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Monday, October 31, 2005
reformation day - part 2
Response of the Papacy
After disregarding Luther as "a drunken German who wrote the Theses" who "when sober will change his mind," Pope Leo X ordered the Dominican professor of theology, Sylvester Mazzolini, called from his birthplace Priero, Prierias (also Prieras), in 1518, to inquire into the matter. Prierias recognized Luther's implicit opposition to the authority of the pope by being at variance with a papal bull, declared him a heretic, and wrote a scholastic refutation of his theses. It asserted papal authority over the Church and denounced every departure from it as a heresy. Luther replied in kind, and a controversy developed.
Meanwhile Luther took part in an Augustinian convention at Heidelberg, where he presented theses on the slavery of man to sin and on divine grace. In the course of the controversy on indulgences the question arose of the absolute power and authority of the pope, since the doctrine of the "Treasury of the Church," the "Treasury of Merits," which undergirded the doctrine and practice of indulgences, was based on the Bull Unigenitus (1343) of Pope Clement VI. Because of his opposition to that doctrine, Luther was branded a heretic, and the pope, who had determined to supress his views, summoned him to Rome.
Yielding, however, to the Elector Frederick, whom the pope hoped would become the next Holy Roman Emperor and who was unwilling to part with his theologian, the pope did not press the matter, and the cardinal legate Cajetan was deputed to receive Luther's submission at Augsburg (Oct., 1518).
Luther, while professing his implicit obedience to the Church, now boldly denied papal authority, and appealed first "from the pope not well informed to the pope who should be better informed" and then (Nov. 28) to a general council. Luther now declared that the papacy formed no part of the original and immutable essence of the Church, and he even began to think that Antichrist ruled the Curia. He had already asserted at least the potential fallibility of a council representing the Church, and, repudiating what he held to be the abuse of the practice of excommunication on the part of the pope, he was led by his concept of the way of salvation to hold that the Church in essence is the congregation of the faithful, a view foreshadowed in the thought and writings of John Wycliffe, Pierre d'Ailly, and Jan Hus.
Desiring to remain on friendly terms with Luther, the pope made a final attempt to reach a peaceful resolution of the conflict with him. A conference with the papal chamberlain Karl von Miltitz at Altenburg in Jan., 1519, led Luther to agree to remain silent as long as his opponents would, to write a humble letter to the pope, and to compose a treatise demonstrating his reverence for the Catholic Church. The letter was written but never sent, since it contained no retraction. In the German treatise he composed later, Luther, while recognizing purgatory, indulgences, and the invocation of the saints, denied all effect of indulgences on purgatory.
When Johann Eck challenged Luther's colleague Carlstadt to a disputation at Leipzig, Luther joined in the debate (27 June-18 July 1519). In the course of this debate he denied the divine right of the papal office and authority, holding that the "power of the keys" had been given to the Church (i.e., to the congregation of the faithful). He denied that membership in the western Catholic Church under the pope was necessary to salvation, maintaining the validity of the eastern Greek (Orthodox) Church. After the debate, Johann Eck claimed that he had forced Luther to admit the similarity of his own doctrine to that of Jan Hus, who had been burned at the stake. Eck viewed this as corroborating his own claim that Luther was "the Saxon Hus" and an arch heretic.
Luther's thought develops
There was no longer hope of peace. Luther's writings were now circulated widely, reaching France, England, and Italy as early as 1519, and students thronged to Wittenberg to hear Luther, who had been joined by Melanchthon in 1518, and now published his shorter commentary on Galatians and his Operationes in Psalmos [Work on the Psalms], while at the same time he received deputations from Italy and from the Utraquists of Bohemia.
These controversies necessarily led Luther to develop his doctrines further, and in his Eyn Sermon von dem Hochwirdigen Sacrament, des heyligen waren Leychnams Christi. Und von den Bruderschafften [Sermon on the Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods] (1519) he set forth the significance of the Eucharist, interpreting the transubstantiation of the bread as the transformation of the faithful into the spiritual body of Christ, i.e., into fellowship with Christ and the Saints through the reception of the True Body and Blood of Christ Jesus Himself. The Eucharist is, moreover, for the forgiveness of sins. Christ is known to be found in the elements of bread and wine in this meal because he has promised to be there; the words "This is my body" are spoken by the Lord, and what God says, happens, just as light came to be when God pronounced his fiat in Genesis. Due to this understanding of the Eucharist, that it is for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of faith for those who receive it, he advocated that a council be called to restore communion in both kinds for the laity.
The Lutheran concept of the Church, wholly based on immediate relation to the Christ who gives himself in preaching and the sacraments, was already developed in his Von dem Papsttum zu Rom [On the Papacy in Rome], a reply to the attack of the Franciscan Augustin von Alveld at Leipzig (June, 1520); while in his Sermon von guten Werken [Sermon on Good Works], delivered in the spring of 1520, he controverted the Catholic doctrine of good works and works of supererogation, holding that the works of the believer are truly good in any secular calling (vocation) ordered of God.
The treatises of 1520
To the German Nobility
The disputation at Leipzig (1519) brought Luther into contact with the humanists, particularly Melanchthon, Reuchlin, Erasmus, and associates of the knight Ulrich von Hutten, who, in turn, influenced the knight Franz von Sickingen. Von Sickingen and Silvester of Schauenburg wanted to place Luther under their protection in the event that it would not be safe for him to remain in Saxony due to the threatened papal ban by inviting him to their fortresses.
Under these circumstances, complicated by the crisis then confronting the German nobles, Luther issued his To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation (Aug., 1520), committing to the laity, as spiritual priests, the reformation required by God but neglected by the pope and the clergy. The reforms Luther proposed concerned not only points of doctrine but also ecclesiastical abuses: the diminution of the number of cardinals and demands of the papal court; the abolition of annates; the recognition of secular government; the renunciation of papal claims to temporal power; the abolition of the interdict and abuses connected with the ban; the abolition of harmful pilgrimages; the reform of mendicant orders to eliminate wrong doing; the elimination of the excessive number of holy days; the suppression of nunneries, beggary, and luxury; the reform of the universities; the abrogation of the clerical celibacy; reunion with the Bohemians; and a general reform of public morality.
The Babylonian Captivity
Luther employed doctrinal polemics in his Prelude on the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, especially with regard to the sacraments.
With regard to the Eucharist, he advocated restoring the cup to the laity, called into question the dogma of Transubstantiation while affirming the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist, and rejected the teaching that the Eucharist was a sacrifice or good deed to be offered to God.
With regard to Baptism, he taught that it brings justification only if conjoined with saving faith in the recipient; however, it remained the foundation of salvation even for those who might later fall and be reclaimed.
As for penance, its essence consists in the words of promise (absolution) received by faith. Only these three can be regarded as sacraments due to their divine institution and the divine promises of salvation connected with them; but, strictly speaking, only Baptism and the Eucharist are sacraments, since only they have "divinely instituted visible sign[s]": water in Baptism and bread and wine in the Eucharist. Luther denied in this document that Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Extreme Unction were sacraments.
Freedom of a Christian
In like manner, the acme of Luther's doctrine of salvation and the Christian life was attained in his About the Freedom of a Christian. Here he required complete union with Christ by means of the Word through faith, entire freedom of the Christian as a priest and king set above all outward things, and perfect love of one's neighbor. The three works may be considered among the chief writings of Luther on the Reformation.
The excommunication of Luther
On June 15, 1520, the Pope warned Martin Luther with the papal bull Exsurge Domine that he risked excommunication unless he recanted 41 points of doctrine culled from his writings within 60 days. In October 1520, at the instance of Miltitz, Luther sent his On the Freedom of a Christian to the pope, adding the significant phrase: "I submit to no laws of interpreting the word of God." Meanwhile it had been rumored in August that Eck had arrived at Meissen with a papal ban, which was actually pronounced there on September 21. This last effort of Luther's for peace was followed on December 12 by his burning of the bull, which was to take effect on the expiration of 120 days, and the papal decretals at Wittenberg, a proceeding defended in his Warum des Papstes und seiner Jünger Bücher verbrannt sind and his Assertio omnium articulorum. Pope Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther on January 3, 1521 in the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
The execution of the ban, however, was prevented by the pope's relations with Frederick III, Elector of Saxony and by the new emperor Charles V, who, in view of the papal attitude toward him and the feeling of the Diet, found it inadvisable to lend his aid to measures against Luther.
Diet of Worms
Emperor Charles V opened the imperial Diet of Worms on January 22, 1521. Luther was summoned to renounce or reaffirm his views and was given an imperial guarantee of safe conduct to ensure his safe passage.
