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ToBeLikeHim.com Return to Acts Series
The Book of Acts Series
Acts, Chapter 13
John Baugh
November, 2009
Acts 13 (New American Standard Bible)
Acts 13
Significant events in Acts, Chapter 13
- First Missionary Journey
o Antioch to Cyprus
§ False Prophet Magician Bar-Jesus (Elymas)
§ Proconsul Sergius Paulus
o Cyprus to Perga in Pamphilla to Psidian Antioch
§ John leaves the team to go back to Jerusalem
§ Paul proclaims Jesus at the Synagogue in Psidian
§ Next week Paul addresses the Gentiles
o Jews drive Paul and Barnabas out of town and they go to Iconium
First Missionary Journey
1Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Up to this point, Luke has focused on the spread of the gospel through church in Jerusalem, focusing his story on Jerusalem and Judea. The actions of Peter have largely been the focus of his report. At this point in Acts, Luke's focus changes and the story of the church n Antioch and the actions of Saul/Paul and his missionary team becomes the focus of the Acts report.
Luke tells us that there are both Teachers and Prophets in the church in Antioch. In his letter to the Romans, Paul later (Romans 12:4-8) writes that Prophesying and teaching are gifts from God, given to assure the proper functioning of the church. In Corinthians, Paul, in his outline of church roles, lists prophets and teachers immediately after apostles. Luke names five prophets and teachers in Antioch: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been raised with Herod) and Saul. From their names we can assume that they come from a wide variety of social and ethnic backgrounds.
Luke mentions Barnabas first. He is the representative (a key figure) of the Jerusalem church (Acts 9:27; Acts 11:22-30). Luke has already reported that he is a Levite from Cyprus who lived in Jerusalem (Acts 4:36-37). Luke has also written that he is "a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith" (Acts 11:24).
Simeon has the Latin nickname Niger, or "the Black." His name (Simeon) is Jewish and Niger may be a nickname, used to distinguish him from other Simons in the church, such as Simon Peter.
Lucius has a Latin name. It is possible that he is a Gentile. He is from Cyrene in North Africa and may have been part of the Cyrenian group that first preached the gospel of salvation to the Gentiles of Antioch (Acts 11:20).
Manaen is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Menahem, which means "comforter." He was "brought up with Herod the tetrarch" (Acts 13:1). This is the Herod of the Gospels, whom Jesus once called "that fox" (Luke 13:32). This Herod was responsible for the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist (Mark 6:14-28). It is interesting that Luke mentions some sort of relationship between Manaen and Herod's household.
Paul is mentioned last by Luke, and Luke continues to refer to him as Saul (the Jewish form of his name). Perhaps, he is mentioned last because he is a relative newcomer to Antioch. But he will soon take center stage in Luke's account while the others, with the exception of Barnabas, will no longer play a part in the story.
The Setting Aside of Barnabas and Saul:
2While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
3Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
After listing the leaders of the Antioch church, Luke writes that the church is "worshiping the Lord and fasting". He does not explain why they are fasting, but there must be some reason behind their fast. It may be that they have been led to expand their missionary efforts out from Antioch. Or perhaps that they have already made a commitment to do so and are now asking who they should commission to lead the effort. Perhaps their fasting was to earnestly ask God to make his will known in the matter, which is exactly what God does for the leaders of the church in Antioch. The answer to the fasting comes from the Holy Spirit, who tells the church leaders to:
"Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
This is a significant statement by Luke. He places it in quotes, indicating a direct quote of calling of Barnabas and Saul, and a direct statement of commission ("…the work for which I have called them.")
The imposition of hands used on this occasion ('they laid their hands on them") shows that the Antioch church supported and proclaimed Barnabas and Saul as doing God's will. The Antioch church leaders, by the laying on of hands, agreed that Barnabas and Paul had the authority to act on behalf of the Christian community at Antioch. Their act of the laying on of hands was taken on behalf of the entire church community at Antioch.
Fasting and praying:
The group followed sound practice when presented with the word of the Holy Spirit. They fasted and prayed over what they had been told and only then did they act on it. This indicates a desire on their part to fully understand the will of the Holy Spirit before acting (assure that our human understanding is in line with God's will).
Only after the point when they were certain they understood God's will, "they sent them away."
In his details of the commissioning of Barnabas and Saul, Luke does not show (in Paul) a loose cannon apostle who abandons Jerusalem (Barnabas) to deliver a suspect gospel to the Gentiles, but an apostle whose divine commission is confirmed by prophetic election and the charge of the church. The work that Barnabas and Saul set out to accomplish is not only filled with the prophetic spirit but mirrors the command of Jesus and the great commission missionary effort of Peter. From this point onward, Paul will remain in contact with Jerusalem, and until the very end of the story continues his efforts to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to his fellow Jews, wherever he may find them.
Luke reports another first event:
This report by Luke is significant (as are many of the things Luke report in Acts because it describes the first piece of planned overseas mission work carried out by representatives of a particular church. It also is the first missionary effort begun by a deliberate church decision, inspired by the Spirit, rather than somewhat more causally as a result of persecution. And so, through the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Paul are separated for the task of evangelizing. Then they are "sent on their way by the Holy Spirit".
Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus
4So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
With these words, Luke begins his story of the first missionary journey.
The entire trip, which may have lasted as long as three years, is described in the 13th and 14th chapters of Acts. Barnabas and Paul leave from Seleucia, the port city about 16 miles (26 kilometers) west of Antioch and four or five miles northeast of the mouth of the Orontes River.
Their destination was the island of Cyprus, which lies in the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. The journey by boat is about 130 miles (210 kilometers), and when the wind is favorable, takes only one day. The island of Cyprus is about 140 miles (225 kilometers) long and 60 miles (96 kilometers) wide. Cyprus was once part of the imperial province of Cilicia. But in 22 B.C. it became a senatorial province. In Paul's day, it was administered by a proconsul.
Cyprus was a sensible place to begin the church's outreach program because it was Barnabas' native land. He was most likely acquainted with its idiosyncrasies, terrain and people.
5When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper.
The "John" that Luke writes about here is John Mark, who accompanied Barnabas and Paul on the journey as their assistant. We will later learn that he has a family connection with Barnabas and this may be the reason why he has been included with the team.
The first of two Cypriot cities Luke mentions is Salamis. It was the administrative center of eastern Cyprus and is located a few miles from the modern city of Famagusta. While there, Barnabas and Paul "proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues" of the city. At that time, there must have been a substantial Jewish population in Salamis, as there were several synagogues for Barnabas and Paul to preach in.
In Salamis, Paul continued his pattern of beginning his missionary work in a city by first working within the synagogue and among the Jewish people. He likely assumed the synagogue was a logical starting point, because it was the gathering place for people who were likely to be interested in a message from Jewish preachers based on the Jewish Scriptures, about the Messiah.
The Proconsul and the Magician:
6When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus,
7who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
8But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
9But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,
10and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
11"Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time." And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.
12Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
Paphos was the provincial capital of the island of Cyprus. It lies 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Salamis. At Paphos, the island's proconsul, Sergius Paulus, requested a meeting with the two missionaries. Presumably, Barnabas and Paul had been preaching in the city for some time before they came to the proconsul's attention. Luke described Sergius Paulus as "a man of intelligence," Presumably Luke considered the proconsul to be a man of intellectual curiosity, open-mindedness and discernment.
One of the consistent trends of Acts is that public officials are shown in a positive light and sympathetic to the gospel message. This is how Luke portrays Sergius Paulus. He writes that the proconsul "wanted to hear the word of God" (13:7). Luke doesn't say why Sergius Paulus wants to hear the message of these traveling Jews. Whether it is out of curiosity or a desire to be converted, Luke does not say. It might have been that the proconsul wanted to conduct an official investigation so that he was schooled in the missionary message before experiencing problems with the Jews in the synagogues.
And in spite of great opposition from Elymas, Paul and Barnabas went to Sergius Paulus to present the gospel story.
A Temporary Side Story:
Verse 9 presents an interesting fact that needs to be pointed out.
9But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,
Saul had two names:
1 – His Hebrew name was Saul.
2 – His Roman name was Paul.
This is the first time Luke tells us this. The reason why might be that Saul is dealing with a Gentile (Roman) Official. There might be other reasons, also, but for whatever reason, from here onward we will call this missionary Paul.
The reasoning in Luke's mentioning both names is most likely that "Saul" is more appropriate in the Jewish world, but now that he is moving into the wider Gentile and Roman world, "Paul" is more suitable.
After this point, Luke will never call this man "Saul" again. From this point onward, he is "Paul".
Getting back to Sergius Paulus and Elymas the Magician.
8But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
9But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,
10and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
11"Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time." And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.
12Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
Luke leaves no doubt what happened Elymas the Magician Would gain no benefit from any acceptance of Barnabas and Paul's message by Sergius Paulus, and so he opposed their teaching. Luke says that he attempted to turn his master away from the faith. This statement indicates that themessage being delivered by Paul and Barnabas had a ring of truth and acceptance for Sergius Paulus.
When Paul saw this, he faced Elymas and challenged him
10and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
11"Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time." And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.
Immediately Elymas lost his ability to see. Evidently his loss of sight was profound, because he could not see enough to move around
12Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
Luke's main interest in the proconsul is only as the setting for Paul's confrontation with a magician who is the proconsul's court advisor, and who opposes the preaching of the gospel (13:7-8). Luke gives him two names, Bar-Jesus and Elymas the magician.
As Luke writes, Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, says to Bar-Jesus: "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?". The individual who calls himself "Son of Jesus" is now shown to be a "son of the devil." Paul pronounces a curse on the magician, saying he will be temporarily blinded.
Luke doesn't say that Sergius Paulus becomes a Christian. However, he implies that a false prophet is unable to turn the proconsul "from the faith". Later, when the proconsul sees that Paul causes the magician to become blind, "he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching of the Lord".Whatever Sergius' Paulus final relationship with the church might have been, Luke seems not to be interested in documenting it.
(Nor does he give us a single scrap of information as to what happens as a result of Barnabas and Paul preaching in synagogues all across Cyprus.)
In fact, Luke does not mention whether the preaching of Barnabas and Paul results in any converts on Cyprus. He says nothing about the work in general on Cyprus. He does not state how long the two missionaries remain on the island. Barnabas and Paul travel "through the whole island" of Cyprus. This takes some time. Presumably, they preach in a number of towns, and teach some converts.
Going back to the story of Paul and the Magician, Bar-Jesus, it is interesting to note that Luke seems to be more interested in the story of Bar-Jesus being confronted and cursed by Paul than is telling whether Sergius Paulus was converted. He is interested in telling the story not of a conversion, but of the superiority of God's power over the magic of the spirit world. Luke seems to be documenting how Paul uses his apostolic authority to neutralize the evil spirit influence of Bar-Jesus. Luke seems to want his readers to understand that the power behind the gospel is superior to that of pagan magic. In the same way, that Moses' miracles in the land of Egypt were more powerful than the magic performed by the magicians of Pharaoh's court.
Paul, Barnabas and John Mark in Paphos and Perga, in Pamphylia – where John Mark leaves the Team:
13Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
Luke tells us that the missionary team now sails from Cyprus to Perga in Pamphylia. This location is on the south-central coast of Asia Minor. Perga is a river port on the Cestrus River about 12 miles (19 kilometers) inland from the seaport of Attalia. Luke gives no indication that Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel in Perga or the surrounding area — but they do preach there on their way back to Syrian Antioch (Acts 14:25).
Luke changes the order of listing:
With the arrival of the team in Perga, Luke no longer speaks of "Barnabas and Saul." From this point on, Paul is usually listed in first place, ahead of Barnabas. Before this (Perga), Barnabas was usually mentioned first (Acts 11:30; Acts 12:25; Acts 13:2). In the account here, Luke speaks of "Paul and his companions," which literally means "those around Paul." This expression seems to indicate that Paul is now the leader of the group. Luke appears to be signaling to his readers that Paul has become the dominant partner in the missionary team. Luke doesn't explain why the change occurs. Perhaps it is obvious that the Holy Spirit is working through Paul, as in the case of his confrontation with the magician. Paul's speaking may be getting results, indicating that God is using him in a special way.
However, at this point (Perga), John Mark leaves the evangelizing team and returns to Jerusalem. Luke does not tell us why John Mark leaves the team, only that he does. His departure will later lead to an argument between Barnabas and Paul, and evidently, their permanent split (Acts 15:2). Some speculate that perhaps John Mark was unhappy that his uncle, Barnabas, was no longer the leader of the team. He may have been in disagreement over some policy regarding preaching to the Gentiles, or admitting them into the fellowship. He may have been homesick or afraid of traveling into the hinterland. Maybe he had grown weary of the strain, discomfort, or danger of travel through the mountains of the region. Whatever the reason for Mark's departure, Paul doesn't like it. He calls it desertion (Acts 15:38).
Paul and Barnabas leave Perga and travel to Antioch in Pisidia. Luke devotes the rest of chapter 13 to the preaching of the gospel in the city, and much of his account centers around a single sermon in a synagogue.
14aBut going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch,
Pisidian Antioch is in Phrygia, near Pisidia, called Pisidian Antioch because the city is adjacent to, or over against Pisidia. It is about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Perga, some 3,600 feet above sea level. To reach Antioch of Pisidia the missionaries had to cross the Taurus mountains — a difficult and dangerous journey. The Pisidian highlands are subject to sudden flooding. Another danger was from robbers, as the Romans had not yet fully suppressed the robber clans who roamed the mountains. Fear of the dangerous passage may well have been the reason why John Mark Left the missionary team.
14b and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.
Once again, Paul chooses to take the gospel first to the Jews, and so he goes to the synagogue as soon as he arrives in a town.
15After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, "Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it."
16Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:
Presenting the Christian message in the synagogues of Roman cities becomes a regular feature of Paul's missionary method. In doing this Paul demonstrates his belief that the gospel should be given "to the Jew first" (Romans 1:16). The synagogue plays a major role in Jewish life in the Diaspora. It serves as a meeting place, schoolhouse, library and court. The synagogue houses the Scriptures and other important writings, so it is a center of religious education and learning. And, of course, it is the place where all Jews came to worship. For these reasons, the synagogue is a place in which the Christian missionaries can find a receptive audience, primed for the gospel message. In fact, Gentile proselytes and God-fearers (those seeking out God) attend the synagogue as well as Jews. The synagogue-attending Gentiles serve as a bridge to pagan relatives, acquaintances and business associates.
