the same as what I had in my 2003 paper (my purple emphasis):
Every man is corrupted by original sin and has concupiscence. Christ had neither concupiscence nor original sin. Therefore he is not a man: Response: I make a distinction with regard to the major premise. Every man is corrupted by original sin, with the exception of Christ. Every man who is not a divine Person [personaliter Deus], as is Christ, has concupiscence, but the man Christ has none, because he is a divine Person, and in conception the flesh and blood of Mary were entirely purged, so that nothing of sin remained. Therefore Isaiah says rightly, "There was no guile found in his mouth"; otherwise, every seed except for Mary's was corrupted."
. . . this text actually proves the very opposite of what the Romanist had cited it for.
The source of this fuller citations (that omits the "his") is from Disputation On the Divinity and Humanity of Christ (February 27, 1540); "translated from the Latin text WA 39/2,.92-121" by Christopher B. Brown, and available online (see also a much snazzier PDF version). "His" is not in this translation because (presumably) it wasn't in the original (it is definitely not in the later German version). Above, Tao was citing my own use of Eric W. Gritsch's 1992 translation.
Some translations insert it, probably on the basis of concluding that the meaning is referring to Christ's conception rather than Mary's (and so clarifying that with the addition). Without the "his" it appears to be most plausibly referring to Mary's conception. With it, it appears to refer to Christ's. It is an added word, but I now think that immediate context and the context of related Luther statements justifies the interpretive inclusion. Another scholar, Dr. Bonnie Noble, adds input to the discussion with a third rendering:
Mary's flesh and blood was purified in [his] conception, so that nothing sinful remained.
[footnote 61] My translation of [German then provided; accessible from Google Books] . . . (Disputation on the Humanity of Christ [1540, originally in Latin]; Tappolet, Marienlob, 32; WA, vol. 39, part 2, p. 107, lines 4-13).
(Lucas Cranach the Elder: Art and Devotion of the German Reformation [University Press of America: 2009], p. 178; footnote 61 from p. 194)
We know that Latin was the original language of Luther's treatise, since Noble states this, and Brown also translated from Latin. Both mention the same source of that: "WA" (Weimar Ausgabe: the standard German edition of Luther's works), vol. 39. Latin is, therefore, the most primary source. The German version came later.
But it is not impossible that Luther was referring to Christ's conception, either, since it is possible that he was following a certain line of thought that St. Thomas Aquinas had expressed almost three centuries earlier:
Reply to Objection 3. The Holy Ghost effected a twofold purification in the Blessed Virgin. The first was, as it were, preparatory to Christ's conception: which did not cleanse her from the stain of sin or fomes, but rather gave her mind a unity of purpose and disengaged it from a multiplicity of things (Cf. Dionysius, Div. Nom. iv), since even the angels are said to be purified, in whom there is no stain, as Dionysius says (Eccl. Hier. vi). The second purification effected in her by the Holy Ghost was by means of the conception of Christ which was the operation of the Holy Ghost. And in respect of this, it may be said that He purified her entirely from the fomes.
(Summa Theologica, Third Part, Q. 27: "The Sanctification of the Blessed Virgin," Article 3: "Whether the Blessed Virgin was cleansed from the infection of the fomes?")
[later note: the above two paragraphs were in my paper before I changed my mind about the 1540 quote; hence it is seen that my position wasn't absolute on this, and I allowed the possibility of the other scenario being the fact of the matter: as indeed I am now persuaded is the actual state of affairs. The main shortcoming in Tao's argument was putting too much stock in the interpolated "his": the best argument is cross-referencing to the Lectures on Genesis (38) from 1544, and other similar statements; this was persuasive in my case, in any event]
We do also know, however, that although Luther scholar Eric Gritsch includes the "his" in his rendering, he does not go on to deny (or even doubt) that Luther accepted the Immaculate Conception of Mary his entire life, since he is on record in a 1992 book (in footnote 43, p. 382), stating:
But Tappolet . . . demonstrated with the use of texts that Luther did not change his mind. The literary evidence from Luther's works clearly supports the view that Luther affirmed the doctrine [immaculate conception of Mary], but did not consider it necessary to impose it.
Thus, he doesn't see this particular quote, even if it is referring to the conception of Christ, as a slam dunk against his position at all. He sees no conflict.
I changed my mind, after several insinuations from Tao that I and other Catholics would be reluctant to do so. Thus Tao wrote, after presenting the "new" 1544 information:
I suspect that one of the detractors will immediately retreat to logically invalid appeals to authority, counting the noses of "scholars" who have thought that Luther maintained the IC view. (10-4-10)
Well, that ain't what I did, was it? Steve Hays, a friend of Tao's and also an active online anti-Catholic Reformed polemicist (who has characterized me as "evil", of "evil character" and "schizophrenic"), chimed in as well:
While you're [sic] detractors ought to recant, the dwarfs are for the dwarfs (as C. S. Lewis would say), so Roman dwarfism will likely triumph over reason and evidence. (10-4-10)
I changed my mind. I didn't have to "recant" because I wasn't dogmatic on the issue of timing, anyway, as I noted not far above. This is why I provided the quote from St. Thomas Aquinas, because it was always a possibility. This is what the mind who cares about truth and that weighs evidence does, after all. But Tao and his anti-Catholic cronies have been insinuating constantly that I don't care about truth. So it is quite odd that I changed my mind and wasn't too proud to admit it, isn't it?
Nor do I "abhor" or hate Luther. I've reiterated my opinion of him many times. Even Tao (in a very rare defense of anything having to do with me) recognizes that I am not "anti-Luther." He wrote on a Lutheran web page (and this citation -- for a change -- has not been removed):
One other thing I should point out in Dave's defense. He has, if I recall correctly, previously responded to some of the most extreme anti-Lutheran garbage out there. So, while he's clearly on the other side of the Tiber from Luther, one should not conclude that his errors in scholarship are somehow solely the result of malice and ill-will toward Luther. (3-1-10)
This has been patently obvious for years now, so that even one of my severest critics doesn't deny it. On my Luther web page I have a section entitled "Defenses of Martin Luther Against 'Anti-Luther' Bum Raps." The next section is, "Agreements With, and Commendations of Luther / Fairly Neutral Stance Towards Him." I have more papers defending the man or agreeing with him (30 +) than most theological websites have about him altogether. In the next section, "Controversies Concerning My Luther Research," I repeatedly argue in at least four papers (one / two / three / four), that I am not "anti-Luther".