On April 16, Luther appeared before the Diet. Johann Eck, an assistant of Archbishop of Trier, presented Luther with a table filled with copies of his writings. Eck asked Luther if the books were his and if he still believed what these works taught. Luther requested time to think about his answer. It was granted. Luther prayed, consulted with friends and mediators and presented himself before the Diet the next day. When the matter came before the Diet the next day, Counsellor Eck, asked Luther to plainly answer the question: "Would Luther reject his books and the errors they contain?" Luther replied: "Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe." According to tradition, Luther is then said to have spoken these words: "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." [Bainton, pp. 142-144].
Over the next few days, private conferences were held to determine Luther's fate. Before a decision was reached, Luther left Worms. During his return to Wittenberg, he disappeared.
The Emperor issued the Edict of Worms on May 25, 1521, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw and a heretic and banning his literature.
Exile at the Wartburg Castle
Luther's disappearance during his return trip was planned. Frederick the Wise arranged for Luther to be seized on his way from the Diet by a company of masked horsemen, who carried him to Wartburg Castle at Eisenach, where he stayed for about a year. He grew a wide flaring beard, took on the garb of a knight, and assumed the pseudonym Junker Jörg (Knight George). During this period of forced sojourn in the world, Luther was still hard at work upon his celebrated translation of the New Testament, though he couldn't rely on the isolation of a monastery.
With Luther's residence in the Wartburg began a constructive period of his career as a reformer; while at the same time the struggle was inaugurated against those who, claiming to proceed from the same Evangelical basis, were deemed by him to swing to the opposite extreme and to hinder, if not prevent, all constructive measures. In his "desert" or "Patmos" (as he called it in his letters) of the Wartburg, moreover, he began his translation of the Bible, of which the New Testament was printed in Sept., 1522. Here, too, besides other pamphlets, he prepared the first portion of his German postilla and his Von der Beichte [Concerning Confession], in which he denied compulsory confession, although he admitted the wholesomeness of voluntary private confessions. He also wrote a polemic against Archbishop Albrecht, which forced him to desist from reopening the sale of indulgences; while in his attack on Jacobus Latomus he set forth his views on the relation of grace and the law, as well as on the nature of the grace communicated by Christ. Here he distinguished the objective grace of God to the sinner, who, believing, is justified by God because of the justice of Christ, from the saving grace dwelling within sinful man; while at the same time he emphasized the insufficiency of this "beginning of justification," as well as the persistence of sin after baptism and the sin still inherent in every good work.
Although his stay at Wartburg kept Luther hidden from public view, Luther often received letters from his friends and allies, asking for his views and advice. For example, Philipp Melanchthon wrote to him and asked how to answer the charge that the reformers neglected pilgrimages, fasts and other traditional forms of piety. Luther replied: "If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign." (Letter 99.13, To Philipp Melanchthon, 1 August 1521 [2])
Meanwhile some of the Saxon clergy, notably Bartholomäus Bernhardi of Feldkirchen, had renounced the vow of celibacy, while others, including Melanchthon, had assailed the validity of monastic vows. Luther in his De votis monasticis [Concerning Monastic Vows], though more cautious, concurred, on the ground that the vows were generally taken "with the intention of salvation or seeking justification." With the approval of Luther in his De abroganda missa privata [Concerning the Abrogation of the Private Mass], but against the firm opposition of the prior, the Wittenberg Augustinians began changes in worship and did away with the mass. Their violence and intolerance, however, were displeasing to Luther, and early in December he spent a few days among them. Returning to the Wartburg, he wrote his Eine treue Vermahnung . . . vor Aufruhr und Empörung [A Sincere Admonition by Martin Luther to All Christians to Guard Against Insurrection and Rebellion]; but in Wittenberg Carlstadt and the ex-Augustinian Gabriel Zwilling demanded the abolition of the private mass, communion in both kinds, the removal of pictures from churches, and the abrogation of the magistracy .
Return to Wittenberg and the Invocavit Sermons
Around Christmas 1521, Anabaptists from Zwickau added to the anarchy. Thoroughly opposed to such radical views and fearful of their results, Luther secretly returned to Wittenberg March 6, 1522, and the Zwickau prophets left the city. For eight days beginning on March 9, Invocavit Sunday, and concluding on the following Sunday, Luther preached eight sermons that would become known as the Invocavit Sermons. In these sermons Luther counseled careful reform that took into consideration the consciences of those who were not yet persuaded to embrace reform. Communion in one kind (the consecrated bread) was restored for a time, the consecrated cup given only to those of the laity who desired it. He was thought by his hearers John Agricola and Jerome Schurf to have accomplished his goal of quelling unrest. The canon of the mass, giving it its sacrificial character, was now omitted. Since the former practice of penance had been abolished, communicants were now required to declare their intention to commune and to seek consolation in Christian confession and absolution. This new form of service was set forth by Luther in his Formula missæ et communionis [Form of the Mass and Communion] (1523), and in 1524 the first Wittenberg hymnal appeared with four of his own hymns. Since, however, his writings were forbidden in that part of Saxon ruled by Duke George, Luther declared, in his Ueber die weltliche Gewalt, wie weit man ihr Gehorsam schuldig sei [Temporal Authority: to What Extent It Should Be Obeyed], that the civil authority could enact no laws for the soul, herein denying to a Catholic what he permitted an Evangelical.
Luther's German Bible
Luther translated the New Testament into German to make it more accessible to the commoners and to erode the influence of priests. He used the recent critical Greek edition of Erasmus, a text which was later called Textus Receptus. During his translation, he would make forays into the nearby towns and markets to hear people speak, so that he could write his translation in the language of the people. It was published in 1522.
Luther had a low view of the books of Esther, Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation. He called the epistle of James "an epistle of straw", finding little in it that pointed to Christ and His saving work. He also had harsh words for the book of Revelation, saying that he could "in no way detect that the Holy Spirit produced it." He had reason to question the apostolicity of these books since the early church categorized these books as antilegomena, meaning that they weren't accepted without reservation as canonical. Luther did not, however, remove them from his edition of the scriptures.
His first full Bible translation into German, including the Old Testament, was published in a six-part edition in 1534. As mentioned earlier, Luther's translation work helped standardize German and are considered landmarks in German literature.
Luther chose to omit the portions of the Old Testament found in the Greek Septuagint, but not in the Hebrew Masoretic texts then available. These were included in his earliest translation, but were later set aside as 'good to read', but not as the inspired Word of God. The setting-aside (or simple exclusion) of these texts in/from Bibles was eventually adopted by nearly all Protestants. See Biblical canon.
The Small and Large Catechisms
In 1528, Frederick asked Luther to tour the local churches to determine the quality of the peasants' Christian education. Luther wrote in the preface to the Small Catechism, "Mercy! Good God! what manifold misery I beheld! The common people, especially in the villages, have no knowledge whatever of Christian doctrine, and, alas! many pastors are altogether incapable and incompetent to teach." In response, Luther prepared the Small and Large Catechisms. They are instructional and devotional material on what Luther considered the fundamentals of the Christian faith, namely the Ten Commandments; the Apostles' Creed; the Lord's Prayer; Baptism; Confession and Absolution; and the Eucharist. The Small Catechism was supposed to be read by the people themselves, the Large Catechism by the pastors. The two catechisms are still popular instructional materials among Lutherans.
His legacy
Martin Luther, more than the reformers that preceded him, shaped the Protestant Reformation. Thanks to the printing press, his pamphlets were well-read throughout Germany, influencing many subsequent Protestant Reformers and thinkers and giving rise to diversifying Protestant traditions in Europe and elsewhere. Protestant countries, no longer subject to the papacy, exercised their expanded freedom of thought, facilitating Protestant Europe's rapid intellectual advancement in the 17th and 18th centuries, giving rise to the Age of Reason. In reaction to the Protestant Reformation the Catholic Reformation too was a part of this intellectual advancement, e.g. through its scholastic Jesuit order. It would also be accurate to consider Martin Luther one of the founders of the German language.
On the darker side, the absolute power of princes over their subjects increased considerably in the Lutheran territories, and Roman Catholics and Protestants waged bitter and ferocious wars of religion against each other. A century after Luther's protests, a revolt in Bohemia ignited the Thirty Years' War, a Roman Catholics-vs.-Protestants war which ravaged much of Germany and killed about a third of the population. - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Friday, October 28, 2005
is God inconsistent?
A friend asked the question, "If God asks us to love our enemies, yet God hates sinners, isn't that inconsistent?"
Here are a few thoughts on that:
• If we are called to emulate God, and God tells us to love our enemies, then I assume He does too.
