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Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) has extensive expertise in developing state-of-art algorithms to retrieve atmospheric and surface properties from ground- and space-based sensors. We also support end-to-end modeling studies used in the design of sensors and measurement systems. Working closely with radiative transfer experts at AER, our approach takes a comprehensive view, starting with advancing knowledge of radiative transfer phenomena followed by the development of appropriate modeling methods and algorithms and leading to system calibration and algorithm validation/verification.
In work spanning a wide variety of sensor types, our experts are experienced in validating retrievals against independent measurements and evaluating models and algorithms using simulations. Our test environment includes the capability for end-to-end simulation of all the processes that affect remote sensing measurements—from emission by realistic Earth scenes to antenna/channel response and system calibration. With these simulation tools we are able to evaluate the effects of sensor design decisions on the bottom-line performance of environmental retrievals.
Remote Sensing Across the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Our radiative transfer modeling and retrieval approaches are consistent across the full electromagnetic spectrum, providing a foundation for a uniform approach to remote sensing, applicable to individual sensors and required by multi-spectral data fusion. Our scientists developed and continue to validate AER's Optimal Spectral Sampling (OSS) model.
Our remote sensing experts develop state-of-the-art algorithms to support end-to-end modeling studies used in the design of sensors to measure the distribution of trace gases in the atmosphere. These data provide key information for the characterization of air pollution and atmospheric change on a global scale. Much of our work also leverages AER’s chemical modeling expertise to provide realistic profiles of atmospheric composition and to build our overall understanding of the needs of the data user community through use of satellite and aircraft sensor data in other geophysical models.
Infrared Remote Sensing - AER has extensive expertise in retrieving atmospheric and surface properties from infrared sensors, with a special focus on the development of geophysical parameter algorithms and ultra-fast radiative transfer models for various sensor-specific applications.
Microwave Remote Sensing - Our experts develop algorithms to retrieve a broad range of environmental variables, from soil moisture to cirrus cloud properties to mesospheric temperatures. While the microwave spectrum is central to this work, data from infrared sensors and numerical weather prediction systems also play an integral part in our algorithms and analyses.
Key Environmental Monitoring Remote Sensing Projects
Monitor global land surface emissivities and temperatures from combined measurements from Terra and Aqua satellites (2005-present)
Key member of GOES-R ground-system team (2009-present)
Help develop algorithms for retrieval of atmospheric chemical species from Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (1990-present)
Develop satellite-based cloud analysis and forecasting system for the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) (1996-present)
Developed geophysical parameter retrieval algorithms for next generation polar orbiting satellites
Cross-Track Infrared Sounder Suite (NPOESS-CrIMSS), 1997-Present
Conically-scanned Microwave Imager Sounder (NPOESS-CMIS), 1997-2006
Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (NPOESS-OMPS), 1997-2002
To learn more about AER's Remote Sensing expertise, please contact us. | <urn:uuid:1c3fcf2b-8c0f-4d73-831a-2c27d6f00749> | {
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Problems common to the combined books Ezra-Nehemiah have been pointed out in the Introduction to the Book of Ezra. The achievements of the two men were complementary; each helped to make it possible for Judaism to maintain its identity during the difficult days of the Restoration. Ezra was the great religious reformer who succeeded in establishing the Torah as the constitution of the returned community. Nehemiah, governor of the province of Judah, was the man of action who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and introduced necessary administrative reforms.
The biblical sources for Nehemiah’s life and work are the autobiographical portions scattered through the book. They are called the “Memoirs of Nehemiah,” and have been used more effectively by the editor than the “Memoirs of Ezra.” The substantial authenticity of Nehemiah’s memoirs is widely accepted. From these and other sources, the picture emerges of a man dedicated to the single purpose of the welfare of his people. While serving as cupbearer to the king at the Persian court in Susa, Nehemiah received permission from Artaxerxes I to fortify Jerusalem, and served as governor of Judah for two terms, the first lasting twelve years (445–432 B.C.), the second of unknown length (Neh 5:14; 13:6). Despite temperamental shortcomings, Nehemiah was a man of good practical sense combined with deep faith in God. He used his influence as governor of Judah to serve God and the fledgling Jewish community in Jerusalem.
The Book of Nehemiah is divided as follows:
Nehemiah Hears Bad News. 1* The words of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah.
In the month Kislev of the twentieth year, I was in the citadel of Susa 2when Hanani, one of my brothers, came with other men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews, the remnant preserved after the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3They answered me: “The survivors of the captivity there in the province are in great distress and under reproach. The wall of Jerusalem has been breached, its gates gutted by fire.” 4When I heard this report, I began to weep and continued mourning for several days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
5* a I prayed: “LORD, God of heaven, great and awesome God, you preserve your covenant of mercy with those who love you and keep your commandments. 6b May your ears be attentive, and your eyes open, to hear the prayer that I, your servant, now offer in your presence day and night for your servants the Israelites, confessing the sins we have committed against you, I and my ancestral house included. 7c We have greatly offended you, not keeping the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances you entrusted to your servant Moses. 8d But remember the admonition which you addressed to Moses, your servant, when you said: If you prove faithless, I will scatter you among the peoples; 9but if you return to me and carefully keep my commandments, even though your outcasts have been driven to the farthest corner of the world, I will gather them from there, and bring them back to the place I have chosen as the dwelling place for my name. 10e They are your servants, your people, whom you freed by your great might and strong hand. 11f LORD, may your ears be attentive to the prayer of your servant and that of all your servants who willingly revere your name. Grant success to your servant this day, and let him find favor with this man”—for I was cupbearer to the king.*
* [1:1] The first mission of Nehemiah, from the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I, lasted from the spring (2:1) of 445 B.C. until 433 B.C. (5:14). It is recounted in 1:1–6:15; 12:27–43; 6:16–7:5; 11:1–21; in terms of chronology, these texts may usefully be read in that order. Kislev: the ninth month (November–December). Susa: the winter residence of the Persian kings, in southwest Iran.
* [1:5] Nehemiah’s prayer is a communal confession of sin, characteristic of Second Temple piety; cf. Ezr 9:6–15; Neh 9:6–37; Dn 9:4–19.
* [1:11] Cupbearer to the king: an important official in the royal household.
a. [1:5] Dt 7:9, 12; Dn 9:4.
b. [1:6] 2 Chr 6:40.
c. [1:7] Dn 3:29–30.
d. [1:8] Dt 30:1–5.
e. [1:10] Dt 9:29.
f. [1:11] Ps 118:25.
Appointment by the King. 1In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when the wine was in my charge, I took some and offered it to the king. Because I had never before been sad in his presence, 2the king asked me, “Why do you look sad? If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart.” Though I was seized with great fear, 3I answered the king: “May the king live forever! How could I not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates consumed by fire?” 4The king asked me, “What is it, then, that you wish?” I prayed to the God of heaven 5and then answered the king: “If it please the king, and if your servant is deserving of your favor, send me to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, that I may rebuild it.” 6Then the king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take and when will you return?” My answer was acceptable to the king and he agreed to let me go; I set a date for my return.
7I asked the king further: “If it please the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of West-of-Euphrates, that they may give me safe-conduct till I arrive in Judah; 8a also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal woods, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the temple citadel, for the city wall and the house that I will occupy.” Since I enjoyed the good favor of my God, the king granted my requests. 9b Thus I proceeded to the governors of West-of-Euphrates and presented the king’s letters to them. The king also sent with me army officers and cavalry.
10When Sanballat the Horonite* and Tobiah the Ammonite official had heard of this, they were very much displeased that someone had come to improve the lot of the Israelites.
Circuit of the City. 11c When I arrived in Jerusalem, and had been there three days, 12I set out by night with only a few other men and with no other animals but my own mount (for I had not told anyone what my God had inspired me to do for Jerusalem). 13* I rode out at night by the Valley Gate, passed by the Dragon Spring, and came to the Dung Gate, observing how the walls of Jerusalem were breached and its gates consumed by fire. 14Then I passed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool. Since there was no room here for my mount to pass with me astride, 15I continued on foot up the wadi by night, inspecting the wall all the while, until I once more reached the Valley Gate, by which I went back in. 16The magistrates knew nothing of where I had gone or what I was doing, for as yet I had disclosed nothing to the Jews, neither to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the magistrates, nor to the others who were to do the work.
Decision to Rebuild the City Wall. 17Afterward I said to them: “You see the trouble we are in: how Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been gutted by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer be a reproach!” 18d Then I explained to them how God had shown his gracious favor to me, and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us begin building!” And they undertook the work with vigor.
19When they heard about this, Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab* mocked and ridiculed us. “What are you doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?” 20My answer to them was this: “It is the God of heaven who will grant us success. We, his servants, shall set about the rebuilding; but you have neither share nor claim nor memorial* in Jerusalem.”
* [2:10] Sanballat the Horonite: the governor of the province of Samaria (3:33–34), apparently a native of one of the Beth-horons. A letter from the Jews living at Elephantine in southern Egypt, dated 408–407 B.C., mentions “Delayah and Shelemyah, the sons of Sanballat, the governor of Samaria,” and papyri discovered in the Wadi ed-Dâliyeh in the Jordan Valley refer to a Sanballat, governor of Samaria, during the last years of Persian rule. Although his own name was Babylonian—Sin-uballit, i.e., “Sin (the moon god) has given life”—his two sons had names based on the divine name Yhwh. Tobiah the Ammonite official: the governor of the province of Ammon in Transjordan. His title, “official,” lit., “servant” (in Hebrew, ‘ebed), could also be understood as “slave,” and Nehemiah perhaps meant it in this derogatory sense. The Tobiads remained a powerful family even in Maccabean times, and something of their history is known from 2 Maccabees (3:11; 12:17), Josephus (Ant. 12:160–236), the Zeno papyri of the third century B.C., and excavation at ‘Araq el-‘Emir in Jordan. Sanballat and Tobiah, together with Geshem the Arab (Neh 2:19; 6:1–2), who was probably in charge of Edom and the regions to the south and southeast of Judah, opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls on political grounds; the city was the capital of a rival province.
* [2:13–15] Nehemiah left Jerusalem by the Valley Gate near the northwestern end of the old City of David and went south down the Tyropoean Valley toward the Dragon Spring (or the En-rogel [Jos 15:7; 18:16; 2 Sm 17:17; 1 Kgs 1:9], now known as Job’s Well) at the juncture of the Valley of Hinnom and the Kidron Valley. He then turned north at the Dung Gate (or the Potsherd Gate of Jer 19:2) at the southern end of the city and proceeded up the wadi, that is, the Kidron Valley, passing the Fountain Gate (at the Spring of Gihon) and the King’s Pool (unidentified); finally he turned west and then south to his starting point.
* [2:19] Geshem the Arab: see also 6:1–2; in 6:6 the name occurs as Gashmu. He is known from a contemporary inscription as ruler of the Kedarite Arabs, who were threatening Judah from the south and east.
* [2:20] Neither share nor claim nor memorial: although Sanballat and Tobiah worshiped Yhwh, Nehemiah would not let them participate in any of the activities of the religious community in Jerusalem.
a. [2:8] Ezr 7:6.
b. [2:9] Ezr 8:22.
c. [2:11] Ezr 8:32.
d. [2:18] Ezr 7:6.
List of Workers. 1* a Eliashib the high priest and his priestly kinsmen took up the task of rebuilding the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, then continued the rebuilding to the Tower of the Hundred, the Tower of Hananel. 2At their side the men of Jericho were rebuilding, and next to them was Zaccur, son of Imri. 3b The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the people of Hassenaah; they timbered it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 4At their side Meremoth, son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, carried out the work of repair; next to him was Meshullam, son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel; and next to him was Zadok, son of Baana. 5Next to him the Tekoites carried out the work of repair; however, some of their most powerful men would not submit to the labor asked by their masters. 6The Mishneh Gate* was repaired by Joiada, son of Paseah; and Meshullam, son of Besodeiah; they timbered it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 7At their side Melatiah the Gibeonite did the repairing, together with Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, who were under the jurisdiction of the governor of West-of-Euphrates. 8Next to them the work of repair was carried out by Uzziel, son of Harhaiah, a member of the goldsmiths’ guild, and at his side was Hananiah, one of the perfumers’ guild. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.* 9Next to them the work of repair was carried out by Rephaiah, son of Hur, administrator of half the district of Jerusalem, 10and at his side was Jedaiah, son of Harumaph, who repaired opposite his own house. Next to him Hattush, son of Hashabneiah, carried out the work of repair. 11The adjoining sector, as far as the Oven Tower, was repaired by Malchijah, son of Harim, and Hasshub, son of Pahath-moab. 12At their side the work of repair was carried out by Shallum, son of Hallohesh, administrator of half the district of Jerusalem, together with his daughters. 13The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they rebuilt it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. They also repaired a thousand cubits of the wall up to the Dung Gate. 14The Dung Gate was repaired by Malchijah, son of Rechab, administrator of the district of Beth-haccherem; he rebuilt it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 15The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallum, son of Colhozeh, administrator of the district of Mizpah; he rebuilt it, roofed it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. He also repaired the wall of the Aqueduct Pool near the King’s Garden as far as the steps that lead down from the City of David. 16After him, the work of repair was carried out by Nehemiah, son of Azbuk, administrator of half the district of Beth-zur, to a place opposite the tombs of David, as far as the Artificial Pool and the barracks.
17After him, these Levites carried out the work of repair: Rehum, son of Bani, and next to him, for his own district, was Hashabiah, administrator of half the district of Keilah. 18After him, their kinsmen carried out the work of repair: Binnui, son of Henadad, administrator of half the district of Keilah; 19next to him Ezer, son of Jeshua, administrator of Mizpah, who repaired the adjoining sector, the Corner, opposite the ascent to the arsenal. 20After him, Baruch, son of Zabbai, repaired the adjoining sector from the Corner to the entrance of the house of Eliashib, the high priest. 21After him, Meremoth, son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired the adjoining sector from the entrance of Eliashib’s house to its end.
22After him, the work of repair was carried out by the priests, men of the surrounding country. 23After them, Benjamin and Hasshub carried out the repair in front of their houses; after them, Azariah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, made the repairs alongside his house. 24After him, Binnui, son of Henadad, repaired the adjoining sector from the house of Azariah to the Corner (that is, to the Angle). 25After him, Palal, son of Uzai, carried out the work of repair opposite the Corner and the tower projecting from the Upper Palace at the quarters of the guard. After him, Pedaiah, son of Parosh, carried out the work of repair 26to a point opposite the Water Gate on the east, and the projecting tower. 27After him, the Tekoites repaired the adjoining sector opposite the great projecting tower, to the wall of Ophel.
28Above the Horse Gate the priests carried out the work of repair, each opposite his own house. 29c After them Zadok, son of Immer, carried out the repair opposite his house, and after him the repair was carried out by Shemaiah, son of Shecaniah, keeper of the East Gate. 30After him, Hananiah, son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired the adjoining sector; after them, Meshullam, son of Berechiah, repaired the place opposite his own lodging. 31After him, Malchijah, a member of the goldsmiths’ guild, carried out the work of repair as far as the quarters of the temple servants and the merchants, in front of the Gate of Inspection and as far as the upper chamber of the Angle. 32Between the upper chamber of the Angle and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out the work of repair.
Opposition from Judah’s Enemies. 33When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and very much incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 34saying in the presence of his associates and the troops of Samaria: “What are these miserable Jews trying to do? Will they complete their restoration in a single day? Will they recover these stones, burnt as they are, from the heaps of dust?” 35Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said: “Whatever they are building—if a fox attacks it, it will breach their wall of stones!” 36Hear, our God, how we were mocked! Turn back their reproach upon their own heads and deliver them up as plunder in a land of captivity! 37d Do not hide their crime and do not let their sin be blotted out in your sight, for they insulted the builders to their faces! 38We, however, continued to build the wall, and soon it was completed up to half its height. The people worked enthusiastically.
* [3:1–32] The construction work on the gates and walls of the city is described in counterclockwise direction, beginning and ending at the Sheep Gate (to the north of the Temple). The exact locations of many of the topographical points mentioned are uncertain.
* [3:6] The Mishneh Gate: the gate leading into the second, expanded quarter of the city; cf. 2 Kgs 22:14; Zep 1:10.
* [3:8] The Broad Wall: perhaps identical with the wall, seven meters thick, discovered in the Jewish quarter of the Old City.
a. [3:1] Jer 31:38.
b. [3:3] Ezr 2:35; Zep 1:10.
c. [3:29] Ez 40:6.
d. [3:37] Neh 6:14; 13:29; Jer 18:23.
1When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem was progressing—for the gaps were beginning to be closed up—they became extremely angry. 2They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to throw us into confusion. 3We prayed to our God and posted a watch against them day and night for fear of what they might do. 4Meanwhile the Judahites were saying:
“Slackened is the bearers’ strength,
there is no end to the rubbish;
Never will we be able
to rebuild the wall.”
5Our enemies thought, “Before they are aware of it or see us, we will come into their midst, kill them, and put an end to the work.”
6When the Jews who lived near them had come to us from one place after another, and had told us ten times over that they were about to attack us, 7I stationed guards down below, behind the wall, near the exposed points, assigning them by family groups with their swords, spears, and bows. 8I made an inspection, then addressed these words to the nobles, the magistrates, and the rest of the people: “Do not fear them! Keep in mind the LORD, who is great and to be feared, and fight for your kindred, your sons and daughters, your wives and your homes.” 9When our enemies realized that we had been warned and that God had upset their plan, we all went back, each to our own task at the wall.
10a From that time on, however, only half my work force took a hand in the work, while the other half, armed with spears, bucklers, bows, and breastplates, stood guard behind the whole house of Judah 11as they rebuilt the wall. The load carriers, too, were armed; each worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. 12Every builder, while working, had a sword tied at his side. A trumpeter stood beside me, 13for I had said to the nobles, the magistrates, and the rest of the people: “Our work is scattered and extensive, and we are widely separated from one another along the wall; 14wherever you hear the trumpet sound, join us there; our God will fight with us.” 15Thus we went on with the work, half with spears in hand, from daybreak till the stars came out.
16At the same time I told the people to spend the nights inside Jerusalem, each with an attendant, so that they might serve as a guard by night and a working force by day. 17Neither I, nor my kindred, nor any of my attendants, nor any of the bodyguard that accompanied me took off our clothes; everyone kept a weapon at hand.
a. [4:10] Ps 149:6.
Social and Economic Problems. 1a Then there rose a great outcry of the people and their wives against certain of their Jewish kindred.* 2Some said: “We are forced to pawn our sons and daughters in order to get grain to eat that we may live.” 3Others said: “We are forced to pawn our fields, our vineyards, and our houses, that we may have grain during the famine.” 4Still others said: “To pay the king’s tax we have borrowed money on our fields and vineyards. 5b And though these are our own kindred, and our children are as good as theirs, we have had to reduce our sons and daughters to slavery, and violence has been done to some of our daughters! Yet we can do nothing about it, for our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
6I was extremely angry when I heard the reasons for their complaint. 7c After some deliberation, I called the nobles and magistrates to account, saying to them, “You are exacting interest from your own kindred!”* I then rebuked them severely, 8d saying to them: “As far as we were able, we bought back our Jewish kindred who had been sold to Gentiles; you, however, are selling your own kindred, to have them bought back by us.” They remained silent, for they could find no answer. 9I continued: “What you are doing is not good. Should you not conduct yourselves out of fear of our God rather than fear of the reproach of our Gentile enemies? 10I myself, my kindred, and my attendants have lent the people money and grain without charge. Let us put an end to this usury! 11Return to them this very day their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, together with the interest on the money, the grain, the wine, and the oil that you have lent them.” 12They answered: “We will return everything and exact nothing further from them. We will do just what you ask.” Then I called for the priests to administer an oath to them that they would do as they had promised. 13I shook out the folds of my garment, saying, “Thus may God shake from home and fortune every man who fails to keep this promise, and may he thus be shaken out and emptied!” And the whole assembly answered, “Amen,” and praised the LORD. Then the people did as they had promised.
Nehemiah’s Record. 14Moreover, from the time that King Artaxerxes appointed me governor in the land of Judah, from his twentieth to his thirty-second year—during these twelve years neither I nor my kindred lived off the governor’s food allowance. 15The earlier governors,* my predecessors, had laid a heavy burden on the people, taking from them each day forty silver shekels for their food; then, too, their attendants oppressed the people. But I, because I feared God, did not do this. 16In addition, though I had acquired no land of my own, I did my part in this work on the wall, and all my attendants were gathered there for the work. 17Though I set my table for a hundred and fifty persons, Jews and magistrates, as well as the neighboring Gentiles who came to us, 18and though the daily preparations were made at my expense—one ox, six choice sheep, poultry—besides all kinds of wine in abundance every ten days, despite this I did not claim the governor’s allowance, for the labor lay heavy upon this people. 19Keep in mind, my God, to my credit all that I did for this people.
* [5:1] Certain of their Jewish kindred: probably Jews who had returned from Babylonia who formed the social and economic elite in the province.
* [5:7] You are exacting interest from your own kindred!: contrary to the Mosaic law (Dt 23:20).
* [5:15] The earlier governors: both Sheshbazzar (Ezr 5:14) and Zerubbabel (Hg 1:1, 14; 2:2, 21) are said to be governors, and Mal 1:8 mentions a governor but does not name him. Other names are known from seal impressions of uncertain date.
a. [5:1] Jer 34:8–22.
b. [5:5] Ex 21:7; Lv 25:39.
c. [5:7] Dt 23:20.
d. [5:8] Lv 25:48.
Plots Against Nehemiah. 1When it had been reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and our other enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and that there was no breach left in it (though up to that time I had not yet set up the doors in the gates), 2Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us hold council together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.” They were planning to do me harm. 3I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am engaged in a great enterprise and am unable to come down. Why should the work stop, while I leave it to come down to you?” 4Four times they sent me this same proposal, and each time I gave the same reply. 5Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent me the same message by one of his servants, who bore an unsealed letter 6containing this text: “Among the nations it has been reported—Gashmu* is witness to this—that you and the Jews are planning a rebellion; that for this reason you are rebuilding the wall; and that you are to be their king. 7Also, that you have set up prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim you king of Judah. Now, since matters like these will reach the ear of the king, come, let us hold council together.” 8I sent him this answer: “Nothing of what you report is happening; rather, it is the invention of your own mind.” 9They were all trying to intimidate us, thinking, “They will be discouraged from continuing with the work, and it will never be completed.” But instead, I then redoubled my efforts.
10I went to the house of Shemaiah, son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his house, and he said: “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple building; let us lock the doors of the temple. For they are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.” 11My answer was: “A man like me take flight? Should a man like me enter the temple to save his life? I will not go!” 12For on consideration, it was plain to me that God had not sent him; rather, because Tobiah and Sanballat had bribed him, he voiced this prophecy concerning me, 13that I might act on it out of fear and commit this sin. Then they would have had a shameful story with which to discredit me. 14a Keep in mind Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of these things they did; keep in mind as well Noadiah the woman prophet and the other prophets who were trying to intimidate me.
Completion of the Work. 15The wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul;* the work had taken fifty-two days. 16b When all our enemies had heard of this, and all the neighboring Gentiles round about had taken note of it, they were very discouraged, for they knew that it was with our God’s help that this work had been completed. 17At that same time, however, many letters were going to Tobiah from the nobles of Judah, and Tobiah’s letters were reaching them, 18for many in Judah were in league with him, since he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah, son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam, son of Berechiah. 19They would praise his good deeds in my presence and relate to him whatever I said; and Tobiah sent letters trying to intimidate me.
* [6:6] Gashmu: elsewhere (vv. 1–2; 2:19) the name is given as Geshem.
* [6:15] Elul: the sixth month (August–September). Fifty-two days: according to Josephus (Ant. 11:174–183), the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah took two years and four months.
a. [6:14] Jer 23:9–40; Zec 13:3.
b. [6:16] Ps 118:22–23; 127:1.
1Now that the wall had been rebuilt, I had the doors set up, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites were put in charge of them. 2Over Jerusalem I placed Hanani, my brother, and Hananiah, the commander of the citadel, who was more trustworthy and God-fearing than most. 3I said to them: “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot, and while the sun is still shining they shall shut and bar the doors. Appoint as sentinels the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their watch posts, and others in front of their own houses.”
Census of the Province. 4Now, the city was quite wide and spacious, but its population was small, and none of the houses had been rebuilt. 5When my God had inspired me to gather together the nobles, the magistrates, and the people, and to examine their family records, I came upon the family list of those who had returned in the earliest period. There I found the following written:
6* a These are the inhabitants of the province who returned from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away, and who came back to Jerusalem and Judah, to their own cities: 7They returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.
The census of the people of Israel: 8descendants of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; 9descendants of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; 10descendants of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two; 11descendants of Pahath-moab who were descendants of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen; 12descendants of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 13descendants of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five; 14descendants of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; 15descendants of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight; 16descendants of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight; 17descendants of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two; 18descendants of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven; 19descendants of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven; 20descendants of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five; 21descendants of Ater who were descendants of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; 22descendants of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight; 23descendants of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four; 24descendants of Hariph, one hundred and twelve; 25descendants of Gibeon, ninety-five; 26people of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight; 27people of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; 28people of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two; 29people of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; 30people of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; 31people of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; 32people of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three; 33people of Nebo, fifty-two; 34descendants of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 35descendants of Harim, three hundred and twenty; 36descendants of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; 37descendants of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one; 38descendants of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
39The priests: descendants of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; 40descendants of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; 41descendants of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; 42descendants of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.
43The Levites: descendants of Jeshua, Kadmiel of the descendants of Hodeviah, seventy-four.
44The singers: descendants of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.
45The gatekeepers: descendants of Shallum, descendants of Ater, descendants of Talmon, descendants of Akkub, descendants of Hatita, descendants of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight.
46The temple servants: descendants of Ziha, descendants of Hasupha, descendants of Tabbaoth, 47descendants of Keros, descendants of Sia, descendants of Padon, 48descendants of Lebana, descendants of Hagaba, descendants of Shalmai, 49descendants of Hanan, descendants of Giddel, descendants of Gahar, 50descendants of Reaiah, descendants of Rezin, descendants of Nekoda, 51descendants of Gazzam, descendants of Uzza, descendants of Paseah, 52descendants of Besai, descendants of the Meunites, descendants of the Nephusites, 53descendants of Bakbuk, descendants of Hakupha, descendants of Harhur, 54descendants of Bazlith, descendants of Mehida, descendants of Harsha, 55descendants of Barkos, descendants of Sisera, descendants of Temah, 56descendants of Neziah, descendants of Hatipha.
57Descendants of Solomon’s servants: descendants of Sotai, descendants of Sophereth, descendants of Perida, 58descendants of Jaala, descendants of Darkon, descendants of Giddel, 59descendants of Shephatiah, descendants of Hattil, descendants of Pochereth-hazzebaim, descendants of Amon. 60The total of the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants was three hundred and ninety-two.
61The following who returned from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer were unable to prove that their ancestral houses and their descent were Israelite: 62descendants of Delaiah, descendants of Tobiah, descendants of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two. 63Also, of the priests: descendants of Hobaiah, descendants of Hakkoz, descendants of Barzillai (he had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was named after him). 64These men searched their family records, but their names could not be found written there; hence they were disqualified from the priesthood, 65and the governor* ordered them not to partake of the most holy foods until there should be a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
66The entire assembly taken together came to forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, 67not counting their male and female servants, who were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven. They also had two hundred male and female singers. Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, 68their camels four hundred and thirty-five, their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
69Certain of the heads of ancestral houses contributed to the temple service. The governor put into the treasury one thousand drachmas of gold, fifty basins, thirty vestments for priests, and five hundred minas of silver. 70Some of the heads of ancestral houses contributed to the treasury for the temple service: twenty thousand drachmas of gold and two thousand two hundred minas of silver. 71The contributions of the rest of the people amounted to twenty thousand drachmas of gold, two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven vestments for priests.
72The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all Israel took up residence in their cities.
* [7:6–72] See note on Ezr 2:1–67.
* [7:65, 69] The governor: see note on Ezr 2:63.
a. [7:6] Ezr 2:1–70.
Ezra Reads the Law. 1* a Now when the seventh month came, the whole people gathered as one in the square in front of the Water Gate, and they called upon Ezra the scribe to bring forth the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded for Israel. 2b On the first day of the seventh month, therefore, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, which consisted of men, women, and those children old enough to understand. 3In the square in front of the Water Gate, Ezra read out of the book from daybreak till midday, in the presence of the men, the women, and those children old enough to understand; and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law. 4Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the occasion; at his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, and on his left Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, Meshullam. 5Ezra opened the scroll so that all the people might see it, for he was standing higher than any of the people. When he opened it, all the people stood. 6Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people, their hands raised high, answered, “Amen, amen!” Then they knelt down and bowed before the LORD, their faces to the ground. 7c The Levites Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah explained the law to the people, who remained in their places. 8d Ezra read clearly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read. 9Then Nehemiah, that is, the governor, and Ezra the priest-scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all the people: “Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not lament, do not weep!”—for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. 10e He continued: “Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our LORD. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD is your strength!” 11And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Silence! Today is holy, do not be saddened.” 12Then all the people began to eat and drink, to distribute portions, and to celebrate with great joy, for they understood the words that had been explained to them.