It gets extremely wearisome noting this umpteen times, for those persons who can't grasp that (selective) criticism can exist alongside praise and even admiration. I suppose it is projection when an anti-Catholic says this, since it is so utterly obvious how much they despise and detest the Catholic Church, that they casually assume that we Catholics must despise and detest and "hate" and "abhor" Martin Luther: the founder of Protestantism. At times this is true (I have excoriated some Catholics with that attitude, myself), but I have found that usually it is not the case.
Lastly, I have written a book about Martin Luther. The introduction is available online (per my usual custom for all my books). And in that introduction I state:
Lastly, the reader may wonder (in all fairness) about my own personal opinion (as a committed orthodox Catholic, and Catholic apologist) of Martin Luther. I'm happy to comply with such a desire. I disagree with the man's theology (that is, where he departs from Catholic orthodoxy) and some of the ways in which he went about things. But I do not regard Luther (like many Catholic biographers and critics throughout history) as an essentially "evil" or "bad" man. I don't deny his good intentions and sincerity at all (though I often question his wisdom and foresight, as will be evident).
I actually admire Martin Luther in many ways. I love his passion and boldness and bravery in standing up for what he believed. I always admire people who do that, unless the stand they take is unquestionably evil. One can respect such a person without necessarily agreeing with the specific cause or belief that he or she espouses. One can be wrong for the right reasons, and right for the wrong reasons.
I go on for three more paragraphs in this fashion. The book itself is devoted in one-third of its pages to "praise" of Luther and areas of agreement with Catholics. That's crystal-clear enough. Thus, the dual lies that I supposedly hate Luther and that I refuse to follow truth and evidence where it leads, have both been amply refuted.
* * *
Moreover, Luther's Lectures on Genesis (38), from Luther's Works, vol. 7 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House: 1965; edited by Jaroslav Pelikan, and translated by Paul D. Pahl), offers strong proof that Luther (at this point) was definitely placing the special work of God in freeing Mary from all sin, at the time of Christ's conception, not her own.
The 1540 citation was not totally clear about that (hence scholars have stated that the timing of what he intended was not certain), but there is no such lack of clarity in these remarks, dated somewhere between November 1543 through to 1544. This has caused me to revise my prior inclination in the interpretation of the 1540 comment.
I have maintained all along (for years now), in my writings on the topic, that Luther's position was not identical to the Catholic dogma, so this is no bombshell revelation for me. But it is helpful clarifying evidence for the precise nature of Luther's late position (the vexing question of chronology and timing).
Very few scholars think that Luther agreed with the 1854 Catholic dogma, his whole life (even if it is possible to argue that he nearly did, at the time of his 1527 remarks). Almost all of them have noted the differences, including the "first conception" and "second conception" aspect, and the timing according to Luther. Given Luther's usual waffling and self-contradictions, the subject is more than a little difficult.
Lastly, one could note that there are several related but distinct aspects of the Immaculate Conception:
1) Mary's (actual) sinlessness.
2) The removal of original sin from Mary by a special act of God's grace.
3) When this removal occurred: at Mary's own conception, or at Christ's conception, or some point of time in-between the two (with necessary consideration of the antiquated medieval notion of two conceptions: body and soul; the second being "animation").
Luther waffled the most with regard to #1, saying at times that Mary sinned. But apart from those seemingly anomalous instances (that some scholars, such as Piepkorn, regard as "lapses" from his usual position), he generally taught #1. #1 and #2 are both of the essence of the Immaculate Conception: freedom from original sin and absence of actual sin: both made possible by the reception of God's grace.
Catholics hold that it occurred at her conception (hence the very title), yet it might be argued that the timing of the special act (removal of original sin and restoration to the pre-fall state of Adam and Eve) is not part of the essence of the doctrine, just as the element of when Jesus was born was not at all the essential part of His Incarnation per se: it was the fact that He became Man at all (whenever that blessed event occurred).
#2 is the least disputed point in Luther's mind. He reiterates it in 1540 and 1543, and again, in a different manner, but still most definitely, in the presently considered document, from 1543-1544. #3 is the most complex determination to make: in 1527, Luther believed that the purification or purging occurred at her ensoulment (which he placed later than conception, in accord with the primitive biology of his time). As soon as Mary had both a body and soul, she was freed from original sin by God (which is identical to the Catholic dogma, when expressed in that fashion).
In his 1532 statement, he is vague as to the time of that blessed event. The 1540 statement has some ambiguity (as evidenced by the textual dispute over the inserted word "his"). His 1543 utterance specifically refers to "original sin" but is again vague as to when Mary was purified from it. The nature of what he thought took place was much more clear than when it did.
Thus, this evidence from 1543-1544 is important and quite significant because it refers both to original sin (as a concept if not with those words) and making the timing (in Luther's opinion) clear once and for all (at Christ's conception). Therefore, we may reasonably conclude, I think, that Luther likely gave up his belief that this act of grace in Mary occurred earlier: as soon as she had a soul, sometime after 1527.
In light of all the relevant evidence considered as a whole, I think it would be wise to refer to Luther's post-1527 position in a different manner. I have coined a new term: Immaculate Purification: as seen in my revised title for this post. This preserves the "immaculate" aspect (i.e., removal of original sin) but doesn't place the timing at conception.
Using a different term immediately clarifies that we acknowledge (as most scholars always have) that there are important differences between Luther's view and the Catholic dogma of 1854: though (crucially to the discussion) not essential ones. It decreases the possibility of unhelpful misunderstanding and neglect of the many nuances in this discussion.