• Where do we see God loving His enemies? Let's look at the Old testament: God could have killed Adam and Eve after they sinned. That would have been perfectly just. He didn't, He covered their shame and cared for them (our first gospel lesson), yet He had to banish them. God could have destroyed the Israelites many times. He didn't. He showed them lovingkindness many times, even though they were for all intents and purposes His enemies - distrusting Him and sinning repeatedly.
• Let's look at the New Testament and God incarnate - Jesus. Jesus healed the sick. He fed thousands. He delivered people from demonic posession. Were they all believers or potential believers? Probably not. Did God show love to them? Yes.
• What about believers? Were we His enemies? Yes! The bible says, we were at emnity with Him, were children of wrath, etc. therefore His enemies. God loved us enough to show us the ultimate act of love, the cross.
• God hates sin - which is breaking His law - and He must punish it, for He is a Just God. However, He also loves the unloveable, he shows mercy and grace to His enemies. That's good news.
• What about God's common grace? Nobody deserves to live the kind of earthly lives they do. Sinners and saints alike reap the benefits of full lives, shelter, food, family, riches. I think this could be called love in a general sense to all mankind.
• God knows who will trust Him and who won't. We can't see into man's heart, we aren't God, we don't have that kind of vision. But we are to love regardless. Who knows? Maybe our most hardened enemy will become a Christian. Wouldn't that be just like God.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
reformation day - part 1
Reformation Day is almost upon us (October 31st). At it's core, the protestant reformation was a recovery of the biblical teaching of "faith alone" for justification, or "sola fide."
Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German theologian, an Augustinian monk, and an ecclesiastical reformer whose teachings inspired the Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines and culture of the Lutheran and Protestant traditions. Luther's call to the Church to return to the teachings of the Bible led to the formation of new traditions within Christianity and to the Counter-Reformation, the Roman Catholic reaction to these movements. Luther's contributions to Western civilization went beyond the life of the Christian Church. Luther's translations of the Bible helped to develop a standard version of the German language and added several principles to the art of translation. Luther's hymns inspired the development of congregational singing in Christianity. His marriage on June 13, 1525, to Katharina von Bora began a movement of clerical marriage within many Christian traditions.
Young Brother Martin fully dedicated himself to monastic life, the effort to do good works to please God and to serve others through prayer for their souls. Yet peace with God escaped him. He devoted himself to fasts, flagellations, long hours in prayer and pilgrimage, and constant confession. The more he tried to do for God, it seemed, the more aware he became of his sinfulness.
The demanding discipline of earning academic degrees and preparing lectures drove Martin Luther to study the Scriptures in depth. Influenced by the call of humanism ad fontes—"to the sources"—he immersed himself in the study of the Bible and the early Church. Soon terms like penance and righteousness took on new meaning for Luther, and he became convinced that the Church had lost sight of several of the central truths of Christianity taught in Scripture—the most important of which being the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Luther began to teach that salvation is completely a gift of God's grace through Christ received by faith.
In addition to his duties as a professor, Martin Luther served as a preacher and confessor at the Castle Church, a foundation of Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony. This church was named "All Saints" because it was the repository of his collection of holy relics. This parish served both the Augustinian monastary and the university. It was in the performance of these duties that the young priest was confronted with the effects of obtaining indulgences on the lives of everyday people. An indulgence is a certificate that absolved individuals of the temporal penalties of the sins they had confessed. A buyer could purchase one, either for himself or for one of his deceased relatives in purgatory. The Dominican friar Johann Tetzel was enlisted to travel throughout Archbishop Albert of Mainz's episcopal territories promoting and selling indulgences for the rennovation of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Tetzel was very successful at it. He urged: "as soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs" [Brecht, vol. 1, p. 182].
As a priest concerned about the spiritual welfare of his parishioners, Luther saw this traffic in indulgences as an abuse that could mislead them into relying simply on the indulgences themselves to the neglect of the confession, true repentance, and satisfactions. Luther preached three sermons against indulgences in 1516 and 1517. On October 31, 1517, according to traditional accounts, Luther's 95 Theses were nailed to the door of the Castle Church as an open invitation to debate them [Brecht, vol. 1, p. 200].
The Theses condemned greed and worldliness in the Church as an abuse and asked for a theological disputation on what indulgences could grant. Luther did not challenge the authority of the pope to grant indulgences in these theses. The 95 Theses were quickly translated into German, widely copied and printed. Within two weeks they had spread throughout Germany, and within two months throughout Europe. This was one of the first events in history that was profoundly affected by the printing press, which made the distribution of documents easier and more wide-spread. - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
More to come...
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
everlasting god-shopper
"Every time I buy something, I come as close to making myself god as I can. I take a piece of intrinsically worthless plastic and use it to generate a pulse down a fibre-optic cable that turns into a book, a car, a house. I transubstantiate a piece of paper into silver or gold. I wave a $100 bill in a restaurant, and others come running to do my every bidding. In each case, for a brief moment, I fool myself into thinking that I am at the very least a priest who can use divine power as he wills; at best a god, master of the universe, the one who proposes, disposes, creates and sustains at his own will."
Read more: The Wages of Spin by Carl Trueman
horrifying theology
I like horror movies. Not the mindless slasher flicks, but the ones that make you think. "Horror movies don't make you think?!", "They're just gross!" some may say. True, there may be some gross scenes in horror films, but if it's a good one, that will be a secondary element to help convey the story, not drive it. One such movie is Carrie. I watched it last night for the first time. I've always wanted to see it, and when I did, I wasn't dissapointed.
There have been other movies I've waited years to see, only to realize I'd wasted my time, but this one delivered. At first, I supposed this movie to be about an evil girl who wreaks havoc on helpless teenagers. Nothing could be further from the truth (although there is that big climactic scene in the school gymnasium - however, after seeing it, that's not THE climactic scene.)
It's ultimately about human depravity and the violence each one of us is capable of inflicting on others, no matter how "holy" we feel. There's a repeating element in this movie of physical violence: boyfriend to girlfriend, teacher to student, mother to daughter, and ultimately telekinetic girl to classmates. The movie focuses on the character of Carrie, but it's a statement about us all. It deals with abuse, guilt, love and treachery, all successfully executed.
Sure, there are disturbing scenes, and it's definitely not for children, but what's really disturbing is the way in which it exposes how cruel we are and how desperately we need to be saved from judgement.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
batman & grace
Batman Begins is a great film. There's one line that got me to thinking. It goes something like, "it's not who you are on the inside, but what you do that matters." In the context of the movie, that's a great line because Bruce Wayne deals with his fear and also his desire to do something to bring justice to the city of Gotham.
In terms of being justified (declared not guilty) by God, it's the exact opposite, however. It's not what you do that determines your justification, but the faith INSIDE that God grants to you:
"What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.' " - Romans 4:1-7 esv
Monday, October 24, 2005
how about a nice slice of the word?
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." - 2 Tim 2:15
"Dividing aright the word of truth. This is a beautiful metaphor, and one that skillfully expresses the chief design of teaching. Since we ought to be satisfied with the word of God alone, what purpose is served by having sermons every day, or even the office of pastors? Has not every person an opportunity of reading the Bible? But Paul assigns to teachers the duty of dividing or cutting, as if a father, in giving food to his children, were dividing the bread, by cutting it into small pieces.
He advises Timothy to "cut aright," lest, when he is employed in cutting the surface, as unskillful people are wont to do, he leave the pith and marrow untouched. Yet by this term I understand, generally, an allotment of the word which is judicious, and which is well suited to the profit of the hearers. Some mutilate it, others tear it, others torture it, others break it in pieces, others, keeping by the outside, (as we have said,) never come to the soul of doctrine. To all these faults he contrasts time "dividing aright," that is, the manner of explaining which is adapted to edification; for that is the rule by which we must try all interpretation of Scripture." - excerpt from Calvin's Commentary
Friday, October 21, 2005
my favorite book of the bible
Romans is my favorite book of the Bible. Why? I'll let Luther answer for me...
"This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes." - Luther in his preface to Romans
"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." - Rom 3:21-26
Thursday, October 20, 2005
death is preaching to us
This morning, I saw a dead pigeon. I think it must have flown into a window. It was lying there on the concrete, looking almost as if it were asleep. Nope. It was dead.
We don't usually think just how short our lives are - let alone if we die by sickness or accident - but as a Christian, there's so much to look forward to, and so much to live for now.
"Each fading leaf admonishes you. You will most surely have to die; why not think upon the inevitable? It is said that the ostrich buries its head in the sand, and fancies itself secure when it can no longer see the hunter. I can hardly fancy that even a bird can be quite so foolish, and I beseech you do not enact such madness.