The Feast of Booths. 13On the second day, the heads of ancestral houses of the whole people, and also the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to study the words of the law. 14f They found it written in the law commanded by the LORD through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month; 15g and that they should have this proclamation made throughout their cities and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring in branches of olive, oleaster, myrtle, palm, and other trees in leaf, to make booths, as it is written.” 16The people went out and brought in branches with which they made booths for themselves, on the roof of their houses, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, and in the squares of the Water Gate and the Gate of Ephraim. 17h So the entire assembly of the returned exiles made booths and dwelt in them. Now the Israelites had done nothing of this sort from the days of Jeshua, son of Nun, until this occasion; therefore there was very great joy. 18Ezra read from the book of the law of God day after day, from the first day to the last. They kept the feast for seven days, and the solemn assembly on the eighth day, as was required.
* [8:1–18] Chronologically this belongs after Ezr 8:36. The gloss mentioning Nehemiah in Neh 8:9 was inserted in this Ezra section after the dislocation of several parts of Ezra-Nehemiah had occurred. There is no clear evidence of a simultaneous presence of Nehemiah and Ezra in Jerusalem; Neh 12:26, 36 are also scribal glosses.
a. [8:1] Ezr 3:1.
b. [8:2] Lv 23:23–25; Nm 29:1–6.
c. [8:7] Neh 10:10–13.
d. [8:8] Ezr 7:6.
e. [8:10] Est 9:19.
f. [8:14] Ex 23:14–16; Lv 23:33–36; Nm 29:1–38; Ez 45:25.
g. [8:15] Ps 118:27.
h. [8:17] 2 Chr 30:26; 35:18.
Public Confession of Sin. 1* a On the twenty-fourth day of this month, the Israelites gathered together while fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust. 2b Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all who were of foreign extraction, then stood forward and confessed their sins and the guilty deeds of their ancestors. 3When they had taken their places, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God, for a fourth of the day, and during another fourth they made their confession and bowed down before the LORD their God. 4Standing on the platform of the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, who cried out to the LORD their God, with a loud voice. 5c The Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said,
“Arise, bless the LORD, your God,
from eternity to eternity!”
“And may they bless your glorious name,
which is exalted above all blessing and praise.”
6* “You are the LORD, you alone;
You made the heavens,
the highest heavens and all their host,
The earth and all that is upon it,
the seas and all that is in them.
To all of them you give life,
the heavenly hosts bow down before you.
7d You are the LORD God
who chose Abram,
Who brought him from Ur of the Chaldees,
who named him Abraham.
8e You found his heart faithful in your sight,
you made the covenant with him
To give the land of the Canaanites,
Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites
to him and his descendants.
You fulfilled your promises,
for you are just.
9f You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt,
you heard their cry by the Red Sea;
10g You worked signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
against all his servants and the people of his land,
Because you knew of their insolence toward them;
thus you made for yourself a name even to this day.
11h The sea you divided before them,
on dry ground they passed through the midst of the sea;
Their pursuers you hurled into the depths,
like a stone into the mighty waters.
12i With a column of cloud you led them by day,
and by night with a column of fire,
To light the way of their journey,
the way in which they must travel.
13j On Mount Sinai you came down,
you spoke with them from heaven;
You gave them just ordinances, true laws,
good statutes and commandments;
14k Your holy sabbath you made known to them,
commandments, statutes, and law you prescribed for them,
by the hand of Moses your servant.
15l Food from heaven you gave them in their hunger,
water from a rock you sent them in their thirst.
You told them to enter and occupy the land
which you had sworn to give them.
16But they, our ancestors, proved to be insolent;
they were obdurate* and did not obey your commandments.
17m They refused to obey and no longer remembered
the wonders you had worked for them.
They were obdurate and appointed a leader
in order to return to their slavery in Egypt.
But you are a forgiving God, gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and rich in mercy;
you did not forsake them.
18n Though they made for themselves a molten calf,
and proclaimed, ‘Here is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’
and were guilty of great insults,
19Yet in your great mercy
you did not forsake them in the desert.
By day the column of cloud did not cease to lead them on their journey,
by night the column of fire did not cease to light the way they were to travel.
20o Your good spirit you bestowed on them,
to give them understanding;
Your manna you did not withhold from their mouths,
and you gave them water in their thirst.
21p Forty years in the desert you sustained them:
they did not want;
Their garments did not become worn,
and their feet did not swell.
22q You gave them kingdoms and peoples,
which you divided among them as border lands.
They possessed the land of Sihon, king of Heshbon,
and the land of Og, king of Bashan.
23r You made their children as numerous as the stars of the heavens,
and you brought them into the land
which you had commanded their ancestors to enter and possess.
24The children went in to possess the land;
you humbled before them the Canaanite inhabitants
and gave them into their power,
Their kings and the peoples of the land,
to do with them as they wished.
25s They captured fortified cities and fertile land;
they took possession of houses filled with all good things,
Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves,
and fruit trees in abundance.
They ate and had their fill,
fattened and feasted on your great goodness.
26t But they were contemptuous and rebelled against you:
they cast your law behind their backs.
They murdered your prophets
who bore witness against them to bring them back to you:
they were guilty of great insults.
27u Therefore you gave them into the power of their enemies,
who oppressed them.
But in the time of their oppression they would cry out to you,
and you would hear them from heaven,
And according to your great mercy give them saviors
to deliver them from the power of their enemies.
28As soon as they had relief,
they would go back to doing evil in your sight.
Again you abandoned them to the power of their enemies,
who crushed them.
Once again they cried out to you, and you heard them from heaven
and delivered them according to your mercy, many times over.
29v You bore witness against them,
to bring them back to your law.
But they were insolent
and would not obey your commandments;
They sinned against your ordinances,
which give life to those who keep them.
They turned stubborn backs, stiffened their necks,
and would not obey.
30You were patient with them for many years,
bearing witness against them through your spirit, by means of your prophets;
Still they would not listen.
Therefore you delivered them into the power of the peoples of the lands.
31Yet in your great mercy you did not completely destroy them
and did not forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.
32w Now, our God, great, mighty, and awesome God,
who preserves the covenant of mercy,
do not discount all the hardship that has befallen us,
Our kings, our princes, our priests,
our prophets, our ancestors, and your entire people,
from the time of the kings of Assyria until this day!
33x In all that has come upon us you have been just,
for you kept faith while we have done evil.
34Yes, our kings, our princes, our priests, and our ancestors
have not kept your law;
They paid no attention to your commandments
and the warnings which you gave them.
35While they were still in their kingdom,
in the midst of the many good things that you had given them
And in the wide, fertile land
that you had spread out before them,
They did not serve you
nor turn away from their evil deeds.
36Today we are slaves!
As for the land which you gave our ancestors
That they might eat its fruits and good things—
see, we have become slaves upon it!
37Its rich produce goes to the kings
you set over us because of our sins,
Who rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please.
We are in great distress!”
* [9:1–5] The feast of Booths is followed by a penitential liturgy. Since it includes separation from foreigners, some read it as a sequel to Ezr 9–10.
* [9:6–37] The Septuagint attributes the prayer to Ezra; cf. Ezr 9:6–15.
* [9:16] They were obdurate: lit., “they stiffened their necks.”
a. [9:1] Dn 9:3.
b. [9:2] Ezr 9:1–2; 10:11.
c. [9:5] Ps 41:14; 106:48; Dn 2:20; 3:52.
d. [9:7] Gn 12:1; 17:5.
e. [9:8] Gn 15:18–19.
f. [9:9] Ex 2:23–24.
g. [9:10] Ex 7–11; 14.
h. [9:11] Ex 15:5, 10.
i. [9:12] Ex 13:21–22.
j. [9:13] Ex 19–24.
k. [9:14] Ex 20:8.
l. [9:15] Ex 16:4; 17:1–2.
m. [9:17] Ex 34:6; Nm 14:1–4; Dt 9:9.
n. [9:18] Ex 32:4, 8.
o. [9:20] Dt 2:7.
p. [9:21] Dt 8:4.
q. [9:22] Nm 21:21–35; Dt 1:4; 2:26–3:11.
r. [9:23] Dt 1:10.
s. [9:25] Dt 3:5; 6:10–11; 11:11; 32:15.
t. [9:26] Wis 2:10–20.
u. [9:27] Dn 9:19.
v. [9:29] Lv 18:5; Dt 30:16; 32:47.
w. [9:32] Lam 5.
x. [9:33] Dn 3:27; 9:14.
Signatories to the Pact. 1* In view of all this, we are entering into a firm pact, which we are putting into writing. On the sealed document appear the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.
2On the sealed document: the governor Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah.
3a Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 4Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 5Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 6Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 7Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 8Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 9Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these are the priests.
10The Levites: Jeshua, son of Azaniah; Binnui, of the descendants of Henadad; Kadmiel; 11b and their kinsmen Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 12Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 13Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 14Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.
15The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 16Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 17Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 18Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 19Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 20Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 21Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 22Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 23Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 24Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 25Hallhohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 26Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 27Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, 28Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
Provisions of the Pact. 29The rest of the people, priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all others who have separated themselves from the local inhabitants in favor of the law of God, with their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who are of the age of discretion, 30c join their influential kindred, and with the sanction of a curse take this oath to follow the law of God given through Moses, the servant of God, and to observe carefully all the commandments of the LORD, our Lord, his ordinances and his statutes.
31d We will not marry our daughters to the local inhabitants, and we will not accept their daughters for our sons.
32e When the local inhabitants bring in merchandise or any kind of grain for sale on the sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or on any other holy day. In the seventh year we will forgo the produce, and forgive every kind of debt.
33f We impose these commandments on ourselves: to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God, 34for the showbread, the daily grain offering, the daily burnt offering, for the sabbaths, new moons, and festivals, for the holy offerings and sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, for every service of the house of our God. 35g We, priests, Levites, and people, have determined by lot concerning the procurement of wood: it is to be brought to the house of our God by each of our ancestral houses at stated times each year, to be burnt on the altar of the LORD, our God, as the law prescribes. 36h We have agreed to bring each year to the house of the LORD the first fruits of our fields and of our fruit trees, of every kind; 37also, as is prescribed in the law, to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in the house of our God, the firstborn of our children and our animals, including the firstborn of our flocks and herds. 38i The first batch of our dough, and our offerings of the fruit of every tree, of wine and oil, we will bring to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God. The tithe of our fields we will bring to the Levites; they, the Levites, shall take the tithe in all the cities of our service. 39An Aaronite priest shall be with the Levites when they take the tithe, and the Levites shall bring the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the treasury. 40For to these chambers the Israelites and Levites bring the offerings of grain, wine, and oil; there also are housed the vessels of the sanctuary, and the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.
* [10:1–39] This section belongs to the Nehemiah narrative rather than to that of Ezra. It is best read after Neh 13:31, since the stipulations of the pact seem to presuppose Nehemiah’s measures recorded in Neh 13. In view of all this: considering the situation described in Neh 13:4–31.
a. [10:3] Neh 12:1–7, 12–26.
b. [10:11] Ezr 10:23.
c. [10:30] Neh 13:23–27.
d. [10:31] Dt 7:2–4; Ezr 9:2, 12; Neh 13:15–22.
e. [10:32] Neh 5:1–13; 13:15–22; Ex 20:8; Lv 25:2–7.
f. [10:33] Lv 24:5–9; 2 Chr 24:6, 9–10.
g. [10:35] Neh 13:31.
h. [10:36] Ex 13:1, 11–16; Dt 26:1.
i. [10:38] Neh 13:10–14; Nm 18:21–32.
Resettlement of Jerusalem. 1* a The administrators took up residence in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one man in ten to reside in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine would remain in the other cities. 2The people blessed all those who willingly agreed to take up residence in Jerusalem.
3b These are the heads of the province who took up residence in Jerusalem. In the cities of Judah dwelt Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants, each on the property they owned in their own cities.
4In Jerusalem dwelt both Judahites and Benjaminites. Of the Judahites: Athaiah, son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mehallalel, of the sons of Perez; 5Maaseiah, son of Baruch, son of Colhozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, a son of the Shelanites. 6The total of the descendants of Perez who dwelt in Jerusalem was four hundred and sixty-eight people of substance.
7These were the Benjaminites: Sallu, son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah, 8and his kinsmen, warriors, nine hundred and twenty-eight in number. 9Joel, son of Zichri, was their commander, and Judah, son of Hassenuah, was second in command of the city.
10Among the priests were: Jedaiah; Joiarib; Jachin; 11Seraiah, son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God, 12and their kinsmen who carried out the temple service, eight hundred and twenty-two; Adaiah, son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah, 13and his kinsmen, heads of ancestral houses, two hundred and forty-two; and Amasai, son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, 14and his kinsmen, warriors, one hundred and twenty-eight. Their commander was Zabdiel, son of Haggadol.
15Among the Levites were Shemaiah, son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni; 16Shabbethai and Jozabad, levitical chiefs who were placed over the external affairs of the house of God; 17Mattaniah, son of Micah, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, director of the psalms, who led the thanksgiving at prayer; Bakbukiah, second in rank among his kinsmen; and Abda, son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. 18The total of the Levites in the holy city was two hundred and eighty-four.
19The gatekeepers were Akkub, Talmon, and their kinsmen, who kept watch over the gates; one hundred and seventy-two in number.
20The rest of Israel, including priests and Levites, were in all the other cities of Judah in their own inheritances.
21The temple servants lived on Ophel. Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple servants.
22c The prefect of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi, son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micah; he was one of the descendants of Asaph, the singers appointed to the service of the house of God— 23for they had been appointed by royal decree, and there was a fixed schedule for the singers assigning them their daily duties.
24Pethahiah, son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah, son of Judah, was royal deputy in all affairs that concerned the people.
Other Settlements. 25As concerns their villages with their fields: Judahites lived in Kiriath-arba and its dependencies, in Dibon and its dependencies, in Jekabzeel and its villages, 26in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-pelet, 27in Hazarshual, in Beer-sheba and its dependencies, 28in Ziklag, in Meconah and its dependencies, 29in En-rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, 30Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, Azekah and its dependencies. They were settled from Beer-sheba to Ge-hinnom.
31Benjaminites were in Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its dependencies, 32Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 35Lod, Ono, and the Valley of the Artisans.
36Some divisions of the Levites from Judah were attached to Benjamin.
* [11:1–19] This list of the family heads who lived in Jerusalem at the time of Nehemiah is best read after Neh 7:72. It parallels at many points the list of early settlers in 1 Chr 9:2–17.
a. [11:1] Neh 7:4.
b. [11:3] 1 Chr 9:2–34.
c. [11:22] 2 Chr 20:14.
Priests and Levites at the Time of Zerubbabel. 1a The following are the priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah, 5Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the priestly heads and their kinsmen in the days of Jeshua.
8The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, Mattaniah, who, together with his kinsmen, was in charge of the thanksgiving hymns, 9while Bakbukiah and Unno and their kinsmen ministered opposite them by turns.
High Priests. 10* Jeshua became the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib the father of Joiada; 11Joiada the father of Johanan, and Johanan the father of Jaddua.
Priests and Levites Under Joiakim. 12b In the days of Joiakim these were the priestly family heads: for Seraiah, Meraiah; for Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13for Ezra, Meshullam; for Amariah, Jehohanan; 14for Malluchi, Jonathan; for Shebaniah, Joseph; 15for Harim, Adna; for Meremoth, Helkai; 16for Iddo, Zechariah; for Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17for Abijah, Zichri; for Miamin,…; for Moadiah, Piltai; 18for Bilgah, Shammua; for Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19and for Joiarib, Mattenai; for Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20for Sallu, Kallai; for Amok, Eber; 21for Hilkiah, Hashabiah; for Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22In the time of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the heads of ancestral houses of the priests were written down in the Book of Chronicles, up until the reign of Darius the Persian. 23The sons of Levi: the family heads were written down in the Book of Chronicles, up until the time of Johanan, the son of Eliashib.
24c The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel. Their kinsmen who stood opposite them to sing praises and thanksgiving in fulfillment of the command of David, the man of God, one section opposite the other, 25d were Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah.
Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers. They guarded the storerooms at the gates.
26All these lived in the time of Joiakim, son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak (and in the time of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest-scribe).
Dedication of the Wall. 27* At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out wherever they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate a joyful dedication with thanksgiving hymns and the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28The levitical singers gathered together from the region about Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, 29from Beth-gilgal, and from the plains of Geba and Azmaveth (for the singers had built themselves settlements about Jerusalem). 30The priests and Levites first purified themselves, then they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
31I had the administrators of Judah go up on the wall, and I arranged two great choirs. The first of these proceeded to the right, along the top of the wall, in the direction of the Dung Gate, 32followed by Hoshaiah and half the administrators of Judah, 33along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, 35priests with the trumpets, and also Zechariah, son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph, 36and his kinsmen Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God. Ezra the scribe was at their head. 37At the Fountain Gate they went straight up by the steps of the City of David and continued along the top of the wall above the house of David until they came to the Water Gate on the east.
38The second choir proceeded to the left, followed by myself and the other half of the administrators, along the top of the wall past the Oven Tower as far as the Broad Wall, 39then past the Ephraim Gate to the Mishneh Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Hundred Tower, as far as the Sheep Gate. They came to a halt at the Prison Gate.
40Both choirs took up a position in the house of God; I, too, and half the magistrates with me, 41together with the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, Hananiah, with the trumpets, 42and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers were heard under the leadership of Jezrahiah. 43Great sacrifices were offered on that day, and they rejoiced, for God had given them cause for great rejoicing. The women and the children joined in, and the rejoicing at Jerusalem could be heard from far off.
44* e At that time men were appointed over the chambers set aside for stores, offerings, first fruits, and tithes; in them they were to collect from the fields of the various cities the portions legally assigned to the priests and Levites. For Judah rejoiced in its appointed priests and Levites 45who carried out the ministry of their God and the ministry of purification (as did the singers and the gatekeepers) in accordance with the prescriptions of David and Solomon, his son. 46f For in the days of David and Asaph, long ago, there were leaders of singers for songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47g All Israel, in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the singers and the gatekeepers their portions, according to their daily needs. They made their consecrated offering to the Levites, and the Levites made theirs to the descendants of Aaron.
* [12:10–11] Jeshua was the high priest when Zerubbabel was governor, in the last decades of the sixth century B.C. (Hg 1:1, 12, 14; 2:2, 4). He was the grandfather of Eliashib, the high priest early in Nehemiah’s governorship (445–433 B.C.; Neh 3:1, 20, 21) and perhaps later. Eliashib, the grandfather of Johanan, was a grown man, if not yet a high priest, at the time of Ezra, ca. 400 B.C. (Ezr 10:6; and note). According to Josephus (Ant. 11:120–183), whose testimony here is doubtful, Jaddua, son of Johanan, died as an old man about the time that Alexander the Great died, 323 B.C. If, as seems probable, this list of the postexilic high priests, at least as far as Johanan, comes from the author himself (cf. Neh 12:23) and not from a later scribe, it is of prime importance for dating the author’s work in the first decades of the fourth century B.C.
* [12:27–43] The dedication of the wall of Jerusalem took place, no doubt, soon after the restoration of the wall and its gates had been completed. This section, therefore, is best read after Neh 6:15.
* [12:44–47] This account of the provisions made for the Temple services is a composition either of the author or of a later scribe. The gloss mentioning Nehemiah is not in the Septuagint.
a. [12:1] Neh 12:12–22.
b. [12:12] Neh 10:3–9; 12:1–6.
c. [12:24] Ezr 2:40.
d. [12:25] Neh 11:17.
e. [12:44] 1 Chr 23–26; 2 Chr 8:14.
f. [12:46] 2 Chr 29:30; 35:15.
g. [12:47] Neh 10:39; 13:10–11; Nm 18:26.
1* a At that time, when the book of Moses was being read in the hearing of the people, it was found written there: “No Ammonite or Moabite may ever be admitted into the assembly of God; 2b for they did not meet the Israelites with food and water, but they hired Balaam to curse them, though our God turned the curse into a blessing.” 3c When they had heard the law, they separated all those of mixed descent from Israel.
Reform in the Temple. 4* Before this, the priest Eliashib, who had been placed in charge of the chambers of the house of our God and who was an associate of Tobiah, 5d had set aside for the latter’s use a large chamber in which had previously been stored the grain offerings, incense and vessels, the tithes in grain, wine, and oil allotted to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the offerings due the priests. 6During all this time I had not been in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes,* king of Babylon, I had gone back to the king. After a suitable period of time, however, I asked leave of the king 7and returned to Jerusalem, where I discovered the evil thing that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in setting aside for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8This displeased me very much, so I had all of Tobiah’s household goods thrown outside the chamber. 9Then I gave orders to purify the chambers, and I brought back the vessels of the house of God, the grain offerings, and the incense.
10I learned, too, that the portions due the Levites were no longer being given, so that the Levites and the singers who should have been carrying out the services had deserted to their own fields. 11I reprimanded the magistrates, demanding, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I brought the Levites together and had them resume their stations. 12e All Judah once more brought in the tithes of grain, wine, and oil to the storerooms. 13In charge of the storerooms I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites, together with Hanan, son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, as their assistant; for they were considered trustworthy. It was their duty to make the distribution to their kinsmen. 14Remember this to my credit, my God! Do not forget the good deeds I have done for the house of my God and its services!
Sabbath Observance. 15f In those days I perceived that people in Judah were treading the wine presses on the sabbath; that they were bringing in sheaves of grain, loading them on their donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs, and every other kind of load, and bringing them to Jerusalem on the sabbath day. I warned them to sell none of these provisions. 16In Jerusalem itself the Tyrians residing there were importing fish and every other kind of merchandise and selling it to the Judahites on the sabbath. 17I reprimanded the nobles of Judah, demanding: “What is this evil thing you are doing, profaning the sabbath day? 18Did not your ancestors act in this same way, with the result that our God has brought all this evil upon us and upon this city? Would you add to the wrath against Israel by once more profaning the sabbath?”
19When the shadows were falling on the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I ordered the doors to be closed and prohibited their reopening until after the sabbath. I posted some of my own people at the gates so that no load might enter on the sabbath day. 20The merchants and sellers of various kinds of merchandise spent the night once or twice outside Jerusalem, 21but then I warned them: “Why do you spend the night alongside the wall? If you keep this up, I will beat you!” From that time on, they did not return on the sabbath. 22Then I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to watch the gates, so that the sabbath day might be kept holy. This, too, remember in my favor, my God, and have mercy on me in accordance with your great mercy!
Mixed Marriages. 23g Also in those days I saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, or Moab. 24Of their children, half spoke the language of Ashdod,* or of one of the other peoples, and none of them knew how to speak the language of Judah. 25So I reprimanded and cursed them; I beat some of their men and pulled out their hair; and I adjured them by God: “You shall not marry your daughters to their sons nor accept any of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves! 26h Did not Solomon, the king of Israel, sin because of them? Though among the many nations there was no king like him, and though he was beloved of his God and God had made him king over all Israel, yet even he was led into sin by foreign women. 27Must it also be heard of you that you have done this same terrible evil, betraying our God by marrying foreign women?”
28i One of the sons of Joiada, son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite! I drove him from my presence. 29Remember against them, my God, how they defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites!
30So I cleansed them of all foreign contamination. I established the various functions for the priests and Levites, so that each had an appointed task. 31j I also provided for the procurement of wood at stated times and for the first fruits. Remember this in my favor, my God!
* [13:1–3] These verses serve as an introduction to the reforms Nehemiah instituted during his second mission in Jerusalem (vv. 4–31). The part of the Book of Moses read to the people is freely quoted here from Dt 23:3–6.
* [13:4–31] This is part of the “Memoirs of Nehemiah”; it is continued in 10:1–40.
* [13:6] In the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes: Artaxerxes I, therefore 433 B.C. After…time: it is not known when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem or how long his second period of activity there lasted.
* [13:24] Language of Ashdod: more likely an Aramaic rather than a Philistine dialect. The language of Judah: probably Hebrew.
a. [13:1] Dt 23:3–6.
b. [13:2] Nm 22–24.
c. [13:3] Neh 13:23–28.
d. [13:5] Neh 12:44.
e. [13:12] Neh 10:38–39; 12:44–45, 47; 2 Chr 31:6.
f. [13:15] Neh 10:32; Ex 20:8.
g. [13:23] Neh 10:31; 13:1–3; Dt 23:3; Ezr 9–10.
h. [13:26] 1 Kgs 11:1–13.
i. [13:28] Neh 2:10; 13:4–5, 7–9.
j. [13:31] Neh 10:35–36. | <urn:uuid:b9a3a268-8e72-4a91-9d23-209ea54ff024> | {
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The Invisible Gardener's
Natural Pest Control Center
Click here to hear Andy talk
about Organic and Natural Home Pest Controls on his radio shows.
If you decide not to use a raised bed
then you must prepare the area first.
Draw a plan for what you want to grow in your raised
bed. Keep the tallest on one side with the smallest to the opposite side. If you have more
then one raised decide which plants will grow where. Change this design
every year so as not to grow the same plants in the same place year after
Choosing a location for your raised bed is very important. The
location needs to be close to the kitchen to provide easy access for the
cook. The location must provide at least 6 to 8 hrs direct sun,
with the more the better. Must have proper drainage. So take a
walk around your place and see if you can pick the perfect spot.
Another consideration is water, it must have a close source.
Never use city water in your raised bed. Many
cities have chlorine (or ?) in their city water. Chlorine kills
bacteria, that is what it does best. However an organic garden requires
natural bacteria in order to function correctly. A garden filter will help
keep your garden alive! You will notice an increase in in
worms and in the gardens overall health. You can make your own
garden filter by converting your shower filter. Info on a gardening filter
is coming, ask me about it.
Putting together the Raised Bed
A good raised bed should be at least 4ft x 10 ft x 12 inches high x at
least 2 inches thick. Use non treated wood. The wood can
be screwed together for easy break down when needed. If you have
gophers in your area, you will want to screen the bottom
with extra heavy chicken wire. The size of the bed depends on the
area and amount of space you have to use. An ideal situation is to have two or
more raised beds. One 4ft x 12ft x 12 inches x 2 inches can produce enough food for
a family of four. More beds allow you to rotate the beds and allow one bed to grow
green cover which can be turned over.
Filling in the Raised Bed
The following should fit just right into the raised bed. You will have to use what you
find in your area. Start out with a good layer of old horse manure. To this I add either
LLama pellets or Rabbit pellets (nature's time released fertilizer). Add 20 lbs of rock
dust or any other trace mineral source. Add 20 lbs bone meal, 20 lbs alfalfa meal and 2
bales aged wood. Mix well. Water well (water slowly to allow soil to absorb). To this
mixture add 500 lbs compost (if you have it) other wise add enough old horse manure to fill
up to 4 inches from the top. Add another 2 bales aged wood or KRA wood product or any
light soil. Add another 20 lbs rock dust, 20 lbs bone meal, 20 lbs alfalfa meal. The aged
wood will insure the PH will be at the right place. A good PH for the garden is 6.5 to
6.8. Blend everything in together, watering as you go. Finally add enough mulch to fill the
raised bed up to the top. Remember that this soil will settle after a few days, so keep a
few bags of mulch handy to fill to top when needed.
The Invisible Gardener
Tell Em Andy Sent Ya!
March 9, 2013
dont panic its organic gardening | <urn:uuid:508d20c1-2404-4c25-96c7-7b4e24efa29b> | {
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- ALZinfo.org - http://www.alzinfo.org -
Posted By admin On June 22, 2010 @ 11:39 am In | No Comments
Drugs used to treat people with Alzheimer's fall into two broad categories--drugs to treat cognitive symptoms, such as memory problems and other mental deficits of Alzheimer's, and drugs to treat behavioral symptoms that do not respond to non-pharmacological behavioral-management approaches. These drugs might include a variety of types of drugs broadly categorized as anti-agitation drugs.
Currently, there are more than 100 clinical trials being conducted in Alzheimer’s and dementia. The government requires that all new medicines undergo rigorous testing in the laboratory, first in animals and then in human volunteers, before they can be prescribed by doctors or sold in pharmacies. Once the required clinical trials are completed, companies submit an application to the FDA, the government agency responsible for the safety of foods and drugs sold in the U.S. Together with an independent panel of medical advisors, the FDA reviews the scientific data and determines whether the drug is safe and effective for people with Alzheimer's.
In addition, there are a number of other health conditions that compound the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease because they affect one’s cognition. People with Alzheimer's may not be able to communicate such health problems to others. Their reactions may be interpreted as part of the Alzheimer's disease process. With proper treatment of the underlying cause, such behaviors may improve or resolve. These conditions need to be identified and treated. People with Alzheimer's should receive ongoing medical care to identify and, if necessary, receive treatment for specific health problems. For example, the depressed may benefit from antidepressants; those with arthritis might need to take anti-inflammatory drugs for pain relief; and frequent urinary tract infections might require treatment with antibiotics to address the underlying infection. Correcting these disorders often greatly improves mental function.
