In linguistics, anaphora () is the use of an expression whose interpretation depends upon another expression in context (its antecedent or postcedent). In a narrower sense, anaphora is the use of an expression that depends specifically upon an antecedent expression and thus is contrasted with cataphora, which is the use of an expression that depends upon a postcedent expression. The anaphoric (referring) term is called an anaphor. For example, in the sentence Sally arrived, but nobody saw her, the pronoun her is an anaphor, referring back to the antecedent Sally. In the sentence Before her arrival, nobody saw Sally, the pronoun her refers forward to the postcedent Sally, so her is now a cataphor (and an anaphor in the broader, but not the narrower, sense). Usually, an anaphoric expression is a pro-form or some other kind of deictic (contextually dependent) expression. Both anaphora and cataphora are species of endophora, referring to something mentioned elsewhere in a dialog or text.

Anaphora is an important concept for different reasons and on different levels: first, anaphora indicates how discourse is constructed and maintained; second, anaphora binds different syntactical elements together at the level of the sentence; third, anaphora presents a challenge to natural language processing in computational linguistics, since the identification of the reference can be difficult; and fourth, anaphora partially reveals how language is understood and processed, which is relevant to fields of linguistics interested in cognitive psychology.

Nomenclature and examples

The term anaphora is actually used in two ways.

In a broad sense, it denotes the act of referring. Any time a given expression (e.g. a pro-form) refers to another contextual entity, anaphora is present.

In a second, narrower sense, the term anaphora denotes the act of referring backwards in a dialog or text, such as referring to the left when an anaphor points to its left toward its antecedent in languages that are written from left to right. Etymologically, anaphora derives from Ancient Greek ἀναφορά (anaphorá, "a carrying back"), from ἀνά (aná, "up") + φέρω (phérō, "I carry"). In this narrow sense, anaphora stands in contrast to cataphora, which sees the act of referring forward in a dialog or text, or pointing to the right in languages that are written from left to right: Ancient Greek καταφορά (kataphorá, "a downward motion"), from κατά (katá, "downwards") + φέρω (phérō, "I carry"). A pro-form is a cataphor when it points to its right toward its postcedent. Both effects together are called either anaphora (broad sense) or less ambiguously, along with self-reference they comprise the category of endophora.

Examples of anaphora (in the narrow sense) and cataphora are given next. Anaphors and cataphors appear in bold, and their antecedents and postcedents are underlined:

Anaphora (in the narrow sense, species of endophora)

a. Susan dropped the plate. It shattered loudly. – The pronoun it is an anaphor; it points to the left toward its antecedent the plate.

b. The music stopped, and that upset everyone. – The demonstrative pronoun that is an anaphor; it points to the left toward its antecedent The music stopped.

c. Fred was angry, and so was I. – The adverb so is an anaphor; it points to the left toward its antecedent angry.

d. If Sam buys a new bike, I shall do it as well. – The verb phrase do it is an anaphor; it points to the left toward its antecedent buys a new bike.

Cataphora (included in the broad sense of anaphora, species of endophora)

a. Because he was very cold, David put on his coat. – The pronoun he is a cataphor; it points to the right toward its postcedent David.

b. Although Sam might do so, I shall not buy a new bike. – The verb phrase do so is a cataphor; it points to the right toward its postcedent buy a new bike.

c. In their free time, the boys play video games. – The possessive adjective their is a cataphor; it points to the right toward its postcedent the boys.

A further distinction is drawn between endophoric and exophoric reference. Exophoric reference occurs when an expression, an exophor, refers to something that is not directly present in the linguistic context, but is rather present in the situational context. Deictic pro-forms are stereotypical exophors, e.g.

Exophora

a. This garden hose is better than that one. – The demonstrative adjectives this and that are exophors; they point to entities in the situational context.

b. Jerry is standing over there. – The adverb there is an exophor; it points to a location in the situational context.

Exophors cannot be anaphors as they do not substantially refer within the dialog or text, though there is a question of what portions of a conversation or document are accessed by a listener or reader with regard to whether all references to which a term points within that language stream are noticed (i.e., if you hear only a fragment of what someone says using the pronoun her, you might never discover who she is, though if you heard the rest of what the speaker was saying on the same occasion, you might discover who she is, either by anaphoric revelation or by exophoric implication because you realize who she must be according to what else is said about her even if her identity is not explicitly mentioned, as in the case of homophoric reference).

A listener might, for example, realize through listening to other clauses and sentences that she is a Queen because of some of her attributes or actions mentioned. But which queen? Homophoric reference occurs when a generic phrase obtains a specific meaning through knowledge of its context. For example, the referent of the phrase the Queen (using an emphatic definite article, not the less specific a Queen, but also not the more specific Queen Elizabeth) must be determined by the context of the utterance, which would identify the identity of the queen in question. Until further revealed by additional contextual words, gestures, images or other media, a listener would not even know what monarchy or historical period is being discussed, and even after hearing her name is Elizabeth does not know, even if an English-UK Queen Elizabeth becomes indicated, if this queen means Queen Elizabeth I or Queen Elizabeth II and must await further clues in additional communications. Similarly, in discussing 'The Mayor' (of a city), the Mayor's identity must be understood broadly through the context which the speech references as general 'object' of understanding; is a particular human person meant, a current or future or past office-holder, the office in a strict legal sense, or the office in a general sense which includes activities a mayor might conduct, might even be expected to conduct, while they may not be explicitly defined for this office.

In generative grammar

The term anaphor is used in a special way in the generative grammar tradition. Here it denotes what would normally be called a reflexive or reciprocal pronoun, such as himself or each other in English, and analogous forms in other languages. The use of the term anaphor in this narrow sense is unique to generative grammar, and in particular, to the traditional binding theory. This theory investigates the syntactic relationship that can or must hold between a given pro-form and its antecedent (or postcedent). In this respect, anaphors (reflexive and reciprocal pronouns) behave very differently from, for instance, personal pronouns.

Complement anaphora
In some cases, anaphora may refer not to its usual antecedent, but to its complement set. In the following example a, the anaphoric pronoun they refers to the children who are eating the ice-cream. Contrastingly, example b has they seeming to refer to the children who are not eating ice-cream:

a. Only a few of the children ate their ice-cream. They ate the strawberry flavor first. – They meaning the children who ate ice-cream

b. Only a few of the children ate their ice-cream. They threw it around the room instead. – They meaning either the children who did not eat ice-cream or perhaps the children who did not eat ice-cream and some of those who ate ice-cream but did not finish it or who threw around the ice-cream of those who did not eat it, or even all the children, those who ate ice-cream throwing around part of their ice-cream, the ice-cream of others, the same ice-cream which they may have eaten before or after throwing it, or perhaps only some of the children so that they does not mean to be all-inclusive

In its narrower definition, an anaphoric pronoun must refer to some noun (phrase) that has already been introduced into the discourse. In complement anaphora cases, however, the anaphor refers to something that is not yet present in the discourse, since the pronoun's referent has not been formerly introduced, including the case of 'everything but' what has been introduced. The set of ice-cream-eating-children in example b is introduced into the discourse, but then the pronoun they refers to the set of non-ice-cream-eating-children, a set which has not been explicitly mentioned.

Both semantic and pragmatics considerations attend this phenomenon, which following discourse representation theory since the early 1980s, such as work by Kamp (1981) and Heim (File  Change  Semantics, 1982), and generalized quantifier theory, such as work by Barwise and Cooper (1981), was studied in a series of psycholinguistic experiments in the early 1990s by Moxey and Sanford (1993) and Sanford et al. (1994). In complement anaphora as in the case of the pronoun in example b, this anaphora refers to some sort of complement set (i.e. only to the set of non-ice-cream-eating-children) or to the maximal set (i.e. to all the children, both ice-cream-eating-children and non-ice-cream-eating-children) or some hybrid or variant set, including potentially one of those noted to the right of example b. The various possible referents in complement anaphora are discussed by Corblin (1996), Kibble (1997), and Nouwen (2003). Resolving complement anaphora is of interest in shedding light on brain access to information, calculation, mental modeling, communication.

Anaphora resolution – centering theory
There are many theories that attempt to prove how anaphors are related and trace back to their antecedents, with centering theory (Grosz, Joshi, and Weinstein 1983) being one of them. Taking the computational theory of mind view of language, centering theory gives a computational analysis of underlying antecedents. In their original theory, Grosz, Joshi, & Weinstein (1983) propose that some discourse entities in utterances are more "central" than others, and this degree of centrality imposes constraints on what can be the antecedent.

In the theory, there are different types of centers: forward facing, backwards facing, and preferred.

Forward facing centers

A ranked list of discourse entities in an utterance. The ranking is debated, some focusing on theta relations (Yıldırım et al. 2004) and some providing definitive lists.

Backwards facing center

The highest ranked discourse entity in the previous utterance.

Preferred center

The highest ranked discourse entity in the previous utterance realised in the current utterance.