If I do not think of death, yet death will think of me. If I will not go to death by meditation and consideration, death will come to me. Let me, then, meet it like a man, and to that end let me look it in the face. Death comes into our houses, and steals away our beloved ones.
Seldom do I enter this pulpit without missing some accustomed face from its place. Never a week passes over this church without some of our happy fellowship being caught away to the still happier fellowship above. This week a youthful member has melted away, and her mourning parents are in our midst. We as a congregation are continually being summoned to remember our mortality; and so, whether we will hear him or not, death is preaching to us each time we assemble in this house." - C.H. Spurgeon
taken from Concerning Death by C.H. Spurgon
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
wet or dry kids?
A Paedobaptist aswers some good Baptist questions:
• Do you believe that infant baptism saves the child?
No. Neither does adult baptism save the adult. The relationship of baptism and salvation is that of a ring to a marriage. The ring is part of the reality of the marriage. But no one treats a ring, in and of itself, as the marriage.
• Why baptize children if they do not understand the meaning of baptism?
Baptism is like circumcision. For adults it is entered with understanding, for infants it is "remembered" with understanding. In principle, one cannot object that a sign of an inward reality be given to an infant, because it is so clear in the case of circumcision. Is it meaningful that my little children are citizens of the United States? Though they do not comprehend it now, they have all the rights and protections of a citizen, though under age. As they grow, they will learn their duties, along with all the rights and privileges that their citizenship afforded them, while they were yet unaware of it. So it is with baptism.
• What about baptized children who grow up and forsake the faith?
Apostasy is a reality for children baptized as infants, for believers'-baptized children, and even for adult converts who were baptized with the most ardent professions of their faith. It is the Biblical function of church discipline (Mat 18:15-20), not baptism, which purifies church membership of those who willfully and unrepentantly deny the faith.
• What if a baptized child has a dramatic conversion later, are they to be baptized again?
A Christian (child or adult) should only be baptized once, since baptism signifies a reality that only takes place once, regeneration. We do not always know when regeneration takes place, especially in the case of children growing up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord (Eph 6:4). The reason many re-baptisms take place is (wrongly, I believe) because baptism is viewed as meaningful only if the one baptized has a certain prior experience (i.e., baptism is a testimony to my conversion experience). In fact, according to official statistics, one prominent baptist denomination reported that over 40% of its baptisms one year were for "rededication." This is a misunderstanding of baptism.
• Shouldn't baptism be done by immersion?
If we compare baptism with the Lord's Supper, whether the Lord's Supper is actually a "supper" (deipnon, an evening meal), is not essential to its purpose, meaning, or sacramental quality. In the same way, the mode of baptism, whether by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling, is surely less important than its meaning and recipients. Reformed Christians do not usually require a particular mode to be necessary for baptism. However, Biblical baptisms or "washings" in the Tabernacle were performed by sprinkling (baptismois in Heb 9:11, see verses 9:13, 19, 22). And, the baptism of the Spirit is spoken of as the Holy Spirit "poured out upon the Gentiles" (Acts 10:45-47).
• If you believe in infant baptism, by the same principles aren't you bound to believe in infant communion?
Not necessarily. After all, the Passover meal was simply not edible to infants any way. The question of paedocommunion involves (a) whether infants or toddlers, in fact, partook of the Passover meal, (b) if not, were there spiritual qualifications, such as asking and understanding, "What does this mean?" (Exo 12:26), and (c) thus, whether the recipients of Christ's passover in the new covenant are qualified differently. The Princeton Theologian B. B. Warfield said, "The ordinances of the Church belong to the members of it; but each in its own appointed time. The initiatory ordinance belongs to the members on becoming members, other ordinances become their right as the appointed seasons for enjoying them roll around."
- taken from: "Infant Baptism: Does the Bible Teach It?" by Dr. Gregg Strawbridge
covenant mercies
"You have as much right to the precious things of the covenant as the most advanced believers, for your right to covenant mercies lies not in your growth, but in the covenant itself; and your faith in Jesus is not the measure, but the token of your inheritance in Him." - C.H. Spurgeon
God's Covenants
The Bible teaches that God deals with man by means of a covenant relationship. All the leading covenants in the Bible between God and believing man are aspects of a single covenant relationship.... the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, the Davidic covenant, the New Covenant, and so forth (all which are conditional). The Old Covenant and the New Covenant are not descriptions of certain "dispensations" or time periods. Rather, they are subjective states of man's relation to God in both the Old and New Testaments - and today. Since subsequent administrations assume and build on the terms of preceding administrations in a historical redemptive sense, the conditions of the earlier covenants also apply to the latter covenants. The culmination of all the covenant administrations is the administration under Christ who alone fulfilled these conditions. Christ himself had to die to fulfill the terms of the covenant from our side, making a new covenant with those he came to save (also a conditional administration since it applies only to those who exercise faith in Christ). This in no terms means we are able to earn salvation on our own; no matter which covenant administration we fall under, we fail to keep its terms. The human requirements stipulated in the covenant are never met perfectly ( even the requirement of faith itself), except in Christ. Thus, we always rely on God's grace and forgiveness alone in order to receive his covenant blessings to us. - Monergism.com
The Covenant of Grace: A Key to Understanding the Bible by Calvin Knox Cummings
The Covenant of Grace by Charles Hodge
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
peaceful rest
"If one saint should fall away and perish, God would not only break his word, but his oath, for he hath sworn by himself, because he could swear by no greater, "that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." No, an oath-breaking God, a promise-despising Jehovah, were an impossibility; and therefore a perished child of God is alike impossible. But we need not fear, beloved, that we shall ever perish, if we love the Savior for the last reason is all potent. Will Christ lose that which he has bought with his own blood? Yes, there are men with judgments so perverted, that they believe Christ died for those that are damned, and bought with his own blood men that perish. Well, if they choose to believe that, I do not envy them the elasticity of their intellects; but this I conceive to be but an axiom, that what Christ has paid for so dearly with his own heart's blood he will have. If he loved us well enough to bear the excruciating agonies of the cross, I know he loves "well enough to keep us to the end." If when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life." For I am persuaded that he that spared not his own life, but delivered it up for his people, will not withhold aught that Omnipotence can sire." - C.H. Spurgeon
Monday, October 17, 2005
slice of heaven
Our family went to heaven yesterday and it was great. Ok, that's a little exaggerated. We went to church, which is a foretaste of it. We gathered together with His saints. We praised Him. We listened to Him (speaking through the pastor). We partook of His body and blood.
We experienced a slice of heaven.
Imperfect? Yes. But until our glorification, there will always be that little fly in the ointment. But I wouldn't trade it for anything.
The Word in Reformed Worship by - Wilbert M. Van Dyk
Here's some excerpts:
..."Preaching, then, is in a class by itself. It is not simply a speech about God. It is rather God himself speaking through the mouth of the preacher. It may seem like foolishness to a world that is skilled inthe art of communication, but as Paul wrote in I Corinthians l:21, "God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." In Reformed worship, preaching the Word is so centrally important because it is a prominent way, perhaps the most prominent way, in which God has chosen to speak to people throughout the ages in order to accomplish his purposes in them."...
..."What, then, are sermons and what do they do? In Reformed worship they occupy the place of prominence. Sometimes they may be inadequately prepared and ineffectively preached. Shame on the preacher. Sometimes they may be received without appreciation. Shame on the congregation. Sometimes, in fact, they likely disappoint the God who calls us to our task. May he forgive us. But sermons today are what they have always been, and they do what they have always done. They are the treasure of God committed to an earthen vessel which is poured out by the Holy Spirit for the worshiping congregation gathered around the Word of God with the expectation of faith that the Lord will produce the results that he has designed."
Friday, October 14, 2005
strong delusion
Here's a passage to ponder:
"The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thess 2:9-12
Let's break this down:
1. people (who are perishing already) are deceived by Satan
2. they are deceived because they refuse the truth (of the gospel)
3. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion to believe that deception more stongly
4. in order to condemn them.
If you find this passage disturbing and at this moment are trying to think of ways to explain how God doesn't violate man's "free will", then deep down are you not taking man's depravity seriously?
"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God."
Non-Calvinists say they believe man is a sinner, but have a hard time admitting the fact that we are guilty because of Adam's sin - NOT because we've rejected Jesus - and are in a state of condemnation from the point of conception. "I was sinful from my mother's womb". The assumption that our guiltiness has something to do with the decision to trust Jesus or not is simply unbiblical. If that were the case, churches should NEVER send out missionaries for fear of someone rejecting Christ and thereby condeming themselves. You see how strange this is?