Article printed from ALZinfo.org: http://www.alzinfo.org
URL to article: http://www.alzinfo.org/treatment-care/drug-treatment
URLs in this post:
Image: http://www.alzinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/stockxpertcom_id146504_size1.jpg
What Drugs are Approved for Alzheimer’s Disease?: http://www.alzinfo.org/07/treatment-care/what-drugs-are-approved-for-alzheimers-disease
Are there other treatments for Cognitive Decline?: http://www.alzinfo.org/08/treatment-care/are-there-other-treatments-for-cognitive-decline
What Medications are Available to Treat Behavioral Problems?: http://www.alzinfo.org/08/treatment-care/what-medications-are-available-to-treat-behavioral-problems
Combining Alzheimer’s Drugs May Offer Sustained Benefits: http://www.alzinfo.org/09/articles/drugs-and-treatment-14
Razadyne Shows Modest Benefits for Severe Alzheimer's : http://www.alzinfo.org/12/articles/drugs-and-treatment-8
Hope for an Alzheimer's Vaccine: http://www.alzinfo.org/04/articles/drugs-and-treatment-35
The Clinical Stages of Alzheimer's disease: http://www.alzinfo.org/clinical-stages-of-alzheimers
Find Alzheimer's resources near you: http://www.alzinfo.org/resource-locator
Donate to Research: http://www.alzinfo.org/donate/
Copyright © 2002 - 2012 Fisher Center for Alzheimers Reaserch Foundation. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:c4b72702-462c-41a9-986b-073b6e4ee978> | {
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By Marissa LaFave
Copy of a recent article in the recent Natural Awakenings Magazine, Boston Edition.
Business owners are already feeling the effects of climate change firsthand, especially in New England where record-breaking snow levels this winter led to significant losses in business. Along with several travel bans and school closings came a 6.2 percent decrease in spending in Boston during January and February, with total storm related costs in the Northeast reaching upwards of $1 billion. This winter has reaffirmed the need for widespread climate action, because as global temperatures and sea levels continue to rise, storms like these will increase in frequency and intensity, posing catastrophic consequences for small businesses.
Scientists agree that a drastic transition away from carbon based fossil fuels and towards clean energy is necessary to avoid extreme weather and other impacts of climate change. There may be no silver bullet to addressing climate change; however, scientists, economists and environmentalists all agree that putting a price on carbon emissions will have a resounding effect. In December 2014, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) conducted a study that analyzed the implications of a carbon tax in Massachusetts. The study found that such a tax would not only be feasible and effective, but also would benefit the state’s overall economy by creating jobs and wealth. Since most of the fossil fuels consumed in Massachusetts come from out of state, an added fee on these fuels would stimulate the growth of the local clean energy industry, an industry that has already created more than 28,000 jobs in Massachusetts since 2010. According to the study, a carbon tax would lead to the creation of 4,000 to 10,000 more jobs by 2030.
But what exactly does this mean for small businesses?
At first, a carbon tax may simply sound like an added expense. However, if the added price was revenue neutral, all of the money it would raise would be returned to taxpayers through reductions in other taxes and rebates instead of being retained by the government. These reductions and rebates would be calculated proportionally, meaning that the largest polluters that pay the highest taxes would likely pay more than what they would receive in rebates. Likewise, the smallest polluters who pay the lowest taxes would likely pay less than what they would receive in rebates, potentially leading to profit. A study by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources found that more often than not, the latter would be the case. In this way, a carbon tax would disincentivize carbon-emitting activities at all levels, in turn incentivizing carbon-reducing measures, ultimately benefitting the environment.
Businesses would be able to reduce their carbon footprints, and therefore their tax expenses, through energy efficiency and conservation measures (such as the installation of doublepaned windows and insulation) as well as through the use of renewable energy. Moreover, most carbon-reducing measures also directly save businesses money in the long run. A carbon tax is therefore the most cost-effective way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
So far, 15 regions have proposed or implemented carbon taxes, one of the most significant and successful examples of which is British Columbia’s. Since it was put into effect in 2008, the tax has led to a 16 percent decrease in per-person fuel consumption. Moreover, the tax has benefitted B.C.’s economy. Over the past seven years, B.C. has experienced slightly higher economic growth than the rest of Canada has, while holding the lowest personal income tax rate in Canada and one of the lowest corporate tax rates in North America. B.C.’s carbon tax is thus viewed as a great success and has become a model for Massachusetts to imitate.
On April 13, the Climate Action Business Association worked with partner associations to bring B.C.’s Parliamentary Secretary for Energy Literacy and the Environment for the Minister of Environment, Mike Bernier, and other important business leaders to visit Boston and speak with business leaders, the Governor and leaders of the State Legislature about the success of B.C.’s carbon tax. Several business owners impacted by B.C.’s tax also came to discuss their support of it, demonstrating that a carbon tax can not only be beneficial to the environment but can be beneficial to the economy, businesses and individuals as well.
Evidence of the effectiveness of putting a price on carbon in Massachusetts is mounting, as is the number of people supporting it. There is currently legislation pending that favors the implementation of a revenue-neutral carbon tax, that if passed, could mark Massachusetts as a pioneer in addressing climate change in the United States. A carbon tax would put Massachusetts on the road toward more effective climate change policy and could further prove what B.C. has already illustrated: environmental impact can be reduced without sacrificing economic growth. By supporting a price on carbon in Massachusetts, small businesses can effectively fight climate change while simultaneously supporting the local economy, job creation and financial sustainability.
Marissa studies Environmental Analysis and Policy at Boston University and is an Intern at Climate Action Business Association for Spring 2015. | <urn:uuid:6f8a56a2-5029-4d1c-a88f-9b75218637b6> | {
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Have you noticed the subtle expansion in extended reality or XR in our daily lives? Extended Reality or XR is the umbrella concept that covers a range of modified or extended experiences that take true reality and either recreate or overlay computer generated content. This content can be broadly categorized into Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality, and Augmented Reality.
Virtual Reality is an established learning technology, however it can be a large investment in time and money. VR does has many practical applications, and is worth doing in particularly situations where cost and safety are concerns. For example investing resources in developing a VR for training an airline ground crew to service an airplane. Prior to VR an airline might have to remove a plane from service for crew training, in addition, using an airplane for training could prove costly if a training accident occurred. In this example a fully immersive virtual reality learning experience may be worth doing.
Augmented Reality is an emerging technology and is a relatively accessible. Augmented reality overlays computer generated content over a live image. For example the yellow First Down line on an football television broadcast or the strike zone box on a baseball broadcast. Educators can experiment with an augmented reality tool called Zappar (first month free). With the Zappar app, students can waive a mobile tablet or phone over an instructor setup image, illustration or text and have a video, audio, image, or web link pop up. Static paper is a thing of the past, Zappar can bring them to life and it is relatively easy to do. We recently shared it at Tech It Out Day 2018, if you are interested in Zappar and its applications for supporting student learning materials let us know.
Mixed Reality fills the space between computer generated world (VR) and real world with computer overlay (AR). Like VR, Mixed Reality also requires a large investment of time and resources to develop. An example of MR is a theme park experience which mixes kinesthetic and sensory markers to enhance your experience. For example watching a computer generated visual while physically being moved, or sprayed with water or sniffing scented air. | <urn:uuid:3defa361-b286-4440-a490-aed3262202e4> | {
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Creative Writing versus Legal Writing Lesson
As we get closer to the end of the year mock trial, the lessons are beginning to focus on what it is like to be a real lawyer. This lesson helped to teach the students that there is a difference between the writing style they have learned in school and legal writing. As a law student, I have to admit that learning how to make a legal argument was one of the most difficult aspects of my first year, so I knew that this was not going to be an easy lesson. But as always, the students took me by surprise and understood the concept in no time!
I created a simple formula using addition and to make a legal argument. In a worksheet with 4 boxes, the students compiled different pieces of their legal argument in each box and solved the equation to create their legal argument. I created scenarios based on the Kids’ Court Constitution to make the legal aspect applicable to the students. The scenarios showed a past student of Kids’ Court breaking all of the laws that we created to keep our community running smoothly. The students made the argument that the student should go to the principle using the law from the Kids’ Court Constitution and the facts from the scenarios. I was so excited that the students understood the process and all created great legal arguments. This was a great lesson! | <urn:uuid:4f48cb2d-956a-4eea-a196-fa4b3f5c26d6> | {
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Difference between revisions of "Frankfurt"
Revision as of 16:55, 21 January 2005
Frankfurt (German: Frankfurt am Main) is a medium-sized city in Hesse, in Central Germany, known for its high-rises and international airport. Home of the European Central Bank, it is considered to be the financial capital of Germany, if not Europe. It is also birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Frankfurt is a polarized city. It's a city of high finance and big business, but also of homeless people, drug addicts and a high crime rate. Frankfurt has some of the highest skyscrapers of Europe but also many well-maintained old buildings. The downtown area draws millions of tourists every year, while many suburbs consist of ugly, cloned apartment buildings.
A high amount of traffic and a hectic life seem to dictate the daily routine in Frankfurt. Many people in Frankfurt actually aren't from Frankfurt, but came here from other places. Their reason - business, usually. With a huge airport - which is the second largest in Europe - it's the gateway to Germany and for many people also the arrival point in Europe. Add the fact that with 30%, Frankfurt has one of the largest rates of foreigners of any city in Germany, and you get a sort of melting pot, a hub of activity. It's not unusual to hear any European language, English, Turkish, and a few African languages in one day when walking through downtown.
But despite all this activity, the office towers, and the international influence, Frankfurt itself is a fairly small city with only about 650,000 citizens. Many more live in nearby cities, so the greater Frankfurt area easily has over a million inhabitants, yet Frankfurt remains a small city with big aspirations. It doesn't compare to any true metropolis such as London or Paris.
Frankfurt is located roughly in the centre of Germany (a bit to the south-west) and as such, it is a transportation nexus. It has excellent connectivity via train, air travel, and highways and reaching - or leaving - Frankfurt is trivial.
Frankfurt's airport is the second busiest in Europe (after London Heathrow and before Paris Charles de Gaulle) and the seventh-busiest airport in the world according to 2002 passenger numbers. It is serviced by many major airlines and all airline alliances. Consequently, it is very easy to get to Frankfurt from anywhere in the world.
The airport is well-connected to downtown Frankfurt by Taxi, Bus (Line 61 to Frankfurt Südbahnhof (Frankfurt Southern Station)), and above all by subway. To get to the city, take lines S8 or S9 direction Frankfurt or Hanau at the "Regionalbahnhof" (regional train station). Do not leave at Frankfurt Niederrad unless it's actually your destination. Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, the central station, is in the heart of the city. Some S8 trains - those that stop at the station above ground - end at Central Station. The ride from the airport to the central station takes 12 minutes. Make sure you purchase a ticket at the vending machines in the train station before you board the train.
As is appropriate for a large international airport, Frankfurt's airport has a train station for inter-city trains as well. Regional trains to Mainz, Wiesbaden and Hanau stop at the same place as the subway to Frankfurt. However, inter-city connections beyond the region of Frankfurt have their own train station, the Fernbahnhof ("long distance train station"). Here, you can board high-speed trains to Munich, Karlsruhe and other destinations.
If you wish to fly into Frankfurt, you need to be aware that some of the so-called low budget airlines use an airport they call "Frankfurt/Hahn". Hahn is not near Frankfurt, but actually about one and a half hours away, and you need to include that into your travel plans.
Frankfurt has three major train station, the central station (Hauptbahnhof), the Southern Station (Südbahnhof) and the Airport; however, inter-city trains that stop at the airport will usually (not always!) also stop at Hauptbahnhof. Frankfurt has connections to most German cities - and some international destinations - via InterCity and high-speed InterCity Express trains. There is no problem to get a connection to any train destination from Frankfurt.
Frankfurt is connected to several highways and can be easily reached by car. Try to avoid rush-hour and especially snowy days, as car traffic can easily break down. Parking is definitely a problem in most areas. Especially during times of fairs, like the "Internationale Automobilausstellung" (International Automobile Exhibition) or the huge book fair you might want to consider using the well set up park and ride system.
Frankfurt is serviced by various Trans European buslines like Eurolines. The main terminus is the central station; if you're on a tight budget this will be a good way to reach Frankfurt.
A few river boats travel along the Main, and you can reach Frankfurt from several other nearby cities. However, it's really more a sight-seeing activity than a real means of travel.
Don't overestimate the scale of Frankfurt. It is entirely possible to explore the downtown area on foot. Still, if you don't feel like walking a lot, there are many alternatives to get around town.
Frankfurt has an extensive Taxi service, mostly because there are so many business travellers. Frankfurt isn't too big, so fares tend to be reasonable. Care has to be taken though as some taxi drivers will take some detours if they notice that you do not know the city. Still, if you want hassle-free door-to-door transportation, Taxis are the way to go.
By public transportation
Frankfurt is covered by a reasonably good public transportation network (run by RMV - Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund) consisting of trams, subways, and buses. Fares tend to be high - around 5 euros for a ticket for one day for one adult. You don't want to get caught without a ticket, as the conductors will charge you 40 Euro and you can get into considerable trouble, especially if you have no ID card or passport on your person. Subway trains (U-Bahn) and trams are checked quite seldom, the S-Bahn trains quite often. It is not possible to buy tickets in a tram or subway. The ticket machines can be a little confusing if you do not know how to use them. Basically, you have to look up your destination on the list provided at the machine (it's "50" for Frankfurt itself, or "5090" for the Airport), enter this number with the numeric keypad, then press the button for the type of ticket you want (Einzelfahrt - single trip; Tageskarte - day ticket). "Shortcut" buttons exist for tickets within Frankfurt. Also, every station has some stations listed as "short distance" destinations (Kurzstrecke, code "97"); tickets to those are cheaper.
If you have the opportunity, ask a bystander to explain the vending machines to you the first time you want to buy a ticket.
The RMV site is unfortunately not available in English at the time of this writing; however you can still access rail maps:
You should avoid using your car in the city, or even places like Sachsenhausen (especially on a Saturday) because of parking space. It's very limited, and people tend to park in places they're not supposed to. If you want to enter the city, your best bet is to go into a Parkhaus (parking garage) (which charges a fee, of course) and then either walk, or take public transportation.
If you are in the suburbs you should be aware that many areas are reserved for local residents. You need a special ID card in your car or you risk a fine. Pay attention for signs with wording "Parkausweis Nr.X" (where X is a number).
Using a bike in Frankfurt is an alternative to walking on foot or taking a car, as the city is relatively small.
There's one interesting service for those who would like to use a bike on short notice or for a one-way trip.
The German train company is offering bikes for hire in Frankfurt. These bikes can be found pretty much anywhere the previous customer left them and can be rented via telephone. The number can be found on the bike; when you are done you call again and tell them the new location of the bike. You need a customer number to use the service (see their website) pay via credit card or debit to a (German) bank account.
Museums in Germany are generally closed on Mondays (there are exceptions); the exact opening hours on other days depend on the museum. If you want to visit a museum on a public holiday, make sure to check with them first whether they are open on that day.
There are many museums in Frankfurt, offering a wide range of exhibits. A number of them have cafes, restaurants or bars on the premises. Many of these museums are located on the southern bank of the Main in a region called Museumsufer. To get there, take the subway to go to Schweizer Platz, then walk towards the Main river. You will see the high rise buildings when you leave the subway station, that's the direction you have to take. There are enough museums there to keep you occupied for a while; and the Museumsufer is especially suited if you are staying in Frankfurt only for a short time.
At the Museumsufer you can find:
High Rise Buildings & Skyline
Frankfurt has some of the tallest buildings in Europe (the Commerzbank tower is the highest office building of Europe), and the tallest in Germany. Its skyline is unique for the country as the highrises are concentrated in a relatively small downtown area, giving Frankfurt the looks of a metropolis. The skyline is the reason why Frankfurt is sometimes called by the nickname Mainhattan.
Watch the skies
Frankfurt can have quite beautiful sunsets. Caused by the air pollution gathered in the valley it is situated in, they are a good photo opportunity, especially with Frankfurt's skyline. Good vantage points are the bridges, or of course the Maintower highrise.
There are various fireworks displays throughout the year. Many major events - like the Museumsufer festival are ended with very well done fireworks. Check your local event schedule; if you are in the city these are always worth your time. The exception are the New Year fireworks, which are unorganized and less than spectacular. Good vantage points are the Main bridges, or the river banks.
Finding work in Germany is difficult if you don't speak German. However, Frankfurt is probably a good location to start looking if you want to find a job in this country. Not only is it a center of national and international finance, but there are also many high tech companies in the area. All of these may be more willing to accept people with no or less than adequate German skills.
Last but not least the airport always has need for people who speak English or other languages. Make sure you have the proper permits and papers; working illegally is not only anti-social, it can also get you into a lot of trouble.
The Zeil is the main shopping area of Frankfurt. Various large department stores compete for customers here. You can spend a lot of money here on perfumes, clothes, jewelry, or really anything else you desire. While the Zeil itself is mostly populated by generic shops, nearby streets also house more exclusive - and much more expensive - stores of all kinds. To reach the Zeil, take the subway to Hauptwache or Konstabler Wache, but you can easily walk from the central station.
South-east of the Zeil is the Goethestrasse (Goethe Street), which covers the exclusive jewelry and designer shops.
There are of course restaurants all over Frankfurt. One notable area for dining may be what is locally known as the Fressgass (a "nice" translation would be "eating road"). The correct name of this street is Grosse Bockenheimer Strasse. As the nickname implies, the Fressgass features many Cafes, restaurant, and delicatessen food stores. It's a popular area to dine after the daily shopping. Take the subway to station Hauptwache or Alte Oper.
If you are looking for an in-depth paper-based restaurant guide, a popular publication is Frankfurt Geht Aus (Frankfurt is going out), a magazine style dining guide of the city. It can be bought for 4.80 Euro at many kiosks and book stores, or at the Tourism Information at the central station. it is also available in digital from Mpresso Gmbh for Palm Pilot for 9.80 Euros.
Alt-Sachenhausen, a part of the suburb Sachsenhausen south of the Main river, is famous for its bars and Kneipen (a German type of Bar, really) serving the "national drink" Ebbelwoi (local dialect for "apple wine", sometimes spelled Ebbelwei). However, these days it's mostly for tourists. And even these days seem to come to an end now: When the US Army had a lot of troops stationed in Frankfurt those were the people who would mainly go to Sachsenhausen. Now as they have much reduced the number of soldiers, many of the bars and restaurants are empty most of the time and some are already closing down.
There are still some good bars, but it's not nearly as "in" as it used to be. You go there because you heard the name, not because you expect superb bars. And be sure you won't mind being surrounded by fellow tourists.
In all honesty, Alt-Sachsenhausen can be safely avoided; you won't miss out on much. There are other bars throughout the city that are more interesting than any found in Alt-Sachsenhausen.
Various hotels offer internet access; most are still a little backwards and provide dialup access only.
There are a number of Internet cafes in Frankfurt of varying prices and quality.
Besides public pay phones and mobile phone services, a large number of stores sell prepaid telephone cards. This is especially useful for international calls. Some offer in house phone services. One easy to reach store that seems reliable is in the Hauptwache subway station.
The three easiest-to-reach full-service postal offices are located at the central station (inside at the long-distance trains; near McDonalds), at the Zeil shopping area, and at the Südbahnhof (Southern Station; take exit Diesterwegplatz and cross the square; the post office is to the left).
Frankfurt has one of Germany's highest crime rates. While this is still very safe compared to some other nations - you won't have to worry about getting shot at, for example - it is still a smart idea to take the usual precautions; especially if you travel alone. If you have a problem, are being harassed etc, don't be afraid to ask the police for help. German police are competent, not corrupt, and generally helpful as long as you have a correct attitude and do not become insulting etc.
There's a tourist information office near the main exit of the Central Station. Simply follow the signs. It is next to the main German Rail service area.
Drugs and Beggars
The central station area is known for being a center for homeless and drug users. It has improved much in recent years, but you will still occasionally witness drug users stabbing syringes into their arms and be bothered by beggars. The best advice that can be given is to ignore both. The drug addicts generally won't bother people, and the beggars will ask for Kleingeld (small change), which by their definition is anything between 1-2 Euros. While sympathy to those who are less fortunate is generally a good thing, you won't help these people by giving them any money. Many are professional beggars, and some even beg for money while holding a daytime job. Just shake your head "no" or ignore them entirely.
If you want to go to the airport via subway, take the S8 or S9 direction Wiesbaden. Don't take the S1 - while it has the same general direction and leaves the central station at the same platform, it will go along the wrong side of the river Main. The line S1 does not stop at the airport. | <urn:uuid:4ca48cdf-7224-419c-8faf-90cc14605aeb> | {
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Astragalus aboriginorum Richards. Leguminosae. Astragalus.
Arctic North America. The roots are eaten by the Cree and Stone Indians of the Rocky Mountains.
Astragalus adscendens Boiss. & Haussk.
Persia. The plant affords an abundance of gum and also a manna.
Astragalus boeticus Linn. Swedish Coffee.
Mediterranean region. In certain parts of Germany and Hungary, this plant is cultivated for its seeds, which are roasted, ground and used as a substitute for coffee. Its culture is the same as that of the common pea or tare. The name applied to the seeds, Swedish coffee, would indicate that it is also grown in Scandinavia.
Astragalus caryocarpus Ker-Gawl. Ground Plum.
Mississippi region of North America. The unripe fruits are edible and are eaten raw or cooked.
Astragalus christianus Linn.
Asia Minor and Syria. In Taurus, the roots of the great, yellow milk-vetch are sought as an article of food.
Astragalus creticus Lam.
Greece. This plant yields tragacanth.
Astragalus florulentus Boiss. & Haussk.
Persia. The plant yields a manna.
Astragalus gummifer Labill.
Syria. This is another species supplying a source of tragacanth.
Astragalus hamosus Linn.
Mediterranean region to India. The plant is grown particularly on account of the singularity of its fruits which, before maturity, resemble certain worms. They are of a mediocre taste but are employed in salads chiefly to cause an innocent surprise.
Astragalus kurdicus Boiss.
Kurdistan and Syria. The plant affords tragacanth.
Astragalus leioclados Boiss.
Persia. Tragacanth is produced by this plant.
Astragalus mexicanus A. DC.
Open plains and prairies from Illinois westward and southward. The unripe fruits are edible and are eaten raw or cooked by travelers. | <urn:uuid:7dc76b2b-1f3a-45bf-b1a6-f56812f0b36e> | {
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In 2014, China completed another jaw-dropping capacity addition to their grid, with over 103 gigawatts (GW) added (official data here and here). Well over half of capacity was from non-fossil sources, however the 47 GW of new thermal capacity was much higher than the China Electricity Council had projected at the beginning of 2014 (32 GW). The solar number is actually higher than the 8 GW shown here (more like 12 GW or so), but unfortunately…while China is setting records in renewable energy capacity additions, it is all still a rounding error.
China produced 5,546 terrawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in 2014, which is now 35% more than the U.S. (4092 TWh). Solar accounted for 23 TWh of that overall production, which is a 170% increase year on year, but unfortunately only 0.4% of total production. If you squint, you can see the yellow sliver below! Coal electricity production fell by 0.7%, as hydro production surged. Non-fossil energy (hydro, nuclear, wind, solar, biomass) now accounts for over 33% of total installed capacity and 25.6% of total electricity consumption.
However, while electricity is a major part of overall energy consumption in China, it is by no means representative of the whole pie. There is a very large amount of direct fuel combustion (oil, gas, coal) in China’s industry as well as its residential and commercial buildings. So, while non-fossil energy is 25% of China’s electricity production, it is only 10% of China’s overall energy production…or 4% actually. It all depends on how you account for energy. China uses a different methodology from other international conventions used by IPCC, IEA, and EIA (which all each have their own nuances).
China has long done its energy statistics and accounting in million tons of coal equivalent (I know because I was one of the main editors of the China Energy Databook once). Historically, and still today, coal accounts for the lion’s share of energy production in China. When alternative forms of electricity generation (hydropower) were first introduced in China, they were seen as a way to reduce reliance on coal. Therefore, they were accounted for in terms of the amount of coal that would have been burned to produce an equivalent amount of electricity. Since coal power plants are, say, 33% efficient (that is, they produce 1 kWh of electricity for every 3 kWh of coal burned in the initial combustion), this means that 1 kWh of hydropower electricity will actually count as 3 kWh of electricity on the books, according to China’s “power plant coal consumption method”. The details of the differences in accounting will be released in a forthcoming publication by LBL’s China Energy Group.
All in all, it means that while China is surpassing 10% non-fossil energy production by its accounting methods, this would only be ~4% according to a calorific method, where 1 kWh would be 1 kWh regardless if it was hydro electricity or coal electricity. This is a sobering fact, in light of China’s recent progress in renewable energy, but one that the world (and the media) needs to understand. China’s non-fossil energy contributions are so very big, yet so very small at the same time! While China adds dozens of gigawatts of renewable, hydro, and nuclear capacity each year (and is a world leader in this regard), the overall contribution to China’s energy pie is still just creeping along by a few tenths of a percent per year.
Climate Ride raises over $600,000 for climate change, clean energy, sustainable transit, and bicycle advocacy non-profits
Though I had been living in Berkeley for two years prior working at Lawrence Berkeley Lab, when I enrolled in the ERG Master’s program in fall 2013, I looked for additional ways to get involved in the Berkeley community as a student, not as a scientist. Fossil Free Cal was one club that immediately caught my attention: a club rooted in climate change science but driven by student activists.
Sparked by Bill McKibben’s widely read expose on the fossil fuel industry “Global Warming’s Terrifying new Math” (which I had read a number of times), a campus-driven divestment campaign has taken root at over 300 colleges and universities across the country. These campuses are asking their institution’s endowment to divest from fossil fuels to show that our higher institutions of learning will not invest in the planet’s destruction. “If it’s wrong to wreck the climate, then it’s wrong to profit from that wreckage,” McKibben said on his latest “Do the Math” tour.
It’s been an honor to be a part of the Fossil Free Cal campaign on and off over the past couple of semesters. I’ve rallied on Sproul alongside fellow campaign members (and eco-rapped, duh), I’ve written letters, attended UC Regents meetings, and been humbled by the efforts of a number of dedicated undergraduates in carrying the campaign (both campus and national) to new heights.
There have been a lot of victories for the campaign recently, most notably that the Rockefeller Fund divested from fossil fuels! There was also an awesome expose written in the East Bay Express about UC’s potential conflicts of interest with fossil fuel companies and the divestment issue. Severin Borenstein of Haas Business School remains obstinate that fossil fuel divestment will not have any effect.
Some hailed Stanford’s divestment from coal as a big deal, though I have to remain a cautious skeptic on this one for a number of reasons. First, coal is generally a bad investment now, and many top funds are pulling their funds out of coal. Second, Stanford may not have had a very large exposure to large coal companies in its investments anyway. Lastly, they divested their direct funds while only “recommending to its external fund managers” that they divest. Those external funds may actually control much more than Stanford itself. Stanford’s administration, of course, will pat itself on the back for being a “responsible global citizen” while being glad they can now get the Fossil Free campaign off their doorstep.
Overall, there has been great progress for the campaign though, and I believe the UC will eventually divest its endowment from fossil fuels if the campaign keeps up the pressure. I see there being three primary motives for divestment.
1. Align its investment strategy with its infrastructural climate goals: The UC system is not only host to world-renowned research in this field but also to aggressive climate goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (climate neutral by 2025). We cannot perform this research and divest our physical infrastructure from fossil fuels while turning a blind eye to the endowment that supports the UC campuses, which is in part supported by various investments in fossil fuel companies. Naysayers are saying if we divest, then we are hypocrites because we still use fossil fuels every day. Well, actually, since the UC system has a carbon neutrality target, then the UC system would not be a hypocrite!
2. Demonstrate full moral integrity on climate change: Some may argue that divestment from fossil fuels will — without a doubt — harm investment returns for the endowment. Others warn that continued investment in fossil fuel companies exposes the UC’s portfolios to carbon risk and that, in the long run, the investments will perform poorly. While it is hard to be 100% certain about who is right (though I believe the evidence will continue to stack up in favor of divestment), what we can be certain of is that continued investment in fossil fuels is ruining our planet, deteriorating public health, and causing climate change. Given this fundamental certainty, the UC system has a moral imperative to divest.
3. Capture new reinvestment opportunities: Finally, with divestment from fossil fuels comes an opportunity to reinvest those dollars in companies, funds, and projects that grow clean energy, energy efficiency, and other sectors moving us towards sustainable development. The fossil fuel industry has long benefitted from a cheap endless supply of capital. The rapidly growing clean energy industry is only beginning to reap such benefits. By supplying new capital sources and an array of financial products to these industries, UC Berkeley could help unleash new sustainable economic activity. They would no longer just be supporting research on climate change mitigation strategies in labs around the UC campuses but also the deployment of those strategies in California communities and beyond. One example of such a financial product are green bonds. Last year, the volume of green bonds nearly tripled from $14bn in 2013 to $38bn in 2014. Michael Liebreich of BNEF noted: “They are acquainting new types of institutions with low-carbon investments and providing a new focus on clean energy commitments by the likes of utilities and development banks.” Billy Parish of Mosaic also recently wrote about the merits of the reinvestment opportunity, and his company is one of many now offering stable financial products that help grow the clean energy industry.