See also

 – A phenomenon sometimes viewed as modal or temporal anaphora

Notes

Literature

Bussmann, H., G. Trauth, and K. Kazzazi 1998. Routledge dictionary of language and linguistics. Taylor and Francis.
Chomsky, N. 1981/1993. Lectures on government and binding: The Pisa lectures. Mouton de Gruyter.
Corblin, F. 1996. "Quantification et anaphore discursive: la reference aux comple-mentaires". Linguages. 123, 51–74.
Grosz, Barbara J.; Joshi, Aravind K.; and Weinstein, Scott (1983). "Providing a unified account of definite noun phrases in discourse". In Proceedings, 21st Annual Meeting of the Association of Computational Linguistics. 44–50.
Kibble, R. 1997. "Complement anaphora and dynamic binding". In Proceedings from Semantics and Linguistic Theory VII, ed. A. Lawson, 258–275. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University.
McEnery, T. 2000. Corpus-based and computational approaches to discourse anaphora. John Benjamins.
Moxey, L. and A. Sanford 1993. Communicating quantities: A psychological perspective. Laurence Erlbaum Associates.
Nouwen, R. 2003. "Complement anaphora and interpretation". Journal of Semantics, 20, 73–113.
Sanford, A., L. Moxey and K. Patterson 1994. "Psychological studies of quantifiers". Journal of Semantics 11, 153–170.
Schmolz, H. 2015. Anaphora Resolution and Text Retrieval. A Linguistic Analysis of Hypertexts. De Gruyter.
Tognini-Bonelli, E. 2001. Corpus linguistics at work. John Benjamins.
Yıldırım, Savaş & Kiliçaslan, Yilmaz & Erman Aykaç, R. 2004. A Computational Model for Anaphora Resolution in Turkish via Centering Theory: an Initial Approach. 124–128.

External links

 What is anaphora?

Pragmatics
Semantics
Semiotics
Syntactic relationships
Generative syntax
Syntax
Tasks of natural language processing
Formal semantics (natural language)

Anaphora (linguistics)


Jennifer Heil (born April 11, 1983) is a Canadian freestyle skier from Spruce Grove, Alberta. Heil started skiing at age two. Jennifer Heil won the first gold medal for Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics games in Turin, Italy and a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which was also Canada's first medal in those games. Heil is the reigning world champion in dual moguls.  She has three world championship titles in total and two silver medals from the Worlds as well. Over her career, Heil has won a record-tying five overall FIS World Cup Crystal Globe titles for freestyle skiing.

Heil is involved with several charitable organisations including Because I am a Girl and Right to Play. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Heil donated $25,000 to Because I am a Girl. Heil also speaks to students across Canada along a theme of Dare to Dream, and hosts an annual "girls only" mogul skiing camp. B2ten, created with the help of Heil, is a privately run business model organisation with the intent of raising funds to support amateur Canadian athletes.

Career

Early career
Heil competed in her first Olympics at the 2002 Winter Olympics at the age of 18, finishing fourth in the moguls, just one-hundredth of a point out of a bronze medal. She took the 2002–03 season off due to injury, and then won the World Cup in 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06. Heil then won the first gold medal for Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Giving Canada its first victory on the first full day of competition, Heil placed her title in the moguls event. Following the Olympics, Heil completed the season by winning her fourth straight World Cup title.

B2ten
Jennifer Heil took part in extensive experimental training in order to prepare for the Olympic Games. She worked with one of Canada's leading sports psychologists, a strength trainer, and an athletic therapist daily. After winning in 2006, Jennifer expressed her desire to build a program that would offer the same kind of support she got to other athletes in Canada. JD Miller and her coach Dominick Gauthier helped her build B2ten who now raised about 3 million dollars and supports 20 athletes from 13 different sports. Heil took the 2008 season off in order to help heal her injured knees. Following that year, Heil had a very successful 2008–09 world cup season. This included a silver medal during the stop at Cypress Mountain which was the site of the moguls competition for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

2010 Vancouver Olympics
Going into the 2010 Olympics, Heil won the last 4 2009–10 Freestyle Skiing World Cup events that she entered. She opted out of the last event before the games to give her fellow countrymen an opportunity to qualify for the games. The women's moguls qualifications began in unfavourable weather conditions with rain, sleet, and slushy conditions on the course. Heil finished the qualification in second place, meaning she ran second-to-last in the final. In the final Heil had a successful and fast run which put her in first place with one skier yet to go. Heil sat, watched, and waited as Hannah Kearney of the US had her final run. Kearney finished first and displaced Heil for both the gold and as Olympic champion.

Heil was visibly distraught as many including herself expected her to win the gold medal. Heil had gone into the event as the reigning Olympic champion and favourite not only to win the gold, but Canada's first gold medal during a Canadian hosted Olympics ever. Heil's B2ten company was founded in part to win the first gold at home and assist fellow Canadians in their quest for medals. The honour of winning the first home-soil Olympic gold medal would go to Alexandre Bilodeau the next day on Sunday, February 14. Although Heil herself did not win it, Bilodeau's victory deserves some credit from Heil as he is a sponsored B2ten athlete as well. The next day Heil was seen on television celebrating her silver medal. She went on to say that she did not lose the gold but won the silver medal and was celebrating on stage at the medal ceremony.

According to CTV an average of about 6.6 million and a peak of 8 million Canadians tuned into their television to watch Heil try and break the gold medal slump. More Canadians watched Heil try to win gold than the 6 million that had watched the New Orleans Saints win Super Bowl XLIV.

Following her 2010 Olympics silver medal win at the Cypress Mountain venue near Vancouver, Heil went on to say that this would likely be her last games. Heil said that she wants to win a third world championship next year in 2011, following that she would like to get on with her post-mogul career. Heil said she hoped to finish her degree in management studies at McGill University after retiring following the 2010–11 season and planned to continue her work in jewellery design. She also stated that she plans to continue her work in philanthropy. Following the 2010 Olympics Heil again made a donation of $25,000, this time to Because I am a Girl, an organization that helps lift girls out of poverty. Heil said of her donation that "I've had the power in my hands to help and many young girls don't have that same power. We want to make this Canada's most giving Games ever." Alexandre Bilodeau also made a donation but he made his to the Canadian Association of Pediatric Health Centres for cerebral palsy. They both went on to encourage others to give saying that they have the ability to give back and if others were to help in their own way it would make a difference.

Finishing her career
During January of the 2010–11 World Cup season, Heil officially announced her retirement prior to the Canadian stop at the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. Heil would say of her retirement that "I'm definitely in good shape. I could go for one more Olympic Games. I'm still at the top of my game, but for me I feel it's an important time to build on my future. I want to be as successful off the slopes as I have been on the slopes and I feel that time is now. I feel that in my heart."

Heil's next event was at the 2011 FIS World Championships. In her last event there in the moguls final, Heil won her first ever gold medal and first ever medal having previously won only in the dual moguls event. Heil said of her win there that "It's a title I've never won before and there's been a lot of discussion about that in Canada. I've never been one to count my medals and count my titles, but I'm pretty happy that that conversation is over." For the last day of the World Championships, Heil competed in the dual moguls event. There she advanced to the final where she defeated young teammate Chloé Dufour-Lapointe to win her second gold medal of the competition. The victory was her third successive dual moguls crown, more importantly it ensured that Heil would end her career as a double world champion. As a result of her dual championship golds she was awarded the Canadian Press's female athlete of the year for 2011.

Personal life
Heil is a management and political science student at Desautels Faculty of Management of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Heil is involved in several charities including Right to Play, a sports-based humanitarian agency, and Plan Canada's Because I am a Girl, a program that promotes girls' rights internationally. She has stated that she wishes to continue her efforts in these charities following her retirement. In her spare time, Heil is an avid surfer.

Heil's boyfriend, Dominick Gauthier, is also her coach. They started dating in 2004 when Gauthier was coaching the Japanese moguls team. Gauthier is also the coach of men's mogul skier, Alexandre Bilodeau.

References

External links

TSN article
CTV Olympic profile

1983 births
Living people
Canadian female freestyle skiers
Freestyle skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Freestyle skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Freestyle skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Olympic freestyle skiers for Canada
Olympic gold medalists for Canada
Olympic medalists in freestyle skiing
Olympic silver medalists for Canada
People from Spruce Grove
Sportspeople from Alberta
McGill University Faculty of Management alumni

Jennifer Heil


Sydney Harbour (also called Port Jackson) is a natural harbour on the East Coast of Australia in Sydney. It is the location of the  Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

History

Before the arrival of European settlers, the area surrounding Sydney Harbour was home to a variety of aboriginal tribes, including members of the Gadigal, Cammeraygal, Eora and Wanegal tribes. It is believed (source?) that the Gadigal people once lived in the area heading from the south side of Port Jackson (South Head, Watsons Bay) and west in a semi circle through Petersham. The Cammeraygal tribe lived on the northern side of Sydney Harbour and the Wanegal tribe owned the area on the southern side of the Parramatta River, just west of Petersham and through to Rose Hill. The Eora tribe lived on the southern side of Sydney Harbour, not far from where the First Fleet set up camp.

In 1770, shortly after he left Botany Bay (Kurnell Peninsula), Lt James Cook became the first non-Aboriginal person to visit Sydney Harbour.  Cook named it [Sydney Harbour] after Sir George Jackson. He did not go into the harbour, but sailed past the entrance (Sydney Heads) on his way north up the East Coast of Australia.

European settlement started on January 26, 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet arrived from England. Phillip brought 732 convicts (prisoners) and a small group of soldiers to start a penal colony. They landed at a small inlet which they called Sydney Cove after Lord Sydney, who was the British government's Home Secretary.

Islands
There are lots of islands inside Sydney Harbour, including Shark Island, Clark Island, Fort Denison, Goat Island, Cockatoo Island, Spectacle Island, Snapper Island and Rodd Island. Some other former islands, including Bennelong Island, Garden Island and Berry Island are now connected to the mainland by bridge or by landfill. There are several islands only accessible by boat, for example Fort Denison and Cockatoo Island. Boat hire operators offer charter trips or self-drive options to these locations.