We don't go to hell because we reject Jesus, we go to hell because we are born "in Adam" and we need God to put us "in Christ". People's rejection of Jesus is the RESULT not the cause of our state of depravity, the "curse" as the bible calls it. All because of Adam. Non-Calvinists make their starting point with us. We must make the starting point Adam.
Adam's Fall and Mine by R.C. Sproul
Thursday, October 13, 2005
grace > sin
Grace Greater Than Our Sin
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.
Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can we do to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.
Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?
words by Julia H. Johnston, 1911
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
our rendezvous with Jesus
God directs us to encourage other believers. Here's a specific bit of future encouragement that I'm passing on:
"For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. or this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words." - 1 Thes 4:14-18 ESV
I was struck with the phrase, "and so we will always be with the Lord." How glorious will that be to always be in His presence! Chew on that today.
Read more: The Hope of Exiles on Earth - John Piper
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
"...Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." - 1 Thess 1:10b ESV
I read this today and had a thought:
1. There is wrath to come - judgement day at the end of the age, and
2. There has already been a day of wrath - the Father's wrath for the sins of the elect poured out on Jesus on the cross.
God will never leave any sin undealt with! Either He has poured it out on Christ or will pour it out on individual people at judgement day. In this universe, no sin will ever go unpunished. What an awesome thought.
Hell by Thomas Boston
"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." - Hebrews 12:28,29 ESV
Monday, October 10, 2005
assurance, the "p" in tulip
"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." - John 10:28
If our religion be of our own getting or making, it will perish; and the sooner it goes, the better; but if our religion is a matter of God's giving, we know that He shall never take back what He gives, and that, if He has commenced to work in us by His grace, He will never leave it unfinished.
- C.H. Spurgeon
For non-reformed theologies..."at the end of the day, the security of the believer finally rests with the believer. For those in the opposite camp [Reformed], the security of the believer finally rests with God -- and that, I suggest, rightly taught, draws the believer back to God himself, to trust in God, to a renewed faith that is of a piece with trusting him in the first place."
- D.A. Carson
Can a Christian Lose His or Her Salvation? by Greg Johnson
Thursday, October 06, 2005
fairy tales
"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." - Colossians 1:13,14
My kids love fairy tales. They love the story of the helpless princess being rescued from the evil queen/king/witch by the handsom prince. And then? They are married of course, and live happily ever after. It's a simple story, but one my kids never get tired of. Me either.
That's Christianity. Jesus has rescued His church - His bride - from the evil clutches of Satan and brought her into a new kingdom, the kingdom of His father, to live (you guessed it) happily ever after.
Let that sink in. Next time you read a fairy tale to children - or yourself - look for those wonderful similiarities.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
the church is Israel?
The popular system of biblical interpretation in the church today is Dispensationalism, specifically Premillenial Pre-Tribulation theology. Popularized by Hal Lindsey in his 1970 book, Late Great Planet Earth (15 million copies sold), and recently with the Left Behind series by Tim F. LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (also 15 million sold). I grew up with Dispensationalism and was never aware of any other view... until I discovered Reformed theology (trumpet sounds). Here's a brief summary of both systems:
Dispensationalism is a system of biblical interpretation formalized in the nineteenth century by John Nelson Darby and later popularized by the publishing of the study Bible of C. I. Scofield and the establishment of Dallas Theological Seminary by Lewis Sperry Chafer. It is the foundation of what is known in eschatological studies as "pre-tribulational premillenialism" and involves the division of history into (usually) seven distinct periods of time known as "dispensations". Twentieth century writers such as John Walvoord, Dwight Pentecost, and Charles Ryrie brought the doctrines of Dispensationalism into mainstream scholarship, which are often summarized by Ryrie's famous "sine qua non", i.e., his statement of the three primary tenets of the system. These are: 1) a clear distinction between Israel and the Church, 2) literal interpretation of Scripture, and 3) the glory of God as the primary goal of history.
- Christonomy.com
Unlike Dispensationalism, Reformed (Covenant) Theology considers the seed of Abraham, the Israelites, to be part of the body of Christ. The Church did not replace Israel but organically springs out of the same root. God, from eternity, had merely planned, in the fullness of time, to expand His purpose, through Christ, to include other nations as well. All the spiritual seed of Abraham, Jew or Gentile are now one in Christ. Gentiles are a wild olive, grafted in among the Jews, the natural branches. Jesus "has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility." Eph 2:12-14.
- Monergism.com
"This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. - Eph 3:6
Want to read more on this?
Monergism.com's section about Dispensationalism
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
our advocate
C.H. Spurgeon is one of my favorites. Here's today's morning devo:
"If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
— 1 John 2:1
"If any man sin, we have an advocate." Yes, though we sin, we have Him still. John does not say, "If any man sin he has forfeited his advocate," but "we have an advocate," sinners though we are. All the sin that a believer ever did, or can be allowed to commit, cannot destroy his interest in the Lord Jesus Christ, as his advocate. The name here given to our Lord is suggestive. "Jesus." Ah! then He is an advocate such as we need, for Jesus is the name of one whose business and delight it is to save. "They shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." His sweetest name implies His success. Next, it is "Jesus Christ"--Christos, the anointed. This shows His authority to plead. The Christ has a right to plead, for He is the Father's own appointed advocate and elected priest. If He were of our choosing He might fail, but if God hath laid help upon one that is mighty, we may safely lay our trouble where God has laid His help. He is Christ, and therefore authorized; He is Christ, and therefore qualified, for the anointing has fully fitted Him for His work. He can plead so as to move the heart of God and prevail. What words of tenderness, what sentences of persuasion will the anointed use when He stands up to plead for me! One more letter of His name remains, "Jesus Christ the righteous." This is not only His character BUT His plea. It is His character, and if the Righteous One be my advocate, then my cause is good, or He would not have espoused it. It is His plea, for He meets the charge of unrighteousness against me by the plea that He is righteous. He declares Himself my substitute and puts His obedience to my account. My soul, thou hast a friend well fitted to be thine advocate, He cannot but succeed; leave thyself entirely in His hands.
Monday, October 03, 2005
more on law & gospel
Most of what I want to say others can say better. Read this great excerpt from Modern Reformation:
When God gives orders and tells us what will happen if we fail to obey those orders perfectly, that is in the category of what the reformers, following the biblical text, called law. When God promises freely, providing for us because of Christ's righteousness the status he demands of us, this is in the category of gospel. It is good news from start to finish. The Bible includes both, and the reformers were agreed that the Scriptures taught clearly that the law, whether Old or New Testament commands, was not eliminated for the believer (those from a Dispensational background may notice a difference here). Nevertheless, they insisted that nothing in this category of law could be a means of justification or acceptance before a holy God ... The law comes, not to reform the sinner nor to show him or her the "narrow way" to life, but to crush the sinner's hopes of escaping God's wrath through personal effort or even cooperation. All of our righteousness must come from someone else-someone who has fulfilled the law's demands. Only after we have been stripped of our "filthy rags" of righteousness (Isa. 64:6)- our fig leaves through which we try in vain to hide our guilt and shame-can we be clothed with Christ's righteousness. First comes the law to proclaim judgment and death, then the gospel to proclaim justification and life. One of the clearest presentations of this motif is found in Paul's Epistle to the Galatians. In the sixteenth century, the issue of law and grace was more clearly dealt with than at almost any other time since the apostles.
- Modern Reformation (May/June 2003: "Good News: The Gospel for Christians")
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- This event has passed.
Kathleen Driskell, Joseph-Beth
August 27, 2015 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Event Navigation
Award-winning Kentucky Poet Kathleen Driskell reads from and signs Next Door to the Dead: Poems on Thursday, August 27 at 7 pm.
"When Kathleen Driskell says that she's gone to visit the neighbors, she means something different than most. The noted poet lives in an old country church just outside Louisville. Next door is an old graveyard that she was told had fallen out of use. In this new collection, this turns out not to be the case as the poet's fascination with the "neighbors" brings the burial ground back to life."

subset: commoncrawl


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World Crisis scenarios for the 21st century – Worldwide economic depression.(update 13)
Posted by Adrian on March 25, 2008
World Crisis scenarios for the 21st century – Worldwide economic depression. (update 13)
The US Federal Reserve current policy of buying debt, offering cheap loans (to banks and brokerage firms) and generally pushing amounts of cash into the banking system – has ensured short periods of calm , then panic sets in again. When a financial system freezes up, or is loosing money (on depreciating assets) and at the same time systemically unwinding (credit markets) in a dramatic way – this is worrying.