I truly believe this last point on re-investment is the strongest argument for divestment. When universities divest from fossil fuels, they won’t stick the cash under a mattress; they can direct their fund managers to invest it in sustainable and socially responsible ways. Giving clean energy and other green industries this new source of capital will propel the industry forward and also be a great PR piece for the university. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Ever read a headline that says “Germany/Spain got 60-70% of their power from renewable sources?” See an example here. You should be a little skeptical. The truth is that a number of countries and territories are beginning to get really significant levels of energy from wind and solar. There are certain days, when those areas may be able to get a very significant portion of their energy (>50%) from wind and solar. Often in the spring, the demand is low, but the sun may be strong, and this drives a high percentage, such as the one that Germany had on Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 1pm where real time power needs (of 55 GW) were being supplied with 39% wind and 28% solar, for a total of 67%. I’ve gone ahead and charted those record days for Germany, Spain, Ireland, and California, and then compared to them to an annual average for overall energy production (2013 data). So while, Germany can get 67% of its power from wind and solar on particular hours of particular days, it only gets 12% of its energy from wind and solar on an annual basis. This gives a healthy perspective on things. I’ve recorded the dates and times of those record events in this table below as well.
The Food Bikery seeks to prove that food bikes are a safe, legal, low-capital, and low-footprint alternative to food trucks. In transitioning mobile food off of trucks and onto bicycles, the Food Bikery will stimulate economic opportunities for low-income citizens of the East Bay who would like to start mobile food businesses. We envision that the cost of a food bike can be $5,000 or lower, which is an order of magnitude less capital investment than an average food truck ($50,000) and two orders of magnitude less capital investment than an average restaurant ($500,000). Given that a person can potentially run a food bike business as a sole entrepreneur, we estimate the profit would be enough to make an hourly wage in the range of $20-30.
In addition to the economic benefits, food bikes can offer these benefits to local communities:
- Decrease fossil fuel consumption and climate change emissions
- Improve use of community space
- Increase physical well-being and health and foster awareness about the power of bicycles
- Increase awareness about where food comes from and how it is prepared
The Food Bikery has been launched as an entrepreneurial idea by myself and Jason Trager (a soon to be minted UC Berkeley PhD mechanical engineer and bike enthusiast, to say the least). We have applied for a grant from the UC Berkeley Big Ideas competition, and we should be hearing about that soon. I put in a couple months of research and interviews into the grant application. In doing so, I met a handful of food bike enthusiasts who are featured in the short film above, including Curbside Creamery, El Taco Bike, and Apothocurious/Hot Bike, the last of which I’ve written about before. Additionally, I have done more in-depth research on the code for mobile food facilities. Essentially, if you’re cooking food on a bike trailer, you are subject to line item requirements of refrigeration, three sinks, and 20 gallons of water in order to meet code. That’s why you don’t see food bikes doing any cooking at public events and markets. The ones that exist serve hot or cold pre-packaged foods at public events or simply cater to private events. We want to see a food bike that can cook at public markets, while still being safe, legal, and healthy.
In order to move forward on this project, we are requesting a grant from the Big Ideas program to build a prototype food bike, engage in policy lobbying, and pursue permitting processes to ensure that food bikes can legally operate in the East Bay. If you stand with us, please vote for our project for the Big Ideas video contest, the winner of which will get an additional $2,500 cash prize to go towards their project. Click “love it” after you watch the video here: https://apps.facebook.com/contestsapps/showentry/Big-Ideas-Peoples-Choice-Video-Contest/121919
Building off the success of last year’s hackathon, BERC successfully threw its second annual “cleanweb” hackathon this past weekend. The result was four new apps to help analyze and reduce home water consumption, food-related water footprints, and commercial building energy consumption. You can find complete information on the contestants and winners here, including teammates, concepts, and screenshots. Photos of the hackathon can be found here.
The winner “Smarter Sprinkler” combined a compelling water conservation concept with some adept software and hardware hacking. The team, consisting of three LBNL scientists (Anna Liao, Daniel Olsen, Andrew Weber) and one local software developer (Robert Sadler), worked hard all weekend to build a combination of open source hardware and software to make intelligent home irrigation schedules based on current weather, drought, seasonal, and user-based information. Given that half of household water consumption happens outdoors, this new app will give homeowners the ability to take control of their water usage. They expect their solution to be compatible with at least 90% of existing sprinkler controllers, and the app interacted with a “simple measurement and actuation profile” (sMAP) driver and server, which is actually a type of protocol developed here at UC Berkeley.
Smarter Sprinkler’s software dashboard
Another innovative app to help conserve water was a tool to help people plan and optimize their dietary choices based on the water footprint of their data. Developed by two developers from QE-Design, they used some fun concepts from Captain Planet to lighten the mood at the hackathon, even though they did some serious data wrangling with USDA and Water Footprint Network datasets. Greenvite, the winner of the energy challenge, allowed users to save energy in conference rooms, by reducing heating/cooling consumption in unused conference rooms and by allowing building occupants to compare the energy use of a conference room at different times.
BERC would like to extend special thank yous to our sponsors for making this event possible includingGenability, IBM Smarter Planet, WaterSmart Software, and Imagine H2O, as well as our event volunteers and mentors including Andie Mercado, Yang Ruan, Peter Minor, Peter Alstone, Anna Schneider, Dav Clark, Michael Cohen, Justin Trobec, Jolie Chan, Sherry Wu, and Dan Sanchez, who helped plan, run, and enrich the event for all attendees.
People consume unhealthy food (think a McDonald’s Big Mac) because it is cheap and it tastes good. The founder of Hampton Creek Foods, Josh Tetrick, asks what the world would look like if healthier food was always the most affordable while still being delicious. He believes his company can make plant based proteins, with similar properties to animal-based products, at a lower cost. And he makes the meat industry out to be an easy target: wasteful, unsustainable, cruel, and riddled with increasing costs. And he has just been armed with an additional $23 million in investment from Li Ka Shing, whose name you might recognize from our campus’s Biomedical and Health Sciences building bearing his name.
Over 1.8 trillion eggs are consumed per year worldwide, and 99% of them come from caged chickens. Intensive meat production systems like caged chicken eggs are responsible for one third of the world’s energy use. The ratio of energy input to useful food energy (calorie) output is 39:1, Hampton Creek claims. Yet if try to make this process more sustainable by taking the chicken out of the cage, prices rise 30% and Hampton Creek is working off the assumption that the majority of people won’t pay higher prices for cruelty-free products. They think the best way to solve this problem is just to take the animal out of the picture. “It’s not a vegan thing. It’s not a vegetarian thing. It’s just a smart thing,” Tetrick says. He is convinced he has to make any egg substitute cheap and convenient. And he claims he can bring that energy input output ratio down to 2:1 with Hampton Creek’s plant based egg.
The egg has 32 different uses, from your ordinary scramble to cookies and cakes to creamy mayonnaise. Can it be replaced with a plant? Tetrick throws around verbs like bind, aerate, and emulsify to describe his desired attributes. They’ve looked at 3000 plants and chosen 11, he claims. A specific variety of the Canadian yellow pea seems to hold the secret for making a creamy mayonnaise, their first product which has already hit shelves in Whole Foods, Bi-Rite Market (a notable organic grocery in SF), and -soon- Safeway. They want to be in 25,000 stores by the end of 2014.
“The problem with the conventional egg is that it’s not getting any better.” There are five factors driving demand for Hampton Creek’s egg product: 1) rising and volatile egg ingredient costs, 2) sustainable eating driven by millennials, 3) cholesterol, 4) food safety, 5) and the fact that 34 million people in the US have egg allergies or sensitivities. Their product seems to satisfy all criterion and they claim to be 48% more cost effective than conventional eggs already, $0.39 vs. $0.76 for the equivalent of a dozen eggs. They will be launching cookie dough and scrambled egg products soon.
They are certified as non-GMO (otherwise they wouldn’t be on Bi-Rite shelves). They use only ingredients that are “GRAS”-certified, or generally regarded as safe. So what is the catch? Does all of this sound too perfect? Some of their ingredients are organic and some aren’t. They admit that if they used solely organic ingredients, then their egg product would be 30% more expensive than the conventional egg. Yet, while their might be some drawback with respect to this organic aspect, the product seems to win from energy, carbon, water, health, and cost metrics. Are their pitfalls to these “lab-based” foods that we aren’t seeing? Is it GMO 2.0? Is it still promoting homogenous food production that stifles biodiversity?
Arik Levinson of Georgetown University presented a controversial paper at last week’s POWER conference hosted by the Energy Institute at Haas, entitled “California Energy Efficiency: Lessons for the Rest of the World, or Not?”. The subject of his paper was a graph that has been well shown around the world of energy policy. The California Energy Commission, former Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, the World Bank, New York Times, Natural Resources Defense Council, and others have all used this graph to help explain the importance of energy efficiency standards (for equipment, appliances, and lighting) in flattening California’s per capita electricity use.
Levinson contends that it actually does not have lessons regarding such energy efficiency standards and the divergence in the paths of California and other U.S. states is mostly due to other demographic patterns, including climate, income, population, and housing characteristics. However, many critics have attacked Levinson as being against efficiency regulations. He emphasizes that his paper is not a critique of such standards and regulations, but rather serves to shine light on the actual reasons for divergence in energy use patterns and expose the need for other evidence of the efficacy of efficiency standards.
There were four reasons for Levinson’s initial suspicion of this graph: 1) other states and the federal government followed with similar regulations soon after California, 2) appliance manufacturers generally followed the California standards nationwide, 3) the gap started before California’s standards were implemented, and 4) the five other states (NV, OR, WA, ID, HI) with the slowest growing per capita energy use after California are all neighbors of California.
His analysis showed that population migration accounted for 15% of the difference, climate and income accounted for 20% of the difference, and population and housing characteristics accounted for 61% of the difference. For migration, he pointed out that between 1960 and 2010, there were major shifts in U.S. population from the north and the midwest to the south and the west, and so he compared California to a control group that was weighted with the new population distribution. For climate and income, he showed that California’s mild climate means that there was less of an increase in heating and cooling needs than in other states. Finally, he noted that California household have grown relative to the rest of the U.S. (California’s household size decreased by only 0.16 members while the rest of the U.S.’s decreased by 0.76 members) and since energy use per capita declines with household size, this clearly played a big role in the flattening of California’s per capita energy use. In the end, these three trends accounted for 88% of the divergence, leaving only 12% remaining that may be due to regulations (or other reasons).
This paper is certainly throwing a lot of cold water on the long-claimed victory of California’s energy efficiency standards’ role in energy savings. But, it does not necessarily mean that standards do not make a difference. After all, it did seriously influence manufacturer behavior as well as other states and the federal government to implement their own efficiency standards. If it weren’t for all of these standards, per capita electricity use would most likely have been higher for both California and the rest of the U.S. Proving these counterfactuals (and how much higher electricity use would have been) is very difficult, and so Levinson’s call for such evidence may not be answered. For full text of his paper, click here.
Just a quick note, which I may expand on later… It is an encouraging sign that coal-fired power additions are finally slowing in China (though still growing in absolute numbers), with 2013 being the first year that there has been less than 50 gigawatts of coal capacity addition, and with China Electricity Council’s 2014 projection, it looks like it may stay that way moving forward. Certainly, the rainbow “fan” that is replacing these additions is also encouraging in some respects. Wind capacity additions should remain steady in the years ahead, while solar continues to have a couple of aggressive years ahead of it. Nuclear power should be picking up the pace in the lead up to 2020, while hydro will have a couple more years of >10GW additions before slowing down, as China reaches the technical hydropower potential of nearly all of its rivers. Whatever it can dam, it is damming, including the Nu River, which I made a short film on in 2008. My last point for now is that China has now had six consecutive years of ~90GW capacity additions, but since the growing majority of these additions (hydro, wind, solar) run at lower capacity factors than coal, the overall power generation (and consumption) is slowing too, due to slower economic growth, some energy efficiency efforts, and perhaps some structural change as well.
In January, I attended a “data science and sustainability” meetup held at OPower. The topic was “Driving Behavior Change with Energy Insights”. To make a long story short, one of OPower’s business models is to take over a given utility’s billing structure and provide customers with easy to understand information on how much energy you use compared to neighbors with similar homes. This method is based off of a study where statisticians hung signs on people’s doorknobs to save energy. One said, “Save energy, it saves you money.” Another said, “Save energy, be a good citizen.” And the last one said, “Save energy, it’s good for the environment.” Apparently, none of them worked in convincing people to use less energy. They tried one last doorknob hanger: “Your neighbor uses less energy than you.” And voila! Statistically significant energy savings were realized over time, simply because of this message. OPower has used this concept in their billing. If you access your PG&E bill online, you will see something like the graph above (note: this is only for electricity, and not for gas), comparing you to “all similar homes” (for me, it was single family homes of a similar size that use natural gas for heating and are within half a mile). The “efficient similar homes” are apparently the lowest quintile of energy consumption. It may well be that those homes have less people living in them. Or perhaps they are simply greener than Sustainable John.
But not for long! Let’s see if we can save some energy around the house. PG&E was actually one of the first utilities to take on the “Green Button” initiative, an effort to release basic household energy data to customers in usable formats. The initiative was supported by the Department of Energy and even the White House. Essentially, you can have data about how much power your house uses in 15 minute, hourly, daily, and monthly increments. However, the data is not in real-time, rather it’s a few days old (on a Tuesday night, I can have access to data through Sunday night). DOE supported a bunch of hackathons around this initiative, which launched dozens of app ideas and a couple companies along the way, one of which is Bidgely. Bidgely has a service where you can input your utility log-in information, and it will analyze your home energy usage in more ways than PG&E’s site can. It’s easy to pull up your monthly energy use, broken out by each day.
And then you can click on a particular day and see hourly interval data, with some helpful daily average consumptions. Now, you can begin to see the patterns of roommates bustling to get ready in the morning and coming home in the evening, which is when utilities commonly hit their peak loads.
In fact, the smart meters that PG&E has installed in nearly all of their service territory are collecting many more data points than this. And now, due to a device called a Home Area Network (HAN) device, customers can now get now get access to this data. I just installed my HAN device this past weekend, and now am collecting real-time energy use data in 5-minute intervals (seen below), which is a big improvement over the hourly interval above. I can now know how much energy the house is using at any given time. At 7:20AM, I was in the kitchen using the lights and the toaster. At 8PM, I was using the clothes washer and dryer. As this data is captured, Bidgely is analyzing it using different algorithms, to understand how much of my usage is due to the various appliances in our household: refrigeration vs. vampire loads vs. clothes dryers, for example. The granular data will eventually help me to sort out where I can focus my energy efficiency efforts, whether it’s in more efficient lighting, tackling vampire loads, or getting rid of that old, clunky fridge.
If you would like to track your energy usage, a good place to start would be to make sure you have your PG&E online profile set up. Then, you can sign up for a service like Bidgely. They even have a mobile app (iPhone and Android), so it’s easy to track your hourly interval data. If you want to buy a HAN device, you can find more information on PG&E’s recently launched HAN device portal. The one I bought was pretty steep, about $100 in cost. But, you could maybe convince Bidgely to send you one for free, and hopefully they’ll come down in cost over time. If you don’t live in PG&E territory, check to see if your utility is signed on to the Green Button initiative and whether or not they have deployed smart meters.
In OPower’s presentation, they revealed that their comparison methods had resulted in verified 2-3% energy savings on average per customer in the territories where they are working with utilities. While this number is certainly nothing to cough at, it does suggest that there is a still a huge potential for energy efficiency out there. And companies are piling in to the residential and small commercial energy efficiency space to capitalize on this influx of data and see if customers will act on it. Besides Bidgely, there’s Simple Energy, PlotWatt, Ohmconnect, and also WattTime (a winner in last year’s hackathon). BERC is also beginning to participate in this data revolution. Stay tuned for forthcoming information on two new BERC Communities, Cleanweb and InfoEnergy Nexus, as well as the second annual Berkeley Cleanweb hackathon to be held on April 18-20, 2014.
LBNL’s China Energy Group has released the 8th version of its China Energy Databook. I was the co-editor for this version, and learned a lot about how to hunt for different kinds of energy related data on China. We usually do an update only every couple of years, but hopefully we will be doing more regular updates as we streamline our processes. Certainly, this project has a legacy that we must continue. This is one of the spreadsheets from the databook, started 13 years ago by Yang Fuqiang, who at the time was a scientist at the lab but is now an adviser to NRDC’s China program.
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for the databook. I’m currently working on a Sankey diagram for China’s energy consumption and production (a la LLNL’s famous versions for the U.S.) and hope to show that off in the coming weeks.
In early June, I had the privilege to attend the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ECEEE) summer study in Hyeres, France (it’s every other year) and give a paper that I wrote with Chris Marnay and others on microgrid program development and policy. My mom came along with too. We had an outstanding time. A day in Paris on either end, and 5 days in the south of France. Literally, the weather every day was sunny and 70F. Two other awesome things happened on the trip. First, I got to take the high speed train. It only took 4 hours to travel the entire length of France and the scenery was so lovely, just gentle rolling hills until we eventually happened upon the azure ocean in Toulon. The marvels of efficient train travel! The second thing was that I ran into my professor Iain MacGill of UNSW, Australia where I took a summer course on renewable energy 9 years prior (the course still exists!). Here we are happily reunited.
The mornings were filled with great talks and academic exchange on energy efficiency. The afternoons were filled with sunshine, paddleboarding, kayaking, swimming, and bicycling. It really was a perfect experience.
Just a week before my Climate Ride, I put the finishing touches on my new music video, called “Bike Shop/Climate Awesome” featuring Ace (aka Akabar, my little brother with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program). Here it is:
After I posted the video, my fundraising basically doubled from around $3,300 to over $6,600. I believe I ended up in 8th place in fundraising out of over 150 riders. I got a special top ten Jersey as well as the award for the most number of individual donations, the official count was 129, but I think it was around 250 if you count every jian bing I sold to raise money. It was an incredible feeling to have so many people support my ride and this cause and I am incredibly grateful to them. Here are some charts on my fundraising efforts, the timing of my donations, and the size of donations I received. I believe these data can potentially be helpful to note for other climate riders. I should do a longer post about fundraising tactics. I had several.
The ride itself was incredible. We had 5 days of nearly perfect weather. I’d estimate about 4 hours of cloudiness. We had strong tail winds on day 3, which was the day we did 100 miles in one day. It felt incredible! Towards the end of that “century” day, we had the most incredible and beautiful climb in Mendocino county. It was so invigorating and empowering. Just check it out. And yes that is Harry Mud Mudd!
The people on Climate Ride and the organizers were all so amazing. It was a fully supported ride with food and everything. Each campsite we stayed in was a large campsite, so most of them had a general store out front, so when we rolled into camp we could also just grab a six-pack and start kicking back! Though I would ride periodically with people throughout each day, most of my actual riding was by myself. I could stop and take photos. I could just let my mind wander. I could just enjoy this wonderful scenery and experience. I had a great tentmate, my friend and former colleague Puneeth, and on the last day my good friend Nick made it out from Berkeley to meet us for the final leg. He took this great picture of me. I think it’s my favorite from the ride.
As we rolled into SF Civic Center, I got all of the Climate Riders to do a call and answer eco-rap with me. Enjoy!
The DOE Sunshot Initiative aims to get solar PV costs down to $1 per watt by 2020. Module prices have already fallen precipitously and continue to fall. However, an increasing number of companies are focusing on how to bring down the marketing, finance, and installation costs of solar PV systems, which remain stubbornly high. LBNL research has shown that customer acquisition is 10 times more costly in the U.S. than in Germany (see slide 29 in the linked presentation).
Two friends, my former colleagues at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, are pursuing an idea called SolarList, which aims to reduce those customer acquisition costs here in the U.S. One problem is that solar installation companies burn through a lot of sales time educating potential customers about how to go solar, but only a few of those leads end up working out. SolarList is building mobile software that allows students to offer free, third-party home solar assessments through targeted canvassing and their personal networks. For homeowners that are still interested once they have had some education and a free assessment, SolarList can connect them to installers.
A couple weekends ago, some friends and I decided to do some beta testing for SolarList’s mobile solar assessment software in the hills of Berkeley. We wanted to see just how homeowners would respond to some Berkeley students knocking on their doors offering free education on going solar. I was joined by Michael Conti (SolarList), Tim Cronin (BERC’s VP of Law), and Jenny Tang (editor of BERC’s China Focus).
Together, we knocked on a couple hundred doors that weekend and talked to dozens of homeowners. We found that if someone answered the door and had a few minutes to talk, the conversation went well at least 50% of the time. In general, people enjoyed receiving a free solar assessment, seeing how much they could save on their utility bill, and learning more about the different financing and installation options available. Some folks even offered to sit us down at the dining room table and have a longer chat.
At the end of the day, we had actionable leads that we could sell to solar installers. The homeowner receives free education and assessments, solar companies get qualified leads, and we get paid for pounding the pavement and preaching the solar gospel. (One homeowner remarked that she was only willing to talk to us because we didn’t look religious. She gets a lot of evangelists at her door, but I was apparently the first solar evangelist.)
So that’s how you can sell solar to your neighbors in Berkeley (or wherever you live). If you want to try it out, SolarList’s Ground Forces team is ramping up with summer jobs.
Last week, I attended the Berkeley Lab “Science at the Theater Earth Day Event,” entitled “How Hot Will It Get?” featuring five 15-minute talks by four LBNL scientists and one UC Berkeley economist. Overall, the event was a success, and the presentations were very informative, if not a bit frightening. The next “Science at the Theater” event is on May 13, so mark your calendars for “Eight Great Ideas”, where eight LBNL scientists will each have eight minutes to pitch their groundbreaking ideas. Here’s a summary of what was said the other night:
Bill Collins – What do computer models predict about the future of the Earth’s climate?
Since climate science started in the 1960’s, there has been nearly a billion-fold increase in computing power. This has enabled computers to become an increasingly powerful crystal ball for the Earth. Bill spoke about his visit to Australia for an IPCC meeting during the “angry summer”, where it was 120F in Sydney and 123 weather records were broken in 90 days. The 5th Assessment Report of the IPCC (AR5) will be released in 2014, and we can look forward to more well-informed (and more frightening) predictions of what is in store for our global climate. He noted that climate change through 2035 is largely already committed by the greenhouse gases we have emitted to date and the action we take now will dictate climate change in the latter half of the century. To date, this reality has been at odds with what has been politically possible on climate change. He ended with a quote from famous biologist E.O. Wilson: “A very Faustian choice is upon us: whether to accept our corrosive and risky behavior as the unavoidable price of population and economic growth, or to take stock of ourselves and search for a new environmental ethic.”
Margaret Torn – What happens to the Earth’s climate when the permafrost thaws?
The arctic is warming much faster than the rest of the Earth, and there is twice as much carbon in arctic soils as there is in the atmosphere. When the permafrost melts and the frozen organic matter beneath it thaws, the indigenous microbes will decompose that matter much faster, forming carbon dioxide and methane. As a biogeochemist, Margaret studies the dynamics of that decomposition in Alaska and how it will contribute to warming. She noted that the dynamics are complex and yet to be fully understood. Bill Collins’ most powerful climate models don’t yet incorporate potential feedback loops from permafrost melt. One scenario is that the melting permafrost sends loads of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but shrubs also expand to new areas and increase carbon uptake. The overall effect on the “albedo” is yet unknown.
Michael Wehner – What does high performance computing tell us about heat waves, floods, droughts, and hurricanes?
“Climate is what you expect, and weather is what you get,” Michael said as he began his talk, attributing the quote to Edward Lorenz, the father of chaos theory. Michael studies the weather and increased risk of extreme weather (heat waves, cold snaps, drought, floods, hurricanes, etc.) from climate change. He estimates that the 2003 European heat wave, which caused 70,000 excess deaths, will happen in 9 out of 10 summers by the year 2040. That is, the risk change (over a baseline level pre-industrial revolution) for the event in 2003 was 2X. In 2023, the risk change for a similar heat wave will be 35X. In 2040, the risk change will be a startling 154X. This will equate to a probability of 90%. Yikes.
Jeff Chambers – How much carbon do our forests absorb and what if this rate changes?
Only 50% of the carbon we emit into the atmosphere stays there. The other half goes into the oceans, tropical forest sinks, and regular terrestrial sinks (soil and trees). Jeff studies what will happen to the forest and terrestrial sinks over time. There will be the effects a warming world, and the effects of specific weather disasters. He estimated that 320 million trees were destroyed in hurricane Katrina, which normally absorb a carbon equivalent of 105 million tons of carbon dioxide. Other impacts to forests include increased risk of wildfires, droughts, and pest infestations.
Maximilian Auffhammer – What kind of carbon tax might actually work?
“You know you’re at a nerdy event, when they bring out a German economist to close the show,” Maximilian quipped to begin his talk. Maximilian focused on what we might do to slow down climate change and potentially avoid some of doomsday. As a German economist, he is concerned about the costs of three things: 1) direct impacts (think hurricanes and floods), 2) mitigation, such as how to use less energy and produce more clean energy, and 3) adaptation. We can internalize the costs of climate change in three ways 1) regulation and standards, 2) carbon tax, and 3) cap and trade. The problem: about 200 countries have tried to negotiate a global agreement, it has not worked, there is no significant progress on the horizon, and any one country can block action. He proposes that the G20 (which account for about 80% of carbon emissions) agree to charge a significant carbon tax to start, say $20/ton to begin with. It would be enforced to non-compliers at the border (thus creating an incentive for other countries to adopt carbon policy). He says it would be much easier to negotiate than a global agreement, but admits it would still be pretty difficult.
1. California’s AB-32 climate change law: The organizations I ride for are protecting, lobbying for, and implementing the strongest climate change mitigation legislation out there.
2. UC Berkeley: I’ll be a student in a dual master’s program in energy and public policy in the fall, and right now I work on energy efficiency and distributed generation policy at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. The organizations I ride for are fighting for the same outcomes that I am studying and working towards.
3. Bike economy: The organizations I ride for include bicycle coalitions which increase the number of bikes on the roads and decrease the number of cars. They lobby for bike lanes and make sure everyone feels safe on a bicycle. They inspire me to keep expanding my food bike operation!
Donate here, don’t be shy: http://bit.ly/SustyClimateRide
More on the beneficiaries of Climate Ride: http://www.climateride.
Have you seen “Thrift shop” (240 million views and counting)? Well, get ready for “Bike shop”! This new music video will debut on May 11 in support of my fundraising efforts for Climate Ride. If you haven’t donated yet, please do so now at this link! At the heart of Climate Ride are two groups that converge: 1) people that love biking, 2) people working to fight for a clean energy, low-carbon future. To that end, my new video will have one verse focused on how awesome and fun bikes are and one verse focused on how we, as citizens, need to lobby for that low-carbon future. I’m lucky I have such awesome friends to help out with my music video…the shot above gives a little taste of what is coming your way. This will mark my 6th official music video. The preceding five were: Copenhagen Rap (3-5-0), All We Need Is MPG’s, No Love (for the Upton Bill), Occupy Rooftops, and Low-Carbon (低碳) Style.
Tomorrow April 16, BERC, ERG, and CEGA will host a *free screening* of the documentary Chasing Ice in Sutardja Dai Hall auditorium (register here), and I highly recommend you go see it. This film inspires climate change action because of its use of visual evidence and a protagonist hero with whom you feel a personal connection.
The film follows photographer James Balog, who founded the Extreme Ice Survey, the most wide-ranging ground-based photographic study of glaciers ever conducted. National Geographic showcased this workin the June 2007 and June 2010 issues, and director Jeff Orlowski brought this story to the big screen. Beyond showing the startling footage of the disappearance of glaciers over just a couple of years, the movie explains the technical problems that Balog faced in setting up his cameras and the personal struggles he had climbing ice and snow even after multiple knee reconstruction surgeries. His perseverance is inspiring, however, and the visual evidence he presents is beautiful, haunting, and motivating.
At the most recent screening in Berkeley hosted by local company Mosaic, Mosaic’s co-founder Dan Rosen explained how he met director Orlowski at the Unreasonable Institute where they inspired each other to continue pursuing their dreams. Orlowski dreamed of bringing the story of the Extreme Ice Survey to the big screen, while Rosen dreamed of fighting climate change by creating a platform for any individual to invest in clean energy projects.
Chasing Ice’s use of visual evidence and a protagonist hero mimics another climate change movie I saw last year, The Island President. I reviewed that movie at length on my personal blog due to its deep impact on me and its amazing storytelling. That movie followed the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, leading his country’s fight against climate change. It showcased Nasheed’s personal struggles as a civil rights activist (being arrested, tortured, put in solitary confinement) and his true passion for saving his country from the threat of climate change and rising sea levels which will wipe out the country. It is summed up well in one of his quotes in the movie: “How can I promote democracy if there is no country to speak of?”