References

Other websites
A Living Harbour A history of Sydney Harbour from ABC Radio National

Sydney
Geography of New South Wales
Bays of Australia

Sydney Harbour


Joseph Henry Blackburne (Manchester, 10 December 1841 – London, 1 September 1924), nicknamed 'The Black Death', was the leading British chess Grandmaster during the later part of the 19th century.

Blackburne learned the game at the relatively late age of 18 but quickly became a strong player. He went on to develop a professional chess career that spanned over 50 years. At one point he was the world's second most successful player, with a string of tournament victories behind him. Blackburne especially enjoyed giving simultaneous and blindfold displays around the country. Blackburne also annotated  a collection of his own games (explained the moves), and was a chess correspondent for a leading journal until his death.

"For more than 20 years he was one of the first six players in the world, and for even longer the leading English-born player".p42

Blackburne was fond of Scotch whisky, and often drank during a display. He once drank his opponent's glass, and said: "He left it en prise, and I took it en passant!"  Much loved, he was supported by subscriptions from his fans in his last years.

References

1841 births
1924 deaths

British chess players
Sportspeople from Manchester

Joseph Blackburne


Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Charismatic Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one's material wealth. Material and especially financial success is seen as a sign of divine favor.

Prosperity theology has been criticized by leaders from various Christian denominations, including within some Pentecostal and charismatic movements, who maintain that it is irresponsible, promotes idolatry, and is contrary to the Bible. Secular as well as Christian observers have also criticized prosperity theology as exploitative of the poor. The practices of some preachers have attracted scandal and some have been charged with financial fraud.

Prosperity theology views the Bible as a contract between God and humans: if humans have faith in God, God will deliver security and prosperity. The doctrine emphasizes the importance of personal empowerment, proposing that it is God's will for people to be blessed. The atonement (reconciliation with God) is interpreted to include the alleviation of sickness and poverty, which are viewed as curses to be broken by faith. This is believed to be achieved through donations of money, visualization, and positive confession.

It was during the Healing Revivals of the 1950s that prosperity theology first came to prominence in the United States, although commentators have linked the origins of its theology to the New Thought movement which began in the 19th century. The prosperity teaching later figured prominently in the Word of Faith movement and 1980s televangelism. In the 1990s and 2000s, it was adopted by influential leaders in the Pentecostal movement and charismatic movement in the United States and has spread throughout the world. Prominent leaders in the development of prosperity theology include Todd White, Benny Hinn, E. W. Kenyon, Oral Roberts, A. A. Allen, Robert Tilton, T. L. Osborn, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, Reverend Ike, Kenneth Hagin, and Joseph Prince.

History

Late 19th and early 20th-century background

According to historian Kate Bowler, the prosperity gospel was formed from the intersection of three different ideologies: Pentecostalism, New Thought, and "an American gospel of pragmatism, individualism, and upward mobility". This "American gospel" was best exemplified by Andrew Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth and Russell Conwell's famous sermon "Acres of Diamonds", in which Conwell equated poverty with sin and asserted that anyone could become rich through hard work. This gospel of wealth, however, was an expression of Muscular Christianity and understood success to be the result of personal effort rather than divine intervention.

The New Thought movement, which emerged in the 1880s, was responsible for popularizing belief in the power of the mind to achieve prosperity. While initially focused on achieving mental and physical health, New Thought teachers such as Charles Fillmore made material success a major emphasis of the movement. By the 20th century, New Thought concepts had saturated American popular culture, being common features of both self-help literature and popular psychology.

E. W. Kenyon, a Baptist minister and adherent of the Higher Life movement, is credited with introducing mind-power teachings into early Pentecostalism. In the 1890s, Kenyon attended Emerson College of Oratory where he was exposed to the New Thought movement. Kenyon later became connected with well-known Pentecostal leaders and wrote about supernatural revelation and positive declarations. His writing influenced leaders of the nascent prosperity movement during the post-war American healing revival. Kenyon and later leaders in the prosperity movement have denied that he was influenced by the New Thought movement. Anthropologist Simon Coleman argues that there are "obvious parallels" between Kenyon's teachings and New Thought.

Kenyon taught that Christ's substitutionary atonement secured for believers a right to divine healing. This was attained through positive, faith-filled speech; the spoken word of God allowed believers to appropriate the same spiritual power that God used to create the world and attain the provisions promised in Christ's death and resurrection. Prayer was understood to be a binding, legal act. Rather than asking, Kenyon taught believers to demand healing since they were already legally entitled to receive it.

Kenyon's blend of evangelical religion and mind-power beliefs—what he termed "overcoming faith"—resonated with a small but influential segment of the Pentecostal movement. Pentecostals had always been committed to faith healing, and the movement also possessed a strong belief in the power of speech (in particular speaking in tongues and the use of the names of God, especially the name of Jesus). Kenyon's ideas would be reflected in the teachings of Pentecostal evangelists F. F. Bosworth and John G. Lake (who co-led a congregation with New Thought author Albert C. Grier prior to 1915).

Post 1945 Healing Revivals

While Kenyon's teachings on overcoming faith laid the groundwork for the prosperity gospel, the first generation of Pentecostals influenced by him and other figures, such as Bosworth, did not view faith as a means to attain material prosperity. In fact, early Pentecostals tended to view prosperity as a threat to a person's spiritual well-being. By the 1940s and 1950s, however, a recognizable form of the doctrine began to take shape within the Pentecostal movement through the teachings of deliverance and healing evangelists. Combining prosperity teaching with revivalism and faith healing, these evangelists taught "the laws of faith ('ask and ye shall receive') and the laws of divine reciprocity ('give and it will be given back unto you')".

Oral Roberts began teaching prosperity theology in 1947. He explained the laws of faith as a "blessing pact" in which God would return donations "seven fold", promising that donors would receive back from unexpected sources the money they donated to him. Roberts offered to return any donation that did not lead to an equivalent unexpected payment. In the 1970s, Roberts characterized his blessing pact teaching as the "seed faith" doctrine: donations were a form of "seed" which would grow in value and be returned to the donor. Roberts began recruiting "partners", wealthy donors who received exclusive conference invitations and ministry access in exchange for support.

In 1953, faith healer A. A. Allen published The Secret to Scriptural Financial Success and promoted merchandise such as "miracle tent shavings" and prayer cloths anointed with "miracle oil". In the late 1950s, Allen increasingly focused on prosperity. He taught that faith could miraculously solve financial problems and claimed to have had a miraculous experience in which God supernaturally changed one-dollar bills into twenty-dollar bills to allow him to pay his debts. Allen taught the "word of faith" or the power to speak something into being.

In the 1960s, prosperity became a primary focus in healing revivals. T. L. Osborn began emphasizing prosperity in the 1960s and became known for his often ostentatious displays of personal wealth. During that decade, Roberts and William Branham criticized other prosperity ministries, arguing that their fund-raising tactics unfairly pressured attendees. These tactics were prompted in part by the expense of developing nationwide radio networks and campaign schedules. At the same time, leaders of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God denomination often criticized the focus on prosperity taken by independent healing evangelists.

Televangelism
During the 1960s, prosperity gospel teachers embraced televangelism and came to dominate religious programming in the United States. Oral Roberts was among the first, developing a syndicated weekly program that became the most watched religious show in the United States. By 1968, television had supplanted the tent meeting in his ministry.

Reverend Ike, a pastor from New York City, began preaching about prosperity in the late 1960s. He soon had widely aired radio and television programs and became distinguished for his flashy style. His openness about love for material possessions and teachings about the "Science of the Mind" led many evangelists to distance themselves from him.

In the 1980s, public attention in the United States was drawn to prosperity theology through the influence of prominent televangelists such as Jim Bakker. Bakker's influence waned, however, after he was implicated in a high-profile scandal. In the aftermath, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) emerged as the dominant force in prosperity televangelism, having brought Robert Tilton and Benny Hinn to prominence.

Word of Faith

Although nearly all of the healing evangelists of the 1940s and 1950s taught that faith could bring financial rewards, a new prosperity-oriented teaching developed in the 1970s that differed from the one taught by Pentecostal evangelists of the 1950s. This "Positive Confession" or "Word of Faith" movement taught that a Christian with faith can speak into existence anything consistent with the will of God.

Kenneth Hagin was credited with a key role in the expansion of prosperity theology. He founded the RHEMA Bible Training Center in 1974, and over the next 20 years, the school trained more than 10,000 students in his theology. As is true of other prosperity movements, there is no theological governing body for the Word of Faith movement, and well-known ministries differ on some theological issues, though many ministries are unofficially linked. The teachings of Kenneth Hagin have been described by Candy Gunther Brown of Indiana University as the most "orthodox" form of Word of Faith prosperity teaching.

International growth
By the late 2000s, proponents claimed that tens of millions of Christians had accepted prosperity theology. The neo-Pentecostal movement has been characterized in part by an emphasis on prosperity theology, which gained greater acceptance within charismatic Christianity during the late 1990s. In the 2000s, Evangelical-Pentecostal churches teaching prosperity theology saw significant growth in the Global South and Third World countries. According to Philip Jenkins of Pennsylvania State University, poor citizens of impoverished countries often find the doctrine appealing because of their economic powerlessness and the doctrine's emphasis on miracles. One region seeing explosive growth is Western Africa, particularly Nigeria. In the Philippines, the El Shaddai movement, part of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, has spread prosperity theology outside Protestant Christianity. One South Korean prosperity church, Yoido Full Gospel Church, gained attention in the 1990s by claiming to be the world's largest congregation.