Are we heading for a worldwide depression? A real possibility. Can China and Asian withstand a severe global recession? From the perspective that the US has already entered a recession and will fall into a severe recession. The severe recession probability will effect Asian countries, at this point the degree of effect is speculative. But, global inflation is a concern mixed with slowing/recession economies. America and Europe may be on the verge on a harsh case of stagflation, slowing economy/rising prices. Asian could also show the hall marks of stagflation too, namely japan and Singapore.
(Above graph reflects global headline inflation.)
Oil now at trading over $100.00 a barrel, and with demand increasing namely from emerging economies, South America and Asia; oil will continue to rise well into the 100's. Emerging economies will add to energy inflation and demand, which will effect western recessionary countries (inflation), such as Europe and the US.
So if the world is heading for a severe global recession or depression, will it be a deflationary depression or a depression with rising prices/costs? Similar to Argentina in the late 1990's and early 2001. When the economy collapsed and the Argentina currencies (Peso) loss significant value.
A country that has received little press, as far as a depressed economy, is Italy. This was discussed late last year on morbius glass filed under The Sadness of Italy. Italy is a good indication of a country that has a collapsed industry, rising prices, inflation and a poor 'middle class'. The example of Italy is when an inflation is allowed to grow, the currencies and purchasing power is diminished. This is now happening in the US, apart from the denial of The Fed (including the chairman) and the US administration. But the US is not alone, Europe who has an artificially high Euro, is also vulnerable to a debasing of it's currencies.
So, when countries find it hard to finance and find financial safe havens such as Government Treasury bonds we can use Italy again as an example, according to an article on the Telegraph 19th March 2008,
"Few noticed last week that the Italian treasury auction was also a flop. The bids collapsed. For the first time since the launch of EMU, Italy failed to sell a full batch of state bonds.
The euro blasted higher anyway, driven by hot money flows. The funds are beguiled by Germany's "Exportwunder", for now. It cannot last. The demented level of $1.57 will not be tolerated by French, Italian and Spanish politicians. The Latin property bubbles are deflating fast."
So with falling markets such a property, rising inflation and reserve banks either cutting rates or keep rates on hold, may be at the detriment of the currencies. Apart from debasement of currencies and their value there is also a fall in global production, according to an article in the Financial Times (19th March 2008 ) global trade is slowing significantly,
"The equivalent growth rate in the three months to October was 6.9 per cent.
"This is a substantial deceleration," the institute said. "World trade volume growth is on a downward trend."
Trade figures tend to be volatile but even on a longer-term smoothed basis, comparing the three-month average with the same period a year earlier, the growth in goods trade is at its lowest since 2003.
The data appear to provide further evidence that global economic activity is slowing, as growth in emerging markets has failed to compensate for weaker demand in the US.
The last time annual growth in trade went negative was in 2001, when the shallow US recession that followed the bursting of the technology bubble and the shock of the September 11 attacks caused global commerce to contract.
Trade growth is consistently higher on average than overall economic growth but it also tends to be more variable, dropping sharply during recessions."
Also, the Baltic Dry Index that tracks dry bulk shipping has declined
refer to graph
With inflation now completely out of control, a global recession on the horizon and the real possibility that a depression could occur globally, dragging in emerging economies. Again the question has to be asked, what kind of depression will it be? A deflation or stagflation based depression?
3 Responses to "World Crisis scenarios for the 21st century – Worldwide economic depression.(update 13)"
April 8, 2008 at 12:41 am
[…] Posted by Adrian on April 8, 2008 The Australian terms of trade reported a massive trade deficit of $3.29 billion from $2.54 billion in January 2008; this would indicate a few things. Weather and infrastructure problems and the main issue is global trade slowing rapidly as reported in World Crisis scenarios for the 21st century – World economic depression (update 13). […]
April 15, 2009 at 4:29 pm
The style of writing is very familiar . Did you write guest posts for other blogs?
May 27, 2012 at 7:44 am
Hello, I just hopped over to your web-site via StumbleUpon. Not somthing I would typically browse, but I appreciated your thoughts none the less. Thanks for making something worthy of reading through.


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Round 2, here we go.
Music is a gateway to our Soul. In this playful series, we'll experiment with yoga flowing to a meticulously and mindfully crafted soundtrack from some of the visionary humans (in my humble), who gifted us with pieces of their soul and turned them into outloud compilations of sound that at times excite us, calm us, make our hearts soar or twang that familiar string of nostaliga.
Bring your mat. Bring your water. Maybe even bring a pal. All levels welcome (including you, first time yoga folks w/ an ear for these fellas). Ages 18+ (lyrics and all). Dress comfortably. $10 donation. $5 for students.
Week 1: The Black Keys: Everlasting Light (February 27)
Week 2: Florence & the Machine: Shake it Out (March 6)
Week 3: Led Zeppelin: Whole Lotta Love (March 13)
Week 4: Red Hot Chili Peppers: Give it Away (March 20)
PS - Thank you to SAAG for hosting this quirky little dance party. Can't wait to Kick it (once again) with you yogi ninjas.
#yqlyoga #Downtownyql #belove #teachpeace #letsflow #rollinwiththeOMies
Round 2, here we go.


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Hardening steel is a heat treatment that has been used for centuries to increase the strength of steel. By heating steel above the critical temperature, the inherent microstructure changes to a face-centred cubic formation in the form of Austenite. The properties of the steel will then depend on the cooling rate of the quenching media. For steel that has been swiftly quenched a hard but brittle product is formed due to the formation of Martensite. To alleviate some of this excessive hardness, hardening is usually followed by a tempering treatment.
Hardening plays a critical role in the integrity Donhad offers in its products.


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If I had a dollar for every time that phrase was mentioned when I was growing up, I would probably be a millionaire by now. But how true this phrase is.
For 2014 my new years resolution was to pick up the fly rod more and get more practice in. Well practice might not be making me perfect, in fact I am a long way off that but it has definitely helped me improve.
For a couple of hours, 2 days a week you will see me, as some would describe "trout fishing" Lake Illawarra. Ha, ha gee that still makes me laugh. Why does the general public associate fly with trout, it is a persona that will hopefully dwindle as more and more people become aware of the saltwater possibilities as well.
I am not actually on the Lake to catch fish – well that would be a great bonus if I did, but to practice my casting in all the possible elements mother nature can throw at me. It is great to practice on a nice grassy paddock with no water tension, no weed, perhaps a spot that is sheltered from the wind, nothing to hit behind you and no frenzied fish feeding right in front of you. It is so different being subjected to all the different elements that I feel like I am improving with each week being tested in all different areas.
Don't get me wrong I still have some shocking days where people must look at me and say that crazy women is talking to herself. I curse myself if I do a terrible cast, if I don't wait for the loop before snapping forward, for being too wristy etc; I am starting to identify a lot of my own faults. There are still areas I need help with. I will take and learn from the help wherever I can but I also think you have to find what you are comfortable with that is going to maximize your cast. It might not be correct by any standards but every body is different and you just have to find the right fit.
I surprised myself the other week, when I went to strip and the line tightened, I straight away went into self doubt – is this a fish or have I let the fly sink too long? With the next strip this fish took off. I am sure across the lake you could hear me shriek. I had no one else but myself to share this with. It was such a thrilling moment. One second being in the serenity of correcting my own casting and next minute "fish on". I had ended up catching a mullet. To say I was chuffed is an understatement particularly when I am going down to practice not expecting to catch a thing. I tried to man handle the fly rod, the fish and pull the phone out of my pocket so I could share this experience with the world. Apparently mullet are a hard species to tick off the bucket list.
What makes me more dedicated to learn fly-casting is that I was born with two left feet – yes I have no rhythm, which makes fly fishing for me an even harder skill to conquer. So I will keep heading to the water to keep practicing and although I won't be perfect, I will at least improve enough so I have a better chance of catching fish.
Practice makes perfect.


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The High Toll of e-toll
After much public outcry it seems that the Gauteng e-tolls will roll out 30 April 2012.Taxis and public transport operators are exempt but people with disabilities - who cannot make use of these options – have been left out in the cold!! QASA, with the support of SADA, has joined the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA) in their court application to halt e-tolls, so watch the press!
You will be charged 30c/km for cars, 20c/kmfor motorcycles and 75c to 151c/km for trucks with a cap of R550 per month for cars and motorcycles. Tolls are charged, as you pass under each overhead gantry, as a single transaction. An online e-toll calculator is available on their website.
Getting Started
To purchase an e-tag and register anaccount:
1.Go toa Customer Service Centre. There are four "Drive In" centres (sign posted with orange signs and with accessible parking bays and toilets, but the counters are not at compliant heights) situated at the following interchanges - Rigel Road; Modderfontein Road; Rivonia Road and Grey Avenue.