This level of personal storytelling is in great contrast to tactics used in An Inconvenient Truth, the most well-known climate change movie to date. That movie stumbled in its attempts to make Al Gore a personal hero (a cobbled attempt to make it personal by recounting his childhood on the farm and the tough loss of his mother to cigarettes and cancer), but instead focused on a comprehensive, yet accessible review of the data and science behind climate change. At the end of the movie, Gore called for action based on a moral crisis, but I simply wasn’t as inspired after I saw An Inconvenient Truth as when I saw Chasing Ice and The Island Presient. Gore understands what his previous slideshow lacked, and has recently altered its content to motivate audiences with both aspects of visual evidence and personal connections. It seems these tactics will become the gold standard for climate change movies, as the impacts of climate change begin to be seen and as filmmakers seek to more effectively motivate viewers to take action against climate change. | <urn:uuid:7dcacd02-92df-4e56-87e4-c8191d78f58e> | {
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Water supply and sanitation in Australia
|Australia: Water and Sanitation|
|Water coverage (broad definition)||100%|
|Sanitation coverage (broad definition)||100%|
|Continuity of supply (%)||Mostly continuous|
|Average residential water use (l/p/d)||191 liter/person/day (2007) |
|Average domestic water and sewer bill||A$60/month or US$46/month|
|Share of household metering||n/a|
|Annual investment in WSS||A$2 bn/US$1.74 bn (2007–08) or US$81/capita|
|Share of self-financing by utilities||High|
|Share of tax-financing||Low|
|Share of external financing||None|
|Decentralisation to municipalities||In some states (primarily in Queensland and Tasmania)|
|National water and sanitation company||State water and sanitation companies|
|Water and sanitation regulator||No|
|Responsibility for policy setting||Share between states/territories and the Commonwealth (national government)|
|Number of urban service providers||> 33|
|Number of rural service providers||n/a|
Water supply and sanitation in Australia is universal and of good quality. As the country's supply of freshwater is increasingly vulnerable to droughts, possibly as a result of climate change, there is an emphasis on water conservation and various regions have imposed restrictions on the use of water.
In 2006, Perth became the first Australian city to operate a seawater desalination plant, the Kwinana Desalination Plant, to reduce the city's vulnerability to droughts. More plants are planned or are under construction in Sydney, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, and Adelaide. The use of reclaimed water is also increasingly common. However, some desalination plants were put in stand-by modes in 2010 following above average rainfall levels and floods in 2010.
Governments of Australian states and territories, through state-owned companies, are in charge of service provision in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, while utilities owned by local governments provide services in parts of Queensland and Tasmania. In Victoria, New South Wales and Southeast Queensland state-owned utilities provide bulk water, which is then distributed by utilities owned by local government. The Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities is responsible for water policies at the federal level.
- 1 Water resources and water use
- 2 Responsibility for water supply and sanitation
- 3 Community consultation
- 4 Water tariffs
- 5 Investment
- 6 Demand management and water conservation
- 7 See also
- 8 References
- 9 External links
Water resources and water use
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth, and among the world’s highest consumers of water. Amongst OECD nations Australia is ranked fourth-highest in water use per capita. Total water runoff in 2004–05 was estimated at 243 billion cubic meters (BCM) and total groundwater recharge was estimated at 49 BCM, giving a total inflow to Australia’s water resources of 292 BCM. Over 60 per cent of runoff occurred in northern Australia. Only 6 per cent of Australia’s runoff was in the Murray-Darling Basin, where 50 per cent of Australia’s water use occurs. Australia’s total large dam storage capacity was 84 BCM. While surface water is well known, groundwater resources are not well known.
In 2004–05 the National Water Commission undertook water balance assessments for 51 priority geographic areas across Australia. Of these water management areas six were overused (consumptive use was greater than sustainable yield) and seventeen had a high level of consumptive use as a proportion of inflows (consumptive use greater than 30 per cent of inflows). Two water management areas (Great Artesian Basin and Mereenie Sandstone — Alice Springs) had consumptive use greater than total annual inflow. Total water use in Australia in 2004–05 was nearly 80 BCM, with about 75 per cent of this water returned to the environment following in-stream uses such as hydroelectric power generation. Consumptive use of water in the Australian economy in 2004–05 was 18.8 BCM (6.4 per cent of resources), with the agriculture sector the largest user (65 per cent), followed by household use (11 per cent). Residential water use declined from 243 liter/person/day in 2003 to 191 in 2007.
According to the Prime Minister's office, as the impact of climate change intensifies, Australia faces increasingly acute long-term water shortages with lower rainfall, rivers drying up and dam water levels falling. In most parts of Australia, surface water stored in reservoirs is the main source for municipal water supply, making water supply vulnerable to droughts; only a much smaller share comes from groundwater. Non-conventional water sources, such as seawater desalination, play an increasing role in Australia's water supply, with one desalination plant commissioned to supply Perth and others being built in Sydney, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Adelaide, and another is planned to be built at Port Augusta.
The use of reclaimed water — the non-potable reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation of green spaces, golf courses, agricultural crops or industrial uses — is common and increasing in Australia. Among the 20 largest water utilities in Australia, the largest volume of recycled water supplied was by SA Water in Adelaide (25,047 ML or 29.6% of sewage collected), while the lowest volume of recycled water was by ACTEW in Canberra (2,104 ML or 7.4% of sewage collected).
Adelaide receives its drinking water from five sources:
- the River Torrens, flowing from the Adelaide Hills through the city into the sea, with storage provided in the Warren Reservoir, Millbrook Reservoir, Kangaroo Creek Reservoir and Hope Valley Reservoir;
- the Onkaparinga River south of Adelaide with storage in the Mount Bold Reservoir, downstream of which water is diverted by the Clarendon Weir via a tunnel to the Happy Valley Reservoir on the Field River;
- The Barossa Reservoir, the South Para Reservoir and the Little Para Reservoir north-east of Adelaide;
- Most years the flow to these reservoirs is supplemented by water pumped from the River Murray through two pipelines, one from Mannum to the reservoirs on the River Torrens and the South Para Reservoir and Warren Reservoir, and the other from Murray Bridge to the reservoirs on the Onkaparinga River;
- The Myponga Reservoir on the Myponga river about 60 km south of Adelaide, supplying about 5 per cent of the city's water supply.
The amount of water required from the River Murray varies from about 40 per cent of Adelaide’s water needs in a normal rainfall year to as much as 90 per cent in a dry year. At full capacity the above-mentioned reservoirs hold about 200 million cubic meters of water, or a little less than 1 year's supply for metropolitan Adelaide.
A desalination plant in Port Stanvac has been approved, which will provide up to one-third of Adelaide's water needs when built in 2012. A smaller plant near Port Augusta has also been proposed, which will supply almost all the residential water needs of towns on the Spencer Gulf.
Brisbane and Gold Coast
Water storage, treatment and bulk supply for Brisbane is handled by SEQ Water, which sells on to Brisbane Water for distribution to the Greater Brisbane area. Water for the area is stored in three major dams; Wivenhoe Dam on the Brisbane River, Somerset on the Stanley River and North Pine on the North Pine River. Water is also provided by a number of smaller dams that are connected via the SEQ Water Grid. The Wivenhoe Dam is shared with the Gold Coast, which has two more water sources, the Hinze Dam and the smaller Little Nerang Dam, both on the Nerang River. Groundwater from North Stradbroke Island is also transferred to the mainland to supplement the area's water supply. Gold Coast Water has commenced construction of a desalination plant at Tugun which was commissioned in 2009. A Southern Regional Pipeline is also under construction that will share Gold Coast water with the rest of South East Queensland. The construction of Traveston Crossing Dam and an associated long-distance pipeline as well as a pipeline from the existing Boondooma Dam have also been proposed to provide the growing population of Southeast Queensland with water.
The A$2.5 billion Western Corridor Recycled Water Project whose construction began in 2006 includes the construction of three new wastewater treatment plants, 200 km of pipelines and 12 pumping stations. It will provide reclaimed water to industrial users, agricultural users and to supplement drinking water supplies in Wivenhoe Dam.
A severe drought in 2005-2007 triggered major investments, including the Tugun desalination plant and the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project. When rainfall became abundant in 2008-2010 and reservoirs were full, the state government decided in 2010 to put the Tugun plant in stand-by mode, operating at less than 10% of capacity, and to close down a new advanced wastewater treatment plant on Gibson Island in order to save power and chemicals.
Canberra draws its water supply from three separate catchment systems: The Cotter River catchment, within the ACT; the Googong system on the Queanbeyan River in New South Wales; and the Murrumbidgee River, at the Cotter Pump Station. All these rivers drain into the Murray River.
Some 90% of Melbourne's drinking water comes from uninhabited mountain ash forests high up in the Yarra Ranges east of Melbourne. More than 157,000 hectares has been reserved for the primary purpose of harvesting water. These water supply catchments have been closed to the public for more than 100 years. Melbourne's water supply system is based on the principle that it is better to start with the highest quality source water than having to treat it to reach required standards. According to Melbourne Water, Melbourne is one of only about five cities in the world that has such protected catchments. Water from the forests flows through streams in reservoirs, which provide security of supply for times of drought. One of these reservoirs is formed by the Thomson Dam on the Thomson River located about 130 km east of Melbourne in Gippsland, from where water flows through a 19 km long tunnel through the Great Dividing Range into the Upper Yarra Reservoir and then onto Silvan Reservoir for distribution as drinking water in Melbourne. In recent years, drought has resulted in depletion of much of the water in the reservoir of the Thomson Dam.
In June 2007, the Victorian State Government announced a new plan to provide water security for Victoria's growing population and economy by diversifying and boosting water supplies, networking the State's water resources in a Victorian Water Grid and enabling a rapid and flexible response to changing future water needs. The plan includes A$4.9 billion of projects to secure Melbourne and Victoria's water supplies for the long term, including:
- the 150 billion litre per year, A$2.2 billion Melbourne desalination plant in Wonthaggi which would be the largest desalination plant in Australia, supplying 30% of Melbourne's water needs, for which a Build-Operate Transfer (BOT) contract was awarded in mid-2009 to a consortium led by the French multinational SUEZ;
- a major irrigation upgrade in the Food Bowl in Northern Victoria to deliver water savings to be shared equally between irrigators, the environment, and Melbourne; and
- a major expansion of the Victorian Water Grid with pipelines to connect Melbourne's water system with the desalination plant and Northern irrigation upgrades.
These projects are expected to deliver a 50 per cent boost to Melbourne's water supply within five years and allow water to be moved where it is needed most.
Perth receives most of its water from a series of reservoirs. Since 2001, southern Western Australia has suffered severe drought conditions. Average inflows to Perth’s metropolitan dams have dropped to less than 90 gigalitres a year compared with 340 gigalitres in 1975. In 2006, Perth became the first Australian city to operate a reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant, the Kwinana Desalination Plant, which as of 2007 supplies 17% of the city's drinking water supply. To mitigate the drought, a second seawater desalination plant is envisaged in Binningup near Bunbury.
More than four million people in Sydney, the Illawarra, the Blue Mountains and the Southern Highlands rely on the catchments of the Warragamba, Upper Nepean, Blue Mountains, Shoalhaven, and Woronora river systems to supply their drinking water. This is about 60 per cent of the population of New South Wales. These catchments cover an area of almost 16,000 square kilometres. They extend from north of Lithgow in the upper Blue Mountains, to the source of the Shoalhaven River near Cooma in the south — and from Woronora in the east to the source of the Wollondilly River west of Crookwell. The catchments are the source of the raw bulk water stored in reservoirs, which is then supplied to Sydney Water, Shoalhaven City Council and Wingecarribee Shire Council. Given low water levels in reservoirs due to drought Sydney Water announced in 2007 it would build the Kurnell Desalination Plant, powered by wind energy, that would supply up to 15% of the drinking water supply to Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains. It is the largest water supply project for Sydney since the Warragamba Dam was opened in 1960.
Responsibility for water supply and sanitation
Policy and regulation
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia states that natural resource policy, including that relating to water, is a responsibility of the States: "The Commonwealth shall not, by any law or regulation of trade or commerce, abridge the right of a State or of the residents therein to the reasonable use of the waters of rivers for conservation or irrigation." (Section 100) However, this legal position has become less clear as a result of decisions by the Australian High Court. The Commonwealth Government has taken a much greater role in the Australian water sector in the early 21st century. The Ministry for Climate Change and Water is in charge of water policies at the federal level.
An example of the expanding role of the Commonwealth in the management of water resources is the federal takeover of the Murray-Darling Basin. In April 2007, amid a major drought, John Howard, then Prime Minister of Australia, announced that the region was facing an "unprecedentedly dangerous" water shortage and that water might have to be reserved for "critical urban" water supplies. The Federal Government proposed a A$10 billion Commonwealth take-over of the Murray-Darling Basin, arguing that effective management could not be undertaken by competing state governments. While the states of New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia as well as the Australian Capital Territory accepted the proposal, the state of Victoria initially refused to co-operate, arguing that its irrigators would be disadvantaged and that it would challenge the takeover in the High Court. Legislation to create the Murray-Darling Basin Commission was passed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in August 2007 in the form of the Water Act of 2007. In March 2008, Premier John Brumby indicated that the Victorian government would participate in the program, in return for $1 billion to upgrade irrigation and continue water security for farmers.
National Water Initiative. In 1994 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed on a Water Reform Agenda to work towards reform in the water industry at the national level. In 2004, this was succeeded by the formation of the National Water Commission and the adoption of the National Water Initiative (NWI). The NWI "aims at increasing the productivity and efficiency of Australia 's water use and establishing clear pathways to return all water systems – rivers and groundwater – to environmentally sustainable levels of extraction". The government has also established Drinking Water Guidelines as part of a National Water Quality Management Strategy.
The Government of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had announced that it would invest in greater use of recycled water, water desalination and stormwater through a $1 billion urban water infrastructure fund. The Government also announced that it would assist households to install water and energy efficient products, with rebates for rainwater tanks and solar hot water.
State-level regulation. Various state agencies regulate water supply and sanitation in each state, with different arrangements found throughout Australia. State agencies with responsibtilities in the sector include Water Commissions, Environmental Protection Agencies and Competition Authorities. They operate under different Departments (Ministries) such as Natural Resources and Water Departments and Trade Departments. For example, in Queensland under the Water Act 2000 water policy is the responsibility of the Queensland Water Commission, which is under the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and the Minister of Trade.
At the local level, commercialisation and corporatisation of many Australian urban water businesses has led to management responsibilities being vested in commercial utilities, in contrast to earlier arrangements where services were provided directly by an arm of government. The role of the utility's board members is to provide commercial skill and focus, as well as to buffer the organisation from arbitrary political interference. The private sector is involved primarily through Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contracts for major treatment plants, including desalination plants.
The institutional arrangements for service provision vary among States and Territories. In parts of Queensland and in Tasmania, for example, local government is responsible for the provision of water services. In other states and territories, different arrangements have evolved. In New South Wales, Victoria and Southeast Queensland, there are separate municipal retail service providers and state bulk service providers that cover large parts of each state. In other states, such as South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territories integrated state-level water utilities are in charge of both bulk water supply and retail distribution.
South East Queensland has reformed its water sector in 2008. Under the new structure four state-owned authorities (Seqwater, LinkWater and the SEQ Water Grid Manager) are in charge of bulk water supply:
- Seqwater supplies water from conventional sources such as dams, weirs and treatment plants as well as water from non-conventional sources such as the Gold Coast Desalination Plant and the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project.
- LinkWater owns the transport infrastructure, and
- the SEQ Water Grid Manager operates the transport infrastructure.
- Queensland Urban Utilities, which distributes water in five council regions (Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset).
- Unity Water serving the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay,
- and Allconnex serves Logan.
In Sydney, New South Wales, a catchment authority (Sydney Catchment Authority) has been established to supply water in bulk to the retail water and wastewater utility Sydney Water, a statutory State owned corporation, wholly owned by the New South Wales Government.
In Melbourne, Victoria, three government-owned companies (City West Water Ltd., South East Water Ltd., and Yarra Valley Water Ltd.) are the retailers and the wholesaler is a government-owned corporation, Melbourne Water. The wholesaler also controls the catchment for most of its supply.
In Adelaide, South Australia (SA), water and sanitation services are provided by SA Water. In 1996 the SA Government awarded French-owned United Water a 15-year contract to manage and operate the metropolitan Adelaide water and wastewater systems on behalf of SA Water. SA Water retains ownership of all infrastructure, sets service standards, and implements the government’s pricing policy. SA Water also maintains control of all asset investment decisions, billing and revenue collection. When the contract expired in 2011 SA Water decided not to short-list United Water for the follow-up contract. The South Australian government had accused the company of overcharging. In January 2011 the follow-up operation and maintenance contract with a duration of 6 years, plus another 6 years based on the performance during the first 6 years, was won by Allwater, a consortium consisting of Degremont and Suez Environnement from France as well as the Australian company Transfield Services.
In Canberra, and the Australian Capital Territory generally, a public-private multi-utility partnership (ActewAGL), of which 50% is owned by the state-owned asset-holding company ACTEW, provides services electricity, gas, water and wastewater services since 2000.
Most organisations providing urban water services in Australia have experienced some degree of organisational reform in the 1990s, which has clarified accountabilities by separating policy, regulatory and commercial (operational) functions. The accepted wisdom is that this separation provides urban water businesses with clear commercial goals of customer service, while safeguarding public health and achieving environmental compliance in a sound business operation, free of other conflicting objectives.
For a brief profile of each of the 33 of the largest water companies in Australia see: WSAA Members
The Water Reform Agenda, agreed in 1994, adopted the principle of public consultation by government agencies and service providers when change and/or new initiatives were being contemplated involving water resources. Subsequently the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines emphasised the right of communities to participate in the development of policies relating to their water supply. The Guidelines also provide advice on how customers should be involved in considering options for effective and acceptable monitoring and reporting on performance of their water supply, and on the frequency of such reporting. The Water Reform Agenda also mentions the need for the public to be informed of the cause and effect relationship between infrastructure performance, standards of service and related costs, with a view to promoting levels of service that represent the best value for money to the community.
In Australia, most water businesses have changed from a charging system based largely on property value to one based on actual water consumed (a user-pays policy), in line with the Water Reform Agenda. Hunter Water in the Newcastle area of New South Wales pioneered this policy in Australia in the 1980s and reported a fall in household water consumption of 30 per cent over previous trends. This experience encouraged other water authorities to adopt the policy with a view to managing demand for water.
However, low-income households in Australia spend in proportional terms much more on utility services than high-income households. The implication is that increases in the price of utility services, if not accompanied by other compensation, will have a regressive and disproportionately negative impact on low-income households. It is generally expected that with the advent of expensive desalination water tariffs will have to increase in Australia.
Across Australia, the average typical annual residential bill for water supply and sewerage services was A$713 in 2007 (US$557 using the January 2007 exchange rate of 1.28). In South East Queensland the average annual water bill of only A$465 in 2005, but that it could increase to A$1,346 by 2017 due to increasing bulk water costs.
In the capital cities alone, over A$2 billion of expenditure was undertaken in 2007/2008 (US$1.74 billion using the January 2008 exchange rate of 1.15). This expenditure is unprecedented in the industry. Urban water utilities invested A$835 million in replacing old and under-performing assets and A$535 million in maintaining asset reliability.
Demand management and water conservation
Demand management measures to encourage consumers to use less water include advertising, education, pricing and appliance redesign. Furthermore, the use of alternatives to conventional water supply such as effluent reuse, rainwater harvesting and greywater use are also being encouraged through state-based rebates and the national not-for-profit Smart WaterMark label. Some water businesses in Australia have opted for restrictions on water use to conserve water supplies and minimise capital expenditure. A series of restriction levels, depending on remaining storage capacity in reservoirs, can curb the maximum daily consumption during drought periods. For example, several water authorities in very hot and dry regions of Australia have adopted a cooperative policy with consumers to restrict peak water usage on very hot days or to restrict garden watering to periods in which it is more effective.
- 1998 Sydney water crisis
- Climate change in Australia
- Drought in Australia
- Peter Cullen, a leading Australian water scientist
- Water data transfer format
- Water restrictions in Australia
- Water security in Australia
- The International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation Utilities (IBNET):Australia Country Report, accessed on 20 September 2010
- "Australian Government National Water Commission – Urban Performance". Australian Government National Water Commission website. Australian Government National Water Commission. 28 June 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- "Launch of the WSAA Report Card for 2007/2008". Water Services Association of Australia website. Water Services Association of Australia. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "CSIRO: Water overview". CSIRO website. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). 31 May 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- Stoeckel, Kate; Abrahams, Harry (2007). "Water Reform in Australia:the National Water Initiative and the role of the National Water Commission". In Hussey, Karen; Dovers, Stephen. Managing water for Australia:the social and institutional challenges. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-643-09392-8.
- "Australian Water Resources 2005: What is our total water resource?". Australian Government National Water Commission website. Australian Government National Water Commission. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "Australian Water Resources 2005: Water balance results". Australian Government National Water Commission website. Australian Government National Water Commission. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "Prime Minister of Australia – Climate Change and Water". Website of the Prime Minister of Australia. Commonwealth of Australia. 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- "Reservoirs – Overview". SA (South Australia) Water website. SA Water/Government of South Australia. 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "SEQ Water Grid". The State of Queensland (Department of Infrastructure and Planning). Retrieved 15 October 2009.
- Queensland Water Commission:Water Grid. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- Western Corridor Recycled Water Project. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- Global Water Intelligence:Aussie plants go into hibernation, December 2010, p. 26
- "ActewAGL: Water catchment". ActewAGL website. ActewAGL Retail. 2003–2009. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "Water Storage Catchments Forests: Melbourne Water". Melbourne Water website. Melbourne Water. 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "DESALINATED WATER – FACT SHEET" (PDF). National Water Commission, Australia. October 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
- "Water Corporation: Publications". Water Corporation website. Water Corporation. 2003–2008. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "Water and Public Policy". Consumer's Guide to Drinking Water. Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment. May 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "Murray-Darling farmers face water shut-off". ABC News Online website. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 April 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "Turnbull takes aim at Vic over Murray-Darling". ABC News Online website. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- Schubert, Misha; Ker, Peter (27 March 2008). "$1bn Murray breakthrough". The Age website. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 11 January 2009. [dead link]
- "Australian Government National Water Commission". Australian Government National Water Commission website. Australian Government National Water Commission. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "National Water Initiative". Australian Government National Water Commission website. Australian Government National Water Commission. 22 July 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- Queensland Water Commission:Legislation. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
- Queensland Water Commission:SEQ water reform. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
- Queensland Urban Utilities:The Water Industry, Retrieved 20 September 2010.
- Queensland Urban Utilities:About us. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- SA Water:United Water. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- United Water:CASE STUDY - ADELAIDE CONTRACT. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- ABC News (25 June 2010). "United Water losing Adelaide contract". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- Jerome Bailly & Ben Whelan (15 March 2011). "ALLWATER Adelaide’s new O & M Alliance Partner". Metropolitan Adelaide Service Delivery Project Adelaide O&M Alliance. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- Global Water Intelligence:The bureaucracy behind Queensland’s tariff rises, November 2010, quoting a study by AECgroup commissioned by the Local Government Association of Queensland
- "savewater!". savewater!.com.au website. savewater! Alliance. 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- "Australia's not-for-profit water conservation certification label". Retrieved 13 August 2012. | <urn:uuid:7414224e-4f20-4b18-9bd1-1801b558ebe8> | {
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The system will pay for itself in just five years due to the reduced maintenance costs and the added benefit of selling excess electricity back to the power grid.
Every day, humans collectively generate about 8.47 Empire State Buildings of fecal matter. That’s a lot of poop. Unfortunately, most of what’s generated in developing nations is untreated and ends up being discharged directly into lakes, rivers, and oceans. Because the world has a massive waste problem (and we’re not referring to plastic pollution), the Danish city of Aarhus has adopted technology capable of putting fecal matter to work.
NewScientist reports that Aarhus will become the first city in the world to provide most of its citizens with fresh water using energy created from household wastewater and sewage. The Marselisborg Wastewater Treatment Plant expects to generate more than 192% of the energy needs it requires to run the plant, which supplies approximately 200,000 nearby residents with fresh water.
Any excess electricity generated will be used to power water pumps. And, if any electricity is left, the remaining will be funneled back into the grid and sold for a profit. Says Mads Warming of Danfoss Power Electronics, the company responsible for providing the technology to the municipal water utility:
“We are about to be the first energy neutral catchment area.”
How does it work?
The plant generates energy from the biogas that is created out of household water, including sewage. Once extracted from the wastewater, it is pumped into digesters that maintain a 100.4°F (38°C) temperature. These digesters are filled with bacteria and produce biogas (predominantly methane) that is burned to make heat and electricity. This is the first time a wastewater treatment plant has utilized human sewage as a means of generating electricity to clean water.
It cost $3.19 million to install the sewer-power upgrades at Denmark’s Marselisborg Wastewater Treatment Plant, but Aarhus Water officials believe the investment was worth it. Reportedly, the system will pay for itself in just five years due to the reduced maintenance costs and the added benefit of selling excess electricity back to the power grid. Other cities in Denmark – such as Copenhagen – are actively seeking ways to duplicate the Aarhus system so they, too, can benefit from recycling human waste into energy.
Because humans generate a gargantuan amount of excrement on a daily basis, this technology could – and likely should – be implemented elsewhere. What are your thoughts? Please comment below and share this news!
This article (Danish City Becomes First In The World To Power A Water Treatment Plant With Sewage) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TrueActivist.com | <urn:uuid:7110e971-6c3c-4b83-b252-ade7802a9b07> | {
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Melanoma (Skin Cancer)
In its advanced state, skin cancer melanoma can cause serious illness and even death. Fortunately, melanoma rarely strikes without warning. Learn how to identify melanoma, how it spreads and what treatments are available.
What Is Melanoma?Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. If it is recognized and treated early, it is almost always curable, but if it is not, the cancer can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal. While it is not the most common of the skin cancers, it causes the most deaths. The American Cancer Society estimates that at present, about 120,000 new cases of melanoma in the US are diagnosed in a year. In 2010, about 68,130 of these were invasive melanomas, with about 38,870 in males and 29, 260 in women. Melanoma originates in melanocytes, the cells which produce the pigment melanin that colors our skin, hair, and eyes. The majority of melanomas are black or brown, but often they can also be skin-colored, pink, red, purple, blue or white.
Am I at Risk?Everyone is at some risk for melanoma, but increased risk depends on several factors: sun exposure, number of moles on the skin, skin type and family history (genetics).
- Sun exposureBoth UVA and UVB rays are dangerous to the skin, and can induce skin cancer, including melanoma. Blistering sunburns in early childhood increase risk, but cumulative exposure also may be a factor. People who live in locations that have more sunlight — like Florida, Hawaii, and Australia — develop more skin cancers. Avoid using a tanning booth or tanning bed, since it increases your exposure to UV rays, raising your risk of developing melanoma and other skin cancers.Moles There are two kinds of moles: normal moles — the small brown blemishes, growths, or “beauty marks” that appear in the first few decades of life in almost everyone — and atypical moles, also known as dysplastic nevi. Atypical moles can be precursors to melanoma, and having them puts you at increased risk of melanoma. But regardless of type, the more moles you have, the greater your risk for melanoma.
- Skin Type As with all skin cancers, people with fairer skin (who often have lighter hair and eye color as well) are at increased risk. Do you know your skin type? Click here to take our Skin Type Quiz.
- Family History Heredity plays a major role in melanoma. About one in every 10 patients diagnosed with the disease has a family member with a history of melanoma. If your mother, father, siblings or children have had a melanoma, you are in a melanoma-prone family. Each person with a first-degree relative diagnosed with melanoma has a 50 percent greater chance of developing the disease than people who do not have a family history. If the cancer occurred in a grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew (second-degree relatives), there is still an increase in risk, although not as great.If melanoma is present in your family, you can protect yourself and your children by being particularly vigilant in watching for the early warning signs and finding the cancer when it is easiest to treat.
- Personal History Once you have had melanoma, you run an increased chance of recurrence. People who have or had basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma are also at increased risk for developing melanoma.
- Weakened Immune System Compromised immune systems as the result of chemotherapy, an organ transplant, excessive sun exposure, and diseases such as HIV/AIDS or lymphoma can increase your risk of melanoma. | <urn:uuid:0e23764f-66c9-4832-bb82-1c9f580cd6eb> | {
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|The "Millennium Coral Reef Mapping Project" Geomorphological Reef Map
By using a consistent dataset of high-resolution (30 meter) multispectral Landsat 7 images acquired between 1999 and 2003,
Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (http://imars.marine.usf.edu/corals/index.html)
at the University of South Florida is
developing the first global uniform map of shallow coral reef ecosystems. The
program aims to highlight similarities and differences between reef structures
at a scale never before considered by traditional work based on field studies.