17"The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it.
18"For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.
19"When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance--all of which took about four hundred and fifty years.
20"After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.
21"Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
22"After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.'
23"From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,
24after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25"And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.'
26"Brethren, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.
27"For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.
28"And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.
29"When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.
30"But God raised Him from the dead;
31and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.
32"And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers,
33that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.'
34"As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: 'I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID.'
35"Therefore He also says in another Psalm, 'YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.'
36"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;
37but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.
38"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,
39and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.
40"Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:
42As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.
43Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.
Paul Turns to the Gentiles
44The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.
45But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.
46Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
so the Lord has commanded us,
48When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
49And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.
50But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.
51But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
52And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
After the reading (13:15)
During the synagogue service, Paul listens to the reading from the Law and the Prophets. After this is completed, the synagogue "rulers" ask if (anyone, including) Paul and Barnabas have any words of encouragement for the assembly. One might wonder why these strangers are allowed to speak. This is not necessarily their first Sabbath at the synagogue. Thus, they may be known to the synagogue rulers or officials. Additionally, Paul's dress or some other symbol may identify him as a rabbi and Pharisee.
The "ruler" or leader of the synagogue is usually an elder or leading layman. He takes charge of organizing and arranging the service and is responsible for maintaining the building. Luke mentions two individuals who hold the office of ruler, Crispus (Acts 18:8) and Sosthenes (Acts 18:17), both in Corinth.
Luke provides two vignettes where he describes parts of a synagogue service. The first is a service in the Nazareth synagogue at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry (Luke 4:16-17). The other is the one given here at Pisidian Antioch.
From Luke's story, it is possible to reconstruct the pattern of a Jewish synagogue service. It begins with the Shema, summarized in the phrase: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4). Prayers follow the Shema. Then there are two readings, one from the Law and a second from the Prophets. A sermon of explanation and exhortation is drawn from the second reading, as was done by Jesus at the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4:17). The address is given by one or more persons judged to be competent by the synagogue rulers. Philo in his description of a Sabbath synagogue service writes, "Some of those who are very learned explain to them [the attendees] what is of great importance and use, lessons by which the whole of their lives may be improved" (Special Laws 2.62). After the instruction period is over, the synagogue service closes with a blessing.
Paul's sermon (Acts 13:16-41)
A large part of the rest of this chapter is devoted to Paul's sermon in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch. It is one of three sermons or speeches Luke records for Paul during his missionary tours (Acts 13:16-41; Acts 14:15-17; Acts 17:22-31). This sermon is the only one in a synagogue, and it is by far the longest of the three.
For the most part, Paul's messages to any group of Jews contain similar elements. In fact, Paul's messages are similar to those given by Peter and Stephen. All three follow a common pattern based on Rabbinic models that would have been as familiar to Paul, Peter and Stephen as modern Pastoral models are to most Christians today.
Paul's message began with a survey of Israel's history. Like Stephen, Paul described how God dealt with the Jews' ancestors. However, he began not with Abraham and the patriarchs, but with God's saving grace in the Exodus. Paul then moved on to Israel's history in the Promised Land, but he focused on the life of King David. The reason for Paul's emphasis had to do with his being able to proclaim Jesus as the promised Son of David, using proof-texts about the Messiah from the Hebrew Scriptures.
He then moved the point of his speech: that through Jesus his listeners would have forgiveness of sins. Paul's speech ended with an appeal not to reject the Savior and a solemn warning about the consequences of unbelief.
You Gentiles who worship God (Acts 13:16)
Paul begins his message by addressing not only the Jews, but also "you Gentiles who worship God" (Acts 13:16). Besides Jews, there were Gentile proselytes and God-fearers listening to him. Because of their presence, Paul was able to fulfill his commission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles by preaching in the synagogue.
The Gentiles worshiping in the synagogue were an informed audience, already familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures and knowing the messianic hopes of the Jews — which had become their hope as well. Because of this, Paul was able to present his speech to them as though he was talking to Jews. These Gentiles already recognized the one true God. There was no need to begin at the more elementary level of identifying God and contrasting him with the false gods of the pagans. Later, when Paul spoke to purely pagan audiences, he was forced to take the extra step of contrasting God to pagan gods before moving on to explain that Jesus is Savior.
God chose our fathers (Acts 13:17-20)
Paul's first point was that God chose Israel — "our fathers" — to show his grace and mercy (Acts 13:17). He wanted to emphasize God's redemptive activity among the Jews, which would bring him in line with Jewish interests. Paul's speech was characteristic of rabbinic models of exhortation. The recitation of Old Testament history was a kind of confessional recognizing God's mighty and merciful hand in the nation's history. This was the same pattern which was in Stephen's speech to the Sanhedrin.
But Paul didn't begin his sermon about God's redemptive acts with Abraham and the patriarchs. Even Moses was not singled out for discussion. Paul moved quickly to events in the wilderness, and then talked about the entrance of Israel into the Promised Land. "All this took about 450 years," Paul said. This would have included the centuries of living in Egypt, the 40 years spent wandering in the desert and an additional 10 years conquering the Promised Land.
Paul then shares the events from the period of the judges until the time of Samuel and moves to King David. Paul then quotes God's testimony of David: "I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do" (Acts 13:22).
In Paul's thoughts, David was pivotal as the servant in whom the purpose of God is centered. After picturing David as a man of faith, Paul said: "From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised" (Acts 13:23).
Paul's proclamation to the Jews in Pisidian Antioch is that God has brought forth the Savior-Deliverer from David's line, and it is Jesus.
John the Baptist's work (Acts 13:24-26)
After David, Paul moves to the work of John the Baptist. John is highly regarded by the Jews. Some even thought he was the Messiah (John 1:19-20). Most Jews considered him a prophet (Matthew 21:26). Paul used John's testimony as a further piece of evidence that the promised Messiah is Jesus. Paul quotes John's statement that the Messiah is one who "is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie" (Acts 13:25). John clearly pointed out that Jesus is the Messiah "who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29-34).
Paul has made his case about Jesus from ancient Jewish history and the recent testimony of John. Then he begins to show why all this is vitally important to his listeners. "Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles," Paul shouts, "it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent" (Acts 13:26).
Jesus the Savior (Acts 13:27-31)
Paul then moves from John the Baptist to the gospel message, that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). He proceeds to explain that the people and rulers of Jerusalem condemned Jesus and thereby "fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath" (Acts 13:27).
God raised up Jesus to be the Messiah even before his death, but God also raised him up after his death. And both "raisings" are predicted in the Scriptures that are read every Sabbath in the synagogues. But people do not have to rely on proof-texts from Scripture to prove that Jesus has been raised from the dead. The resurrection is a verifiable fact because Jesus appeared to his followers over a span of several weeks. "They are now his witnesses to our people" (13:31).
"You are my Son" (Acts 13:32-37)
Paul quotes three more texts and says that they also speak of "raising up Jesus" (Acts 13:33). This raising up is prefigured in Psalm 2:7: "You are my Son; today I have become your Father" (Acts 12:33) This is echoed when God spoke after Jesus' baptism: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). Jesus is then anointed by the Holy Spirit, "raised up" or assigned to be the Messiah.
With a Jewish audience it had first to be established that Jesus was the Messiah. The resurrection was the key to that, and the emphasis not only of this sermon but of all the early preaching in Acts. Only with their acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah could the Jews be expected to come to grips with the fact and manner of Jesus' death. For most, however, his crucifixion remained an insuperable obstacle to accepting him as Messiah.
Justified from sin (Acts 13:38-39)
Paul now comes to the conclusion of his argument. "Therefore, my brothers," he says, "I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you" (Acts 13:38). The need for this forgiveness is a common thread through Acts (Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 5:31; Acts 10:43; Acts 26:18). Humans are sinners, and on their own, there is nothing they can do to change their condition. God must pronounce a person righteous, (We can't earn that designation) and he does so upon one's acceptance of Jesus as Savior.
Then Paul says: "Through him [Jesus] everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses" (Acts 13:39). To be justified is a legal way of expressing the same thing as forgiveness of sin. When a person is justified, he or she is made right with God, or declared to be righteous in some sense. But only through Jesus will God justify a person so that he or she is considered righteous.
Heed the prophets (Acts 13:40-41)
At this point, Paul warns his hearers about the danger of rejecting God's offer of salvation. He concludes by quoting Habakkuk 1:5: "Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you."
If you are ridiculing and scoffing at what I'm telling you, here is one of your own prophets who predicts that you would scoff. So take the prophecy to heart and accept the good news.
The people invite Paul (Acts 13:42-45)
After giving his message in the synagogue, Paul and Barnabas prepare to leave. But many people are interested, and crowd around him. They invite him to talk further about this topic the next time they gather, that is, the following Sabbath (Acts 13:42). Paul's speech arouses intense interest because it gives a unique explanation of the Scriptures, and the people want to hear more of this message. Of course, Luke wants us to remember that the unseen Holy Spirit is also at work in the minds of the listeners.
Many Jews and Gentile converts to Judaism who hear Paul engage him and Barnabas in conversation after the synagogue service. They want to discuss the topic of salvation further (Acts 13:43). Paul and Barnabas give the crowd further words of exhortation. Luke tells us they encourage the crowd around them "to continue in the grace of God" (Acts 13:43).
Word gets around during the week about Paul's message. Luke says "the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord" (Acts 13:44). Luke's expression "the whole city" does not mean that every person from Pisidian Antioch is gathering in front of the synagogue. He uses the statement to make the point that a large crowd gathers to hear this new doctrine.
But conflict with the synagogue leaders is looming. When they see the large crowd of Gentiles attempting to get into the synagogue to hear Paul, they are upset. Luke says "they were filled with jealousy" (Acts 13:45). (The same motive was attributed to the Sanhedrin regarding the preaching of Peter and John in Acts 5:17.)
We turn to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46-48)
Paul evidently is denied permission to speak during the next synagogue service and so at some point, he turns to the unbelieving Jews and says: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46). This begins a pattern that will be repeated in city after city: Paul begins his missionary work by preaching in the synagogue. After he is rejected by the leaders and the majority of the Jewish worshippers, he then preaches to the Gentiles in that city.
Luke records three statements in which Paul says, "I go to the Gentiles." The first is here. It is followed by one in Corinth (Acts 18:6), and a final one in Rome, which closes the book of Acts (28:28). Paul's commission includes preaching to the people of Israel, which he will continue to do. In his mind, the gospel is always to go to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles (Romans 1:16). Paul has a special desire to bring the gospel to the Jews in hopes that all Israel will be saved (Romans 9:1-3; 10:1).
But Paul's specific mission is to the Gentiles and he quotes Isaiah 49:6 in support of his contention that he has been commanded by the Lord to preach to the Gentiles. This scripture speaks of someone being made "a light for the Gentiles" that he "may bring salvation to the ends of the earth" (Acts 13:47). The words of Isaiah 49:6 were originally addressed to the Servant of Yahweh, and then they are applied to Jesus (Luke 2:32). Now Paul applies it to the missionaries who are bringing the good news of Jesus, the Servant. Thus, Paul is saying that the mission of Jesus (the Servant) is also the mission of the followers of Jesus. It is the task of the new Israel (the church) as the servant of God to bring the light of the gospel to all peoples.
When the Gentiles listening to Paul hear that God has purposed to give them salvation, "they were glad and honored the word of the Lord" (Acts 13:48). As many as "were appointed for eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48). This verse suggests that a person cannot simply decide to believe in Christ. There is a matter of divine election involved (John 6:44; 1 Corinthians 2:14). That is not to say that salvation is restricted by God in the sense of limiting it to a few people. God's purpose is that all people come to a knowledge of the truth and find salvation (1 Timothy 2:3). However, a person must respond in faith as the Spirit leads him or her to saving knowledge.
Jews incite persecution (Acts 13:49-52)
Paul and Barnabas meet with great success in the area around Pisidian Antioch. Luke says, "The word of the Lord spread through the whole region" (Acts 13:49). The Jewish leaders are angry, and enter a plot with "the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city" (Acts 13:50). Luke is probably referring to Gentile women who are adherents of Judaism and their politically connected husbands.
Apparently, the Jews put pressure on the wealthy women who attend the synagogue. They are probably urged to convince their husbands, the city's leading magistrates, to expel Paul and Barnabas from the area and this is what happens (Acts 13:50). Luke doesn't say what excuse is given; perhaps the accusation is that the local Jewish community believes Paul and Barnabas are heretics. Since they are not representing Judaism, a legal religion in Rome's eyes, Paul and Barnabas are teaching a religion that is not legal. As such, they should be expelled since they are disturbing the Roman peace.
Upon being expelled, Paul and Barnabas shake "the dust from their feet" in protest (Acts 13:51). This is a gesture that Jesus himself suggested his disciples practice upon encountering persecution (Luke 9:5; 10:11).
It was customary for Jews to shake off the dust of a pagan town from their feet when they returned to their own land, as a symbol of cleansing themselves from the impurity of sinners who did not worship God. For Jews to do this to their fellow Jews was the same as regarding the latter as pagan Gentiles. The Christians were demonstrating in a particularly vigorous manner that Jews who rejected the gospel and drove out the missionaries were no longer truly part of Israel but were no better than unbelievers.
Luke ends his story of gospel preaching in Pisidian Antioch by saying, "The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 13:52). Paul and Barnabas have established a congregation of believers in Pisidian Antioch. But they are forced to move on, this time to Iconium.
Copyright © 2009, by ToBeLikeHim Ministries
Return to Main Page Return to Acts Series