A 2006 poll by Time reported that 17 percent of Christians in America said they identified with the movement. By the 2000s, adherents of prosperity theology in the United States were most common in the Sun Belt. By 2006, three of the four largest congregations in the United States were teaching prosperity theology, and Joel Osteen has been credited with spreading it outside of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement through his books, which have sold over 4 million copies. Bruce Wilkinson's The Prayer of Jabez also sold millions of copies and invited readers to seek prosperity.

Recent history
In 2005, Matthew Ashimolowo, the founder of the largely African Kingsway International Christian Centre in southern England, which preaches a "health and wealth" gospel and collects regular tithes, was ordered by the Charity Commission to repay money he had appropriated for his personal use. In 2017, the organisation was under criminal investigation after a leading member was found by a court in 2015 to have operated a Ponzi scheme between 2007 and 2011, losing or spending £8 million of investors' money.

In 2007, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley opened a probe into the finances of six televangelism ministries that promoted prosperity theology: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Creflo Dollar Ministries, Benny Hinn Ministries, Bishop Eddie Long Ministries, Joyce Meyer Ministries, and Paula White Ministries. In January 2011, Grassley concluded his investigation stating that he believed self-regulation by religious organizations was preferable to government action. Only the ministries led by Meyer and Hinn cooperated with Grassley's investigation.

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States featured prayers from two preachers known for advocating prosperity theology. Paula White, one of Trump's spiritual advisers, gave the invocation.

Theology

Prosperity theology teaches that Christians are entitled to well-being and, because spiritual and physical realities are seen as one inseparable reality,  interprets well-being as physical health and economic prosperity. Teachers of the doctrine focus on personal empowerment, promoting a positive view of the spirit and  body. They maintain that Christians have been given power over creation because they are made in the image of God and teach that positive confession allows Christians to exercise dominion over their  souls and material objects around them. Leaders of the movement view the atonement as providing for the alleviation of sickness, poverty, and spiritual corruption; poverty and illness are cast as curses which can be broken by faith and righteous actions. There are, however, some prosperity churches which seek a more moderate or reformed paradigm of prosperity. Kirbyjon Caldwell, pastor of a  Methodist  mega-church, supports a theology of abundant life, teaching prosperity for the whole human being, which he sees as a path to combating poverty.

Wealth is interpreted in prosperity theology as a blessing from God, obtained through a spiritual law of positive confession, visualization, and donations. Believers may see this process in almost mechanical terms; Kenneth Copeland, an American author and televangelist, argues that prosperity is governed by laws, while other teachers portray the process formulaically. Journalists David van Biema and Jeff Chu of Time have described Word of Faith pastor Creflo Dollar's teachings about prosperity as an inviolable contract between God and humanity.

The prosperity theology teaching of positive confession stems from its proponents' view of scripture. The Bible is seen as a faith contract between God and believers; God is understood to be faithful and just, so believers must fulfill their end of the contract to receive God's promises. This leads to a belief in positive confession: the doctrine that believers may claim whatever they desire from God, simply by speaking it. Prosperity theology teaches that the Bible has promised prosperity for believers, so positive confession means that believers are speaking in faith what God has already spoken about them. Positive confession is practiced to bring about what is already believed-in; faith itself is a confession, and speaking it brings it into reality.

The teaching often depends on non-traditional interpretations of Bible verses, the Book of Malachi often being given special attention. While Christians have generally celebrated Malachi for its passages about the Messiah, teachers of prosperity theology usually draw attention to its descriptions of physical wealth. Frequently quoted verses include:

 : Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (KJV)
 : the  Parable of the talents
 : I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (KJV)
 : "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (KJV)
 : "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." (KJV)

Prosperity theology casts itself as the reclamation of true doctrine and thus part of a path to  Christian dominion over secular society. It contends that God's promises of prosperity and victory to Israel in the Old Testament apply to  New-Covenant Christians today, and that faith and holy actions release this prosperity. C. Peter Wagner, a leader of the New Apostolic Reformation, has argued that if Christians take dominion over aspects of society, the Earth will experience "peace and prosperity". Some Latin Americans who have embraced prosperity theology argue that Christianity has historically placed an unnecessary focus on suffering. They often view this as a Roman Catholic doctrine that should be discarded and replaced with an emphasis on prosperity. Prosperity-theology advocates also argue that biblical promises of blessings awaiting the poor have been unnecessarily spiritualized, and should be understood literally.

Practices

Prosperity churches place a strong emphasis on the importance of giving. Some services include a teaching-time focused on giving and prosperity, including Biblical references to tithing; and then a sermon on another topic which follows the offering. Prosperity-church leaders often claim that a specific blessing can be exchanged for the money being donated to their ministry; some have been reported to instruct worshipers to hold their donations above their heads during the prayer.

Congregants in prosperity churches are encouraged to speak positive statements about aspects of their lives that they wish to see improved. These statements, known as "positive confessions" (distinct from confessions of sin), are said to miraculously change aspects of people's lives if spoken with faith. Prosperity churches also encourage people to "live without limits" and to cultivate optimism about their lives. T. D. Jakes, pastor of The Potter's House non-denominational mega-church, has argued in favor of prosperity, rejecting what he sees as the demonization of success. He views poverty as a barrier to living a Christian life, suggesting that it is easier to make a positive impact on society when one is affluent.

While some prosperity churches have a reputation for manipulating and alienating the poor, many are involved in social programs. Underlying these programs is a theology of empowerment and human flourishing with the goal of releasing people from a "welfare" or  "victim" mentality. Many prosperity churches hold seminars on financial responsibility. Kate Bowler, an academic who studies prosperity theology, has criticized such seminars, arguing that though they contain some sound advice, the seminars often emphasize the purchase of expensive possessions. Hanna Rosin of The Atlantic argues that prosperity theology contributed to the  housing bubble that caused the late-2000s financial crisis. She maintains that prosperity churches heavily emphasized home ownership based on reliance on divine financial intervention that led to unwise choices based on actual financial ability.

Most churches in the prosperity movement are non-denominational and independent, though some groups have formed networks. Prosperity churches typically reject presbyterian polity (or governance) and the idea that a pastor should be accountable to elders; it is common for pastors of prosperity churches to be the highest organizational authority-figure. Critics, including Sarah Posner and Joe Conason, maintain that prosperity teachers cultivate authoritarian organizations. They argue that leaders attempt to control the lives of adherents by claiming divinely-bestowed authority. Jenkins contends that prosperity theology is used as a tool to justify the high salaries of pastors.

Reception

Socioeconomic analysis
In the United States, the movement has drawn many followers from the middle class and is most popular in commuter towns and urban areas. In Exporting the American Gospel: Global Christian Fundamentalism Steve Brouwer, Paul Gifford, and Susan Rose speculate that the movement was fueled by a prevailing disdain for social liberalism in the United States that began in the 1970s. Rosin argues that prosperity theology emerged because of broader trends, particularly American economic optimism in the 1950s and 1990s. Tony Lin of the University of Virginia has also compared the teaching to manifest destiny, the 19th-century belief that the United States was entitled to the West. Marvin Harris argues that the doctrine's focus on the material world is a symptom of the secularization of American religion. He sees it as an attempt to fulfill the American Dream by using supernatural power.

Prosperity theology has become popular among poor Americans, particularly those who seek personal and social advancement. It has seen significant growth in black and Hispanic churches and is particularly popular among immigrants. Apologists for the movement note its ethnic diversity and argue that it encompasses a variety of views. Joel Robbins of Cambridge University notes that most anthropologists attribute the theology's appeal to the poor—especially in the Global South—to the fact that it promises security and helps explain capitalism. Simon Coleman developed a theory based on the doctrine's rhetoric and the feeling of belonging it gave parishioners. In a study of the Swedish Word of Life Church, he noted that members felt part of a complex gift-exchange system, giving to God and then awaiting a gift in return (either from God directly or through another church member). Hillsong Church, the largest congregation in Australia, teaches a form of prosperity theology that emphasizes personal success. Marion Maddox has argued that this message has drawn a significant number of upwardly mobile Australians. Scott Morrison, who became the 30th Prime Minister of Australia in August 2018, is a member of Horizon Church, a Pentecostal church that believes in prosperity theology.

In a 1998 interview in Christianity Today, Bong Rin Ro of the Asia Graduate School of Theology suggested that the growth in popularity of prosperity theology in South Korea reflects a strong "shamanistic influence". Bong pointed to parallels between the tradition of paying shamans for healing and the prosperity theology's contractual doctrine about giving and blessings. Asia's economic problems, he argued, encouraged the growth of the doctrine in South Korea, though he claims it ignores the poor and needy. During the interview, he stated that he saw the problem beginning to be reversed, citing calls for renewed faith and other practices. Cho Yong-gi, pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, has been criticized for shamanising Christianity. This criticism has focused on his healing and exorcism ministries and his promise of material blessings. Malaysian Christian writer Hwa Yung has defended Cho's healing and exorcism ministries, arguing that he successfully contextualized the Gospel in a culture where shamanism was still prevalent. However, Hwa criticizes Cho's teaching of earthly blessings for not reflecting a trust in God's daily provision and for their heavy focus on earthly wealth.