Luther continued (most of the time) to assert that Mary was without actual sin, and that she was freed from original sin (the latter being the most constant aspect of his evolving beliefs on the matter). Since those are the two essential elements of the Immaculate Conception (and vastly different from the opinions of almost all Protestants today), then we are quite justified in continuing to say that he held the doctrine "in some form" (as I expressed it in my 2003 paper) until his death: he held to Immaculate Purification. It's not identical to the Catholic position (which wasn't yet a dogma during his lifetime, anyway, so that folks were free to disagree a bit), but it is far closer to the Catholic position than any denominational or creedal Protestant position today.
* * *
There is no contradiction here (sorry to bring up fine points of Logic 0101), since I have always acknowledged (at least since 1996 and my first book) that Luther's view was not identical to the Catholic one.
My change of opinion has to do with the degree of difference, and some of the particulars of Luther's later view, which is not a contradiction. As I already noted, I was already saying that the view I take now was a possibility. I was citing scholars who argued the same thing (that I discovered and documented in 2003). But, eager to show that I am an unstable fool, one anti-Catholic zealot picked three statements of mine, pretending (hoping,m wishing) that the following past statement is completely contradictory to my present position:
his opinions on the Immaculate Conception, . . . were substantially the same.
The key is the word "substantially" (or, to put it another way, "essentially"). I have argued above (added last night before I ever saw their reactions) that the substance or essence of Luther's views remained the same, insofar as he held that Mary was purified of original sin. That didn't change. That's the essence of the immaculate conception. When it happened is a different issue, but not of its essence.
I granted that continued use of the word "conception" in describing Luther's views is unfortunate and confusing; hence I suggested the use of a new term, "immaculate purification" for his post-1527 position. But none of this means that Luther ever denied (as far as we know) that Mary was purged of original sin.
The 1543 citation uses that exact term. Tao stated about the 1532 citation: "it certainly doesn't mention original sin with any specificity." So I produced the 1543 statement (in three translations: all of which I dug up independently of Tao) and (unless I missed something) it has been ignored ever since. This showed that Luther still believed Mary was purged of original sin in 1543, and he reiterated it in Lectures on Genesis in 1543-1544, though without using the words "original sin": I would contend that the concept was clearly there.
Tao chimed in, being about as gracious as he ever is towards me, but with the acid barb included:
It sounds like you're saying he [yours truly] did something additional beyond what I predicted he would do. That's fine. I'm glad to see he was even persuaded by our arguments to accept the view that he previously ridiculed. (10-5-10)
This is again spin and revisionism of what actually happened. What I "ridiculed" was anti-Catholic pretensions to pseudo-scholarship: thinking that they can blithely dismiss the opinions of Luther scholars. What I "ridiculed" was highly selective mentioning of scholars who agree with one's position, while ignoring many others, such as Eric Gritsch, one of the translators of Luther's Works.
I also strongly criticized Tao latching onto the word "his" in the 1540 translation, that was a mere interpolation into the text (absent in Browns' translation direct from the Latin), and making that one word his whole basis for concluding that Luther was referring to Christ's conception. I noted that this was hypocritical, since he is always carping about original sources and ad fontes!, yet here he was relying on an interpolation into a German text, that postdated the Latin original. He was right about the opinion (I think now) as to what it referred to, but for the wrong reasons, and with some considerable internal hypocrisy.
I did not ridicule simply holding the position that it referred to Christ's conception. I simply disagreed with it, and at length was persuaded to agree. So characterizing the point where I changed my mind as one that I previously "ridiculed" is a distortion of what actually happened. The record is clear.
Let's now look at Luther's Lectures on Genesis (chapter 38) [words referring to Mary in purple]:
Judah, the very eminent patriarch, a father of Christ, committed this unspeakable act of incest in order that Christ might be born from a flesh outstandingly sinful and contaminated by a most disgraceful sin. For he begets twins by an incestuous harlot, his own daughter-in-law, and from this source the line of the Savior is later derived. Here Christ must become a sinner in His flesh, as disgraceful as He ever can become. The flesh of Christ comes forth from an incestuous union; likewise, the flesh of the Virgin, His mother, and of all the descendants of Judah, in such a way that the ineffable plan of God's mercy may be pointed out, because He assumed the flesh or the human nature from flesh that was contaminated and horribly polluted. (LW, 7:12)
The scholastic doctors argue about whether Christ was born from sinful or clean flesh, or whether from the foundation of the world God preserved a pure bit of flesh from which Christ was to be born. I reply, therefore, that Christ was truly born from true and natural flesh and human blood which was corrupted by original sin in Adam, but in such a way that it could be healed. Thus we, who are encompassed by sinful flesh, believe and hope that on the day of our redemption the flesh will be purged of and separated from all infirmities, from death, and from disgrace; for sin and death are separable evils. Accordingly, when it came to the Virgin and that drop of virginal blood, what the angel said was fulfilled: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and overshadow you" (Luke 1:35). To be sure, the Messiah was not born by the power of flesh and blood, as is stated in John ( cf. 1:13): "Not of blood nor of the will of a man, etc." Nevertheless, He wanted to be born from the mass of the flesh and from that corrupted blood. But in the moment of the Virgin's conception the Holy Spirit purged and sanctified the sinful mass and wiped out the poison of the devil and death, which is sin. Although death remained in that flesh on our account, the leaven of sin was nevertheless purged out, and it became the purest flesh, purified by the Holy Spirit and united with the divine nature in one Person. Therefore it is truly human nature no different from what it is in us. And Christ is the Son of Adam and of his seed and flesh, but, as has been stated, with the Holy Spirit overshadowing it, active in it, and purging it, in order that it might be fit for this most innocent conception and the pure and holy birth by which we were to be purged and freed from sin. (LW, 7:12-13)
In the purple-colored statements, Luther reaffirms that God purged Mary of original sin (something entirely harmonious with Catholic dogma, as far as it goes). He even asserts the "fittingness" of Mary being pure, rather than necessity, which is also exactly the Catholic perspective ("in order that it might be fit . . ."), and a thing that both Tao and associate John Bugay have both publicly despised.