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Keith Urban Shirtless
Jay Leno showed off a number of Keith Urban's famous shirtless photographs during a 2013 appearance on 'The Tonight Show,' embarrassing the singer. The pics were taken before he had his now-famous tattoo inked into his upper left peck. There may be a few racier pics of Urban out there — including one or two with a guitar covering his little country singer — but this PG photo works best for this Shirtless Country Men list.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Trump Administration is taking unprecedented action to do away with our national monuments - putting tens of millions of acres of public land, YOUR land, at risk.
Don't let Trump destroy what took decades to protect. Donate Now.
By passing H.R. 218 today, the U.S. House of Representatives set a dangerous precedent, approving construction of a destructive, unnecessary road through protected wilderness in the vital Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in the Alaska Peninsula.
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker today announced that the U.S.
On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, The Wilderness Society today released a report that debunks one of the primary arguments allies of the oil industry have put forward to promote drilling in one of America's last pristine, untouched landsc
TO: Reporters
FROM: Tim Woody, Alaska Communications Manager, The Wilderness Society, email@example.com, 907-223-2443
RE: The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), a bipartisan group of senators and representatives today introduced bills in Congress to protect the coastal plain of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a designated wilderness area.
In a historic move, four Alaska legislators from across the state this morning voted against House resolution HJR 5, which urges Congress to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration. Five representatives were absent.
The Alaska House Resources Committee is meeting today at 1 p.m. to hear public testimony on House Joint Resolution 5, which encourages Congress to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development.
United States Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan today introduced legislation to authorize the construction of a road through designated wilderness in Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
EMBARGOED until Sept. 22, 2016
During its history, the state of Idaho has sold off more than 1.7 million acres of land to private interests, according to an analysis of land sale data by The Wilderness Society released this week.