Comparisons with other movements
Historian Carter Lindberg of Boston University has drawn parallels between contemporary prosperity theology and the medieval indulgence trade. Comparisons have also been made to Calvinism, but John T. McNeill disputes the widespread semi-Weberian idea that Calvinism promoted the idea of prosperity as a marker of the elect. Coleman notes that several pre–20th century Christian movements in the United States taught that a holy lifestyle was a path to prosperity and that God-ordained hard work would bring blessing.

Coleman has speculated that modern-day prosperity theology borrows heavily from the New Thought movement, though he admits that the connection is sometimes unclear. Jenkins notes that critics draw a parallel between prosperity theology and the cargo cult phenomenon. While citing the popularity of prosperity theology in agrarian African communities, he argues that it can also bear similarities to traditional African religious rituals. J. Matthew Wilson of Southern Methodist University compares the movement to Black theology owing to its focus on uplifting oppressed groups, though he notes that it differs in its concentration on individual success rather than corporate political change.

Observers have proposed that some doctrines and beliefs found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) are reminiscent of prosperity theology.  This includes a similar interpretation of Malachi 3:10 found among LDS members as among Protestant prosperity theology and LDS lesson manuals teaching a "prosperity cycle" that shows material wealth follows from obedience to God.   A Harper's Magazine  editorial from 2011 alleged that these similarities were behind the Republican Party's economic policies, and further claimed that " In comparison to most other Protestant denominations, Mormonism has an established tradition of entrepreneurship and less ambivalence about the pursuit of wealth." However, it also explicitly noted that "None of the prosperity gospel's proponents are themselves Mormon."

Criticism

Mainstream evangelicalism has consistently opposed prosperity theology as heretical and prosperity ministries have frequently come into conflict with other Christian groups, including those within the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. Critics, such as Evangelical pastor Michael Catt, have argued that prosperity theology has little in common with traditional Christian theology. Prominent evangelical leaders, such as Rick Warren, Ben Witherington III, and Jerry Falwell, have harshly criticized the movement, sometimes denouncing it as heretical. Warren proposes that prosperity theology promotes the idolatry of money, and others argue that Jesus' teachings indicate a disdain for material wealth. In Mark: Jesus, Servant and Savior, R. Kent Hughes notes that some 1st-century rabbis portrayed material blessings as a sign of God's favor. He cites Jesus' statement in Mark 10:25 that "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (KJV) as evidence to oppose such thinking.

Other critics of the movement assail promises made by its leaders, arguing that the broad freedom from problems they promise is irresponsible. Televangelists are often criticized for abusing the faith of their listeners by enriching themselves through large donations. Prosperity theology has been opposed for not adequately explaining the poverty of the Apostles. For instance, some theologians believe that the life and writings of Paul the Apostle, who is believed to have experienced significant suffering during his ministry, are particularly in conflict with prosperity theology. Cathleen Falsani, religion writer in an opinion piece in The Washington Post, points to the conflict with basic Christian teachings "Jesus was born poor, and he died poor. During his earthly tenure, he spoke time and again about the importance of spiritual wealth and health. When he talked about material wealth, it was usually part of a cautionary tale."

In their book Health, Wealth and Happiness, theologians David Jones and Russell Woodbridge characterize the doctrine as poor theology. They suggest that righteousness cannot be earned and that the Bible does not promise an easy life. They argue that it is inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus and propose that the central message of the gospel should be Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. Jones and Woodbridge see Jesus' importance as vital, criticizing the prosperity gospel for marginalizing him in favor of a focus on human need. In another article, Jones criticizes the prosperity theology interpretation of the Abrahamic covenant, God's promise to bless Abraham's descendants, arguing that this blessing is spiritual and should already apply to all Christians. He also argues that the proponents of the doctrine misconstrue the atonement, criticizing their teaching that Jesus' death took away poverty as well as sin. He believes that this teaching is drawn from a misunderstanding of Jesus' life and criticizes John Avanzini's teaching that Jesus was wealthy as a misrepresentation, noting that Paul often taught Christians to give up their material possessions. Although he accepts giving as "praiseworthy", he questions the motives of prosperity theology and criticizes the "Law of Compensation", which teaches that when Christians give generously, God will give back more in return. Rather, Jones cites Jesus' teaching to "give, hoping for nothing in return". Jones and Woodbridge also note that Jesus instructed followers to focus on spiritual rewards, citing his command in Matthew 6:19–20 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth ... But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (KJV). Jones criticizes the doctrine's view of faith: he does not believe that it should be used as a spiritual force for material gain but seen as selfless acceptance of God.

The General Council of the Assemblies of God USA criticized the doctrine of positive confession in 1980, noting examples of negative confessions in the Bible (where Biblical figures express fears and doubts) that had positive results and contrasting these examples with the focus on positive confessions taught by prosperity theology. The Council argues that the biblical Greek word often translated as "confess" literally translates as "to speak the same thing", and refers to both positive and negative confessions. The statement also criticizes the doctrine for failing to recognize the will of God: God's will should have precedence over the will of man, including their desires for wealth, and Christians should "recognize the sovereignty of God". The statement further criticizes prosperity theology for overlooking the importance of prayer, arguing that prayer should be used for all requests, not simply positive confession. The Council noted that Christians should expect suffering in this life. They urge readers to apply practical tests to positive confession, arguing that the doctrine appeals to those who are already in affluent societies but that many Christians in other societies are impoverished or imprisoned. Finally, the paper criticizes the distinction made by advocates of prosperity theology in the two Greek words that mean "speaking", arguing that the distinction is false and that they are used interchangeably in the Greek text. The Council accused prosperity theology of taking passages out of context to fulfill its own needs, with the result that doctrine of positive confession is contradictory to the holistic message of the Bible.

The president of the Nigerian Baptist Convention criticized prosperity theology as a damaging teaching which departs from the central message of the Bible, namely the cross of Jesus.

In April 2015, LDS apostle Dallin H. Oaks stated that people who believe in "the theology of prosperity" are deceived by riches. He continued by saying that the "possession of wealth or significant income is not a mark of heavenly favor, and their absence is not evidence of heavenly disfavor". He also cited how Jesus differentiated the attitudes towards money held by the young rich man in Mark 10:17–24, the good Samaritan, and Judas Iscariot in his betrayal. Oaks concluded this portion of his sermon by highlighting that the "root of all evil is not money but the love of money".

That same year, well known pastor and prosperity gospel advocate Creflo Dollar launched a fundraising campaign to replace a previous private jet with a $65 million Gulfstream G650.  On the August 16, 2015 episode of his HBO weekly series Last Week Tonight, John Oliver satirized prosperity theology by announcing that he had established his own tax-exempt church, called Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption. In a lengthy segment, Oliver focused on what he characterized as the predatory conduct of televangelists who appeal for repeated gifts from people in financial distress or personal crises, and he criticized the very loose requirements for entities to obtain tax exempt status as churches under U.S. tax law. Oliver said that he would ultimately donate any money collected by the church to Doctors Without Borders.

Antonio Spadaro and Marcelo Figueroa, in the Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica, examined the origins of the prosperity gospel in the United States and described it as a reductive version of the American Dream which had offered opportunities of success and prosperity unreachable in the Old World. The authors distinguished the prosperity gospel from Max Weber's Protestant ethic, noting that the Protestant ethic related prosperity to religiously inspired austerity while the prosperity gospel saw prosperity as the simple result of personal faith. They criticized many aspects of the prosperity gospel, noting particularly the tendency of believers to lack compassion for the poor, since their poverty was seen as a sign that they had not followed the rules and therefore are not loved by God.

A 2019 documentary entitled American Gospel: Christ Alone presents a number of critical analyses of the prosperity gospel while following the stories of individuals whose lives had intersected with prosperity teachings, including Costi Hinn, nephew of Benny Hinn.

The reality television series Preachers of L.A. follows the lives of pastors who adhere to prosperity theology. In a review, Cathleen Falsani described it as imitating other reality series with "McMansions, bling, hair extensions, luxury cars, pontificating, preening and epic delusions of grandeur".

Notable works by advocates
Notable works that advocate prosperity theology include:

See also

 Dominion theology
 Law of attraction
 Mammon
 New Thought
 Protestant work ethic

Explanatory notes

Citations

General and cited references

Further reading

 Fortner, Michael D. (2011). The Prosperity Gospel Exposed; and Other False Doctrine. .

External links

Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity
Christian personal development
Christian terminology
Heresy in Christianity
New Thought beliefs
Wealth

Prosperity theology


Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (ファイプロ・リターンズ) (FPR) is a professional wrestlin video gemme that wis released in 2005 in Japan, an wis released on November 13, 2007 in North Americae an Februar 8, 2008 in Italy. The gemme is pairt o the Fire Pro Wrestling series.

As the title suggests, the gemme marks Spike's return tae 2D wrestlin gemmes. Some time efter Spike released its 3D "King of Colosseum" wrestlin gemme for the PlayStation 2, the publisher annoonced thair 2003 PlayStation 2 title Fire Pro Wrestling Z wad be the end o the Fire Pro Wrestling series.

Features
Lik ither titles in the Fire Pro Wrestling series, Fire Pro Wrestling Returns distinguishes itself frae ither wrestlin gemmes bi focusing on timing an complex strategy, as opposed tae the button-mashing tactics wi which maist wrestlin gamers ar familiar for 2-D gemmes. Agetec released an offeecial North American port o the gemme on November 13, 2007. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns offers a roster o 327 wrestlers frae a variety o real-life wrestlin companies. Uisin a sophisticated design mode, the gemme an aa allows players tae big an wrestle wi or against 500 additional characters. Players can creaut custom wrestlin rings, belts, promotions, an referees. Ane o the best-selling Fire Pro Wrestling gemmes in the series.