2.Register on-line at www.sanral.co.za then purchase a starter pack from Pick 'n Pay;Shoprite or Checkers.
3.Call the e-toll call centre on 0800 SANRAL (726725) and purchase a starterpack as above - or have the e-tag delivered at an extra cost.
Your e-toll Account
You registerone account and connect additional vehicles to that account – eg. family or staff.
Choose oneof two vehicle identification methods – either your vehicle licence platenumber or an e-tag. e-tag offers the most discounts and must be fitted to the vehicle'swindscreen – usually behind the rear view mirror. If you opted for e-tag, yourequire one e-tag per vehicle.
You must provide: an RSA ID or Passport number; physical and postal address; contact details; your preferred payment method details (cash, bank account or creditcard details); your vehicle licence plate number and make and model of thevehicle/s to register on your account.
O nce registered, you can manage your account online: change your personal details,top up, viewing e-road usage and pay toll fees.
MoneyMoney Money
After registration youwill need to make an initial payment: R49.95 deposit (not applicable if you have already purchased a "Starter Pack" plus a five cent initial top-up per vehicle registration (or the minimum financial transaction amount prescribed by your bank). This R50 will becredited to your e-toll account. Opting for e-tag delivery costs an additional R60.00.
Starter packs of R49.95 (including e-tag and customer ID card) are available at Pick 'n Pay,Shoprite and Checkers but they don't offer registration or top up facilities atpresent (only on-line or at Customer Service Centres).
A Day Pass costs R50 and is valid on Gautend e-roads for a 24 hour period after the first gantry pass. Only 12 peryear per vehicle are allowed. Do not purchase it on the day of travel as it maynot be activated in time!
If you donot register you must pay e-road tolls within seven days of usage. It is acriminal offence to use the e-roads and not pay. 24-hour mobile, e-tollpolicing vehicles will apprehend violators.
The e-tag
Discounts (including Have an E-tag, Time ofDay and Frequent User) are available for prepaid account holders with an e-tag.You need to link your e-tag - using the bar code located on the side - to your Customer Account identification number (on your Customer ID card).
The matchbox sized e-tag is fitted with a 5-yearbattery. Passing under a gantry, the e-tag emits one audible beep for asuccessful transaction. Two beeps means your account balance is low. Passingunder a gantry, it will beep four times, or not at all, if it is low or faulty- contact the Customer Service Centre or Service outlet.
Make sure that you get the appropriate bracketfor your windscreen type (angled or vertical). With metallised windscreensmount the e-tag on the area that is lighter than the rest - refer to yourvehicle handbook, or contact a Customer Service Outlet or Call Centre.
GFIP e-tags also work on the Bakwena tollroad (N4 Platinum Toll Road) and other toll roads that display the e-tag sign. Bakwena e-tags work on the Gauteng e-roads, but you must register an e-toll account and associate your Bakwena e-tag with it.
HappyTravels !!


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Environmental Toxins Are Killing Us - Protect Yourself
You may eat organic food, use natural cosmetics and avoid chemical cleaning products, but it's nearly impossible to completely avoid the environmental toxins that permeate our world. Two recently released reports highlight the increasing dangers these toxins pose to your health and that of your family - and show you how to help limit your exposure.
Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk is this year's annual report from the President's Cancer Panel - the body charged with overseeing the activities of the U.S. National Cancer Program. The focus of this year's report to the President is on the growing body of evidence linking environmental and occupational exposure to cancer - exposure that the panel suggests could be prevented through appropriate national action.
From the report's introduction:
Environmental exposures that increase the national cancer burden do not represent a new front in the ongoing war on cancer. However, the grievous harm from this group of carcinogens has not been addressed adequately by the National Cancer Program. The American people--even before they are born--are bombarded continually with myriad combinations of these dangerous exposures. The Panel urges you most strongly to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our Nation's productivity, and devastate American lives.
Read the full report here.
The second report, Not so Sexy: The Health Risks of Secret Chemicals in Fragrance was released by Toronto-based Environmental Defence who teamed up with California's Campaign for Safe Cosmetics to test 17 fragrances. The report concluded that many brand-name perfumes and colognes contain undisclosed chemicals not listed on the labels and substances that haven't been assessed for safety by the beauty industry's own review panels. It also found that that many of the undisclosed chemicals are associated with hormone disruption and allergic reactions. The report gives four tips for reducing unnecessary exposure to toxic chemicals in personal care products:
- Choose products with no added fragrance.
- Less is better - consider using fragrance less often.
- Help pass smarter, health-protective laws. Ask that Health Canada be given the authority and resources it needs to ensure the safety of cosmetics by visiting Environmental Defence.
- Demand that cosmetics companies fully disclose ingredients and support those that do.
For more information and tools to protect yourself and your family, check out Not Just a Pretty Face and Cancer: 101 Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic.


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Optimising your Workflow for producing blog posts are most of the time about adding fewer steps into your content creation, however, I ended up adding more steps into my process as I found that it could increase the quality of my content. Continue reading "Optimising Your Workflow to Increase Quality of Your Blog Post"
Overwatch Different to other FPS's?
Overwatch is a first-person shooter from Blizzard but with a difference. The thing that makes Overwatch different is Blizzard has built this game with eSports in mind giving the FPS special abilities. Continue reading "Overwatch Different to other FPS's?"
Improving your Blog or WordPress Site Personal Experience
Totalreach has turned 11 this month and it has gone through some serious changes over the 11 years I have had the domain and here is how the site has evolved and how I've changed things to try and improve the site and its content. Continue reading "Improving your Blog or WordPress Site Personal Experience"
PS Plus to drop PS3 and PS Vita Games
PS Plus has in the last 6 months taken a huge hit. Sony has not only increased the cost of PS Plus they are now going to reduce the number of free games that you get with your annual subscription to only PS4 Titles. Continue reading "PS Plus to drop PS3 and PS Vita Games"
Using Google Chrome with no Adblock is it manageable?
Google announced last week that it would incorporate an Adblock feature as default into its browser Google Chrome to block any advert that doesn't meet the advertising standards. Having used an Adblock of some kind for many years I wondered just what it would be like now Google had added Adblock functionality as part of the base browser. Continue reading "Using Google Chrome with no Adblock is it manageable?"
Greenhouse Academy Season 2 – Review
Greenhouse Academy Season 2 a Netflix Original that you just can't help but binge watch after you've seen the first season. The story carries on from Season 1 and keeps up the pace with the revelation of the end of the first season bring the two plots that seemed so separate together. Continue reading "Greenhouse Academy Season 2 – Review"
Greenhouse Academy Season 1 – Review
Greenhouse Academy is a Netflix Original based on an Israeli Television Series called The Greenhouse (Ha-Hamama). The story starts eight months after a sister and brother lose their astronaut mother in an accident on a rocket. The two siblings start a rivalry as they end up in different houses within a private school. Continue reading "Greenhouse Academy Season 1 – Review"
Power Leveling Black Desert Online – Is it a good idea?
Power Leveling in BDO good or bad idea? This is a question I am now sat here asking myself after I found this interesting video on YouTube and thought why not try it because I had been enjoying my Wizard but wanted to try another class before I got my awakening. Continue reading "Power Leveling Black Desert Online – Is it a good idea?"
Black Desert Online – Review First Thoughts
Black Desert Online is an MMORPG that doesn't follow the subscription like the most popular and well known MMORPG World of Warcraft made by Blizzard but is it really subscription free like Guild Wars 2? Continue reading "Black Desert Online – Review First Thoughts"
Google Ads and Google Chrome
Google last week announced that they were going to enable AD Blocking as standard as part of Google Chrome. This is to try and clean up the Internet and make advertisements adhere to the new standards that have been set. Google's Statement Building a better web for everyone is their statement and has information on the standards there too.
Now Google of late when Ads have been concerned has made quite a storm with their changes to the requirements for your YouTube channel to be monetizing, Total Reach was a channel that got cut. While this wasn't a surprise and I hadn't been that active with the channel in the last few months it led me to wonder why they were doing this. The reason is the amount of money in the pot is getting smaller or the number of people taking out of the pot is getting more and they want to protect their big money channels.
This makes perfect business sense but the announcement was saying how they are doing it to make sure that advertisements run on high quality videos, or non fake producers. This is what I didn't like about the changes because it saying that content that smaller producers that put just as much time into their content but doesn't have the following other people have videos aren't good enough. You don't bite the hand that feeds you though right?