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Kate Hudson Dumps Dax Shepard
Remember back in 7th grade when you broke up with your boyfriend via a note that was folded into a triangle? Well Dax Shepard didn't even get one of those from Kate Hudson when she dumped him.
In fact, the Punk'd accomplice had to find out it was over with the You, Me, and Dupree actress from a friend of his. And he was less than thrilled.
A source told press, "Dax got a phone call about it from a friend. He's upset that she didn't bother to say anything to him."
Apparently he was expecting more from her. After all, they had been dating since July, and from all angles things were peachy.
However, the recent Owen Wilson suicide attempt may have thrown a wrench into Dax's romantic arrangement with Hudson. Reportedly, she was devastated by the news, and may have decided to rethink things with the Butterscotch Stallion - in spite of being pushed away by the family.
Gossip Girls
Enjoy the pictures of Kate on the Boston set of "Bachelor No. 2".


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GOLDEN, CO, Aug. 14, 2014—Colorado School of Mines raised $47.8 million in philanthropic gifts and commitments for the fiscal year ending June 30, and garnered an additional $24.4 million in private nongovernmental research funding, making 2013–2014 the most successful year of fundraising in the university's 140-year history. Nearly 3,200 alumni, friends and industry partners invested in Mines last year, building a solid base of private funding for scholarships, faculty, technology and programs. This is Mines' third consecutive record-breaking fundraising year, and the institution was recently honored with a 2014 Educational Fundraising Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education for overall performance in recognition of these successes.
Through Transforming Lives: The Campaign for Colorado School of Mines, the university aims to raise $350 million overall, including $220 million in private philanthropic donations and $130 million in non-governmental research funding. This is the most ambitious fundraising campaign in Colorado School of Mines history, and so far, the university has raised just over $220 million total (63 percent of its overall goal). Additionally, the Mines endowment now totals approximately $271 million, up $105 million since the campaign began four years ago.
Mines is focusing its efforts on innovation, student enrichment, global reach and core strengths. By leveraging resources in these key areas, the university is securing funding for scholarships, faculty positions, leadership opportunities, facilities and more.
"Private support for Mines at the levels that we've seen over the last three years affirms that we head into the next 140 years stronger than ever. We're pursuing ambitious goals and making the kinds of impacts today that will resonate for generations to come," said Colorado School of Mines President Bill Scoggins. "Our donors continue to demonstrate the value they place on a Mines education and continue to raise the bar for private investment."
Even though private donors fund about one third of every Mines student's education, 68 percent of students graduate with some student-loan debt. Private support is increasingly important as demand for technically educated graduates in STEM fields continues to rise. According to a 2014 Payscale study, Mines continues to hold the nation's top-ranked position among public universities in terms of return on investment for in-state tuition, and ranks 3rd for out-of-state tuition.
"The unprecedented outpouring of private philanthropic and research support we've seen this year is a testament to the importance of the school's distinctive mission," said Colorado School of Mines Foundation President and Chief Operating Officer Brian Winkelbauer. "This campaign is all about impact, and we are seeing a tremendous return on philanthropic investment every day, in our expert faculty, our innovative programs, and our hardworking students who graduate ready to transform lives worldwide as leaders in their fields."
Notable gifts from 2013–2014 include:
- With a commitment of $4.2 million, Harold '68 and Patricia Korell are supporting the Clear Creek Athletics Complex, scholarships and The Parents Fund.
- A gift of $4 million from Patty '83 and Mike '83 Starzer is supporting construction of the Welcome Center, to be named for the couple.
- A $3 million commitment from ConocoPhillips established the ConocoPhillips Center for a Sustainable WE2ST (Water- Energy Education, Science and Technology) at Colorado School of Mines.
- A $2 million gift from American Bureau of Shipping established the American Bureau of Shipping Endowed Chair in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering.
- A $1.5 million gift from Alacer Gold Corporation is supporting the Timothy J. Haddon/Alacer Gold Endowed Chair in Mining Engineering.
Trisha Bentz Kendall, Senior Director, Communications / 303-273-3526 / email@example.com
Kathleen Morton, Communications Coordinator / 303-273-3088 / firstname.lastname@example.com
Karen Gilbert, Director of Public Relations / 303-273-3541 / firstname.lastname@example.com