Blessedly, I have Luther's Works, vol. 7 in my own library, and here is the next section:
Therefore these things are written for Christ's sake. The Holy Spirit wanted Him to sink into sin as deeply as possible. Consequently, He had to be besmirched with incest and born from incestuous blood. (LW, 7:13)
Isn't that a lovely sentiment? The conscientious Protestant apologist can never be too careful in protecting the unknowing flock from some of Luther's more outrageous statements, can he?
Christ alone is a son of the flesh without the sin of the flesh. (LW 7:18)
This doesn't necessarily contradict Mary being without sin, because of Luther's own expressed distinction between the first and second conceptions. Luther held that Mary inherited original sin in her body before she received a soul (and thus was in the "middle" of Christ and the rest of humanity), whereas he says that this was not the case for Jesus Christ.
But Judah begs that he may be permitted to go in to Tamar, that is, to have intercourse with her . . . she was made pregnant by the most shameful act of incest, and the flesh from which Christ was to be born was poured from the loins of Judah and was propagated, carried about, and contaminated with sin right up to the conception of Christ. That is how our Lord God treats our Savior. God allows Him to be conceived in most disgraceful incest, in order that He may assume the truest flesh, just as our flesh is poured forth, conceived, and nourished in sins. But later, when the time for assuming the flesh in the womb of the Virgin came, it was purified and sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit, according to Luke 1:35: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and will overshadow you." Nevertheless, it was truly flesh polluted from Judah and Tamar.
Therefore all these things have been described for Christ's sake, in order that it might be certain that He really had to be born from sinful flesh, but without sin. Accordingly, David says this of himself in Ps. 51:5: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity." This is said correctly also of the flesh of Christ as it was in the womb of Tamar, before it was assumed and purged. But this flesh He assumed later, after it had been purged, in order that He might be able to bear the punishment for sin in His own body. (LW, 7:31)
This is hopelessly muddled Christological thought. Christ was born of sinful flesh, but He wasn't, but maybe He was, or perhaps not. This is Luther: Orwellian doublethink and doublespeak. A=a, but it is not a, at the same time, just as in the nonsensical, unbiblical Protestant soteriological notion of purely imputed justification that he championed.
He applies sinfulness to Christ (that which is impossible) in some remote, bizarre sense, yet on the other hand He separates Christ from sin by saying, "this flesh He assumed later, after it had been purged," and then claims that this had to happen, "in order that" Jesus could carry through His mission. Jesus was Who He was. Nothing was needed at all in His case. Since He could never inherit original sin in the first place, because that category doesn't apply to Him, there was no necessity at all to purge Mary of original sin for His sake. It was only "fitting." And that is what the Catholic Church teaches.
Here, therefore, the Blessed Seed is described. It is descended from the accursed, lost, and condemned seed and flesh. Nevertheless, It Itself is without sin and corruption. According to nature, Christ has the same flesh that we have; but in His conception the Holy Spirit came and overshadowed and purified the mass which He received from the Virgin that He might be united with the divine nature. In Christ, therefore, there is the holiest, purest, and cleanest flesh; but in us and in all human beings it is altogether corrupt, except insofar as it is restored in Christ. (LW, 7:36)
Luther, then, still believes that Mary was purified and sanctified (implying removal of original sin, as he had explicitly stated in 1543, in the same year or year before this writing. But he places the time at (far as we can tell) just before Christ's conception. Where Luther errs is in how he relates Mary's sanctification to Jesus Christ and His incarnation.
Whenever he implies that Jesus actually partook of sin in any real way, in any sense, it is at least semi-Nestorian heresy and blasphemy. Hints of the same quasi-Nestorianism can be found in Luther's 1532 utterances as well (excepted above), if one looks closely enough. And they were most obvious in His remarks earlier on in his career about Jesus' visit to hell:
He found Himself in a state of condemnation and abandonment . . . He actually and in truth offered Himself to the eternal Father to be consigned to eternal damnation for us. His human nature did not behave differently from that of a man who is to be condemned eternally to hell. On account of this love of God, God at once raised Him from death and hell, and so He overcame hell.
(Hartmann Grisar, Luther, translated by E.M. Lamond, edited by Luigi Capadelta, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co., 2nd edition, 1914, vol. 1 of 6, 239-240; from Commentary on Romans [1515-1516]; edition of J. Ficker, Leipzig: 1908, 218 ff.)
It's not just my judgment that this is heretical theology (present even before he forsook Catholicism); it was also the conclusion of Luther's best friend and successor, Philip Melanchthon, the Lutheran Confessions, and Paul Althaus, in his widely used book, The Theology of Martin Luther. I'm not the only one objecting to it, by any means. See the related papers:
2 Corinthians 5:21: Was Jesus Christ Literally Made Sin on the Cross? Did He Suffer the Horrors of Damnation? Luther and Calvin vs. the Church Fathers
Dialogue With Four Lutherans Concerning Certain "Nestorianizing" Tendencies in the Lutheran Conception of Jesus' Descent Into Hell
The Catholic Encyclopedia describes one of the key errors of Nestorianism, that is in full display in Luther's remarks above:
Two things are certain: first, that, whether or no they believed in the unity of the subject in the Incarnate Word, at least they explained that unity wrongly; secondly, that they used most unfortunate and misleading language when they spoke of the union of the manhood with the Godhead — language which is objectively heretical, even were the intention of its authors good.