Character customization
Unlik a nummer o previous Fire Pro titles, Returns daes na imitate rosters o American wrestlin companies lik World Wrestling Entertainment, awtho the AWG Organization in the gemme daes hae mony characters that leuk juist lik various kent legends frae WWE, WCW, ECW, an TNA. An aa, the gemme's hefty stockpile o template heads, bodies, claes an accessories haes allowed American wrestlin fans tae recreate mony o thair favorite wrestlin superstars accurately wi great ease, an mak them available for download online. As reportit bi IGN, Returns supplies new customizing tuils, sic as a "Face Layer" featur that allows players tae creaut a wrestler's face uisin multiple objects. Hunders o wrestler faces ar available, includin those o mony heestorical wrestlers. Players can add up tae twa layers o facial accessories, includin hair styles, visors, beards, helmets an tattoos. "Ane example starts with a base face, adds a mohawk... an finishes off with a colorful mask," IGN.com's review stated. Returns provides 1,649 wrestlin moves tae choose frae when customizing a character an the gemme's ingine allows ye tae gie the character complicated logic instructions dictating how the character behaves in a variety o situations.

Ither new features
The gemme allows the player tae creaut up tae 500 wrestlers.
The creation o custom titles is nou possible as a new belt editin featur is added.
A new logo makin featur allows players tae creaut accurate logos an seembols. Thir logos can be uised tae design thair awn ring an federation.
Smawer indy promotions an wrestlers ar featurt in the default roster.
Factions can be adjusted tae reflect heel or face alignments.
Up tae 4 preset match setups for maist gemme modes can be saved.
New daith match types.
Post-match attacks mak a comeback as players can continue tae attack thair opponents efter the match haes ended.
Sprites ar designed lairger than in previous Fire Pro gemmes.

Video gemmes

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns


Anthim I (, secular name Atanas Mihaylov Chalakov, ; 1816 – 1 December 1888) was a Bulgarian education figure and clergyman, and a participant in the Bulgarian liberation and church-independence movement. He was the first head of the Bulgarian Exarchate, a post he held from 1872 to 1877. He was also the first Chairman of the National Assembly of Bulgaria, presiding the Constituent Assembly and the 1st Grand National Assembly in 1879.

Anthim I was born in Kırk Kilise (Lozengrad) in Eastern Thrace (today Kırklareli, Turkey)  and became a monk in the Hilendar monastery on Mount Athos.

He studied in the Halki seminary (on the Princes' Islands near Constantinople), in Odessa as well as in Russia. He graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy (in Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra) in 1856. He was ordained hieromonk by Metropolitan of Moscow Philaret Drozdov.

He was Archbishop of Preslav (from 1861) and then of Vidin (from 1868).

After he unilaterally declared an independent national church of the Bulgarians on May 11, 1872, he was defrocked by the Patriarchal Synod, under whose canonical jurisdiction he had been consecrated bishop. The condemnation was later affirmed at the Council in Constantinople in September the same year.

He died in Vidin in 1888 and his mausoleum can be found in the yard of the Vidin Archbishopric.

Honour
Antim Peak in Imeon Range on Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named for Antim I.

Notes

1816 births
1888 deaths
Chairpersons of the National Assembly of Bulgaria
People from Kırklareli
Bishops of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Bulgarians from Eastern Thrace
Exarchs of Bulgaria
19th-century Eastern Orthodox priests
19th-century Bulgarian people
Theological School of Halki alumni
People associated with Hilandar Monastery

Anthim I


A telescope (from the Ancient Greek τῆλε, tele "far" and σκοπεῖν, skopein "to look or see"; τηλεσκόπος, teleskopos) makes astronomical objects appear closer to the naked eye. It is an important tool for astronomy that gathers light and directs it to a single point. Some do this with curved mirrors, some with curved lenses, and some with both. Telescopes make distant things look bigger, brighter and closer. Galileo was the first person to use a telescope for astronomy, but he did not invent them. The first telescope was invented in the Netherlands in 1608. Some telescopes, not mainly used for astronomy, are binoculars, camera lenses, or spyglasses.

When telescopes are used with just your eye, an eyepiece has to be used. These use two or more smaller lenses to magnify an image. Without an eyepiece, an eye cannot focus the image. When a telescope is used with a camera or other special scientific tools, eyepiece lenses are not needed. The bigger the aperture (mirror) the more light the telescope collects. It makes faint objects appear clearer.

Most big telescopes for astronomy are made to study very carefully things that are already known.  A few are made for searching, such as for unknown asteroids or extrasolar planets.  Most big telescopes are made to be used with a CCD (Charge-Coupled Devices) camera instead of just the eye.  This is called "Astrophotography".  A Go-to telescope is needed to track Deep Sky objects and is placed on an Equatorial Mount for the axis to point towards Polaris, this is called polar alignment.

Telescopes can be used by normal people too, not just scientists.  These are amateur telescopes, and they are usually smaller, and they don't cost too much for an amateur to buy.  Some of the most popular amateur telescopes are Dobsonians, a type of Newtonian telescope.

The word telescope is usually used for light human eyes can see, but there are telescopes for wavelengths we cannot see. Infrared telescopes look like normal telescopes, but have to be kept cold since all warm things give off infrared light. Radio telescopes are like radio antennas, usually shaped like large dishes.

X-ray and Gamma ray telescopes have a problem because the rays go through most metals and glasses.  To solve this problem, the mirrors are shaped as many rings inside each other so the rays strike them at a shallow angle and are reflected.  These telescopes are space telescopes because little of this radiation reaches the Earth.  Other space telescopes are put in orbit so the Earth's atmosphere does not interfere.

Telescopes are mostly used for looking at celestial objects such as, the stars, planets, moons, exoplanets, etc.

Related pages
 List of telescope types

Other websites

 European Southern Observatory - OWL
 The Resolution of a Telescope
 Image of a Telescope
 Telescope -Citizendium

Telescope


Franz Schreker (originally Schrecker; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, librettist, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic plurality (a mixture of Romanticism, Naturalism, Symbolism, Impressionism, Expressionism and Neue Sachlichkeit), timbral experimentation, strategies of extended tonality and conception of total music theatre into the narrative of 20th-century music.

Formative years
He was born as Franz Schrecker in Monaco, the eldest son of the Bohemian Jewish court photographer Ignaz Franz Schrekker (Germanized from Ignácz Furencz, originally Isak), and his wife, Eleonore von Cloßmann, who was a member of the Catholic aristocracy of Styria. He grew up during travels across half of Europe and, after the early death of his father, the family moved from Linz to Vienna (1888) where in 1892, with the help of a scholarship, Schreker entered the Vienna Conservatory. Starting with violin studies, with Sigismund Bachrich and Arnold Rosé, he moved into the composition class of Robert Fuchs, graduating as a composer in 1900. His first success was with the Intermezzo for strings, Op. 8, which won an important prize sponsored by the Neue musikalische Presse in 1901. His first opera, Flammen, was completed in 1902 but failed to receive a staged production.

Career launch
Schreker had begun conducting in 1895, when he had founded the Verein der Musikfreunde Döbling. In 1907 he formed the Vienna Philharmonic Chorus, which he conducted until 1920: among its many premières were Zemlinsky's Psalm XXIII and Schoenberg's Friede auf Erden and Gurre-Lieder. Schreker and other composers, such as Schoenberg and Zemlinsky, were influential during the Jugendstil movement, which incorporated non-western styles inspired by Ancient Egypt and the Far East.

His "pantomime", Der Geburtstag der Infantin, commissioned by the dancer Grete Wiesenthal and her sister Elsa for the opening of the 1908 Kunstschau, first called attention to his development as a composer. Such was the success of the venture that Schreker composed several more dance-related works for the two sisters including Der Wind, Valse lente and Ein Tanzspiel (Rokoko).

Success in opera
November 1909 saw the stormy premiere of the complex orchestral interlude (entitled Nachtstück) from Der ferne Klang, the opera he had been working on since 1903. In 1912, the first performance of the complete opera in Frankfurt consolidated his fame. In the same year, director Wihelm Bopp offered Schreker a provisional teaching appointment at the Conservatory where Schreker had studied, now the Vienna Music Academy. In early 1913 he was appointed full professor. Schreker wrote his own libretti for all of his mature operas.

This breakthrough heralds a decade of great success for the composer. His next opera, Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin, which was given simultaneous premières in Frankfurt and Vienna on 15 March 1913 was less well received (the work was subsequently revised as a one-act 'Mysterium' entitled simply Das Spielwerk in 1915), but the scandal caused by this opera in Vienna only served to make Schreker's name more widely known.

The outbreak of World War I interrupted the composer's success but with the première of his opera Die Gezeichneten, in Frankfurt on 25 April 1918, Schreker moved to the front ranks of contemporary opera composers. The first performance of Der Schatzgräber in Frankfurt on 21 January 1920 was the high point of his career. The Chamber Symphony, composed between the two operas for the faculty of the Vienna Academy in 1916, quickly entered the repertoire and remains Schreker's most frequently performed work today.

In March 1920 he was appointed director of the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and between 1920 and 1932 he gave extensive musical tuition in a variety of subjects with Berthold Goldschmidt, Alois Hába, Jascha Horenstein, Julius Bürger, Ernst Krenek, Artur Rodziński, Stefan Wolpe, Zdenka Ticharich and Grete von Zieritz numbering among his students.