The project has included an unprecedented standardization of geomorphological
structures for reefs around the world. It will provide a reliable, spatially
constrained data set for biogeochemical budgets, biodiversity assessment, reef
structure comparisons and will also provide new high-quality information for
reef managers about reef location, distribution and extent. The maps are
constructed scene-by-scene, with mosaics produced for selected locations.
Extensive details on the mapping philosophy, global classification scheme, and other aspects of the project are available online
at the Millennium Coral Reef Mapping (http://imars.marine.usf.edu/corals/index.html) website. The portion of the project supported
by NASA was completed in 2007, however the lead investigator, Serge Andrefouet, expects to continue working with the data and
validating maps under support for other organizations for many years to come. Scientists interested in unvalidated maps and
working in these regions should contact him for potential collaboration opportunities.
The part of the data produced under NASA support (including validated maps for some regions, and unvalidated maps for other
regions) is available for download on NASA web servers at the following location: http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi/landsat.pl. Click on "Access to validated
and unvalidated reef classification products". There is also information there on how to cite the information if it is used, and
whom to notify about major uses at | <urn:uuid:2c53b168-da41-4b41-b793-6de80ed2eedc> | {
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Phone App Can Diagnose Anemia from Photos of Fingernails
Dec. 4, 2018 (New Scientist) – A smartphone app can diagnose anemia by analyzing the color of a person’s fingernails in a photograph.
Anemia – a condition in which people have low levels of hemoglobin or not enough healthy red blood cells – affects over two billion people worldwide. If untreated, it can cause severe fatigue, heart problems and complications in pregnancy.
Tests for anemia require blood samples and specialized equipment that can be hard to access in the low income societies where anemia is most prevalent. Wilbur Lam of Emory University, Atlanta, and colleagues wondered if smartphones could offer a simple alternative.
Previous studies have shown that the degree of paleness in some body tissues, including the fingernail beds, is a reliable indicator of how anemic someone is. The skin beneath fingernails does not contain pigment, so hemoglobin – the oxygen-carrying pigment of the blood – is the main source of color.
The app allows people to obtain a hemoglobin measurement in seconds by photographing their fingernails and tapping the screen to indicate where the nails are in the image. It uses the photo metadata to account for and factor out ambient lighting conditions.
“Because it requires only a smartphone, our app enables anyone to screen themselves for anemia at any time – all they need to do is download the app,” says Lam.
The measurement is based on a database of photos of fingernails from people with known hemoglobin levels. Although not as accurate as a blood test, it may be sensitive enough to be useful for screening groups that have a high risk of anemia, such as the elderly, pregnant women and young children. However, it will need further testing with larger numbers of people to confirm its accuracy before being widely used.
The app can be made more accurate by personalizing it with a specific person’s measurements. That could make it useful for people who have been diagnosed to monitor their anemia painlessly at home, says Lam.
Lam’s team are also working on using smartphones to assess jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and eyes caused by liver disease.
Journal reference: Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07262-2 | <urn:uuid:501eb5d9-e612-4eb1-894b-d45091163579> | {
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In Western Africa, a medicinal plant teeters on the brink of extinction. Poison devil’s pepper, or Rauvolfia vomitoria, has been overharvested by local people using the plant to treat ailments ranging from psychoses to indigestion. Some healers claim the plant’s chemicals protect the spirit of the patient against witchcraft. However, in Hawaii, R. vomitoria is responsible for an ailment of our natural areas – invading forests with amazing speed. The shrubby tree with an awful name could be at least as invasive, if not more so, than miconia.
Native to subtropical regions of Western Africa, R. vomitoria can live at elevations from sea-level to 5,000 feet. It reaches reproductive maturity within two years and, in Hawaii, flowers and produces fruit year-round. The numerous seeds are contained in an orange fruit eaten and are spread by birds. The plant grows extremely fast: Within five years a seedling will be 12-18 inches across and 30 feet tall.
Mowing or cutting doesn’t discourage this plant; a patch of R. vomitoria on Hawaii Island was 3 to 4 feet tall two months after mowing. “Ralph,” as the plant is unaffectionately called by field crews frantically working to contain this plant, has invaded gulches, pastures and waterways across 2,000 to 3,000 acres in Kohala. This superweed has spread into the mixed ohia forest at 1,600 feet elevation but could expand much farther, becoming a serious pest in agricultural and natural areas. Perhaps most disturbing is R. vomitoria’s ability to outcompete some of the most invasive plant species of tropical forests, gaining a foothold amid eucalyptus and strawberry guava despite a lack of sunlight under the canopy.
Invasive-weed infestations within Maui County are literally a growing problem. Despite the tough economic recession, invasive species prevention and mitigation programs remain a necessity for conserving our natural and agricultural resources. We need to look back only a few months ago to remember the show of local support for our Hawaii Department of Agriculture inspectors. While some positions were retained, Maui still must deal with the losses of important HDOA positions. Despite these setbacks, our local ranchers and natural area managers remain steadfast to continue the fight against these detrimental weed infestations, simply out of necessity. | <urn:uuid:158eea3a-3508-4911-b85a-e5b155168de3> | {
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More than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related complications each year,(1) with January and February marking peak flu season in the United States. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy are at higher risk of health complications at this time of year due to their weakened immune system.(2) In 2009 alone, approximately 330,000 patients with cancer in the U.S. were admitted to the hospital for serious infectious complications.(3)
Today, on CDC’s Safe Healthcare blog, Alice Guh, MD, MPH, an infectious disease doctor and medical officer at the CDC, answers questions on how cancer patients can help better protect themselves during flu season.
The CDC also provides the following resources for healthcare providers, cancer patients and caregivers at PreventCancerInfections.org – a website for patients and caregivers featuring an interactive risk assessment tool for neutropenia and downloadable educational materials.
• Basic Infection Control and Prevention Plan for Outpatient Oncology Settings – guidelines for evidence-based infection prevention practices in outpatient oncology settings, where more than one million cancer patients receive chemotherapy and radiation therapy each year.
• Supporting educational resources available to download include health tip sheets on a variety of topics, posters, and fact sheets.
Join the conversation on CDC’s Safe Healthcare blog: http://blogs.cdc.gov/safehealthcare.
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seasonal Influenza. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/disease.htm
2. “Chemotherapy and You” brochure. National Cancer Institute website. www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/coping/chemotherapy-and-you/page7#SE8.
3. Anhang Price R et al. Cancer Hospitalizations for Adults. HCUP. 2009: Table 5. | <urn:uuid:1dc09804-d2a2-4b07-a8ac-574c7a8a6fc6> | {
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In a Comment linked to The Lancet Series on Adolescent Health, Professor Robert W Blum (Chair of the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD) and colleagues highlight some of the major challenges facing adolescents today.
They say that improvements in child survival across countries of all incomes mean that that healthier young people are coming of age and entering the workforce, adding to a nation's wealth. But they add: "However, in many low-income and middle-income countries this dividend has yet to be realised. Impeding this realisation are factors that include disparities in access to resources and services by ethnic origin, region of residence, socioeconomic status, and sex. Furthermore, as young people migrate to urban centres seeking often unavailable education and work, there is a growing population of disenfranchised young people adding to, rather than alleviating, the economic and social burdens."
They also acknowledge the shift from infectious to chronic diseases among adolescents over the past 40 years, but note that major challenges remain regarding certain infectious diseases. They say: "Of great concern are sexually transmitted infections with a protracted or indefinite course (eg, infections with HIV, herpesvirus, or human papillomavirus), which in countries of all incomes are exacerbated by poverty and social inequalities."
They add: "Furthermore, many of the chronic disorders thought [decades ago] uniquely to characterise high-income countries are being identified with greater prevalence in low-income and middle-income countries. For example, there are increases in mental disorders, suicide, homicide, obesity, malnutrition, and precancerous cervical lesions in young people worldwide. Unhealthy behaviours combine with unhealthy environments to offset the improved health status achieved by controlling previously fatal infectious diseases." | <urn:uuid:625ba237-3c3e-457e-b015-fbe0bf49e594> | {
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Government Policy in England: Inclusion in Mainstream Healthcare, 2001 - 2006
The author reviews Valuing People's policy, the limited progress in taking the agenda forward between 2001 and 2006,outlining some key actions that should be taken to promote better health outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities.
Rob Greig (UK)
The Government's White Paper, Valuing People, sets the policy agenda for the lives of people with learning disabilities into the 21st century. It outlines a radical agenda to ensure the health of people with learning disabilities improves, in particular by ensuring that mainstream health services take on their responsibilities to be inclusive of learning disabled people. This contribution reviews the reasons behind this policy, the limited progress between 2001 and 2006 in taking the agenda forward, and outlines some key actions that should be taken locally to promote better health outcomes for people with learning disabilities.
The general health of people with learning disabilities is significantly worse than that of the general population, as the following facts demonstrate:
- people with learning disabilities have a significantly increased risk of early death (Hollins et al, 1998).
- death from respiratory diseases is 3 times that of the general population (Puri et al., 1995)
- there is a failure to screen for, identify and treat a range of illnesses that are particularly prevalent among people with learning disabilities (e.g. thyroid dysfunction and congenital heart problems) (Rooney and Walsh, 1997; Brookes and Alberman, 1996).
- more than 40% have a hearing loss, which is unidentified in 75% of cases (Yeates, 1995).
- the prevalence of schizophrenia is around 3 times higher than in the general population, with an excessive and inappropriate use of antipsychotic medication (Emerson, 2001; Doody et al., 1998).
In spite of this, the response of the NHS has traditionally been poor. In the Government's own words, the NHS 'has failed to consider the needs of people with learning disabilities.' This position has recently been highlighted through the Disability Rights Commission's Formal Investigation into the health inequalities facing people with learning disabilities.
The aims of Valuing People
In order to help address these issues, in 2001 the Government produced a White Paper for England called Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century, which required a radical change in the way the NHS as a whole operates (Department of Health 2001). Valuing People primarily has a whole-life, social inclusion agenda, in which the promotion of positive health is an essential building block: unless people are well, they cannot take their place as full members of their communities.
The sections in Valuing People about health are therefore concerned with ensuring that people with learning disabilities benefit fairly and equally from NHS resources and initiatives and are not excluded from the health service needs of the whole population. Achieving this requires a major change in the way in which the NHS - both mainstream and specialist services - works with people with learning disabilities.
Rectifying the current situation
Back in 2001, in some ways managers and clinicians could not be blamed for that position of neglect. The role of the NHS in relation to people with learning disabilities used to be seen as the provision of long-stay hospitals. Then the task was to close the hospitals, and a common misunderstanding of the social model of disability meant that many health authorities thought their responsibilities in relation to people with learning disabilities were largely finished once the hospitals were closed. Meanwhile, the specialist health services often undermined their own position by sending out a message (sometimes intentional, sometimes not) that mainstream services need not include people with learning disabilities because the issues and challenges were so great that specialist services would deal with them. The genuine concern to deliver a health service to people with learning disabilities resulted in specialist professionals carrying out tasks that would have better come from the mainstream NHS.
Five years on, with the publicity surrounding Valuing People, the development materials and support provided through the Valuing People Support Team, and the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act, all make this position much less
understandable. Across the country, there are a number of positive examples of innovative approaches, with specialist services providing appropriate care and mainstream clinicians offering sensitive and inclusive healthcare, but these are still in the minority. In a review of Valuing People carried out in 2005, this author identified change on health issues as the weakest area of progress since the publication of the White Paper (Greig, 2005).
Promoting good health
Valuing People was unequivocal in its intent to change this. It stated that the role of the NHS as a whole is to promote and ensure the good health of people with learning disabilities. The challenge facing mainstream managers and clinicians is to achieve the inclusion of people with learning disabilities in all aspects of service delivery, while specialist learning disability services change to focus on supporting, training and working alongside mainstream services as they aim to achieve this. In short, the objective is to reduce the health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities. The new Public Sector Duty contained within the Disability Discrimination Amendment Act re-emphasizes this - making it clear that where any section of disabled people receives poorer outcomes from public services than the rest of the population, there is a legal requirement for those public bodies to take action to rectify the situation (Disability Discrimination Act, 2005).
Some of the main expectations from Valuing People are outlined in Table 1. These represented a radical and challenging policy and required a fundamental shift not only in service design but also in the organizational culture of parts of the NHS. It is crucial to emphasize that the health aspects of Valuing People are not about the unsupported shifting of responsibility for the healthcare of people with learning disabilities onto GPs, primary care staff and acute hospitals. Rather, the emphasis is on a new partnership whereby specialist learning disability health professionals change their priorities, so that they work alongside and offer support to mainstream staff. The specialist staff can and will be a willing resource to help make new ways of working a reality.
The entire policy is about redressing the collective failure of the NHS with regard to people with learning disabilities. Such a level of poor health and often undiagnosed illness cannot be justified in a modern health service. At its most simple, this is an issue of clinical governance. For example, all people with learning disabilities should be registered with a GP, which is not currently the case. The new partnership between primary care, acute services and specialist learning disability staff offers the potential for people to have their health needs comprehensively addressed - often for the very first time.
Taking the agenda forward.
Many practitioners across the country are working in new ways, and Table 2 describes some practical ways in which specialist and mainstream staff are taking the agenda forward. Central to this at a local level are the Learning Disability Partnership Boards, in which primary care trusts should be central and influential members. (There are 150 Partnership Boards across England, one for each local authority social services area.)
The challenge for the NHS (changing historical working practices) and the prize at stake (significant health gains for up to half a million people) are both substantial. People with learning disabilities themselves made it clear throughout the development of Valuing People and in its review, in The Story So Far, that getting a fair deal from the NHS was one of their top priorities. A health service that aims to be genuinely responsive to the patient must now try to live up to that hope.
|TABLE 2: Practical ideas for joint action |
Hollins S, Attard M T, von Fraunhofer N, Sedgwick P. Mortality in people with learning disability: risks, causes and death certification findings in London. Dev Med Child Neurol 1998; 40: 50-6.
Puri B K, Lekh S K, Langa A, Zaman R, Singh I. Mortality in a hospitalized mentally handicapped population: a 10-year survey. J Intellect Disabil Res 1995; 39: 442-6.
Rooney S, Walsh E. Prevalence of abnormal thyroid function tests in a Down's syndrome population. Int J Med Sci 1997; 166: 80-2.
Brookes M E, Alberman E. Early mortality and morbidity in children with Down's syndrome diagnosed in two regional health authorities in 1988. J Med Screen 1996; 3: 7-11.
Yeates S. The incidence and importance of hearing loss in people with severe learning disability: the evolution of a service. Br J Learn Disabil 1995; 23: 79-84.
Emerson E. Challenging behaviour: analysis and intervention in people with severe intellectual disabilities. 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Doody G A, Johnstone E C, Sanderson T L, Cunningham-Owens D G, Muir W J.
'Propfschizophrenie' revisited: schizophrenia in people with mild learning disability. Br J Psychiatry 1998; 173: 145-53.
Department of Health. Valuing people: a new strategy for learning disability for the 21st century. London: The Stationery Office, 2001.
Greig R. Valuing people: the story so far. London: Department of Health, 2005.
Disability Discrimination Act 2005. Chapter 13. An Act to amend the Disability Discrimination Act 1995; and for connect purposes. Available here
For more information about Valuing People, see http://www.valuingpeople.gov.uk
|This article was published in Psychiatry 2006; 5(9): 295-97, and is reprinted by kind permission of Medicine Publishing. It is a revised version of The New Government Policy in England: A Change of Direction, published in Psychiatry 2003 and on this website in 2004| | <urn:uuid:7b478e65-1e40-4d48-a3a2-74603aaa1e8a> | {
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Fighting Farmland Loss & Climate Change
Much has been made of the potential for U.S. agriculture to help reduce climate-altering greenhouse gases by modifying farming practices. Dairy farms can turn methane (20 times as potent as a greenhouse gas as CO2) from livestock manure and rumination into an alternative fuel source. Crop farmers can adopt conservation tillage instead of conventional plowing that causes soil carbon to escape into the atmosphere. And nearly all farmers can reduce the use fertilizers that release nitrous oxide (310 times as potent as CO2) into the atmosphere when applied to the land. Our Agriculture & Environment campaign is focusing on all these issues and in California’s San Joaquin Valley we are working with a partner organization, Sustainable Conservation, on a project to demonstrate farming techniques to address them.
Often overlooked, however, is the role that saving farmland can play in reducing the risks of climate change. Quite simply, one of the most important strategies for greenhouse gas reduction – more compact, walkable, transit-oriented urban development – is also the key to reducing the loss of farmland, especially in California. For example, in the San Joaquin Valley, which is responsible for over half of the state’s annual agricultural production, urban development is consuming an acre of farmland for every 8 new residents. (To get an idea of how spread out that is, think of two four-person touch football teams playing on the Rose Bowl gridiron.) If this sprawling pattern continues, the region will pave over more than 500 square miles of farmland by 2050, losing the equivalent of a billion dollars worth of annual food production capacity.
It turns out that there is a direct correlation between the efficiency of development in San Joaquin Valley counties (population divided by developed acreage) and the annual number of vehicle miles traveled by their residents. The more spread out an urban area is, the more people have to drive and the more greenhouse gas emissions come from their cars, SUVs and trucks. (See chart)
To make the connection between climate change and farmland, we became one of the earliest members of a consortium of nonprofit organizations called Climate Plan. Along with partners, we have been involved in the fight to pass climate legislation in California and, more recently, to see that the law actually results in better land use decisions by local government and developers. Recently, the state’s Regional Targets Advisory Committee (RTAC) recommended a process for translating the greenhouse gas reduction goal established by AB 32, California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act – achieving 1990 levels by 2020 – into local targets for curbing urban sprawl, as required by SB 375, companion legislation making the climate-land use connection. Unless local governments change development patterns and encourage more walkable, transit-oriented communities, it is predicted that vehicle miles traveled in California could increase 70% by 2030, canceling out all the benefits of improved auto fuel economy and low-carbon fuels.
For several years, we have been working with local governments in the San Joaquin Valley on a regional “blueprint” for more efficient growth and development. (See related story on our Web page.) We have made some progress, but not enough. And the hope is that the land use-related greenhouse gas reduction targets established under SB 375 will prompt local government to re-examine their future plans and be more aggressive in promoting the kind of smart growth that is key to mitigating climate change and saving irreplaceable farmland.
P.O. Box 73856
Davis, CA 95617 | <urn:uuid:9e772db0-599e-4b69-8061-87471dc0dfd7> | {
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As we learned today Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) was quite a character, perhaps a little like a Michael Moore of the 19th Century, daring to satirize and expose everything that stood in the way of a truly humane way of being human! His story “The War Prayer” (which you can read by clicking here https://www.antiwar.com/orig/twain1.html) is a powerful indictment of all governments who send of their young men to war, often supported by the battle cry of the prevailing religion. The story is wonderfully dramatized on this short film clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVYIRbmxHpc. I promise you will find this film deeply disturbing, chiefly because things have not changed very much since Mark Twain’s time. Huckleberry Finn of course contains the same kind of abhorrence of war and human cruelty in how it describes the goings-on on the banks of the Mississippi – a universe away from the tranquil, humane, nature-filled world of the river itself, down which Huck and Jim travel in a kind of Edenic simplicity. What a great read! It has such a timely and continuing relevance to our own times. And don’t miss this review of the latest sequel to Huck which suggests that the idiotic Tom Sawyer might be something of a model for Donald Trump! Here is the link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/entertainment/ron-charles-lights-out-for-the-territory-with-huck-out-west/2017/01/09/be8356e6-d69e-11e6-a0e6-d502d6751bc8_video.html?utm_term=.41ea47d7eb7d
Blog topics for this week
CREATIVE: Imagine you are hitching a ride with Huck and Jim. Write a paragraph describing the setting and the atmosphere of what it is like to be with these two runaways.
CRITICAL: Take any one of the short sections where Mark Twain describes nature with such vividness and immediacy. Quote the passage and then discuss what it is, in the word choice, the use of images and the sentence structure that gives the language such amazing life.
CREATIVE: Imagine you are Huck on the raft. Write a letter to the world saying why you want to be where you are and why the world should be different than what it is.
CRITICAL/CREATIVE: Create your own topic that builds on one of the episodes in the book that most caught your imagination. You might like to say how it parallels something in your own life and experience. | <urn:uuid:456b9b8a-4606-4461-80ef-76a9dfa78b3c> | {
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(Originally published September 29, 2015 on Examiner.com).
Domesticated ruminants (cattle, sheep, and goats) in North American basically replaced the corresponding wild ruminants (bison, elk, deer, pronghorns, and moose). (1). So in regards to methane and a reductionist point of view, if there still were the approximately 110 million wild ruminants (instead of the domesticated ones) on the land in North America, would those reductionists push to remove those bison, elk, moose, pronghorns and deer from the landscape to reduce enteric methane, since all of those wild animals belched as well?
Historically there were also large herds of ruminants on many other parts of the globe as well as other now extinct large mega fauna like Wooly mammoths and Mastodon not to mention much larger areas of wetlands all emitting methane, yet methane levels didn’t start to significantly rise until the industrial age began.
One reason methane levels remained flat was because cattle and other ruminants (wild and domesticated) lived in intact grassland ecosystems and helped build healthy soils that contain soil microbes called methanotrophs that reduce atmospheric methane (2). Thus maintained grassland ecosystems function as methane sinks, and bank as much as 15% of the earth’s methane (3) Tillage for crops reduces the soil’s capacity to bank methane (as does exposed uncovered soil) plus also releases carbon into the atmosphere (4). Use of synthetic fertilizers also adversely impacts soil methanotrophs (5). Glyphosate in no tilled systems according to industry funded research doesn’t impact soil microbial activity. Though research by other researchers contradicts this industry perspective and details how herbicides like glyphosate adversely change the makeup of soil microbes (6).
Though to put enteric methane levels into perspective since such numbers are often exaggerated for ideological reasons (7) according to the 2014 UN Climate Change Convention held in December in Lima, Peru, the analysis of GHG’s when converting other gases to CO2 equivalents found that in the US (similar number in the EU) in 2012 enteric fermentation accounted for 2.17% of GHG emissions (26.79% of agriculture emissions with all agricultural emissions in total being 8% of total GHG emissions) (8). Moreover, enteric methane may be further reduced through improvement in diet and other methods , though these strategies provide enough content for a whole other collection of essays that’s already been written (Livestock Production and Climate Change, edited by Malik, Bhatta, Takahashi, Kohn, and Prasad).
Meanwhile the methane from fracking and natural gas extraction, transportation and refining, in general, apparently has been underestimated significantly maybe by 5 times or 500% per some recent studies on this topic (9). Not to mention China is massively increasing their use of natural gas and fracking. Coincidentally, the largest increases in methane levels occurred in the 1960’s when natural gas use increased significantly- nearly ten-fold. (10). Cattle inventory hasn’t increased. US inventories are the same as they were in the 1950’s. (Source USDA) While global inventories are the same as they were in the 1970’s. (Source Beef 2 Live). The huge increases in meat consumption have largely been due to increased consumption of CAFO chicken and farmed fish.
So rather than fixate on all livestock, simply don’t eat feedlot finished beef or any meat from livestock raised in CAFO’s reliant on intensive industrial agricultural methods. Plus, if one is really concerned about methane emissions, it might make even more sense to shut off, or at least reduce, the natural gas one uses for cooking and heating and then, as the technology advances, instead use electricity from clean energy sources (e.g. wind and solar) to power induction cook tops and electric furnaces. This is especially true for chefs and restaurants, since natural gas use in the industry is very high. Fixating, exaggerating and misplacing blame often distracts attention away from the real culprits and causes of issues like global warming.
- Hristov, Alexander 2011. Wild Ruminants Burp Methane, too. Penn State University
- Jones, Christine 2014. Ruminants and methane. The Natural Farmer, Summer 2014, B-21
- Singh, Jay Shankar 2011. Methanotrophs: the potential biological sink to mitigate the global methane load. Scientific correspondence Current Science, VOL. 100, NO. 1, 10 January 2011 29
- Singh, Jay Shankar and Shashank Tiwari and D P Singh 2015.Methanotrophs and CH4 sink: Effect of human activity and ecological perturbations. Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability (April 2015) 3(1): 35-50
- Kremer, Robert J. and Nathan E. Means 2009. Glyphosate and glyphosate-resistant crop interactions with rhizosphere microorganisms. European Journal of Agronomy 31 (2009) 153-161
- Chao, Angelique 2009. Climate chicanery. From Animal To Meat
- United Nations Climate Change Secretariat. Summary of GHG Emissions for United States of America 2014.
- Revkin, Andrew J. 2013. New study finds us has underestimated methane levels in the atmosphere. NY Times November 25, 2013.
- Jones, 2014. | <urn:uuid:8ae886ac-22d2-430b-a0cb-62e63e6f6bec> | {
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Iraq’s Marshes recovering, but now under threat again.17/01/2011 11:22:20
Marshes on TV
A flim documentary on the regeneration of Iraq's Mesopotamian Marshes, a project led by Azzad Alwash, the CEO of BirdLife Affiliate Nature Iraq, was shown on UK's BBC TV Channel. The documentary may be seen (depending on where and when you are on Iplayer), click BBC2's Natural World series.
January 2011. The Mesopotamian marshlands are one of the most extensive wetland ecosystems in western Eurasia, and are home to a rich diversity of life, including a number of endemic and threatened bird species.
But in the 1990s Saddam Hussein drained the Mesopotamian Marshes to punish the indigenous Marsh Arab tribes, who had risen against him after the first Gulf War. Within months, the marshes, which had covered 15,000 square kilometres, were reduced to less than 10% of their original size.
Marshes destroyed by Saddam Hussein
Azzam Alwash used to accompany his father, a government water engineer, on trips into the marshes, trips which infused him with a love of this "magical waterworld". After the fall of Saddam Hussein, Azzam returned to Iraq to help restore the marshes. To that end he established Nature Iraq, an organisation dedicated to the protection and restoration of Iraq's natural heritage.
Large scale restoration
Nature Iraq has undertaken six winter and six summer surveys of the Southern Marshes since 2005 - the most comprehensive survey of any wetland in the Middle East. The surveys have shown that no species of breeding bird has become extinct in the marshes, and that many are increasing as the marshes respond to re-flooding.
Basra reed warbler, Iraq babbler, Imperial and Greater spotted eagles
The surveys have shown that the marshes are also very important for migrant Black-tailed Godwits, breeding Ferruginous Ducks and wintering Eastern Imperial Eagles and Greater Spotted Eagles - all globally threatened species.
Dams threatening the marshes again
Azzam and Nature Iraq are masterminding steps to address this second drying. A large embankment across the Euphrates is being built to raise the level of the river, to flood a large area of the Central Marshes. This is just a stop-gap measure while work progresses on a long-term solution that will shut down one of Saddam's drainage canals, redistributing water using a network of regulators to ensure a ready supply of water to the Central Marshes.
Azzam says, "if we can restore the marshes, then we can restore Iraq". He adds: "What we've learned is that the people and the environment are interconnected here. What's good for the environment is good for the people, what's good for the people is good for the environment, so they are not separate."
Courtesy of BirdLife International | <urn:uuid:3ebfeb00-deff-4914-8633-653579cf975d> | {
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Fighting Wildlife Culling
We continue to fight wildlife “resource” managers across the country from designating animals as “overabundant”, a classification that managers use as an excuse to conduct massive killing programmes. These agencies include Environment Canada, Parks Canada, provincial resource agencies and conservation authorities.
Because of your support, we have been very successful. However, our fight continues as these agencies continue to target species including horses, seals, deer and cormorants.
We work collaboratively with organizations across Canada and the United States to develop human-wildlife conflict prevention programmes. These programmes are designed to prevent human/wildlife conflicts and develop non-lethal solutions where conflicts occur.
In addition, we are working to encourage governments to assist wildlife rehabilitators who take care of orphan and injured wildlife, who are the victims of conflicts.
Currently, we are working in British Columbia to oppose deer slaughters and to prevent any additional deer culls, which are being considered by a number of municipalities. Several municipalities have conducted culls already. Click on the following link to read our critique in response to documents provided by the Ministry of Environment and others: Developing a Progressive Non-Lethal Human/Deer Conflict Resolution Strategy for British Columbia.
We also continue to monitor the annual cormorant slaughter at Point Pelee National Park, a bird sanctuary in Southwestern Ontario. Parks Canada’s killing programme for cormorants occurs on Middle Island, a small island on Lake Erie near the U.S. border. In 2009, Parks Canada staff killed 1,589 cormorants, significantly below their stated target of 4,000. We had hope to stop the killing altogether but at minimum to keep the number of birds killed as low as possible and to document the cruelty of the cull. However, in 2010 Parks Canada managed to kill 3,625 cormorants; in 2011, 3,009 birds; in 2012, 3,663 birds; in 2013, 2,490; in 2014, 1,646; and in 2015, 1,062.
Interestingly, a federal court in the U.S. has ruled that the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) must end their 22-year regime of indiscriminate cormorant shooting in 24 states east of the Mississippi. On May 25, 2016 Judge Bates found that individual permits for removal was sufficient to alleviate “any serious detrimental impact” caused by cormorants and that the FWS ignored the environmental benefits of cormorants. Click here to read the entire press release about this ruling.