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Biography (Part Two)
Bill's 2001 tour Bewilderness was a commercial and critical success, with The New York Times calling him "a treat for the funny bone, the brain and the ear", and The Telegraph pronouncing him "a hobbit with a wicked sense of humour".
Among other things, Bewilderness demonstrated Bill's wide range of musical knowledge, making him an ideal choice to take over from Sean Hughes as team captain on Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2002. He remained in the captain's chair on the show for 11 series before departing in 2008 to concentrate on developing other aspects of his career .
Bill's next big tour, Part Troll, was met with equal acclaim and achieved success all over the world. Its beginnings were at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2003, a year when Bill also branched out as a dramatic actor in an extremely well-received production of 12 Angry Men, as the restrained Juror 4. Two years later he assumed the vastly different role of the slouchy, unkempt Oscar in The Odd Couple, and received equally excellent reviews.
In 2006 Bill premiered his show Steampunk in Edinburgh, and appeared on our screens on Sunday afternoons hosting Wild Thing I Love You, a Channel 4 wildlife show calling for Bill and his team to come up with innovative solutions to animals' problems and in 2007 Bill took his audio-visual comedic extravaganza, Tinselworm, on a sold-out arena tour of the kingdom.
In 2008, Bill appeared in Channel Four's Skins, and performed at a host of summer festivals, including the inaugural Comedy Session at the iconic Eden Project. He toured Australia and New Zealand with Tinselworm and then decided to make a stop at The Royal Albert Hall in order to perform Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra with Anne Dudley and the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Bill finished a ten week run at London's Gielgud Theatre early in 2009 and followed that with a summer tour of the UK, Bill Bailey: Live, for which (amongst other subjects) Bill drew inspiration from Darwin and all things evolutionary. Then came a nationwide tour of Bill Bailey's Remarkable guide to the Orchestra (performing with various orchestras), to coincide with the DVD release of the same name, culminating in a performance at London's O2 Arena.
Bill Bailey's Birdwatching Bonanza was transmitted in January 2010 on Sky1 HD and Sky1 where Bill played host to two celebrity teams in a series of tough, competitive bird watching challenges. In March, he appeared at the O2 for Channel 4's Comedy Gala to raise money for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, and followed that with an appearance as Farmer Macreadie in Emma Thompson's feature film, Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang.
The Spring of 2010 saw the genesis of what would become Bill's Dandelion Mind show. Bill toured the highlands and North of England (during which he hot footed it back to Kew Gardens for a day to have a pitcher plant named after him – the 'Nepenthes Bill Bailey' – at the Chelsea Flower Show), performing the show in the open air to a very large crowd at Bristol City's football ground – Ashton Gate Stadium, before traveling to Dublin's O2 to record his next DVD.
Bill played the part of Angus the hangman for John Landis's feature, Burke and Hare, released in November 2010, and which coincided with the start of a 10 week West End run at the Wyndham's Theatre in London with his Dandelion Mind show.
Little Crackers series was transmitted in December 2010, marking the debut of a raft of new British-originated comedies for Sky 1 HD. Featuring Carpark Babylon a 12 minute film written, co-directed by and starring Bill, in which his character temporarily forgets that Christmas is about giving, not gadgetry, the series also included films by Julia Davis, Stephen Fry, Catherine Tate, Meera Syal, Dawn French, Victoria Wood, Chris O'Dowd, Jo Brand, David Baddiel, Julian Barratt and Kathy Burke.
In January 2011 Bill hosted Comic's Choice for Channel Four – a five episode celebration of comedy and comedic talent which was broadcast nightly in the run-up to the British Comedy Awards . Each episode saw Bill chatting to a British A-list comedian (Alan Davies, Lee Mack, Jo Brand, Jessica Hynes, Sean Lock) about their favourite comedy performers, actors and shows.
Directed by Phil Traill, the British snowboarding romantic comedy feature film Chalet Girl (Powder Girl for the USA release) came out in cinemas in February 2011 and saw Bill play a Dad called Bill, starring alongside Ed Westwick, Bill Nighy and Brooke Shields.
In the Spring of 2011, Bill travelled to South Africa to record Baboons With Bill Bailey for ITV. This eight part series provided a unique insight into the lives of these intelligent, complicated primates, with incredible, candid footage of their daily lives, following their stories as they struggle to survive in such a busy and exotic urban landscape.
June saw Bill featured in the line up at The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival – a four-day, multi-stage camping festival held on a 700-acre farm in Tennessee every year. Bonnaroo brings together some of the best performers in rock and roll, along with dozens of artists in complementary styles such as jazz, Americana, hip-hop, electronica, and just about any contemporary music you can think of. Rolling Stone magazine named this revolutionary entertainment experience one of the 50 moments that changed the history of rock and roll, and it certainly geared Bill up for his next rock experience…
…In July 2011 Bill headlined the Saturn Stage at the Sonisphere Festival, Knebworth, sharing a line-up that included Slayer, Motorhead, Biffy Clyro and Metallica. Bill found himself faced with the daunting prospect of performing in front of a huge crowd of (quite possibly) rain-drenched metal-heads, there to see the likes of Slipknot, and, thinking there may be safety in numbers, he set about putting together a band. Bill was very fortunate to assemble a great bunch of musicians, especially as it turned out to be the biggest gig of his life to date with over 60,000 in the crowd.
It was as a result of this that the album Bill Bailey In Metal was produced and released in November 2011 on CD and download. Despite its title, it is an album of many musical styles, designed to delight both metal and non-metal fans alike. Another rock point-to-note is that Bill also guested with Deep Purple at The Royal Albert Hall for a Sunflower Jam fundraiser, which was one of the Summer's highlights for Bill.
September saw him faring across the pond in New York, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto before gearing up for his next UK arena tour: Dandelion Mind (Gently Modified) in the Winter of 2011, making a pitstop to record the Doctor Who Christmas Special, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe. The seventh Dr Who Christmas special since the show's revival in 2005 brings a very busy year to a close. With a smattering of QI episodes, a Hustle and an appearance in Jo Brand's Big Splash in there for good measure, it's goodbye 2011.
In 2012 Bill started work on the creation of his new show, Qualmpeddler, taking it on a tour of the Highlands and Ireland in late Spring and on to Australia and New Zealand in the early Autumn. His Summer was spent filming with BBC Natural History Unit in Indonesia and Malaysia for Bill Bailey's Jungle Hero, a two part documentary about naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, who came up with the theory of evolution at the same time as Darwin, yet who seems to have been erased from history. Transmitted in April 2013 on BBC2, this was very much a passion project for Bill, whose interest in his hero was sparked some 13 years earlier whilst travelling in his favourite part of the world. The rest of 2013 largely comprised of a UK Qualmpeddler tour, with the recording of Bill's next stand-up DVD of the same name occurring sometime in amongst it.
In 2014, Bill took Limboland to Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore before touring the UK extensively with it in 2015, culminating in a six week residency in the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End. He also starred in a music video for a reworked version of his classic Love Song alongside Emma Thompson for the BBC.
2016 will see Bill continuing to tour Limboland and develop more ideas for film and television with his own production company, Glassbox Productions (formed in November 2007), who are responsible for bringing to the screen Tinselworm, Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra, Dandelion Mind and Qualmpeddler.


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lightweight TROUSER SHORTS$95.00
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swrve RETURNS + EXCHANGES
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Los Angeles CA 90065


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O Holy Night - Twelve Days
Credits & Info
- Uploaded
- Dec 7, 2011 | 5:27 AM EST
- File Info
- Song
- 4 min 16 sec
- Score
- 4.37 / 5.00
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- Score:
- Rated 4.37 / 5 stars
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Author Comments
Rated 5 / 5 stars
C-sharp minor.
I don't like to rate others' singing skills, because it is very simple to polish it with computer tools.
But your good composing skills convinced me to give you a 10.
Good job.
Thanks! And you'd be happy to know that no tweeking of vocals by any computer programs was done. El-Natural with me; always. :)
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Beautiful, just...
Beautiful... I'm surprised it took me watching "24 in 24 2011" to find such an amazing voice.
Anyways, I have no complaints, everything seems to be put together quite well. I really like the reverb, and the introduction of the strings at the latter end of the piece. It's just such a beautiful rendition with alot of meaning and feeling behind it. Great job!
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Im sure you get thousands of reviews...
Theres no word that can describe your music and the way you sing. Im sure you get alot of reviews that say your voice is beautiful but I think thats an understatment. I think your voice is beyond that...there really isnt any word on planet earth to describe how well you sing.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
I pictured myself in the middle of nowhere at night, while snowing. Then, the snow stopped and rewinded upward.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
super! + small side note
the song is great, and even better when you sing it!
the small not is the following: the microphone resonates a little on the high notes


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"25 Days Of Sexmas" Day 7: Cleo Bath Body Massager
Why We Love It: Tub time is always better when you can get off, am I right? This totally waterproof silicone vibrator has a suction cup base that will mount to any flat surface, making underwater masturbation your new best friend. Just try not to turn into a prune… [$89.95, The Pleasure Chest]