Revised, Expanded Chronological Summary of Luther's (Affirmative) Utterances on the Immaculate Conception and/or Mary's Sinlessness
1521 [Hartmann Grisar, 1917] received so much grace that she was quite filled with it, as we believe (Rationis Latomiance confutatio [WA 8:56]; from Luther, vol. 4, p. 238)
1522 [William J. Cole, 1970] She is full of grace; so that she may be recognized as without any sin. That is a high and great thing, for God's grace fills her with all gifts and frees her from all evil. (Little Prayer Book)
[Eric W. Gritsch, 1992] full of grace [voll Gnaden] . . . graced [begnadet]
1527 [Hilda Graef, 1965] the grace of God makes her full of all that is good and empty of all evil. (WA 17,409 / Sermon on the Annunciation, 1527)
1527 [Abp. William Ullathorne, 1905] And the other conception, that is to say, the infusion of the soul, is piously believed to have been accomplished without original sin. So that, in that very infusing of the soul, the body was simultaneously purified from original sin, and endowed with divine gifts to receive that holy soul which was infused into it from God. And thus in the first moment it began to live, it was exempt from all sin . . . the Virgin Mary was, according to the first conception, without grace, yet according to the second conception, she was full of grace. . . . the Virgin Mary was conceived, according to the body, indeed without grace, but according to the soul, full of grace. . . . Again, it was just and meet that that person should be preserved from original sin from whom Christ received the flesh by which He overcame all sins. And that, indeed, is properly called blessed which is endowed with divine grace, that is, which is free from sin.
[Hartmann Grisar, 1917] It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary's soul was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin and adorned with God's gifts, receiving a pure soul infused by God; thus from the first moment she began to live she was free from all sin. (Luther, vol. 4, p. 238)
[Hilda Graef, 1965] one believes blessedly that at the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin
[Thomas A. O'Meara, 1966] the other conception, namely the infusion of the soul . . . it is believed that it took place without contacting original sin. . . . her first conception was without grace, but the second was full of grace . . . Mary the Virgin is conceived according to the body without grace, but according to the soul she is full of grace
[Eric W. Gritsch, 1992] the Virgin Mary, though without grace in the first conception, was full of grace in the second . . . . the Virgin Mary was conceived in body without grace but in soul full of grace.
[Beth Kreitzer, 2003] purified from original sin and decorated with God's gifts [von der erbsunnde sey gerainneget worden] . . . . from the first moment that she began to live, she was without all sin
1532 [J. T. Isensee, 1871] the virgin was alone, and being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, conceived this blessed fruit without sin and by the Holy Spirit . . . God poured out so richly His Holy Spirit into the soul and body of the Virgin Mary that without any sin she conceived and bore our Lord Jesus
[Thomas A. O'Meara, 1966] God has formed the soul and body of the Virgin Mary full of the Holy Spirit, so that she is without all sins, for she has conceived and borne the Lord Jesus.
[Beth Kreitzer, 2004] she was without all sin [das sie ohne alle Sund gewesen ist]
1532 [John Nicholas Lenker, 1996] Mother Mary, like us, was born in sin of sinful parents, but the Holy Spirit covered her, sanctified and purified her . . . he warded off sin from her flesh and blood . . . For in that moment when she conceived, she was a holy mother filled with the Holy Spirit
1537 [Smalcald Articles; Tappert, 1959] born of the pure, holy, and virgin Mary [ex Maria pura, sancta, Semper Virgine]
1540 [Eric W. Gritsch, 1992, presumably from Latin, since he mentions only WA, where this piece is in Latin] In his conception all of Mary's flesh and blood was purified so that nothing sinful remained.
[Christopher B. Brown, 1995?; from original Latin] in conception the flesh and blood of Mary were entirely purged, so that nothing of sin remained. . . . every seed except for Mary's was corrupted.
[Bonnie Noble, 2009; from the secondary German Tappolet translation] Mary's flesh and blood was purified in [his] conception, so that nothing sinful remained.
1543 [Gerhard Falk, 1992] a holy virgin . . . freed of original sin and cleansed by the Holy Ghost
[Beth Kreitzer, 2004] saved and purified from original sin through the Holy Spirit [Maria ist] ein heilige Jungfraw, die, von der Erbsunde erloset und gereiniget, durch den heiligen Geist]
[Bridget Heal, 2007] a holy virgin, who was saved and purified from Original Sin by the Holy Ghost
1543-1544 [Paul D. Pahl, 1965] But in the moment of the Virgin's conception the Holy Spirit purged and sanctified the sinful mass and wiped out the poison of the devil and death, which is sin. Although death remained in that flesh on our account, the leaven of sin was nevertheless purged out, and it became the purest flesh, purified by the Holy Spirit and united with the divine nature in one Person. . . . with the Holy Spirit overshadowing it, active in it, and purging it, in order that it might be fit for this most innocent conception . . .
But later, when the time for assuming the flesh in the womb of the Virgin came, it was purified and sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit, according to Luke 1:35: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and will overshadow you." . . . this flesh He assumed later, after it had been purged, . . .
1544 [H. George Anderson et al, 1992] Mary being "immaculate" is "a pious and pleasing thought" [haec pia cogitatio et placet] (Exposition of the Ninth Chapter of Isaiah, 1543/44. WA 40/3:680.31-32).
1545 [Eric W. Gritsch, 1966] Then we shall sing the glad hymn to Your Hellishness, "Virgin before, in, and after childbearing," since you are the pure Virgin Mary, who has not sinned and cannot sin for ever more.


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Long Beach Boulevard
Oh, Boy! Woman Gives Birth In Compton Alley
A pregnant woman walking in Compton early Sunday thought she'd save time by cutting through an alley, only to find, moments later, that she was going into labor.
1 Dead, 3 Wounded In Shooting In Parking Lot Of Long Beach Denny's
Authorities say one person has died and three others were wounded following an overnight shooting in the parking lot of a Denny's restaurant in Long Beach.
Long Beach Police Shoot Woman Reportedly Brandishing A Gun In Public
A woman Saturday was shot by police in Long Beach after she reportedly brandished a gun in public.
2 Shot — 1 Fatally — In Compton
Two men were shot, one fatally, early Sunday morning in Compton.
1 Dead, 1 Hospitalized After Apartment Fire In Lynwood
One person is dead and another was hospitalized with burn injuries after an apartment fire in Lynwood, authorities said.
Woman, 63, Killed Crossing The Street In Long Beach
A 63-year-old woman was struck and killed Saturday as she crossed a street in Long Beach, a city fire official said.