In sharp contrast to Point Pelee National Park is Toronto’s Tommy Thompson Park. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority staff, who manage the Park in downtown Toronto, continue to take an enlightened, non-lethal approach to the cormorant colony, which is the largest on the Great Lakes. Click on the following link to learn more about Tommy Thompson Park:
How You Can Help
To help the Middle Island cormorants, raise this issue today with Environment Canada Minister Catherine McKenna. Let her know that the slaughter of cormorants on Middle Island, part of Point Pelee National Park, must be stopped. Tell her cormorants are a part of the natural ecology of Middle Island and that it should be allowed to evolve in a natural way. Remind her that there is no way to kill humanely large numbers of birds in the field and that doing so is an archaic, destructive and cruel method of wildlife management that has no scientific or ecological justification. | <urn:uuid:e92c6cf2-021e-4ea6-8233-06e172c901c0> | {
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This week we watched Modern Times (Chaplin 1936), read a recent article on it by Lawrence Howe (which contains some useful contextualisation for the film, even though I am not wholly convinced by its argument), had a brief introduction to Marxist ideas about capitalism and the class society it produces, and then spent quite a while discussing some basic essay writing skills.
As described by Frederick Engels, in his ‘Preface to the English Edition of 1888 of The Communist Manifesto’, Marx’s ‘fundamental proposition’ concerning history and class is that
the whole history of mankind … has been a history of class struggles, contests between exploiting and exploited, ruling and oppressed classes; that the history of these class struggles forms a series of evolutions in which, nowadays, a stage has been reached where the exploited and oppressed class – the proletariat – cannot attain its emancipation from the sway of the exploiting and ruling class – the bourgeoisie – without, at the same time, and once and for all, emancipating society at large from all exploitation, oppression, class distinctions and class struggles. (in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, ed. by David McLellan (Oxford: OUP, 1998), 48.)
Starting with this broad sweep ties back to the work we did on historical periodisation in week 2 as we started to think about ‘modernity’, but more importantly gave me an opportunity to include a picture of the lovely late Andy Whitfield on the powerpoint slide explaining classical slave societies (Feudalism had to make do with a picture of Errol Flynn as Robin Hood.)
Capitalism, Marx argued, is defined by the exploitative relationship between the bourgeoisie (or capitalist class), who own and control the means of production (from factories to financial instruments), and the proletariat (or working class), who sell their labour for a wage which is worth less than the value created by their labour. All that extra value they create is used to pay for raw materials, plant, etc; and all that is left over from that – surplus value, in Marx’s term – is taken by the capitalist. Although there might be small individual and partial exceptions, the capitalist will always look to increase production of surplus value – by introducing ‘rationalised’ production processes and increasing automation, by lowering or freezing wages, by extending the working day (including reducing breaks), by offering productivity bonuses, by resisting unionisation of the workforce and health/safety legislation, by casualising the workforce, by not paying the costs of pollution, by relocating to countries with weaker unions/workplace protections/ environmental laws, and by avoiding/evading taxes and manipulating political systems.
Before discussing Modern Times, we took a look at several short sequences from Metropolis (Lang 1927), a film I really wanted to include on the module but which is too long for the screening session (and perhaps in that respect a bit cruel as an introduction to silent cinema – although next week we will be watching Man with a Movie Camera, so I am not sure where the greater cruelty lies).
Lang’s film spatialise class relations in a manner that will become common in dystopian visions, and also in the real world. Here the spatial division is vertical, recalling the literal and figurative descents into poverty in Gaskell’s Mary Barton. The garden in which the city’s wealthy youths play is somewhere high up and pristine. Freder’s father’s office – as controller of the city – is also elevated above all, symbolising his pan optical powers (making him an important figure when we dip our toes into a little de Certeau in a few weeks). Then there is the magnificent metropolis itself, beneath which are the machines which sustain it. And beneath the level even of the machines, as Lang’s opening sequence shows, is the city of the workers.
We also took a look at some of the machinery in the film: the 10-hour shift clock and 24-hour clock over which the shift change is announced (we have already seen Lang’s obsession with clocks in M), the rather abstract machine which overheats and transforms, in Freder’s eyes, into a barbaric ancient idol into whose maw the workers are fed; and the even more abstract clock machine that Freder undertakes to operate so as to free an exhausted worker, only to become a kind of knackered Christ figure himself as he struggles to keep up with its incomprehensible demands for repetitive motion.
Some of this imagery is picked up on directly in Chaplin’s film, which also begins with the image of a clock and workers trudging to the factory like lambs to the slaughter.
Before the screening, I suggested some possible binary oppositions that could be used to try to think through the logic of the film:
capitalist and worker
surveiller and surveilled
employed and unemployed
production and consumption
lack and plenty
work and leisure
human and automaton
conformity and difference
law and lawlessness
order and chaos
authority and resistance
male and female
adult and child
As ever, a lot of these terms sort of overlap or seem to be describing the same things from different angles.
The boss using the giant screen in the bathroom to berate Chaplin on his break establishes that the relationship between capitalist and worker is a power relationship (we have already seen the boss goofing off, doing a jigsaw and reading the funny pages – Flash Gordon, if I am not mistaken, since the visible page is Tarzan?) – and that this power relationship includes bullying and surveillance (which includes workers having to clock-in and clock-out, even for bathroom trips). Furthermore, the fact that the boss even contemplates subjecting his works to the Billows Automatic Feeding Machine so that can they be fed lunch without needing to leave the production line indicates the extent to which he does not think of them as human beings but as mere parts of a technical apparatus, as cogs in a machine. (It is also an example of trying to increase productivity through automation so as to increase surplus value, or profit, at the expense of the worker.)
Such control systems or disciplinary structures as the factory represents also provide most of the other key locations of the film: asylum, prison, orphanage, department store, restaurant.
Talking about the department store – designed to move customers through the space in such a way as to organise and prolong their experience within the retail environment (think about how IKEA has no windows or clocks and only one route through the warehouse – and, at least according to one of the class, blocks cell phone reception) – also facilitated a way to think about the interconnections of production and consumption.
Chaplin and the gamin (Paulette Goddard), of course, are disruptive forces of chaos in all this. Chaplin’s derangement by the repetitive labour of the production line shows how poorly we all, as humans, fit the environments created to maximise the extraction of our labour power for other people’s profit. The gamin’s initial gender-blurring – posing like Peter Pan, providing food for the family when her father is unemployed – and her refusal to be subordinated to state systems (the law around property, the orphanage to which her younger siblings are sent) betoken a similar energy. Both she and Chaplin are often positioned as childlike, and their attempts to find a space in the adult world are endearing parodies of that world: the dream vision of a suburban home Chaplin imagines, the run-down shack the gamin crafts into the image of a suburban idyll, the way they play and dress up in the department store. (And they are not alone in not fitting in this world: the prim and severe vicar’s wife whose stomach nonetheless gurgles when she drinks tea; the scarcely glimpsed ‘gay’ prisoner, who minces out of the dining hall and into his cell; the unemployed men forced to break into the department store because they are starving; and so on.)
Then it was time for a break, for the grand unveiling of the essay questions, for reminders to do the library quiz online within 24 hours, and for essay-writing advice.
The latter is especially tough, I find, to do for a whole group, none of whom have yet submitted any work. Makes it hard to know where to begin, what particular strengths and weaknesses each student has. So we did some very basic stuff.
On stucture, taking Strunk and White’s advice: ‘Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.’ So a brief introduction to what is going to be discussed, probably somewhere between 5 and 8 paragraphs, each devoted to making, developing and supporting a single idea in a chain of ideas/paragraphs, and a short conclusion tying it all together. For a 1200 word essay, the introduction and conclusion should probably need no more than a sentence or two each. Revise the introduction once the essay is completed so as to ensure it describes what the essay actually does, rather than what you intended to do (the initial introduction can also be used to help think through revisions to early drafts). No new ideas to be introduced in the conclusion – and never end with a quotation (it is supposed to be your conclusion).
Using spell-check (make sure it is set to English UK; remember it won’t catch certain kinds of errors, such as typing ‘form’ when you mean ‘from’). Use grammar-check sparingly, as typically you need to understand grammar in order to make sense of its recommendations. Instead, concentrate on becoming a better writer (obligatory plug for the genuinely excellent kids’ book, The English Repair Kit by Angela Burt and William Vandyck).
We covered rules about laying how to quote and paraphrase and reference (MLA-style).
Finally, we thought about writing in a more formal academic style, but how that did not necessarily mean writing in long sentences. Focus on short, clear sentences, and work in length-variety where necessary – focus on the connection between what you want to say and the best way to say it clearly.
And then wrapped it all up with another quotation from Strunk and White:
Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.
Recommended critical reading
AlSayyas, Nezar. Cinematic Urbanism: A History of the Modern from Reel to Real. London: Routledge, 2006. See chapter 2, “Urbanizing Modernity: Utopia/Dystopia and the City of the Future Past.”
Desser, David. “Race, Space and Class: The Politics of Cityscapes in Science-Fiction Films.” Alien Zone II: The Spaces of Science Fiction Cinema. Ed. Annette Kuhn. London: Verso, 1999. 80–96.
Jenkins, Henry. “Looking at the City in The Matrix Franchise.” Cities in Transition: The Moving Image and the Modern Metropolis. Ed. Andrew Webber and Emma Wilson. London: Wallflower, 2008. 176–192.
Mellen, Joan. Modern Times. London: BFI, 2006.
Sobchack, Vivian. “Cities on the Edge of Time: The Urban Science-Fiction Film.” Alien Zone II: The Spaces of Science Fiction Cinema. Ed. Annette Kuhn. London: Verso, 1999. 123–143.
Staiger, Janet. “Future Noir: Contemporary Representations of Visionary Cities.” Alien Zone II: The Spaces of Science Fiction Cinema. Ed. Annette Kuhn. London: Verso, 1999. 97–122.
By imagining future cities, sf often highlights contemporary concerns about the city. See, for example, Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We (1924), Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932), George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four (1949), Frederik Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth’s The Space Merchants (1953), Harry Harrison’s Make Room! Make Room! (1966), John Brunner’s Stand on Zanzibar (1968), Thomas Disch’s 334 (1972), Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time (1976), William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984), Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash (1992), Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionist (1999), Tricia Sullivan’s Maul (2003) and Nnedi Okorafor’s Lagoon (2014).
The same is true of many sf films, such as Metropolis (Lang 1927), Things to Come (Menzies 1936), Alphaville (Godard 1965), Clockwork Orange (Kubrick 1971), THX 1138 (Lucas 1971), Soylent Green (Fleischer 1973), Blade Runner (1982), Akira (Ôtomo 1988), Dark City (Proyas 1998), Minority Report (Spielberg 2002), Code 46 (Winterbottom 2003), District 13 (Morel 2004), Children of Men (Cuarón 2006), La Antena (Sapir 2007) and In Time (Niccol 2011).
Modern Times was partly inspired by À Nous la Liberté (Clair 1931). | <urn:uuid:a505f72c-c19a-4cde-9dbb-4cd261b42cfc> | {
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Fourth-grade students at Maple Avenue and McKinley Elementary Schools in Newark are learning about nutrition in this episode of NJEA’s Classroom Close-up.
According to teacher José Fuentes, what academic skills are incorporated into the Growing Minds program?
How are teachers increasing family involvement in the Growing Minds program?
How would you determine the success of a program like Growing Minds?
What type of nutrition education program (if any) does your school participate in?
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How is rhabdomyosarcoma diagnosed?
Certain signs and symptoms might suggest that a person has rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), but tests are needed to find out for sure.
Medical history and physical exam
If your child has symptoms that could be from RMS (or another type of tumor), the doctor will want to get a complete medical history to find out more about the symptoms and how long your child has had them. The doctor will also examine your child to look for possible signs of RMS or other health problems. For example, the doctor might be able to see or feel an abnormal lump or swelling.
If the doctor suspects your child might have RMS (or another type of tumor), tests will be needed to find out. These might include imaging tests, biopsies, and/or lab tests.
Imaging tests use x-rays, magnetic fields, radioactive substances, or sound waves to create pictures of the inside of the body. Imaging tests can be done for a number of reasons, including:
- To help find out if a suspicious area might be cancer
- To determine the extent of a tumor or learn how far a cancer has spread
- To help determine if treatment is working
People who have or may have RMS will get one or more of these tests.
X-rays are sometimes used to look for tumors, but their use is limited mainly to looking at bones because they don’t show much detail in internal organs. A chest x-ray is sometimes done to look for cancer that might have spread to the lungs, although it isn’t needed if a chest CT scan is being done.
Computed tomography (CT) scan
The CT scan uses x-rays to make detailed cross-sectional images of parts of the body, including soft tissues such as muscles. Instead of taking one picture, like a regular x-ray, a CT scanner takes many pictures as it rotates around your child while he or she lies on a table. A computer then combines these pictures into images of slices of the part of the body being studied.
This test can often show a tumor in detail, including how large it is and if it has grown into nearby structures. It can also be used to look at nearby lymph nodes, as well as the lungs or other areas of the body where the cancer might have spread.
Before the scan, your child may be asked to drink a contrast solution and/or get an intravenous (IV) injection of a contrast dye that will help better outline abnormal areas. Your child may need an IV line for the contrast dye. The dye can cause some flushing (a feeling of warmth, especially in the face). Some people are allergic and get hives. Rarely, more serious reactions like trouble breathing or low blood pressure can occur. Be sure to tell the doctor if your child has any allergies (especially to iodine or shellfish) or has ever had a reaction to any contrast material used for x-rays.
CT scans take longer than regular x-rays. A CT scanner has been described as a large donut, with a narrow table that slides in and out of the middle opening. Your child will need to lie still on the table while the scan is being done. Younger children may be given medicine to help keep them calm or even asleep during the test.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
Like CT scans, MRI scans give detailed images of soft tissues in the body. But MRI scans use radio waves and strong magnets to create the images instead of x-rays. A contrast material called gadolinium may be injected into a vein before the scan to help show details better. This contrast material usually does not cause allergic reactions.
This test might be used instead of a CT scan to look at the tumor and the tissues around it. MRI is especially useful if the tumor is in certain parts of the body, such as the head and neck, an arm or leg, or the pelvis. MRI scans can help determine the exact extent of a tumor, because they can show the muscle, fat, and connective tissue around the tumor in great detail. This is important when planning surgery or radiation therapy. MRI is also very useful if your child’s doctor is concerned about possible spread to the spinal cord or brain.
MRI scans take longer than CT scans – often up to an hour. Your child may have to lie on a table that slides inside a narrow tube, which is confining and can be distressing. The test also requires a person to stay still for several minutes at a time. Newer, more open MRI machines, which are less confining, might be an option, but the test still requires staying still for long periods of time. The MRI machine also makes loud buzzing and clicking noises that can be disturbing. Sometimes, younger children are given medicine to help keep them calm or even asleep during the test.
A bone scan can help show if a cancer has spread to the bones, and is often part of the workup for anyone with RMS. This test is useful because it provides a picture of the entire skeleton at once.
For this test, a small amount of low-level radioactive material is injected into a vein (IV). The amount of radioactivity used is very low and will pass out of the body within a day or so. Over a couple of hours, the substance settles in abnormal areas of bone throughout the body. Your child then lies on a table for about 30 minutes while a special camera detects the radioactivity and creates a picture of the skeleton. Younger children can be given medicine to help keep them calm or even asleep during the test.
Areas of active bone changes attract the radioactivity and show up as “hot spots” on the scan. These areas may suggest cancer in an area, but other bone diseases can also cause the same pattern, so other tests such as plain x-rays or MRI scans, or even a bone biopsy might be needed.
Positron emission tomography (PET) scan
For a PET scan, a radioactive substance (usually a type of sugar related to glucose, known as FDG) is injected into the blood. The amount of radioactivity used is very low and will pass out of the body in a day or so. Because cancer cells in the body are growing quickly, they will absorb large amounts of the sugar.
After about an hour, your child will lie on a table in the PET scanner for about 30 minutes while a special camera creates a picture of areas of radioactivity in the body. The picture is not detailed like a CT or MRI scan, but it provides helpful information about the whole body.
PET scans are not used routinely to help diagnose RMS, but they can sometimes be helpful in finding out if suspicious areas seen on other imaging tests (such as bone scans or CT scans) are tumors. PET scans can also be repeated during treatment to monitor the cancer over time.
Some machines can do a PET and CT scan at the same time (PET/CT scan). This lets the doctor compare areas of higher radioactivity on the PET scan with the more detailed appearance of that area on the CT scan.
Ultrasound uses sound waves and their echoes to make a picture of internal organs or tumors. For this test, a small, microphone-like instrument called a transducer is moved around on the skin (which is first lubricated with gel). It gives off sound waves and picks up the echoes as they bounce off the organs. The echoes are converted by a computer into an image on a screen.
Ultrasound can be used to see if tumors in the pelvis (such as prostate or bladder tumors) are growing or shrinking over time. (This test can’t be used to look at tumors in the chest because the ribs block the sound waves.)
This is an easy test to have, and it uses no radiation. Your child simply lies on a table, and a doctor or technician moves the transducer over the part of the body being looked at.
To learn more about these and other imaging tests, see our document Imaging (Radiology) Tests.
The results of imaging tests might strongly suggest that someone has RMS, but a biopsy (removing some of the tumor for viewing under a microscope and other lab testing) is the only way to be certain. Usually several different kinds of lab tests are done on the biopsy sample to sort out what kind of tumor it is.
Biopsies can be done in several ways. The approach used depends on where the tumor is, the age of the patient, and the expertise and experience of the doctor doing the biopsy.
The most common biopsy approach is to remove a small piece of tumor during surgery while the patient is under general anesthesia (asleep). In some cases, nearby lymph nodes are also removed to see if the tumor has spread to them. The samples are then sent to a lab and tested.
If for some reason a surgical biopsy can’t be done, a less invasive biopsy using a thin, hollow needle may be done. There are 2 kinds of needle biopsies, each of which has pros and cons.
Core needle biopsy: For a core needle biopsy, the doctor inserts a hollow needle into the tumor to withdraw a piece of it (known as a core sample). If the tumor is just under the skin, the doctor can guide the needle into the tumor by touch. But if the tumor is deep inside the body, imaging tests such as ultrasound or CT scans might be needed to help guide the needle into place. The removed core sample is then sent to the lab for testing.
The main advantage of a core needle biopsy is that it does not require surgery, so there is no large incision. Depending on where the tumor is, adults and older children might not need general anesthesia (where they are asleep for the biopsy), but some younger children might. On the other hand, the specimen is smaller than with a surgical biopsy, and if the needle isn’t aimed correctly, it might miss the cancer. If the specimen is not a good sample of the tumor, another biopsy will be needed.
Fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy: For this technique, the doctor uses a very thin, hollow needle attached to a syringe to withdraw (aspirate) a small tumor sample. An FNA biopsy is best suited for tumors that can be reached easily (such as those just under the skin), although it can also be used for tumors deeper in the body.
The downside of FNA is that the sample is very, very small. The pathologist must be experienced with this technique and be able to decide which lab tests will be most helpful on a very small sample. In cancer centers that have the experience to extract the most information from very small amounts of tissue, FNA can be a valuable – though certainly not foolproof – way to diagnose RMS, but it is not usually the preferred biopsy technique.
See Testing Biopsy and Cytology Specimens for Cancer to learn more about different types of biopsies, how the tissue is used in the lab for disease diagnosis, and what the results can tell you.
Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy
These tests aren’t used to diagnose RMS, but they are often done after the diagnosis to find out if the tumor has spread to the bone marrow (the soft inner parts of certain bones).
The 2 tests are usually done at the same time. The samples are usually taken from the back of both of the pelvic (hip) bones, but in some patients they may be taken from other bones.
These tests might be done during the surgery to treat the main tumor (while the child is still under anesthesia), or they might be done as a separate procedure.
If the bone marrow aspiration is being done as a separate procedure, the child lies on a table (on his or her side or belly). After cleaning the skin over the hip, the doctor numbs the area and the surface of the bone with local anesthetic, which can briefly sting or burn. In most cases, the child is also given other medicines to help them relax or even be asleep during the procedure. A thin, hollow needle is then inserted into the bone, and a syringe is used to suck out a small amount of liquid bone marrow.
A bone marrow biopsy is usually done just after the aspiration. Small pieces of bone and marrow are removed with a slightly larger needle that is pushed down into the bone. Once the biopsy is done, pressure will be applied to the site to help stop any bleeding.
The samples of bone and marrow are sent to the lab, where they are looked at and tested for cancer cells.
Lumbar puncture (spinal tap)
Lumbar puncture is not a common test for RMS, but it might be done for tumors in the head near the covering of the brain (the meninges). This test is used to look for cancer cells in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which is the liquid that bathes the brain and spinal cord.
For this test, the doctor first numbs an area in the lower part of the back near the spine. The doctor may also recommend that the child be given something to make him or her sleep so the spinal tap can be done without difficulty or causing harm. A small, hollow needle is then inserted between the bones of the spine to withdraw some of the fluid, which is then sent to the lab for testing.
Lab tests on the biopsy samples
A doctor called a pathologist looks at the biopsy samples under a microscope to see if they contain cancer cells. If cancer is found, the next step is to figure out if it is RMS. In rare cases, the pathologist can see that the cancer cells have small muscle striations, which confirms that the cancer is RMS. But most often, other lab tests are needed to be sure.
The pathologist might use special stains on the samples to identify the type of tumor. The stains contain special proteins (antibodies) that attach to substances in RMS cells but not to other cancers. The stains produce a distinct color that can be seen under a microscope. This lets the pathologist know that the tumor is a rhabdomyosarcoma.
Sometimes the tumor will also be tested for gene or chromosome changes, such as those discussed in the section “Do we know what causes rhabdomyosarcoma?”
If a diagnosis of RMS is made, the pathologist will also use these tests to help determine which kind of RMS it is. This is important because it affects how the cancer is treated. For example, alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS), which tends to be more aggressive, typically requires more intense treatment than embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS).
No blood test can be used to diagnose RMS. But certain blood tests may be helpful once a diagnosis has been made.
A complete blood count (CBC) measures the levels of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets in the blood. If the CBC result is abnormal at the time of diagnosis it could mean the cancer has spread to the bone marrow, where these blood cells are made.
Standard blood tests are done often to check a child’s general health both before treatment (especially before surgery) and during treatment (such as chemotherapy) to look for possible problems or side effects. These tests often include a CBC to monitor bone marrow function and blood chemistry tests to measure how well the liver and kidneys are working.
Last Medical Review: 11/20/2014
Last Revised: 11/21/2014 | <urn:uuid:6a5ba966-f2e7-4e38-84a6-86a410260047> | {
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Gender nonconformity is a new term for many of us, but for some families it’s an issue that has gone unrecognized for too long.
Increasingly, more families with children who struggle with gender are speaking out and asking for more rights and more inclusion.
One high-profile story last year involved a mother and her transgender 7-year-old petitioning to join the Girl Scouts. Other families joined Anderson Cooper a few months ago to talk about their experiences on his talk show.
Experts are also beginning to pay attention to these children. In March, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a collection of studies on children and adolescents with gender identity disorders.
“Gender non-conformity refers to any individual, adult or child, who does not abide by our culture’s socially defined binary gender boxes,” Diane Ehrensaft told me.
Ehrensaft is a developmental and clinical psychologist and author of “Gender Born, Gender Made: Raising Healthy Gender-nonconforming Children,” (The Experiment, 2011). She is the featured speaker for tonight’s inaugural event in the Human Rights Campaign new speaker series, Equality Talks. (Details on that D.C. event are below.)
I asked her to define some of the terminology used when we talk about gender and children, and describe how parents can better support these kids, whether at home or in the community. Here’s our Q &A:
Can you explain how a parent might recognize gender non-conformity in a child?
It may involve a person saying he or she does not feel in synch with the gender listed on the birth certificate; it may involve the girl who says she will never, ever wear a dress, even when she’s supposed to be a bridesmaid or flower girl dressed in frills.
A parent will recognize it just by paying attention -- it is the child who in one way or another says a transgressive “no, I don’t want to” or “no, I won’t” or “no, I can’t” to social expectations about gender, and it is the child who in one way or another says, “But here’s the way I’m going to put gender together creatively for myself, based on my own needs and desires.” If a parent can’t see it, it may be because the child has already figured out that it’s not going to be okay in the family, and therefore hides it, and that is never good for a child’s sense of well-being and confidence in who they are. Another reason a parent may not recognize it is that it hasn’t yet surfaced in the child, and may just show up at a later date.
Many children, especially toddlers, seem to arbitrarily and temporarily reject certain clothes or rules. How might a parent know when a child is going through a temporary phase or if he or she is expressing a more deeply ingrained view of him or herself?
Almost all children, at one time or another, do something that is outside the conforming gender box. A sister may think it’s fun one day to put on her brother’s football uniform. A little boy may ask to have his toenails painted red like his mommy’s.
This is to be differentiated from the child who consistently, persistently or even insistently crosses gender lines in either presentation, activities or declaration of what their gender is. Those latter children will fit the category of gender-nonconforming children. Some parents will still ask, in these situations, “But couldn’t it just be a phase?” The answer is yes, but as more time goes on and the child continues to express in gender-nonconforming ways, it is far more likely that the child is not going to outgrow the gender nonconformity, at least for the foreseeable future. The real challenge for both parents and professionals is knowing that we may have to live in a state of not-knowing for awhile, and in the meantime leaving all gender doors open.
Also, one cautionary note about “phases.” Often, in referring to our children, “phase” actually has a negative connotation — ”Don’t worry. It’s just a phase, he (she) will get over it.” With gender, holding on to the notion of phase might unwittingly transmit to your child that who your child is is not okay with you. Perhaps a better way to think about it is with “cross-section:” ”I don’t know who my child will become, but this is who my child is now at this cross-section of his or her life.”
How early might a child experience gender nonconformity?
We are seeing babies as early as the last quarter of the first year of life showing signs of gender nonconformity. Typically, it tends to show up first in the toddler and preschool years as children learn what gender is and develop language and activities to express themselves.
What are some of the most important ways a parent can guide a child through this experience?
The most important way a parent can guide a child through this experience is by always remembering that parents have little control over their children’s gender identity, but tremendous influence over their child’s gender health.
To ensure that health, a parent can listen to what their child is saying or showing about his or her gender expressions (how we act and present ourselves) or gender identity (how we identify as male, female or other) and open a space for that child to feel free to create his or her own unique authentic gender self, what I call the true gender self.
Just as the flight attendant instructs parents to administer oxygen to themselves before helping their child, the challenging task of raising a healthy gender-nonconforming child can often best be done by first reaching out for the social “oxygen” of parent support groups, listservs, educational services and informed gender specialists so that the parents are not going it alone in affirming their child’s true gender self.
You plan to talk tonight about gender creativity and gender expansiveness. Can you briefly explain what those terms mean?
Gender creativity is the thread each of us uses to create a true gender self that is a combination of nature, nurture and culture, a construction that I call the gender web. Like fingerprints, each of our gender webs will be unique to us, but unlike fingerprints, the gender web does not stay permanently the same, but can evolve and change over the course of a person’s lifetime. Gender creativity is the force within us, if allowed to express itself, that will both build and replenish the gender web as we grow.
Gender expansiveness is the opening up in both the culture and within ourselves all the permutations and combinations gender might take, without privileging one type over another. We often refer to gender expansiveness in terms of gender acceptance or gender diversity.
Ehrensaft’s talk tonight will be at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters in Washington at 6 p.m. It will also be broadcast live on the Equality Talks Web site. | <urn:uuid:69f1b924-1956-4ecb-8ac2-84e23f967ef7> | {
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Bee Pharma Africa and a Flying Pharmacy
Hugo Fearnley of Whitby, England is studying the potential of bee-produced medicinesfor the treatment of human diseases. Fearnley, CEO of BeeVital and Director of theApiceutical Research Centre (ARC), recently earned a Churchill Travelling Fellowship to fund his research and coalition-building in four African countries.
One potentially promising compound for Fearnley is propolis, sometimes called bee glue: a mixture of plant resins and wax used for structural purposes in hives. Researchers are studying the roles of propolis in insect disease resistance and the evolutionary benefits of propolis for bees. But Fearnley aims his studies on propolis for treatment of malaria, leishmania, and sleeping sickness, diseases among the most prevalent in Africa.
According to researchers at the University of Minnesota, several studies have evidenced that “propolis has strong hepatoprotective, antitumor, antioxidative, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.” Scientists are working to find out if propolis can discourage infections in humans or act as an antibiotic. Fearnley’s BeeVital specifically focuses on propolis for periodontal issues, skin problems, wound healing, ulcers, immune deficiency diseases, and herpes simplex virus.
The pharmacological benefits of propolis for human health are most widely recognized in Eastern Europe, Asia, and South America.