That in mind I decided that I need to start putting more content together so I came to this blog to find out they had pulled support for their plugin to help you put ads easily into your site. While I have the no how to manually put the Google Adsense into my site, it just shows how Google aren't supporting the little guy like they tend to try and do. With that I've pulled all ads from this site being well under the threshold I am going to be leaving the revenue I had made in limbo, as to be honest Total Reach the blog and YouTube channel has only ever made one threshold in 8 years or thereabouts.
Ad Blocking as default in Google Chrome is it a good idea?
I do like the concept and I do like the direction that it's going in. That said I hope that Google do use it only to block adverts that don't meet standards and doesn't turn into away of blocking the competition. Moving forward however I've removed my ad blocker and now surfing with only what Chrome blocks and have found that there is a wide range of ads still getting through but they aren't as intrusive as I remember them but I have used adblock plus or UBlock Origin for many years.
How do you feel about Google's changes to YouTube Monetization and Chrome having a built in Adblock?


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Having problems with your Vacuums ?
Remove & replace handle release lever on hoover model U6445, s/n 039900015686
Answers :
From under the vacuum, there is a tab release that you need to pry out the old part. At this point, based on your serial nuimber, your vac is over 10 years old and may also need the base. The bracket is part of the base and not expensive, but the replacement is involved. Once the vac is disassembled, other things may need to be replaced.
Repair Help & Product Troubleshooting for Vacuums
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Suggested Questions/Answers :
Remove & replace handle release lever on hoover model U6445, s/n 039900015686
From under the vacuum, there is a tab release that you need to pry out the old part. At this point, based on your serial nuimber, your vac is over 10 years old and may also need the base. The bracket is part of the base and not expensive, but the rep ... Vacuums
Need to replace the handle-release lever on a Hoover model U8125-960 Vacuum cleaner
The exploded views at this URL will help you identify the part and you will be able to order it as well.\015\012\015\012http://www.ereplacementparts.com/hoover-u8125960-savy-bagged-and-bagless-vacuum-parts-c-37315_37337_37538.html ... Hoover Vacuums
VACUUM REPAIR I have a Hoover Savvy upright, windtunnel, bag/bagless vacuum (model U8150-900). The Handle Release Foot Pedal - Part #38434026 broke soon after purchase but I finally found a source to replace this item. The problem is that now that I have the repair part I cannot figure out how to remove the old pedal and install the new one. The housing appears to be one piece of solid plastic. Any ideas, PLEASE! Peter
There are 2 tabs that stick out on the release, they fit in slots, so from the top look down and you can see them, using a flatblade screwdriver that will fit in there, push the side in to release it, which isn't easy, but it can be done. When you g ... Vacuums
Want to remove and replace detent lever or handle release pedal part # 2031044 on Bissell powerforce model # 3525. How is it done?
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Model number U5763900 Serial Number 090400013588 Handle broke off just above the four screws that attach it ti the boby of the vac. Hoover does not list parts for models that are more than two years old. The vac operates perfectly but without a handle my wife cannot use it, where can I find a part replacement. easy to remove four screws and replace. dont want to drive 100 or more miles to find a authorized repair shop. Oh yes, this is a Hoover Preferred Wind Tnnel Bagless
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The handle release lever (Part N. 38434-021) on my Hoover WindTunnel upright vacuum (uses Y bags) broke. How do I install the replacement release lever (pedal) that I purchased?
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How to remove the hoover windtunnel handle release lever
Tilt the handle back and pry it out with a flat blade screwdriver. ... Hoover U6630-900 WindTunnel Bagless Upright Vacuum
I have a clearviewII model 3576-3 and the handle release lever is broken. How to I remove the old lever and install a new one? Thanks, Pat
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After replacing the flat bet and v belt on my Hoover model U6433-900; serial No. 12300043057, purchased June 23, 2004, the brush roller still does not turn when I release the foot lever to vaccuum.
Http://geeksquad.fixya.com/ThreadView.aspx?prdid=0&thid=725351\015\012Generic problem for all Vacuums\015\012After replacing the flat bet\015\012Posted by maha ... Vacuums
How do you replace the handle release lever on the hoover windtunnel 6425-900
The release lever is held in place by tabs molded into the base. You just need use a screwdriver or two to press the plastic tabs back and then push the release lever out. The new release lever can be just pushed into place and the plastic tab ... Vacuums
Foot latch is broken. need to replace with new one. how does one access to remove the foot pedal latch. By foot latch, I mean the foot lever that releases the upright to lower the handle and begin vacuuming.
It is accessed from the bottom underneath by the rear wheel. However, If there are and cracks on the pedal release socket area then the base will need replacement. parts are little cost but the unit needs to be completely disassembled. ... Hoover U6446-900 WindTunnel Bagged Upright Vacuum
How do you replace Hoover Handle Release Pedal on
The handle pedal is snapped in to the base, where it pivots.\015\012The pedal needs to be pried away fron the base, exposing the pivot pin to release it for removal. On your model, you will likelly have to remove the lower handle from the base ... Hoover Vacuums
Hoover WindTunnel Self Propelled Handle Release Lever broken
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Hoover Wind Tunnel U6458-900 Self Propel doesn't work - via other expert advice here for other models of Hoover - I'm thinking it is the actuator that needs to be replaced as I can see the cable does not connect to anything on the bottom. My problem is - I can't get the cover off. Been trying for a couple of hours. I removed every screw I can seem to find but something is hold it down. I also am wondering if/when I do eventually get the cover off, would I need to replace the cable when I replac
On some models there are hook/springs that hold the cover of the base snug. ... Hoover U6437-900 / U6439-900 Windtunnel Bagged Upright Vacuum
How do you remove the Handle from the Hoover Windtunnel Deluxe to replace the switch?
Removing the handle assembly should be easy after removal of the two screws. It may be binding or hanging up on the self-propel cable...or the plastic may just be stuck/binding. Note that the handle slides in and out of the vacuum unit along the sa ... Hoover U5450-900 Windtunnel Supreme Bagged Upright Vacuum
Hoover Handle Release Pedal Replacement--How is it possible?
If you look at the picture, the slots are right across from the drive wheels, you can see the slots in the picture. Use a flat blade screwdriver. ... Vacuums
How to remove broken handle release on hoover windtunnel upright
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Hoover Mod U8146-900-When you press handle release lever vacuum falls down it doesnt stay up
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Hi On a Hoover convertable model U4497-900 I'm trying to replace the fan. The old fan cracked, then flew apart. I have the new fan, have the motor assembly removed, but can't seem to get the pulley nut off the motor to replace the fan. Is there a trick to this or should I just try to muscle it? Thanks.
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IT'S ALL about balance.
Balancing activity with stillness, give and take, spending and saving…my ever-growing "List", with freedom to do whatever, whenever…I could go on and on.
The point?
Life can fill up every corner of your being, leaving your Life full — but with things that don't matter. As I navigate through Life, there are always choices. Sometimes I make good ones, sometimes…well, I could have chosen better. Much better.
How does one choose which path to take? For me it really is fairly simple–but, only if I am listening.
Balancing the things I want to do with the things that should be done. With emphasis heavily on 'should'. If I am listening then the decision is easy. If I listen and decide to ignore, then usually things go wrong. Terribly wrong sometimes.
So, if I do not take the time to listen — to quiet myself in this busy world of our, then quite often I miss what is being said to me. Lost treasures, gems of wisdom that fall to the wayside. I know I should. I plan to. But there are so many times I forget, plan it for later or just blow it off when I am so overwhelmed with everything that is going on.
Precisely the time I should be craving the quiet-time so I can bring everything back into balance. Stupidly ignore the signs, the whispered thoughts in my mind, the gentle nudges that try to guide me in the right direction.
Right now I am struggling with balancing my God-given common sense of what I need to do with my desires to just keep moving forward with my life as if nothing is changing…
Life is a bit overwhelming right now. Even trying to find the right compromises to keep it in balance seems overwhelming. And trying to find that quiet time, so very important, is hard because, apparently, I am deliberately avoiding it. I, one who never shrinks from confrontational situations, find myself making excuses to put off even thinking about what needs to be done because it will, no doubt, involve some very major life-changing decisions. Ones I'm not ready to make, apparently.
To complicate matters — or is it just to delay the inevitable longer — the writing frenzy of NaNoWriMo begins in less than two days. I am excited and fully committed to completing this, but these two things in my life are not going to work harmoniously together. I'm very sure of that.
So, either I must make my decision before November 1st, or put it out of my mind as completely as possible for one month. As a true Procrastinator, I think I choose the latter. Besides. That gives me time to discover that very important quiet place that seems to be eluding me right now.