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Friday, July 27, 2007
The campaign includes three new 60-second and 30-second television spots that repeat last year's theme, "smart people make smart choices." Last year's ads were honored with second place in a national competition, receiving a silver Paragon award from the National Council of Marketing and Public Relations.
The stars of the ads are three successful Columbus State alumni.
You can view each of the spots here.
The new television ads will air along with last year's three spots.
Between July 30 and September 7, the TV ads will air 2,389 times. They are projected to reach 99 percent of the 18-34-year-olds in the central Ohio market an average of 15 times each.
The college also will be airing two new radio spots that feature current students discussing why Columbus State was a smart choice for them. Radio ads will run on WNCI-FM and WCKX-FM (the two top radio stations for the 18-34 market), as well as eight other stations.
A series of print ads featuring Columbus State alumni will run in a variety of publications, including "The Other Paper," "Columbus Post," OSU "Lantern," "Delaware Gazette," "Mundo Hispano," and other suburban and urban papers.
A new element of this year's campaign will be a series of short videos aimed to please the "You Tube Generation" of 16-24-year-olds. The offbeat videos, which will only run on the Web, may be best described as "low-budget doll theatre." The goal of the videos is to drive young people to the college Web site for entertainment, and give them a little education about the college while they're at the site.
Another new element of the campaign is aimed at reminding older prospective students in Columbus State. Through a partnership with WCMH-TV (Channel 4), the college is sponsoring the weather on the station's newscasts throughout the year and will be featured on the station's Web site.
Other features of the new campaign will include billboards for suburban centers, ads for online classes, free "Smartwear" T-shirts for math students, and the introduction of the new Columbus State Cougar.
SBDC launches centers to aid manufacturers, exportersThe Ohio Small Business Development Center at Columbus State Community College has launched two new centers on campus to serve entrepreneurs. Both provide the same small business consulting and training services to small businesses but target different groups.
The Ohio Manufacturing and Technology SBDC will work with manufacturing and technology based firms to help them improve current operations and launch new products. This center will be operated by new hires Jeff Shick and Tonya Wilson.
The Ohio International Trade Assistance Center (ITAC) will work with companies looking to do international business and market products overseas. The ITAC will be led by Papa Omar Diop.
"The integration of the two new centers under the SBDC umbrella will allow Columbus State to better meet the needs of local entrepreneurs looking to build and grow businesses in central Ohio," said Michael Bowers, regional director of the Ohio SBDC at Columbus State.
The SBDC is located in the Center for Workforce Development and can be reached at 287-5294.


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Kylie Archer
That Girl - Poem by Kylie Archer
I wanna be that girl who he can turn to when he's had enough.
I wanna be the girl who he can love.
I wanna be that girl who he knows will always be there for him.
i wanna be that girl he can let in.
I wanna be that girl that he can trust.
I wanna be that girl he can talk to about all kinds of stuff.
I wanna be the girl he runs to when he is sad.
I wanna be that girl who he talks about to his dad.
I wanna be that girl who calls me his world
But I was once this girl
Who was in love with the guy up above
He was my everything and then I broke the trust
I was cheating, leaving him to go get high
I was drinking and I wasn't thinking
I didn't even see it coming when he told me good bye.
I loved him very much and I still do
I miss his touch and 'I love you's'
I found out there is a price to pay and I pay it everyday
Today we would probably still be together
But I had to be stupid and now he's gone
Poet's Notes about The Poem
Comments about That Girl by Kylie Archer
Cleveland Gibson (1/12/2014 3:49:00 PM)
Sometimes I'm talking or reading work by an expert and I feel you know more about your poem than I do. But I've read your poem and think it can be developed further. You wrote it and probably still feel blue. I'm sorry you had to gain experience that way. That's life.
However first thing I noticed at the start was the same few words over and over again. Rather than do that use what you have as notes and rewrite your poem. Aim to lift the reader. Do that and he'll want to know what happened.
Write something like:
I need to be that girl with sunflowers in her hair,
the one he loves and always will declare his care.
Go through the other lines and do that edit. The finished product will be 100% better and make you proud.
Keep writing and get your work published. (Report) Reply
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Kylie Archer's Other Poems
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Broncos coach Josh McDaniels confirmed that LT Ryan Clady suffered an injury that will sideline him at least during the team's offseason workout program.
McDaniels could not identify how much time he expects Clady to miss however, in remarks on the NFL Network.
He said:
"It's an unfortunate situation with Ryan, but we're hopeful that everything will be OK for the season."
The NFL Network reported that Clady, a Pro Bowler, suffered a torn patellar tendon while playing basketball. Clady told people he expects to miss three months, ESPN reported.
Pressed on how much time Clady might miss, McDaniels cracked a smile.
"The injury report will be out in September," he said. -- Sean Leahy
Nate Davis is a reporter, blogger and editor who's been at USA TODAY since 2000. He has covered the NFL since 2005. No, he did not play quarterback for Ball State. Davis' succession of our esteemed colleague Sean Leahy at The Huddle is considered a Brady-for-Bledsoe swap by most "insiders."More about Nate


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The method of self-slaughter among women is cutting their throat, or piercing the heart.
That self-slaughter by an insane man or a lunatic was not suicide within the meaning of the law.
Wealth, too, may become an incitement to self-slaughter from sheer disgust.
Perhaps he meditated breaking that instinctive canon which the Most High has so wisely fixed against "self-slaughter."
But in other cases, self-slaughter, to avoid trouble or the performance of inconvenient duty, is cowardly and detestable.
To her the plague was better than self-slaughter, as self-slaughter was better than pollution.
I shaded the flame and smiled up at the creature which, not being of a kind that is bent on self-slaughter, presently wafted away.
No imaginable crisis in his affairs could have convinced him to self-slaughter.
When he fled from the chalet, it was with self-slaughter in his heart.


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text: Rob Beschizza / 8:38 am Thu, Mar 28, 2013 Urinal video games Reuters' Joe McDonald informs us of a new hands-free gaming technology: "Play doesn't need to stop for sports fans taking a bathroom break at a Pennsylvania minor-league baseball stadium that has installed video games in men's room urinals." You can have a go yourself at Lehigh Valley IronPigs' Coca-Cola Park in Allentown. Photo: Reuters. Read the rest SHARE / TWEET / COMMENTS Games / urinals