End of career
Schreker's fame and influence were at their peak during the early years of the Weimar Republic when he was the most performed living opera composer after Richard Strauss. The decline of his artistic fortunes began with the mixed reception given to Irrelohe in Cologne in 1924 under Otto Klemperer and the failure of Der singende Teufel, given in Berlin in 1928 under Erich Kleiber.

Political developments and the spread of antisemitism were also contributory factors, both of which heralded the end of Schreker's career. Right-wing demonstrations marred the première of Der Schmied von Gent in Berlin in 1932 and National Socialist pressure forced the cancellation of the scheduled Freiburg première of Christophorus in 1933 (the work was finally performed there in 1978). Finally, in June 1932, Schreker lost his position as Director of the Musikhochschule in Berlin and, the following year, also his post as professor of composition at the Akademie der Künste.

In his lifetime he went from being hailed as the future of German opera to being considered irrelevant as a composer and marginalized as an educator. After suffering from a stroke in December 1933, he died in Berlin on 21 March 1934, two days before his 56th birthday.

Although Schreker was influenced by composers such as Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner, his mature style shows a highly individual harmonic language, which, although broadly tonal, is inflected with chromatic and polytonal passages. Schreker also took musical inspiration from his close friend Arnold Schoenberg with the use of expressionist style.

The Third Reich banned Schreker's music along with that of many other composers of Jewish origin. His early death in 1934 at the age of 55, together with the Nazi ban, prevented Schreker's music from expanding outside of German-speaking Europe.

Reputation today
After decades in obscurity, Schreker has begun to enjoy a considerable revival in reputation in the German-speaking world and in the United States. In 2005 the Salzburg Festival mounted an incomplete production of Die Gezeichneten, conducted by Kent Nagano (and filmed), and the Jewish Museum in Vienna presented an exhibition devoted to his life and work. New productions of Der ferne Klang were staged at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and the Zurich Opera in 2010, as well as in smaller opera houses in Germany. Irrelohe was performed at the Volksoper in Vienna in 2004, at the Bonn Opera in November 2010 then staged for the first time in France at the Opéra National de Lyon in March 2022. Earlier that year a Schreker opera was staged in the USA for the first time: Die Gezeichneten at Los Angeles Opera; and months after that came a second: Der ferne Klang during the Bard Summerscape Festival.

Selected works

Operas

 Flammen, Op. 10 (1901/02)
 Der ferne Klang (1903–1910)
 Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin (1908; 1909–1912); revised as Das Spielwerk (1915)
 Die Gezeichneten (1911; 1913–1915)
 Der Schatzgräber (1915–1918)
 Irrelohe (1919–1922)
 Der singende Teufel (1924; 1927–1928)
 Christophorus (oder Die Vision einer Oper) (1925–1929)
 Der Schmied von Gent (1929–1932)

Orchestral works

 1896: Love Song for string orchestra and harp (lost)
 1899: Scherzo (unpublished)
 1899: Symphony in A minor, Op. 1 (unpublished, final movement lost)
 1900: Intermezzo for string orchestra, Op. 8 (later incorporated into the Romantische Suite)
 1900: Scherzo for string orchestra
 1902–1903: Ekkehard: Symphonic Overture, Op. 12
 1903: Romantische Suite, Op. 14
 1904: Phantastische Ouvertüre, Op. 15
 1906–1907: Nachtstück (from the opera Der ferne Klang)
 1908–1910: Der Geburtstag der Infantin: Dance-pantomime for chamber orchestra after Oscar Wilde's The Birthday of the Infanta
 1908: Festwalzer und Walzerintermezzo
 1908: Valse lente
 1908–1909: Ein Tanzspiel (Rokoko)
 1913: Vorspiel zu einem Drama
 1916: Chamber Symphony
 1909/1922: Fünf Gesänge for low voice and orchestra (T: Arabian Nights, Edith Ronsperger)
 1922: Symphonic Interlude (from the opera Der Schatzgräber)
 1923: Der Geburtstag der Infantin: Suite for large orchestra
 1923/1927: Vom ewigen Leben for soprano and orchestra (T: Walt Whitman)
 1928: Kleine Suite for small orchestra
 1929–1930: Vier kleine Stücke for large orchestra
 1932–1933: Das Weib des Intaphernes: Melodrama for speaker and orchestra (T: Eduard Stucken)
 1933: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Liszt) – transcribed for orchestra
 1933: Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper "Memnon"

Choral music

 1900: Psalm 116 for 3-part women's chorus, orchestra and organ, Op. 6
 1902: Schwanensang for mixed choir and orchestra, Op. 11 (T: Dora Leen)

Chamber music

 1898: Sonata for violin and piano
 1909: Der Wind for clarinet, horn, violin, 'cello and piano

Principal publisher: Universal Edition

References
Notes

Sources
  (In German)

External links

 Franz Schreker – Life, Work, and Quotations
 Secrets of the grotto "Die Gezeichneten" (The Marked Ones) by Franz Schreker, played at the 2005 Salzburg festival, got critic Peter Hagmann hot under the collar
 List of Works (German)
 Deutsche Musik der Gegenwart (German) — 1922 essay by critic Paul Bekker about Franz Schreker's place in contemporary German music ()
 Franz Schreker Foundation official website

1878 births
1934 deaths
19th-century Austrian people
19th-century classical composers
19th-century male musicians
20th-century Austrian composers
20th-century Austrian male musicians
20th-century Austrian people
20th-century classical composers
Austrian expatriates in Monaco
Austrian male classical composers
Austrian opera composers
Austrian people of Czech-Jewish descent
Austrian people of Jewish descent
Austrian Romantic composers
Male opera composers
Composers from Linz
Pupils of Robert Fuchs

Franz Schreker


The Texas City Disaster of 1947 was a major and very deadly incident. It happened on Wednesday, April 16, 1947, and was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions to hit the United States. The incident began as a late morning fire on the French vessel SS Grandcamp which had been docked next to Texas City and nearby Galveston. But then, its almost twenty three hundred ton cargo of ammonium nitrate detonated,  creating several massive explosions that caused serious damage. The incident killed 581 people.

The Grandcamp, a World War II Liberty ship that had been converted to a French merchant vessel, was taking on a load of ammonium nitrate fertilizer at a quay next to a complex of Monsanto chemical factories, offices and labs. The ship's carpenter smelled smoke in the No. 4 hold around 8 a.m. on April 16 and found that a few bags of fertilizer were on fire. He tried dousing it with a few buckets of water, then a fire extinguisher.

When he called for a hose, the ship's captain forbade it, fearful that water would destroy the $500 worth of cargo that was on fire. The skipper ordered the hold closed and its fire-suppression valves opened to release steam. Ordinarily a good idea, but not in this case.

Ammonium nitrate decomposes at around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The fire grew. The captain ordered his crew to abandon ship.Firefighters tried spraying the burning ship from the dock. Spectators, including schoolchildren crowded the quayside to watch the action. Bad idea, since the Grandcamp exploded at 9:12 a.m. The captain and 32 of the Grandcamp's crew died; 10 somehow survived. More than 200 people were killed on the quay. The blast was heard 160 miles away. It shattered all the windows in Texas City and half of those in Galveston, 10 miles away.

Some debris reached an altitude of nearly 3 miles before falling back to earth. Two airplanes circling overhead were blown apart by the heavy shrapnel. A one-ton piece of the ship's propeller shaft landed 2½ miles away. Other pieces sailed 5 miles.The blast flattened 20 waterfront blocks and 12 blocks inland. Flaming debris ignited oil, gas and chemical tanks at the sprawling Monsanto complex and three nearby oil companies.

People died everywhere, blown up by the blast, decapitated by flying metal, sliced by falling glass, burned by flaming metal and chemicals, crushed by falling buildings. The litany of death was long and varied. Thousands more suffered injuries.

Fire and rescue workers rushed in from nearby cities, and the Red Cross mobilized a massive national response, but these were the days before jet passenger and cargo planes. Local authorities set up temporary morgues and pressed medical students into duty in overwhelmed emergency rooms.

The cargo ship Highflyer, which had been moored near the Grandcamp, caught fire the morning after the explosion. When the fire seemed to be getting out of control, tugs were called to tow the ship out of the port, lest its own cargo of fertilizer explode, too. Unfortunately, the force of the Grandcamp explosion had locked the Highflyer into a deadly embrace with another ship, the Wilson B. Keene, and the Highflyer wouldn't budge. The tugs gave up. The Highflyer blew up, also demolishing the Keene, and raining death and fire anew on Texas City. The shockwave and new fires killed hundreds more.

The fires were not put out until April 18. Bodies and parts of bodies were strewn all over town. The state government ultimately listed 405 identified and 63 unidentified dead. Another 100 or perhaps 200 were counted as missing. Injuries may have reached 3,500. That's 4,000 casualties in a town of 16,000.

More than 1,500 houses – a third of the town's housing – were destroyed. Two thousand of the survivors were rendered homeless. Property damage reached at least $600 million (almost $6 billion in today's money).

An official report on the disaster recommended improved containers, labeling and special handling of ammonium nitrate fertilizer; prohibiting smoking in all piers and docks at all times; and worst-case-scenario community disaster plans to coordinate relief agencies, police and fire departments, hospitals, doctors and nurses, civil officials and military authorities.

Today, the unknown dead rest in a special cemetery. Monuments in Texas City include the propeller of the Highflyer and an anchor from the Grandcamp.