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Narrow down the 165 results:Map View
If Italian cities were people, Milan would be the sophisticated older sister. While the rest of Italy gets by on a large amount of chaos and a lot of dolce vita, Milan takes business seriously and keeps the money coming in. Though not as flamboyant as the South, Milan has plenty of treasures on offer, both in terms of historical relics and up-to-the-minute fashion. It can be an accordingly expensive place to visit, though budget accommodation can be found, with occasional unmissable offers on glitzy 4-star hotels. Milan's areas of interest are focussed within the centre, but even within this fairly small area, each of the districts below offers something slightly different.
Milan's stunning and extravagant cathedral provides the centrepiece, with the rest of the city extending out in all directions from it. For this reason alone, it's the perfect place to be based, with easy access to everywhere else in the city, not to mention the wealth of attractions surrounding the Piazza del Duomo. For those in search of Milan's old-fashioned glamour, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is a must-see; a truly beautiful shopping arcade, housing some of Milan's oldest and most venerable shops, cafes and restaurants. The hotels closest to the Piazza tend to be rather expensive, but if you fan out a little further, budget options do become available.
If the area around the Duomo is Milan's historic centre, Brera is the undisputed fashion district. Exclusive, independent boutiques sell high-quality leather products, Milan's fashion signature. As you might expect, the fashion industry here supports an arty café culture. This is Italy at its most stylish: a place to see and be seen, to rub shoulders with the fashion pack, to casually sip espresso and watch the world go by. Hotels are mid-range rather than budget, but for the desirable, central location and the classy touches, they offer value for money.
Milan's university district contains the bulk of the budget accommodation, with everything from charming old-fashioned B&Bs to modern boutique hotels. It has a thriving nightlife (as you might expect from a student area) and a good range of Italian trattorie. Trams provide quick connections to the centre, and if you're based in the southern part of the district, the Duomo is only a 30-minute walk away.
If you like nothing better than up-and-coming destinations, Zona Tortona is the place to be. This south-west district of Milan is the city's design centre and is hotly tipped to be the next big thing. Free-thinking creative types reside here, and several of the streets are treated like exhibition venues for the latest design trends, particularly in design fair season. It's situated within the Navigli district, which is popular with students and young people and full of bars and restaurants. Though many parts of the district are a little run-down, Zona Tortona is on the way up and truly creative.
Read more in our Milan travel guide
x The average starting price for a place to stay in Milan is £70 per night.
mosvice Best hostel I've ever been to. Close to the Duomo and other main attractions of the city. Great staff and service. As they say it's closer to become your house than being simply a hostel. If you're looking to meet people while travelling, this is surely the best place in town to do that. Highly recommended to anyone visiting Milan.
nai_hhd Great apartment. It is a little old but everything is working. Filiberto was very helpful. There is a map in the apartment where you can see which bus can you take to go to the city center (a little far but good connected), also where there are supermarkets and other useful places in the neighborhood. Everything was clean. Nothing bad about it. Very recomendable.
P.zza S. M. del Suffragio, 3Excellent 90%
dimitrioum It was difficult to find despite directions given. There needed to be better signs! Otherwise, we were quite happy with the services provided. Excellent staff.
mevas88 Feels like an actual monastery. Nice if your looking for something quiet. Good for students or people traveling for work.
ghariani3 This hotel is ideally situated with excellent transport links and close to the centre. The hotel is very basic but if you need somewhere to use as a base and somewhere to sleep during your stay in Milan it is excellent value for money and kept clean. The staff are very friendly and helpful and it is on a lovely little strip of shops. If you want a drink or snacks during your stay try the koala cafe at the end of the row, the service and price is fab, or after hours the kebab shop serves food and has a bar. Remember that you get what you pay for and if you keep that in mind you will not be dissapointed.
Via Privata Chieti, 1Great 84%
lindaplatj the room was very cute and clean and the bathroom was nice and big. liked the breakfast a lot. i would recommend it, no problem!
Create your own travel plan including Milan as one of your stops. You can use it to store all your research (even hotels found on other websites!)
Do you have questions about Milan? You might try asking in our active travel forums and see if anyone else has been there.
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Obituaries: 10.21.06
Evaristo Barrera
MATHIS - Evaristo Barrera, a fence builder, landscaper and member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, died Oct. 19, 2006. He was 81.
Survivors include his wife, Maria; a daughter, Martina Barrera of Albuquerque, N.M.; four stepdaughters, Eva Banda of Illinois, and Isabel Herrera, Mary Perez and Cathy Gonzalez, all of Mathis; six stepsons, Joe Guerra Jr. of Las Cruces, N.M., Richard and Arnold Guerra, both of California, Frank and Wally Guerra, both of San Antonio, and Freddy Guerra of Mathis; five grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Oct. 22 at Dobie Funeral Home. Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Oct. 23 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Burial will be in Descanso Eterno II Cemetery.
Ferman R. Benavidez
FULTON - Ferman R. Benavidez, a World War II Army veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, owner of Benavidez Concrete Construction Co., and a member of Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3904, and Coastal Oaks Church, died Oct. 19, 2006. He was 84.
Survivors include his wife, Dominga; four sons, John Benavidez of Florida, Richard Benavidez of Jacksonville, Ark., and Nasario and George Benavidez, both of Houston; two daughters, Aurora Winters of Sugar Land, and Olivia Mckinen of Beloit, Wis.; a brother, Enrique Benavidez of Ohio; three sisters, Manuela Rinche of Rockport, Elvira Sanchez of Corpus Christi, and Virginia Benavidez of Baycliff; 14 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Oct. 22 at Aransas Memorial Park, Rockport.
Charlie Marshall Funeral Home, Rockport
William A. Blankenship
INGLESIDE - William A. Blankenship, a member of First Baptist Church in Aransas Pass, died Oct. 19, 2006. He was 81.
Survivors include his wife, Wanda; a son, William Blankenship of Ingleside; a daughter, Shirley Ann Blankenship of Hewitt; two sisters, Mae Bennight of Braselton, Ga., and Jody Tilley of Gun Barrel City; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Oct. 23 at First Baptist Church, Aransas Pass. Burial will be in San Patricio Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Portland.