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"You might slip…"
Dateline: Got me the blues…
Got Etta James on the spinning vinyl.
Got B.B. King on the MP3.
Got the downstairs Chicago smoke-filled, shot glass, red leather stools, basement bar blues.
Got me the cigar with no match, got me the leaky bottle cap,
Comes the tenor sax, music up full, cat.
"…you might slide…"
Got me the blues, because I met a man today at registration for the GEICO Bassmaster Classic, a dude from Montana, a beautiful state of vistas and people, dude is a Nurse Anesthetist, dude is a B.A.S.S. Nation angler who won the B.A.S.S. Nation West championship.
Dude been picked, odds placed on the dude of 150-to-1 to win the whole shebang, 150-to-1 to hoist the Bassmaster Classic trophy, 150-to-1 to have the name Tim Johnston hang in the rafters.
Got me the blues, because in the 22 years that I have been covering professional sports, I have refused to, and frankly don't believe in, put odds on human beings.
So when Tim Johnston tells me that he was picked as having 150-to-1 odds to win, I got all spittle from the mouth mad, and pounded my chest right there where I think the heart sits, and I say to him, and I quote, "#@!*!# don't you listen to that, that statistical #@!^*# doesn't take into account this…"
And then I coughed some because I may have hit my lungs too hard, but the "this" that I was banging on…was my heart.
You can play around with all your numbers, explain it all away with that new math stuff, put up all the charts and algorithms you got on all your computers, but you ain't got squat, in my book, because you are missing one variable in that measurement morass you got going,
and that measurement variable you are not accounting for may in fact be the most important variable in the whole dang unfathomable equation:
The Human Spirit.
Show me the numbers on that.
Until you can account for that, you just are doing Voodoo Math.
So this open letter to 150-to1 is actually a letter to all of you, all of US, who have been told, "the odds are against you, son," or "the odds are against you, honey," to all of those who wrote us off, who gave us no chance, who thought we were only speed bumps on the road to success, to them I say,
there is magic in every human being whether you can see it or not, and this magic is a spark that you can't put out, a spark that you can't measure, a spark oblivious to the odds you place on me, and this spark is called,
Who got them blues now.
"…you might…"
Let me tell you about this dude from Montana. Tim Johnston. At the age of 13 he went around his town of Kalispell mowing neighbors' yards, and then he took the money earned from that and bought A LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP IN B.A.S.S. That was 35 years ago.
"I love the history of the sport, the last thing I did before I left home in Montana was to watch the 1994 Bryan Kerchal Bassmaster Classic."
Bryan, also a Nation angler, finished last in the 1993 Classic, but won the Classic the next year…wonder what the odds on that feat were.
"I feel like I'm in a fog, especially when I saw that gold Bassmaster Classic trophy, but I did get my KVD handshake out of the way. I went up to him and shook his hand and said thank you."
"Thank you for what."
"I thanked him because without him and all the others like him, I wouldn't be here, none of us would be here, and KVD wouldn't be here if it wasn't for those who came before him. I just had to say thanks."
And then, "db, it was always my dream to be able to attend a Bassmaster Classic, and now I'm fishing in it."
The human spirit is the spark that lets a person with 150-to-1 odds STILL GET IN THE BOAT and compete.
That spark is what lets Tim still launch.
"…stumble and fall by the road side…"
He drank Scotch Whiskey, chewed on cheap cigars, and in the summertime breeze of Buffalo, N.Y., he played a grease stained Gibson guitar and sang the blues.
The blues of a junkyard worker who spent a lifetime pulling $20 used generators out of junked cars.
He smelled of tire fire and antifreeze-stained shoelaces.
But he was a master mechanic by heart, but not by Scotch Whiskey, and he would bring home stray wrecks like stray cats, fix them up with parts found in other cars, or on the junkyard ground, and he would drag them, and me, to a local racetrack, a 5/8-mile asphalt oval.
I drove because I was 30 pounds lighter than his son. I was 16.
All the other drivers, years older than I was, laughed, told us we had no chance, "the odds of that kid winning, a million to one."
First came the smell of scotch, then the stink of the cigar, then his face as he leaned in the car and looked down at me strapped into the seat. "Bones (my nickname as a kid because of my lack of weight). Bones, listen to me, it's not always the biggest and strongest who win; if you are in the race, you have a chance to win the race…"
And then he said to me something I have taken to heart my entire life, and to all the 150-to-1s out there, please you do the same:
"…when that green flag drops, everybody has 1-to-1 odds…"
"…but don't you ever let nobody…"
"db, I figure B.A.S.S. gave me a bat, gave me a chance to be, at bat, and you know what, I'm going to take a swing, swing for the fences."
Mr. 150-to-1, swing.
Launch to win, leave nothing behind.
There are moments in every sport that transcends the sport itself:
The batter limps up to home plate, as he loosens up he favors one leg, as he swings there is a hitch in the swing as he adjusts for two bum knees, and yet he manages to jack one out of the park, and as Kirk Gibson rounds the bases in the 1984 World Series he pumps his fist in jubilation.
How about almost 200-to-1 odds…that was the book on the 1999 NFL St. Louis Rams chances of winning Super Bowl XXXIV. In 1998, they finished in last place; on January 30, 2000, the Rams were Super Bowl champs.
It is for these kinds of moments that we watch sports – us, a nation of just regular guys and gals, who somehow manage to succeed against all odds.
As Tim and I sat talking, Ken Duke, the Bassmaster writer who made Tim the 150-to-1 angler came by and I told him what the story was going to be about. Ken and I are good friends; we just see differently on odds. And I know he has nothing personal against Tim; in fact, after joking around with both of us, as he left,he said, "Anyone can win this tournament."
To all the 150-to-1s out there,
the odds of being an astronaut are 13,200,000 to 1,
yet we have footprints on the moon.
To all the 150-to-1s out there,
the odds of winning an Olympic medal are 662,000 to 1,
yet as I write this we have 23, 2014 Olympic medals heading our way.
Bowling a 300 game: 11,500-to-1 but a couple of my in-laws do it all the time.
A hole in one: 5,000 to 1 but I saw my father do it TWICE.
To the 150-to-1s out there, here are the only odds that matter,
I read once that the odds of life forming on Earth were something like a billion, trillion, gadzillion to 1,
basically, we shouldn't be here,
but we are,
so in fact the odds of us being here are,
1-to-1, because here we are.
And here, we beat the odds.
And here, when we tell a dude from Montana, that he basically faces the longest odds to win,
he still launches,
when it is his turn at bat, he will still swing,
because we live on a planet,
with 1-to-1 odds,
where all of us,
given the chance,
given the hope,
can win.
Good luck Mr. 150-to-1, wherever you may be,
may the spark,
may the spirit inside of you,
beat all the odds.
"…drag your spirit down."
"Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down"
Eric Bibb, Maria Muldaur, Rory Block


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Assertion: [Exploratory test] Multiple ruby texts are placed correctly relative to multiple ruby bases.
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Bush at West Point
I finally had the opportunity to see the President in person, in the one venue representing the intersection between our worlds. These worlds physically intersect only on the rarest of occasions. His is dominated by friendly audiences fat cat contributors at fundraisers and the most rightward components of the Republican Base, like the Christian Right. The one place our worlds do intersect is at West Point, where Bush speaks at graduation every four years. While the last West Point graduation I attended was my own, I had a special reason to be at this one the graduation of my niece, mentioned from time to time in this journal. As you will recall, the last time Bush spoke at West Point it was to define the Bush Doctrine of Preemptive War, in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. While the speech this weekend did not have that level of significance, it was of interest for several reasons. For example, it was interesting that Bushs speechwriters apparently did considerable research on West Point idioms, apparently to underscore his reputation for folksiness. Most interestingly, though, he completely dropped the idiom most anticipated by the cadets to whom he was directing his remarks. This is particularly surprising because, four years ago, he got it right. The idiom is question is the West Point colloquialism amnesty, the tradition by which a head of state can declare forgiveness for all outstanding cadet infractions. In place of the term, Bush used a convoluted verbal construction that had a number of my fellow graduates wondering whether he had in fact declared amnesty. Could it be that, this time, he didnt want to be on tape uttering that particular word? (The preceding is an example of a rhetorical question). Something else I found interesting was the true extent of his Texas twang when heard in person. The most interesting aspect of the speech, though, was his linkage of the Truman Administration to his own. He took great relish in pointing out that the Marshall Plan cost $100 Billion in todays dollars (but not mentioning that those dollars were sourced from the taxpayers of the day rather than Japanese, Chinese, and Saudi bondholders). He spent a good deal of time linking his newly renamed War on Islamic Radicalism to the Cold War. Considering that the Iraq War is not particularly cold, he invoked the Korean War as the hot war equivalent. The overall message was clear, even if you cant find these precise words in the text. It was: it took decades for Trumans wisdom to be recognized via total victory in the Cold War, and his poll numbers in the middle of his second term were even worse than mine, so get off my case! The problem with tortured historical comparisons, though, is that they make it all the easier to see the more direct historical precedent to our current optional war. Despite spending quite a bit of time on the history from 1946 through 1991, Bush somehow missed mentioning our last optional war: the one in Vietnam.
05.29.06 @ 07:57 PM EDT [link]


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Celebrity dance reality show Jhalak Dikhla Ja is coming up with its new season 5. The dance show presents the celebrities of Bollywood, Television and sports who mentored professional dance partners and performed an amazing dance style on the dance floor.
Jhalak Dikhala Ja season 5 has been looking for the best celebrities so their TV stars also shared their choice to see their favorite at the show.
Additi Gupta is famous on TV as Heer from the show Kis Desh Mein Hai Mera Dil and she is also a good dancer. Recently Additi performed an item song in the show Punar Vivah. When asked her whom she wants to see on Jhalak Dikhla Ja stage, Additi said her best friend Kritika Kamra. Kritika Kamra is currently seen as Dr. Nidhi in SONY TV Kuch Toh Log Kahenge.
Barun Sobti and Sanaya Irani has become a well-known face among fans and TV industry. Presently, Barun and Sanaya are seen as Arnav and Khushi in Star Plus serial Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon. In the show, Sanaya Irani has showed her amazing dance. So, her co- star Barun Sobti wants Sanaya to shake her legs at the dance floor of Jhalak Dikhala Ja season 5.


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Stove Top Smoker Hickory Smoked Ribs
READY IN: 50mins
Recipe by TxGriffLover
From the Cameron Cooking Guide. This recipe is to be made using a stove top smoker.
Top Review by BarbryT
Love this recipe! I've been making it from the Cameron smoker cookbook for several years. I'm glad to find it here without my having to key it. Thanks for posting! My wood chips of choice are cherry, but hickory is delicious too. Oh, and my favorite barbecue sauce is Cattlemen's Honey Barbecue Sauce.
See Discussion:1 Review
Ingredients Nutrition
- 2 lbs baby back ribs
- salt & pepper
- garlic powder
- 2 cups barbecue sauce
- 3 tablespoons hickory chips
Directions See How It's Made
- Rub the salt, pepper and garlic powder into the ribs and carefully arrange on the rack to allow good circulation of the smoke.
- Place smoker in medium heat and smoke-cook for 45 minutes per pound.
- The smoking stage can be done in advance and refrigerated until just before serving.
- To finish, brush lightly with BBQ sauce and place on a cookie sheet into a 450º oven, watching and turning twice to crisp, or on an outdoor grill for 15 minutes.
- Serve with remainder of BBQ sauce on the side. The ribs will turn out tender with lots of flavor.