References

1947 in the United States
Disasters in the 1940s
20th century in Texas
Transport disasters in the United States
April events

Texas City disaster


The Folketing () is the national parliament of Denmark. The name means "People's thing" (a thing in this case is a governing assembly). It is the highest legislative body in the Kingdom of Denmark and decides most of the laws for Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Folketing meets in Christiansborg Palace, in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. 179 members sit in the Folketing (175 from Denmark, 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands) and are democratically elected.

Greenland and the Faroe Islands also have their own, less powerful, parliaments and are allowed to make some laws on their own.

The Folketing is where many political parties in Denmark meet to discuss important issues affecting Danish people, and to pass laws they agree on. The Folketing is also where the Government of Denmark is formed, when several parties who are in agreement decide to join together and form a coalition government (the parties forming a government must have over half of the total members of the Folketing; a majority). The voting system used in Denmark is proportional, meaning the distribution of seats reflects the distribution of votes. This means that many parties and different political views are represented, including some extreme views.

The leader of the Folketing is the Speaker who sits at the front. The members sit in front of the speaker in the shape of a semicircle.

From 1849 to 1953, the Folketing was one of the two houses in a parliament. It was known as the "Rigsdag". The other house was known as the "Landsting". The members of the Folketing included farmers, traders and merchants. The Landsting was made up of the rich members of society. It included the nobility. These members were chosen by the King to become members. In 1953 the Landsting was gotten rid of. This left the Folketing as the only house of parliament. The Rigsdag became the Folketing.

Latest election
The most recent general election took place on 15 September 2011.

The centre-right coalition that was in power before the election, led by the Liberal Party, lost to a centre-left coalition led by the Social Democrats. The Social Liberal Party and the Socialist People's Party became part of the three-party government, which holds 89 seats in the Folketing.

References
 Folketinget – The Danish Parliament ft.dk. PDF publication, published in September 2010.

Other websites
 Official website in English.
 ft.dk - Official website in Danish

Politics of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark
Organizations based in Denmark

Folketing


A movie theater or movie theatre, is a place where movies are shown on a big screen. People or "patrons" (the audience) watch movies, usually in chairs inside an auditorium, where the movie is projected with a movie projector onto a large projection screen at the front of the auditorium while the dialogue, sounds and music are played through a number of wall-mounted speakers. A movie theatre is sometimes called a cinema. A theatre with multiple screens commonly is called a "multi-plex" or "mega-plex" (if more than 10 screens). Movie theatres have comfortable chairs. There are different types of formats of a movie theatre.

The first movie theatre was opened to the public on April 23, 1896, in Koster and Bial's Music Hall on 34th Street in New York City. The oldest movie theatre in the world, which is still in action today is the Kino Pionier (opened 1907) in Szczecin, Poland. Movie theatres make money from not only movie tickets but from concessions which sell food and drinks (popcorn, candy, soft drinks, etc.). In recent years with the increase of movie rental costs, theatres have become more and more creative about how they make money. New theatres being built include restaurants, party rooms, conference rooms, arcades and more.

Movie industry

Movie theater


Mélodie is the French word for "melody". The word is used in music to mean songs written by French composers of classical music from the mid-19th century to the present. The mélodie in French music is similar to the Lied in German music. "Mélodie" is not the same as chanson (the French word for "song"). The word "chanson" is used for folksongs or popular songs.

History

In Germany composers of classical music had been writing great songs from about 1800, but in France the mélodie became important about 50 years later. While some German Lieder were based on folksong, the texts of the mélodies were usually poems by serious poets.

Hector Berlioz was the first composer to call some of his compositions mélodies. His Les Nuits d'Été (1841) is one of the greatest of all song cycles. Charles Gounod wrote about 200 mélodies. He used texts by famous poets such as Hugo.

Gabriel Fauré wrote more than 100 mélodies, many based on poems by Verlaine.

Henri Duparc wrote seventeen mélodies.  These are what he is known for.

Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel were very famous composers who wrote a lot of music, including mélodies that are often sung today. Ravel's melodies are unusual because they are often based on folksong. Other composers of mélodie at the time include Albert Roussel, Reynaldo Hahn and André Caplet.

Mélodies continue to be composed today, though perhaps the last really popular composer of them was Francis Poulenc, who died in 1963.

Performing mélodies

In the French mélodie the poet's feelings are often suggested or hinted at rather than stated in an obvious way. There is a very close relationship between the text (words) and the melody. To sing mélodie really well a singer must know the French language very well and understand a lot about French poetry. The rules about singing in the French language can be quite complicated. It is important to know when to let the last sound of a word run into the next word (elision). Several books have been written about this.

Although many famous singers are well known for singing French mélodie, the most famous singer from the past was Pierre Bernac. He gave many song recitals with the composer Francis Poulenc who accompanied him on the piano. He wrote a book on how to sing mélodies.

Song forms

Mélodie


The Epistle of James is a book inclused in  the Christian Bible, the twentieth in the New Testament.

Author and aim
According to its opening verse, this epistle was written by James (often identified with the "brother of the Lord" who leaded the Jerusalem Church about 20 years and was killed around 62 AD).

The title "servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (which suggest a Church official), the courage to address "the twelve tribes in the Dispersion" (i.e. Jewish Christian communities outside Palestine, or all faithful living in a non-Christian environment), and the tone of authority throughout the letter, all indicate someone well known and respected.

The writer appears concerned in clarifying Paul's teaching on faith/action, against Christians who deform it. This indicates that the letter was written after those of Paul had begun to circulate diffusely, in the last decades of the 1st century.

This late dating, together with the quite elegant Greek style and the lack of any real emphasis on the Jewish legalism which was part of James' approach to religion, have persuaded a growing majority of contemporary scholars that a Christian versed in both Hellenism and Judaism wrote using James' name.

May be early tradition stemming from James was updated and published by an unknown Christian teacher of a later generation: possibly this is why the letter was not universally accepted by the Churches until near the end of the 4th century.

Sources and contents
The author's two chief sources are OT Wisdom books and the teaching found in the Gospels, though he hardly ever uses direct quotations.

Reflecting Jewish Christian assemblies, he rethinks OT sayings in the light of Jesus' teachings and re-presents them in an original way.

The epistle consists of a long series of exhortations, mostly brief and loosely connected, some developed at length.

The one common trait, which gives the letter its distinctive quality, is a concern that the faith be implemented in every aspect of life; otherwise it is useless.

The author takes for granted Jesus' saving work, but is especially interested in Christians' moral life. So, there is no real contradiction between Paul's and James' teachings, for Paul was speaking of the impossibility of earning salvation by one's own efforts, not of the works of charity and justice to which the Christians are called.

James used a friendly way of addressing his readers on the day-to-day problems we also meet and in which we must follow faith and love for others: community life, prejudice or discrimination, care for poor, widows and orphans, jealousy and selfish ambition, controlling the tongue, community concern for the sick, matters of justice, speaking evil against each other. He said in effect: "Love first and it will prove your faith".

The central theme is the true wisdom that comes from God as opposed to false wisdom. The moral teaching revealed from on high, is not human but divine wisdom. Humans can only analyse it, enter into it more deeply and put it into practice. It is an objective ethics needed to see life in its proper perspective and to be guided in action. Earthly wisdom, on the contrary, is a permanent temptation in people who want to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong, only to end in justifying wicked behaviour.

The other main theme is God's preference for the lowly: so in this manifesto for social justice the author praises the poor and threatens the rich. Respect for the dignity of every person is fundamental especially that of the poor, exposed to contempt by the powerful. This evidently takes up the task undertaken by the prophets, but it also refers to Christ, whose glory guarantees the dignity of everyone redeemed by his blood, and excludes every kind of favouritism.

James insists much on bridling the tongue: in this respect, teachers have a special responsibility within the Church since their instructions (and their writings) can create dissent and division in her. Those with a strong influence on public also have a similar responsibility.

More in detail, we read:

Opening formula and exhortations
Jas 1:1-18: A series of short exhortations, linked together more by word connections than by concept, introduces topics to be developed in the letter.

Be doers of the Word and avoid partiality
Jas 1:19-27: The Word in which we were given birth by God must be heard: any obstacles must be removed so to put it into practice.
Jas 2:1-13: This explanation of the previous exhortations is a warning against partiality and leads to a fuller consideration of the poor in community.

Faith without deeds is dead
Jas 2:14-26: This part is unique for its unified and relatively long development of a single theme: that faith without works is dead i.e. cannot save anyone for eternal life. This is the heart of the letter, giving the theoretical basis for the practical exhortations. Yet, the appearance of a contradiction of Paul's teaching on justification by faith has given excessive prominence to this section. It was largely because of it that M. Luther wished to exclude this letter from the Bible.

Guard of the tongue and qualities of Wisdom
Jas 3:1-4:12: These are two clearly defined, closely developed sections. Since faults of tongue and false wisdom lead to strife in the community, James considers the root causes and remedies thereof, concluding with a consideration of law and judgment.

Arrogance and reaches
Jas 4:13-5:6: These two passages are parallel in that each is introduced identically and employs direct address. The first is against mercantile arrogance, the second is a severe denunciation of unjust rich similar to those of OT prophets. It is a useful warning to the faithful of the terrible fate of those who abuse riches.

Conclusion
Jas 5:7-20: After an exhortation to patiently waiting for the Lord's coming, the letter ends with three topics: oaths, prayer and converting the sinners. In the midst, James proclaims the anointing of the sick by Church leaders which is one of the seven sacraments.

Other websites
James (NIV)
James (KJV)

General Epistles
New Testament books

Epistle of James