Charlie Marshall Funeral Home, Aransas Pass
Tisha M. Campbell
Tisha Michelle Campbell, a medical assistant, died Oct. 18, 2006. She was 37.
Survivors include a daughter, Mieisha Michelle Powell of Corpus Christi; a son, Terrence Taylor of Corpus Christi; her mother, Mary Campbell of Corpus Christi; and two brothers, Jeffrey and Michael Campbell, both of Corpus Christi.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Oct. 23 at St. John's Baptist Church. Burial will be in Seaside Memorial Park.
Corpus Christi Funeral Home
Ventura Cardenas Jr.
ALICE - Ventura Cardenas Jr. died Oct. 19, 2006. He was 53.
Survivors include his father, Ventura Cardenas Sr. of Alice; a sister, Sandra Cardenas of Robstown; and a brother, Nicolas Cardenas of Alice.
Rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Oct. 22 at Mauro P. Garcia Funeral Home. Mass will be celebrated at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at St. Joseph Catholic Church. Burial will be in New Collins Cemetery.
Dorothy P. Crawford
HARRISON, Ohio - Dorothy P. Crawford, a former Corpus Christi resident, and a member of Bright Christian Church in Bright, Ind., and Oak Forest Church of Christ in Brookville, Ind., died Oct. 19, 2006. She was 92.
Survivors include a daughter, Linda Preston of Dillsboro, Ind.; and five grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Oct. 23 at Oak Forest Church of Christ. Burial will be in Maple Grove Cemetery, Brookville.
Phillips & Meyers Funeral Home, Brookville
Eliza Flores
Eliza Flores died Oct. 18, 2006. She was 88.
Survivors include four daughters, Ellen Morales, Rose Molina, Cristina Mancilla, and Ruth Dominguez; a son, Joe Andrew Flores; 15 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Mass will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Burial will be Memory Gardens Cemetery.
Memorial Funeral Home
Donell Lewis
Donell "Big Lou" Lewis died Oct. 15, 2006. He was 52.
There are no immediate survivors.
Services were Oct. 20 at Duncan Cemetery.
Unity Chapel Funeral Home
Linda M. Remus
ROCKPORT - Linda May Remus died Oct. 17, 2006. She was 67.
Survivors include a son, Peter Remus of Rockport; two daughters, Debra Bjornson of Dale, and Kim Allenger of Rockport; five sisters; three brothers; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Private services will be in Austin at a later date.
Charlie Marshall Funeral Home
Estella Saenz
SAN ANTONIO - Estella Saenz, a Robstown native, a homemaker, and a volunteer with AARP, died Oct. 15, 2006. She was 62.
Survivors include two sons, Jose Esparza of San Antonio and Fabian Esparza of Robstown; four daughters, Michelle Lopez, Lynette and Erica Saenz, and Amanda Flores, all of San Antonio; three brothers, Jose Pena of Orange Grove and Arturo and Mario Pena, both of Robstown; three sisters, Oralia Sanchez of Falfurrias, Santos Felan of Robstown and Alicia Gomez of Corpus Christi; and 17 grandchildren.
Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Oct. 21 at St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Robstown. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, Robstown.
Ramon Funeral Home, Robstown
Judy Sauceda
Judy Sauceda, a caregiver, and a Keystone Printing & Copying employee, died Oct. 18, 2006. She was 56.
Survivors include her husband, Felix; a daughter, Julie Lopez of Corpus Christi; two sons, Philip and Chris Sauceda, both of Corpus Christi; her mother, Carmen Garcia of Corpus Christi; a sister, Yolanda Gomez of Corpus Christi; three brothers, Hector, Fernando, and Obidio Garcia Jr., all of Corpus Christi; and four grandchildren.
Prayer services will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Seaside Funeral Home. Services will be at 10 a.m. Oct. 22 at Seaside Memorial Park.
Terry D. Stapleton
Terry Don Stapleton, a heavy equipment mechanic for Bay, died Oct. 13, 2006. He was 40.
Survivors include his wife, Jamie; and his parents, Jerry and Wanda Stapleton of Corpus Christi.
Memorial services will be at noon Oct. 21 at Maxwell P. Dunne Funeral Home.
Jimmie Taylor
Jimmie "Red" Taylor, an Army veteran and a golf pro, died Oct. 18, 2006. He was 79.
Survivors include his wife, Aurora.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Oct. 23 at Seaside Funeral Home. Burial will be in Seaside Memorial Park.
Adolfo Vela Sr.
FREER - Adolfo Vela Sr., a retired Edwin L. Cox Oil Co. employee, and a rancher, died Oct. 20, 2006. He was 76.
Survivors include his wife, Eudelia; two daughters, Lina Ramirez of Angleton, and Edna Cantu of Freer; a son, Adolfo Vela Jr. of Freer; three brothers, Ricardo and Fidel Vela, both of Freer, and Librado Vela Jr. of San Diego; two sisters, Juanita Longoria of Houston, and Eulalia Garza of San Antonio; eight grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Oct. 22 at Garza Funeral Home Chapel. Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Oct. 23 at St. Mary's Catholic Church. Burial will be in Hahl Memorial Cemetery.
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I have been exploring the use of SCVNGR to make a location-based treasure hunt using mobile phones. We have now got to the stage where the 6 way points are ready and I went out with the class and their teacher to test the route just over a week or so ago. Being out and actually there alerted the children to some things which needed adjusting. For example they directed us to a road but did not specify where in the road we should head for, so I had chosen a random house to aim for. It's only by standing in a small group of confused people that it comes home to you that this post really needs tightening up.
One thing which has struck me is the way in which the potential audience for this treasure hunt has grown and grown. When the teacher and I initially discussed it, we foresaw that the other half of the class would be the main users of the game but the children are well aware that in the summer there will be up to half a million people streaming to the local theme park and golf resort and that's who they want to target!