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Amazingly, today marks the end of another year! We just posted our reflections on the outgoing year in our 2013 Diabetes Year In Review, and now we get ready to step into a brand new year...
Before 2014 kicks off, though, we want to take a look at some of the great posts from this past month across the Diabetes Online Community. As always, there are so many -- and we've done our best to highlight a handful that caught our eye in December. Here they are, in no particular order:
Holiday gifts are always nice, especially when they come from the FDA in the form of a move to help bring more attention to the issue of accuracy of glucose meters and test strips. Thanks to Christel Aprigliano for writing about this at The Perfect D, and of course to the FDA for the recent present!
An oldie but goodie from Karen Graffeo at Bitter-Sweet Diabetes: she re-posted a Holiday Poem with a diabetes twist.
Shara Bialo took a D-spin on a holiday post at The Diabetic Doc about her experiences in the pediatric ward of the hospital during December, leading up to the holidays.
Going low isn't something any of us want any time, but it's even worse when that low blood sugar hits at an inopportune moment -- like what happened to our friend George Simmons recently. Luckily, our friendly Ninjabetic was able to treat it and later turn that experience into a moment of advocacy and awareness. Way to turn the tables on diabetes, Big G!
As Scott Strange notes at Strangely Diabetic, there was some vocal advocacy happening at our recent DiabetesMine Innovation Summit event. If you believe what some insurance experts were saying, you might think all patient concerns are absurd. Well, Scott has some thoughts on that...
Love this post by D-Mom Meri Schuchmacher over at Our Diabetic Life, who writes about the "germination" of diabetes her house is going through now that her oldest, non-D son has left and there are more D-hands than not. But in true Meri style, she vows D won't dominate their lives!
Kim Vlasnik has started her search for a new insulin pump, and in this Texting My Pancreas post we like how she conducts a comparative review of what works and doesn't work in her world.
The first line of this dLife blog post by D-Dad Carey Potash is an instant eye-catcher: "Gone are the days of repelling Mission Impossible-like from the hospital ceiling to retrieve Charlie's medical files before the CDE entered our exam room." OK, if that doesn't get you reading, we're not at all sure what will... :)
Acronyms abound in our diabetes world -- and D-Mom Penny at A Sweet Grace has a new one: WTH BGS. Click on over to her blog to read what that's all about!
Finding new blogs we haven't read before is always fun, and we were happy to discover the Type One Trio written by 17-year-old Caleb who in early 2013 was the third child in his family to be diagnosed with type 1. A few posts from December caught our attention, especially this great D-analogy: "Snowstorms in my Snow Globe."
Kerri Sparling at Six Until Me noted this month that she's felt like Slackertown Jones recently, something that isn't fun to talk about... but writing it out helps you feel more accountable. This really hits home, as Mike says this is EXACTLY how he's been feeling for awhile. Here's to everyone in the DOC, like Kerri and Mike, who are doing what they can.
To Share, or Not to Share? We all have to ask that question when deciding what to expose online about our lives, and this post by Brian over at Not My Cell gets one really thinking.
Briley Boisvert, who blogs at InDependence, says it straight up: Sometimes, you're just having "too awesome" a time to truly fuss over diabetes. Even the stress of higher blood sugar numbers doesn't hold a candle to the precious moments in life we just want to be living. Couldn't. Agree. More.
Our friends at diaTribe do great work in their monthly newsletter, and Kerri's column this month is a "must-read" on important topic about talking complications.
Short and sweet is the bottom line for this post by Sara Nicastro at Moments of Wonderful, in which she tackles a few key questions we PWDs must ask when considering our diabetes supplies and insurance coverage.
Thanks to all for these great posts, and for all the wonderful writing throughout 2013! Naturally, we can't wait to see what the DOC has in store for this next year. And with that, we wish you the best as we end out this year and welcome 2014...
And thanks to the very talented cartoonist Jerry King, who helps us visualize New Year's Eve from a PWD's POV:


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Believe it or not this commercial gave more credit than iPhone is due, the lines I am seeing is not that long this year.
I drove by Apple Store this morning to see if there is a line, there was a very short line. Not even close to what I have seen on iPhone previous launches.
Got into the office and saw the 2 iFanbois not in the office yet, so I knew they went to get iPhone 5.
They came in not long after I got in, they did not need to wake up early to get in line.
Each of them went to the AT&T store near them at 9AM and got one, which would be unheard of on previous launches.
So it did not sell out until the around 10AM which is 1 hour after the store opened.
According to the AT&T rep they said they got 1/2 the inventory compared to what they had on launch for iPhone 4S yet it took this long to sell out...
Didn't see this ad until passing by a crowd in line at the apple store and they were talking about the ad. The ad is dead on...lol I actually think I saw or heard the exact same comments from a majority of the people in line. I wouldn't be suprised if half of the people on here responding weren't actually in line themselves. Too funny.


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Leaders of China and the U.S. are meeting at an immaculately toasty California site this weekend for summit talks. One of the items will involve suspected Chinese theft of U.S. companies' trade and other secrets through cyberspying.
What if the Chinese got their wits in high gear and simply bought these secrets instead? Perhaps it's the best clandestine information — government or not — that money can buy.
The idea comes in the wake of stories detailing two secret U.S. government programs to tap into customer phone company records and Internet records in the name of national security.
Few of us are surprised by any of this today. We simply assume that if companies find it profitable to trade our private information, they'll find a way. In the case of national security two presidents have been interested in using the high-tech industry to go after what they say are foreign threats.
The law is the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which makes it illegal to discuss its activities. That could put employees at domestic high-tech firms at risk of spilling "national security" secrets.
We assume the government will be unhappy about the latest leaks of its use of high-tech data mining. We also shrug at revelations of whom they're proposing as partners. If you've used Facebook, Google, YouTube, Microsoft, Skype, Apple, Yahoo, Intel or AOL, you're already there. Cell phones are a fact of life. The only question remaining is how many phones are smart (as opposed to idiotic?)
The government claims the little-known FISA law, enabled by Congress and authorizing the U.S. to order up all sorts of phone and Internet records, is aimed at foreigners. That gets murky. What if there's less distinction between those who are legally U.S. citizens and those who aren't? We've already found that "born in the USA" no longer carries with it the allegiance or loyalty we thought it once did.
The best way to navigate the maze is to assume that all your secrets are up for grabs. But when the free market puts a price on those secrets, will you be getting a cut of the profits?
The younger you are, the easier you are. Anyone on a social network knows that the wrong key will send a message to unimaginable readers. We can understand why Harvard faculty got up in arms upon discovering school administrators were monitoring their email accounts.
Credit records are so frequently traded that the market has depressed the cost of such secrets. Want someone's social security number? Experts say you can buy it for under $1. Chicago-area banks over a decade ago got into trouble for selling private depositor information for $4 a pop. They thought this was perfectly acceptable free trade.
The credit industry today is a mammoth moneymaking bonanza based on fear and secrecy. If the industry can scare people into believing their credit scores are perpetually on the edge, how much can the "secrets" of your credit score — and how best to protect it — be worth? To find the price list, just sign up to check your own.
Want to find out how much a bank cares about your privacy? Read the small "disclosure" print, and you'll find that anyone the bank designates as a marketing partner has a right to your data.
The Internal Revenue Service wanted to know how to track misuse of nonprofit designation by political organizations, so the agency decided to test it on a few well-known political labels. "Liberal" and "progressive" didn't work as well as "tea party" and "patriot" when pulling file batches for testing. You know where that went. But under FISA, the government could test to see if your political-action group had any contact with an overseas area code, and you wouldn't even know about it.
With disclosure of the programs coming only last week, we're at the very start of the discussion. Private high-tech companies are now grappling with government agencies over just how to technically share information, whether it requires separate servers, and the possible cost.
The New York Times cites only 1,856 FISA requests (approved by a special court) last year. The number will likely climb in the future.
The market is sure to enter this equation. We'll find that we wouldn't pay a dime for some state secrets that a FISA request might uncover, or that the Chinese might already find under their alleged cyberspying.
But the market will eventually find a price for many such company, state or individual secrets. Where there is demand, supply is sure to follow — with prices next. Authors today publish books that others complain spill all sorts of secrets. The line between spying and marketing is getting very thin.
Advice to the government: If you do find fertile fields of state secrets under FISA, make sure to get your cut of sure-to-follow profits. Taxpayers have inquiring minds and they'll want to know.
And to the Chinese and their U.S. victims — perhaps the time has come to catalogue the secrets, and put a time limit on them, as patent law does. For the rest, where there's a price, there may be disclosure. The free market for secrets may quickly doom them as yesterday's news.
The writer (email@example.com [1]) is a founder of the Aspen Daily News and appears here Sundays.
[1] mailto:email@example.com


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Hot Off The Radio, Usher Heads For The Road
Usher tells USA Today his aim on his upcoming U.S. tour beginning in August is to give people "a night to remember" with a one-hour, 45-minute program featuring several set and wardrobe changes, a live band and eight dancers. "The true payoff for me is getting on stage and performing for my fans," Usher says. "Going to the studio is good, but having that instant gratification and knowing how people feel about your performance is the best part." Read more, including the tour dates, here.