This means that we now have to devise a little marketing plan about how to make people aware that the game exists as they drive through the village. On our test run, the group I was with decided to visit the local supermarket immediately and ask the manager if he would be willing to put up posters with QR codes to get visitors started and he agreed. So we have a plan!
You can hear more about it at the upcoming Virtual Round Table where I will be presenting the project at 6.30 pm GMT tomorrow Saturday 21st April.
You can find a lesson plan for this activity at The Consultants-E in their repository. Note that although my version has stretched over many months, this activity can in fact be done in a few consecutive lessons.


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Google Video has a new feature called video ranking that shows the top 100 popular videos. Google Video still doesn't show public statistics for videos, like YouTube, but this is a good start. Google Video Top 100 feels exactly like an MTV Countdown: you have today's position, yesterday's ranking, a thumbnail, a short description of the video and the link to the video.
Currently, the most popular video is a Carlsberg ad for this summer's Football World Cup: Probably Greatest Pub Team in World, in which Bobby Robson manages a pub football team filled with former England legends, including Bobby Charlton, Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle.
Joga - share your passion for football
April 14, 2006
Google Video Ranking
This blog is not affiliated with Google.


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A group of six high school students will need according to their business plan at least $170,000 to design, manufacture and market The Pulse, a special fitness watch that gives a wearer special fitness offers.
With that money, they will be able to operate their business, FitTech Inc., for at least a year. But it will not pay any of them a salary; they plan to sleep on futons in the office for a while.
The students are part of the Governor's School for Information Technology Leadership at Tennessee Tech University and though they will not actually start the business outlined in their plan, they all say they want the bragging rights that will come if their plan is recognized as the best by program faculty and local business owners.
"I want to be a business major; this program has reinforced that," said Rebecca Jacks, a junior at Rossview High School in Clarksville, Tenn. "I love that you experience all the aspects of something before you create it. It almost becomes a product of yourself because you put so much energy into it."
Jacks and her five teammates are among the 36 high school students selected from about 100 applications to participate in the Governor's School at TTU this summer.
"It's a very unique experience and it gives them a good idea of what their college experience will be like," said Curtis Armstrong, chairperson of the TTU decision sciences and management department. "It gets them excited about college and of course we hope they decide to come back to Tech."
For five weeks, the students live in TTU dorms, take two TTU classes and learn how to write a business plan. At the end, they leave with six hours of college credits.
"They are treated, as much as they can be, like college students," Armstrong said.
This is the ninth year the Governor's School for IT Leadership has been offered at TTU. A second school, Emerging Technologies, is also being held at TTU's campus this summer. Twelve schools, each held on a university campus, are scattered throughout the state.


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Catalog Code: EIM
Print Edition ISBN: 978-0-88385-571-3
400 pp., Hardbound, 2011
List Price: $60.00
Member Price: $48.00
Series: Spectrum
Expeditions in Mathematics is a collection of some of the best talks from the Bay Area Mathematical Adventures (BAMA) program. Begun in 1998 to appeal to high school students, BAMA now attracts an enthusiastic following of the region's teachers, parents, mathematics aficionados, and students.
The stellar collection of experts includes John Horton Conway, Don Saari, Bjorn Poonen, John Stillwell, Tom Banchoff, Francis Su, Steven Krantz, and David Bressoud—all fine mathematicians, renowned expositors, and well-known writers.
Catalogued under five mathematical headings, the topics include: progress toward proving the twin primes conjecture; surprising mathematical paradoxes; facts about unnatural sequences of integers; applications of topology to questions in chemistry; ways of deciding when a tangle of string is actually a knot; how the medieval ranking of angels was related to the location of the planets, and by whom; the volume of a tetrahedron formed by a space rhombus; how the heavenly bodies seem to behave when viewed from the tropics and from the Southern Hemisphere; the latest techniques in cryptography; and determining preferences in voting.
Listing of all BAMA talks, 1998-2013
I. General
II. Number Theory
III. Geometry & Topology
IV. Combinatorics & Graph Theory
V. Applied Mathematics
About the Authors
A knot can be thought of as a closed loop of string. We'll say that two knots are the same if it is possible to wiggle one around, without cutting it, until it looks just like the other. In order to study knots, we first draw pictures of them called projections. In figure 1 we see a complicated picture of a knot, which we'll name Q:
Is Q really knotted, or can it be moved around until it looks like the unknot that is drawn next to it? How can we tell?
This book is the second collection of essays that originated as talks in the Bay Area Mathematical Adventures (BAMA) lecture series. The first collection, Mathematical Adventures for Students and Amateurs, was published in 2004. In the preface to Expeditions in Mathematics, the editors note that these talks were originally intended for middle school and high school students and teachers but they now attract a broader audience, including students at other levels, parents, and the general public. The list of speakers and authors is impressive, and the topics range from general interest, number theory, geometry, topology, combinatorics, graph theory, and applied mathematics. Continued...


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TV Info
Episode PremiereDecember 11, 2012
Show Period2011 - 2015
Production CompanyFake Empire, Warner Bros. Television
Cast and Crew
DirectorPatrick Norris
ScreenwriterLeila Gerstein
Main Cast
- Rachel Bilson as Zoe Hart
- Scott Porter as George Tucker
- Jaime King as Lemon Breeland
- Wilson Bethel as Wade Kinsella
- Cress Williams
- Nancy Travis
Additional Cast
- Christopher Curry
- Golden Brooks
- Mircea Monroe
Zoe (Rachel Bilson) finds herself anxious that her ever-critical mother will be visiting BlueBell soon for the holidays. In order to avoid spending quality time with her mother, she busies herself with a patient but potentially ruins Christmas Eve for the whole town. Trying to fix the problem, Zoe upsets Wade (Wilson Bethel) by turning to his dad (guest star Christopher Curry). Meanwhile, Lavon (Cress Williams) is desperate to make the week special for Ruby (guest star Golden Brooks), but his plan goes awry when Lemon (Jaime King) gets involved. Elsewhere, George (Scott Porter) is struggling with picking out the perfect present for Tansy (guest star Mircea Monroe).