- Health Care | <urn:uuid:2e079b45-c238-49ae-a267-1c60cfec3e15> | {
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Evolutionary Dynamics of Indo – Pacific Reef Corals throughout the Neogene
The origin of marine biodiversity in the Indo-Pacific is poorly known. Faunal turnover in scleractinian reef corals has been hypothesised over the Miocene-Pliocene boundary (~5 Ma), in the Malay Archipelago. However, there is little information available on origination and extinction events in reef corals during the same period for the broader Indo-Pacific region. This is important because many species probably had a wider distribution than previously thought, and many more genera than has previously been estimated were probably present in the Indo-Pacific during the Neogene.
Here I begin to fill the gap in our knowledge by reporting on the taxonomic composition and diversity of Neogene reef coral communities sampled from Indonesia (Salayar), Papua New Guinea (New Britain), and Fiji (Vanua Balavu). Sampling locations were chosen on their reported age, fossil content and preservation quality. Ages were refined using foraminiferal assemblages and Strontium 87/86 isotope ages of samples collected at the sampling locations. This dual approach confirms a middle Miocene to early Pleistocene age range for the collection.
I described 155 species of reef forming corals collected across an Indo-Pacific longitudinal gradient. Twenty-two constitute new, extinct species from the genera Alveopora, Astreopora, Caulastrea, Cyphastrea, Echinopora, Euphyllia, Galaxea, Leptoria, Leptoseris, Madracis, Montipora, Platygyra, Symphyllia and Turbinaria. A further 42 taxa could not be assigned to species level due to poor preservation, but may well be additional new, extinct species.
I uncovered a general pattern of coral turnover across the Indo-Pacific by investigating the degree to which coral communities (using both presence/absence and relative abundance of both coral species and genera) varied with water depth, time and geographical distribution. Coral communities were found to vary with global sea level and time. Thus global changes in sea level through time potentially drove extinction and origination in Indo-Pacific Neogene corals.
Inverse Lyellian analysis indicates that of species present in the Miocene in New Britain, a mean of 41.8% are now extinct, possibly resulting from restricted flow of oceanic currents in that region. Indonesia (mean = 9.4%); and Fiji (mean = 6.6%) both had significantly lower proportions of extinct species. However, there is a decline in the number of extinct species found at any location from the middle Miocene (mean = 23.2%) to the early Pleistocene (mean = 1.8%). This study supports previously proposed models of an early Pliocene turnover event in Scleractinia in the Indo-Pacific. | <urn:uuid:c942ef38-7841-4b86-8b4d-457399a8b4fc> | {
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What is marathon swimming?
A marathon swim is a continuous swim of at least 10km, using only a textile swimsuit, non-neoprene cap, goggles, and grease. This distance was chosen for its equivalence in time-to-completion to a 26.2-mile marathon run. Alternative definitions suggest a minimum distance of 10 miles or 20km.
The basic rules of marathon swimming have stood for nearly 140 years:
- Nothing may be used or worn that aids speed, buoyancy, heat retention, or endurance (e.g., wetsuits, neoprene caps, gloves, paddles, fins, etc.).
- No physical contact with support craft or personnel during the swim.
- The swimmer must start and finish on dry land. When safely accessible dry land is not available, a rock or sheer cliff face with no seawater beyond will suffice. | <urn:uuid:28cb344c-5f1e-4827-b735-8593c117330e> | {
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HTML describes what each part of a web page is to your browser.
You know when you visit a website and see a headline and a bunch of paragraphs? A computer can tell the difference between a paragraph and a headline because each has its own HTML tag. HTML tags look like this:
You write HTML just like normal text and save it in a file with .html at the end. HTML is the only thing that you have to have in order to make a website.
So what can I put
on a website?
HTML supports many types of content and media:
In order to place any one type of media in your website, you have to use its particular HTML tag. For example, images get <img> tags, videos get <video> tags, and so on.
Now try this! | <urn:uuid:0af8a032-bc30-49d7-a587-50693e6fc940> | {
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Basic Internet (#Basic4all) contributs to the Norwegian Visjon2030, a nationwide collaboration to support the United Nation's development goals for 2030.
Basic Internet's contribution to Vision 2030
The Basic Internet Foundation (BI) and the Basic Internet AS, founded by the University Graduate Centre at Kjeller (UNIK) and Kjeller Innovasjon in 2014, provides free basic access to the Internet, focussing on optimised digital content for people with low income, in areas with low or no Internet coverage, or to areas with high demand.
The Basic Internet Foundation assists organisations and companies to adapt and disseminate information that provide self-help. Services may include educational systems, health care, agricultural information, innovation, banking or other services that contribute to increased welfare and value creation.
The Basic Internet core infrastructure is designed to transit text and images in a compressed form. The key performance is to support low capacity Internet connections, which is essential when using satellite or low-bandwidth aerial connections. The Basic Internet technology supports 400 to 600 simultaneous users to access Information over a thin 1 Mbit/s link. Connection that many people simultaneously is radically more than what can be achieved through conventional browsers, enabling the use of satellites to connect to many users in hotspots.
The concept is tailored to provide a basic access to the Internet for schools and population where the Internet does not exist today, or where ordinary connection is too costly. The cost-effective Basic Internet can therefore deliver (i) adapted capacity to the Internet to schools and (ii) facilitate proper and effective content together with other actors. In addition, (iii) solutions for video and streaming to specific terminals are provided e.g. to schools, when desired.
The concept and the coverage can easily be adapted and extended to apply in other areas than school education, being health, agriculture or innovation support. As such the Basic Internet concepts supports fully the requirements mentioned by the Norwegian Parliament Announcement Nr. 25 (Stortingsmelding 25, 2014) on 'Development for Education'.
The Basic Internet concept might also be used to solve congestion problems in other networks, e.g. schools, supporting an affordable, if not free, access to basic information. We have started a dialogue with schools to pilot the basic information access.
The required local equipment is kept technologically easy. PCs, Laptops, smart phones and tablets can be connected. Even low-end tablets, pre-installed with the Norwegian Opera Mini browser, which might also be downloaded locally. Other applications and browsers not supporting basic information only will be rejected. The control centre is established in Norway, designed for managing increased capacity to specific users, other applications, or access to specific sites on all browsers. The local infrastructure is kept to a minimum, making it technology-wise easy to roll-out the service where-ever basic access is needed.
The Basic Internet technology is implemented today and can be scaled to meet custom needs and resources. Internet access is the enabling basis to use and exploit digital technology and content. The full picture of how the world and information and communication technologies (ICT) look in 2030 can not be predicted, but our experts are involved in the development and the Basic Internet access can be delivered now. Basic Internet is a result of collaboration and development in one of the leading universities and innovation environments in Norway. Our prediction is that further development and realisation of visions will occur in such clusters of academic communities, who collaborate to support Basic Internet.
Download our contribution (.pdf in Norwegian) or visit the contribution on slideshare.net | <urn:uuid:0161bd49-77bf-4d6a-ad9c-90b5006aa30c> | {
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Summer 2019 marks the centennial of what author and activist James Weldon Johnson referred to as “Red Summer,” a series of 1919 lynchings and other acts of violence against African Americans across the country. These events, which unfolded in several cities including Chicago and Washington, DC, are not widely known or taught. But they should be as our nation grapples with the history of racism and its legacies.
The close of World War I brought with it aspirations for a new peace. African American veterans returning from fighting for democracy (while in segregated units) shared these hopes. But the Jim Crow segregation, intimidation, and violence that had emerged in the wake of the Reconstruction Era greeted them on their return. And while lynching terrorism was a prevalent feature of the Jim Crow climate in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was exacerbated by the re-emergence of the Ku Klux Klan and the widespread influence of the 1915 film Birth of a Nation, released just a few years prior.
Racial Terror Didn’t Only Happen in the South
Many African Americans left the Jim Crow South as refugees of this terrorism and headed to northern cities as a part of the Great Migration. But the social and legal norms in these destinations would set the stage for violent confrontation. While many places had explicit segregationist laws, others operated under de facto segregation. Social codes and unwritten rules dictated, along racial lines, how people should act, who they could and could not engage with, and where they could live their lives.
One of the more stringent codes, socially (and often legally) prohibited interracial relationships. That summer, groups of white perpetrators attacked black individuals, and destroyed businesses and neighborhoods in both Washington, DC and Omaha, Nebraska, after rumored attacks by black men on white women. The violence lasted for four days in the nation’s capitol. In Omaha, the courthouse was burned and the rumored attacker, Will Brown, was lynched.
Popular misperception frames segregation as an exclusively Southern phenomenon. Northern communities, while not necessarily having explicit Jim Crow laws on the books, operated with similarly strict racial codes. In Chicago, Eugene Williams, an African American teen, was on a raft that drifted into a beach area designated for whites only through de facto segregation. White beachgoers threw stones at him, one of which hit him and led to his drowning. When law enforcement refused to apprehend the stone throwers, members of the African American community expressed outrage. This prompted a backlash from white gangs who proceeded to destroy black homes and neighborhoods. The violence lasted thirteen days, with at least 38 people killed, black and white.
Educating, Remembering, and Righting Wrongs
While the violence of Red Summer was widespread, and the legacies still impact us, public awareness of what happened is minimal. Writing about the inspiration for her recently released collection, “1919 Poems,” sociologist and poet Eve Ewing said:
"Most of what I knew about 1919, I learned through self-study when I was in graduate school. As a lifelong Chicagoan, I didn’t often hear people discuss the race riot that had occurred in our city a century ago, and I wasn’t sure that most people knew about it."
Despite the lack of widespread awareness of Red Summer, we can look to strong examples of how individuals and groups memorialize and educate about similar events, including:
- Youth in Memphis leading a campaign to foster community dialogue and honor the victim of a 1917 lynching, Ell Persons.
- To confront the brutality of the 1921 Tulsa race riots that devastated “Black Wall Street,” the state of Oklahoma requires education about the event.
- Inspired by the stolpersteine in Germany, a group in Chicago is seeking to place markers at each of the places where 38 people were killed there in 1919.
As we think about how to help our communities retain the memory of Red Summer, we must also consider the words we use to talk about it. Episodes of racist violence, including Red Summer, are often described as ‘race riots,’ suggesting balanced responsibility between white and black people. Cameron McWhirter, author of Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America, clarifies that “[i]n almost every case, white mobs — whether sailors on leave, immigrant slaughterhouse workers, or southern farmers — initiated the violence.”
And while naming the targets of injustice and violence is crucial, recognizing resistance to oppression and violence is also vital when we discuss these events. A recent Teen Vogue article about Red Summer highlights black agency and self-defense, as well as the many ways uniformed black veterans—and others—sought to protect their lives and property amidst the attacks. As noted in McWhirter’s book, after inaction on the part of local and state governments, a black community group issued a statement expressing that the group would “content itself with nothing less that the full enjoyment of the privileges and rights granted under the law.”
Journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett, known for her work exposing the horrors of lynching terrorism, said: “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” We see echoes of the Red Summer violence in our news today. While we seek to educate about forgotten historic moments, we also have an opportunity to address current moments as they are happening. Awareness through education and dialogue are important and attainable steps to honor those impacted and begin building a more inclusive democracy.
Facing History and Ourselves invites you to learn more about the agency of African Americans in the history of the Great Migration by streaming the short documentary, “Goin’ to Chicago,” for free. | <urn:uuid:b05924a3-8252-49ca-91db-e95c4c2d342e> | {
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Testing a Push-button with an LED Circuit
BASIC Stamp Projects — Push-buttons
Amanda Ogryzek’s BASIC Stamp Projects from the ‘What is a Microcontroller?’ by Parallax. In this video I am working with testing a push-button with an LED circuit. Just like using a push-button to send high and low signals to the BASIC Stamp, we will use it to control an LED.
There are five videos in the BASIC Stamp Push-button series.
- Testing a Push-button with an LED Circuit
- Reading a Push-button with the BASIC Stamp
- Push-button control of an LED Circuit
- Two Push-buttons Controlling Two LED Circuits
- Reaction Timer Test
Amanda Ogryzek a UCSI ( Utica Center for Science and Industry) Student in the Utica Community Schools, Utica Michigan
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Gather Power From Thin Air
Renewable energy is the wave of the future. Discover the applications of wind power with this hands-on activity kit.
Build a working wind turbine and use it to conduct more than 20 experiments, including using it to generate electricity to power an LED or charge a battery.
Vary the number of rotor blades, different blade angles and profiles, different wind speeds, different gear ratios, and more to learn the physics of force, motion, and vectors.
Includes a full-color, 32-page experiment manual with illustrated instructions and scientific information. | <urn:uuid:564f13bf-ff98-429c-ae8f-66e12f724d63> | {
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Adam and Eve
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
- The first man and woman, respectively, according to the Book of Genesis.
- Cain and Awan were the son and daughter of Adam and Eve.
the first man and woman (according to Genesis)
- (Cockney rhyming slang) To believe.
- Would you Adam and Eve it, I've only gone an' lost me wallet, ain't I?
- Restricted to a few set phrases, such as Would you Adam and Eve it. | <urn:uuid:60c36f00-4b6b-4a49-8091-2730bda796ab> | {
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Why did our ancestors embroider? Embroidery is a simple form of self expression, it is a calming and relaxing way to express your creativity.
Take your clothes to a new place, create a walling handing of your favourite animal or a funny saying.
In this class you will learn 8 basic stitches, how to transfer a pattern on to fabric and whats tools you'll need for different projects.
Supplies needed: None
Supplies supplies: hoop, fabric, needle & thread.
You will leave with the sampler of the 8 basic stitches and be well on your way with your project. | <urn:uuid:86a64e7e-ed1e-4c5f-824e-e0c092a42eef> | {
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Did Eating Insects Make Early Humans Smarter?
Finding new ways to chow down on a nice, juicy bug may have helped early humans develop advanced intelligence, researchers suggest in a recent study.
The study, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, details how researchers from Washington University in St. Louis determined that foraging for well-hidden insects and slugs during lean food seasons may have helped humanity's ancestors develop brains for advanced tool use.
Lead author Amanda Melin spent nearly a decade studying the visual and foraging ecology of white-faced capuchins in the tropical forests of Costa Rica. According to her study, these tiny monkeys have remarkably large brains and are very adept at using simple tools, such as sticks, when foraging for insects. She suggests there is a connection between this task and cognitive development, especially when the task becomes a life-or-death situation when more accessible food is scarce.
"Accessing hidden and well-protected insects living in tree branches and under bark is a cognitively demanding task, but provides a high-quality reward: fat and protein, which is needed to fuel big brains," Melin said in a statement.
The differences between various lineages of these intelligent monkeys help further support Melin's argument. According to the study, the tufted Sapajus genus appears far smarter than the untufted Cebus genus, at least when it comes to clever tool use. This may be because the Sapajus occupies more seasonal habitats, which are more susceptible to food shortages.
"Primates who extract foods in the most seasonal environments are expected to experience the strongest selection in the 'sensorimotor intelligence' domain, which includes cognition related to object handling," Melin elaborated. "This may explain the occurrence of
tool use in some capuchin lineages, but not in others."
Melin and her colleagues argue that traveling human ancestors, who were exposed to significant seasonal changes, resorted to eating insects to survive. If this was the case, clever and increasingly complex tool use would have helped them survive - a trait favoring large and fast-thinking brains.
The study was published in the June issue of the Journal of Human Evolution. | <urn:uuid:9c5b080c-a70f-4a57-9bc8-024bad971f42> | {
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This is an on-board guidance computer used in the Gemini program. In contrast to Mercury capsules, which had no on-board computing capability, Gemini spacecraft required an on-board computer to assist in rendezvous operations and in maneuvers to change its orbit. Both were necessary steps to lunar expeditions undertaken with Project Apollo.
The computer used discrete, solid state components and magnetic core memory. It was manufactured by IBM. This specimen is probably an unflown test article.
Transferred from NASA to the Museum in 1973.
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We know the harpies are part of greek mythology, but we think Egyptian aesthetics with the crown and clothing are visually more appealing and makes the figure stronger and powerful like a queen must be. Her head is holding a mask of death under the true face and her four wings separate her from the regular harpies. So we see this queen as a semi-deity, standing between the gods and the mortals with two wings pointing down and the two others facing the skies. There are two hands holding the heads of two men, her slaves or pets or just the dinner; we can see the despair in their eyes but they cannot verbalise the pain – these details evidence her cruelty.
The other hands are holding a big chalice with “ICHOR” written on the top, which means -“ (…) the ethereal fluid that is the blood of the gods”. A little far from the original idea but still very curious, in medicine the term “ICHOR” is related to “a watery discharge from a wound or ulcer, with an unpleasant or fetid (offensive) smell”.
Her horrendous skeletal feet are landed in the top of a pyramid, fortifying her royal position. Around that same pyramid we read THOTH the Egyptian god with Ibis head, his crown was the inspiration for the one we used for the Harpy Queen.
On the top, written in greek, we can read “Aello” (Storm Swift), which is one of three harpy sisters, according to Hesiod. Over the divine triangle we also read “Harpy Imposing” just to affirm how majestic she is. | <urn:uuid:dac6f4e6-2f41-4455-a643-5aeaae29bbbf> | {
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MONDAY, July 8 (HealthDay News) — A brain region that processes emotions works differently in preschoolers with depression than in those without the mental health disorder, a new study shows.
The findings could lead to ways to identify and treat depressed children earlier in the course of the illness, potentially preventing problems later in life, according to the researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
“The findings really hammer home that these kids are suffering from a very real disorder that requires treatment,” lead author Michael Gaffrey, an assistant professor of psychiatry, said in a university news release.
“We believe this study demonstrates that there are differences in the brains of these very young children and that they may mark the beginnings of a lifelong problem,” he added.
The researchers used functional MRI to assess brain activity in 54 children, aged 4 to 6, including 23 who had been diagnosed with depression. None of the children in the study had taken antidepressant medications.
The children with depression had elevated activity in the amygdala, a part of the brain that processes emotions, according to the study, published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Previous research found similar changes in the amygdala in adults, adolescents and older children with depression.
While in the fMRI scanner, the children were shown pictures of people with happy, sad, fearful and neutral facial expressions.
“The amygdala region showed elevated activity when the depressed children viewed pictures of people’s faces,” Gaffrey said. “We saw the same elevated activity, regardless of the type of faces the children were shown. So it wasn’t that they reacted only to sad faces or to happy faces, but every face they saw aroused activity in the amygdala.”
The Nemours Foundation has more about depression in children. | <urn:uuid:f669535a-d37c-4ae2-a805-2e22bb9a23ae> | {
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What’s a ‘nurdle’ and why are they floating in the Humber River?
Toronto man’s discovery in Etobicoke of small plastic pellets a concern for environment, wildlife and the food chain.
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Everyone loves a good mystery.
Fred Cohen stumbled on one a few months: on an April morning, when there was still snow on the ground, Cohen was walking by the banks of the Humber River at James Gardens in north Etobicoke. He spotted white and blue lentil-size pellets among twigs and grass.
For Cohen, the mystery was not in what they were: nurdles.
“Nurdles were a new thing in the ’60s, and my father worked in the tool-and-die industry and brought them home when they were new,” he said of the plastic pellets. “That is how I recognized them.”
Cohen isn’t a sleuth; he’s a busy contractor. But he figured that the nurdles just didn’t show up at one spot, they had to be flowing down from somewhere. During the next few days, he scoured the Humber at different locations across the city and found nurdles in eight spots.
He went to Crawford Jones Park, near Dee Ave. just south of Hwy. 401, and found a pond where nurdles were floating as the ducks swam.
He went to Summerlea Park, near the Humber, and found nurdles.
He went to the valley below Humber College and found nurdles.
He even went to the Claireville Reservoir, west of Hwy. 427 and south of Hwy. 407, and found nurdles.
They weren’t just in one spot on the shores but all over the place. Cohen says he could easily pick up 20 or 30 pieces in a square foot of debris within minutes.
Cohen took samples and stashed in Ziploc bags — he still has them, the date and the location clearly scrawled on one side.
So where did these nurdles come from? How long have they been resting on the banks of the Humber?
It’s a mystery — one that the Humber could have done without.
Like all plastic, nurdles are harmful to the environment, the fish, the ducks. A nurdle is a tiny plastic pellet — about five millimetres in diameter — and hundreds and thousands of these pellets are melted and put into moulds to form everything plastic. Whatever you see that is plastic likely began as hundreds of thousands of tiny nurdles. They are of different types and they can be clear or coloured.
These micro-plastics are an imminent threat to wildlife, says Nancy Goucher, water program manager with Environmental Defence, an environmental action agency.
“Birds and fish may eat these plastic beads thinking they are food,” she said, adding that nurdles take up space in the stomach and create a fatal blockage. It can quickly lead to their starvation.
“And we have to consider that human beings could eat fish with accumulated plastic in it. What does that mean? . . . It can’t be good.”
Nurdles make Maria Dittrich angry.
An assistant professor at University of Toronto with an expertise in ecology of aquatic systems, Dittrich said nurdles might be very small, “but they can absorb and transport a lot of metal on them. We don’t know how bad that could be as they go through the whole food chain.”
Lorena Rios-Mendoza, an oceanographer at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, and her team recently sampled sections of Lake Erie and discovered that the water has been invaded by nurdles. They measured concentrations between 1,500 and 1.7 million particles per square mile, which is almost 25 per cent greater than what they had found in the Atlantic Ocean’s debris. (The Atlantic and the Pacific are known to have huge floating plastic debris fields.)
Rios-Mendoza’s team also found that fish were eating nurdles.
Regarding the Humber, Dittrich says it is a scary thought that the microplastics are so close to the city. “As far as I know, it is almost impossible to clean them up. So I don’t know what we are going to do.”
Cohen, meanwhile, standing on the banks of Humber at James Gardens, has a theory.
He says his understanding after speaking to a Toronto city official is that there was a factory fire “somewhere up the river, but he knew nothing more specific.”
(Cohen called 311, the city helpline, told officials everything he had found and asked them to investigate.)
However the nurdles found their way into the Humber, they are now draining into Lake Ontario. A couple of weekends ago, Cohen and a friend found nurdles at the mouth of the Humber near the bicycle bridge.
“That can’t be good, right,” he said.
Ellen Leesti, a city spokesperson, said any possible spill in the Humber would be the responsibility of the provincial Environment Ministry.
Ministry spokeswoman Kate Jordan said she hadn’t heard of any reports of contaminants found in the Humber. She promised to have it looked into.
A couple of days ago, ministry officials contacted Cohen and he agreed to accompany them to the many locations in Toronto where he discovered nurdles.
“I’m happy to do it,” said Cohen, a busy contractor. “Nature can’t speak for itself so someone has to.”
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- A hero who fabricated a cancer diagnosis: Porter | <urn:uuid:e802fe4b-065f-442c-94a3-b1c7ee82f0e2> | {
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Alaska is home to many millions of breeding shorebirds during the summer; typically they all leave in the winter. Scientists explore bird migration.
International Bird Ambassadors
Kevin Winker is the curator of birds at the University of Alaska Museum and a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The State of Alaska’s bird collection, housed at the museum, stores bird specimens, genetic samples, tissue samples and skeletons. Scientists from Alaska and from all over the world can borrow samples. “I think showing a full tray of specimens is a way for people to understand how these are records not just of this bird, this time, and this place, but also how that changes through time,” Winker said. “We are preserving them in perpetuity.” He showed a collection of rock sandpipers (Calidris ptilocnemis) carefully preserved at the museum representing ”A permanent record to compare changes in biological diversity in time and in space.” The resource helps scientists explore how shorebirds are responding to changing climate conditions.
Shorebird migration International Bird Ambassadors
International Bird Ambassadors video | Frontier Scientists YouTube
(Shorebird migration International Bird Ambassadors)
Frontier Scientists: presenting scientific discovery in the Arctic and beyond | <urn:uuid:43307e56-5365-4be8-b540-ff5c215b7405> | {
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Date of this Version
Our objectives were to determine the perceptions of farm operators concerning crop yields, and effects of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on crop lands surrounding Gettysburg Park. The survey consisted of 4 multiple-choice and 5 fill-in questions. Questions were developed to gauge land area planted and harvested by crop type, relative severity of impacts to crops by 8 wildlife species, and amount of crop production lost to deer. Questions were also included to quantify perceptions on the 5-year trend in deer numbers, respondent's wishes for future deer numbers, and the number and type of people permitted to hunt deer on the farms. | <urn:uuid:9dbcaf5a-3645-4bdb-b13a-c80544206582> | {
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Greenwood. 1 City (1990 pop. 26,265), Johnson co., central Ind.; settled 1822, inc. as a city 1960. A residential suburb of Indianapolis, Greenwood is in a retail shopping area. Manufactures include motor vehicle parts and metal products.
2 City (1990 pop. 18,906), seat of Leflore co., W central Miss., on the Yazoo River in the Mississippi Delta; inc. 1844. It is a retail and trade center for a productive farm region, with a major cotton market. Musical instruments, apparel, motor vehicle parts, agricultural equipment, and kitchen stoves are manufactured. The area's original inhabitants were the Choctaws; the city and county derive their names from a Choctaw chief and cotton planter, Greenwood Leflore. After the area was ceded to the United States in 1830 by the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, settlers poured in, carving vast cotton plantations out of the delta swamplands. The city has a cotton museum, and several Native American burial grounds are nearby.
3 City (1990 pop. 20,807), seat of Greenwood co., W S.C.; settled 1824, inc. as a city 1927. It is a rail center, with textile, wood-product, and meatpacking industries. A trading post was established there in 1751, and a Revolutionary War battle was fought at nearby Old Star Fort in 1775. The first railroad came in 1852; by 1911 five lines were operating through the city. Lander Univ. and Piedmont Technical College are in the city. Greenwood State Park is nearby.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Greenwood from Infoplease:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography | <urn:uuid:77098669-ba7a-4a33-bea2-52034cf16f5f> | {
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Turmeric is an Indian spice commonly found in curry dishes and is also the component of mustard that gives it its bright yellow and impossible to remove stain producing power. Turmeric has been highly touted for its health benefits including reducing tumor size, providing possible neuroprotective effects against Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s, and improving health outcomes in those with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. A comprehensive review of all the effects of turmeric is much to large for one post, so instead we will focus on benefits of Turmeric supplementation, or rather its constituent Curcumin, on aspects of performance and what to look for in a quality turmeric supplement.
Anti-catabolic Effects of Curcumin Supplementation
Of particular interest in athletic populations is the preservation and production of skeletal muscle protein. Skeletal muscle protein maintenance is a balance between protein breakdown and protein synthesis. Therefore, to increase skeletal muscle protein, there must be a positive net protein balance either by increasing protein synthesis or decreasing protein breakdown.
In a few studies, curcumin has exhibited a significant anti-catabolic effect in clinical subjects [1-3]. The curcumin in turmeric was found to inhibit a pro-inflammatory cytokine known as nuclear factor- kB (or NF-kB for short), a protein that has been found to have a proteolytic, or protein breakdown, effect on skeletal muscle through a subunit called p38.Through the inhibition of NF-kB activation and p38, curcumin has been shown to prevent catabolism in subjects with muscle wasting. While these results don’t always translate to healthy individuals, the mechanism proposed in clinical populations could still prove beneficial to healthy individuals as these cytokines are also generated in response to exercise related stress.
Turmeric has also been shown to reduce muscle loss associated with ageing possibly due to its benefits as an antioxidant and its muscle regenerative properties . Likely due to the inhibition of NF-kB, turmeric has been shown to speed the recovery of muscle tissue and enhance their regenerative properties by promoting the proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts into muscle tissue . While turmeric won’t develop muscle tissue on its own, it may be a useful tool in the preservation of lean tissue, specifically during times of caloric restriction.
Effects on Inflammation, Muscle Soreness and Joint Health
Curcumin is also a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. Training increases inflammation due to exercise induced muscle damage. This chronic inflammation can cause pain and muscle weakness and can even suppress the immune system leaving athletes more susceptible to infection and therefore reducing the ability of an athlete to train at a high level.
Curcumin supplementation has been proven to decrease inflammation through reduction in proinflammatory mediators such as COX-2 which has been shown to increase production of prostaglandins which lead to increased inflammation, swelling and pain . Furthermore, in a double-blind, randomized controlled study, researchers found that twice daily supplementation of 2.5g of a turmeric supplement decreased the pain and swelling associated with delayed on-set muscle soreness and improved recovery of muscular performance following unaccustomed heavy, eccentric overloaded training which induced high levels of muscular damage . Other studies have found similar reductions in soreness and improvements in recovery time following exercise and attributed these outcomes to reduced oxidative stress from turmeric’s antioxidant capacity [8-12].
Turmeric supplementation has also been show to reduce joint pain in those with arthritis through its anti-inflammatory effects[13, 14]. By decreasing delayed onset muscle soreness and joint pain and improving recovery, turmeric may allow for a long-term increase of performance.
Effects of Curcumin Supplementation on Metabolism and Body Composition
Curcumin has also been studied in depth for its effects on human metabolism. In a study conducted by Jang et al., they found that curcumin increased β-oxidation in the liver by up to 116% and decreased the fatty acid synthase activity providing greater reduction in fatty acid stores while also decreasing plasma lipid levels and the storage of fatty acids in the body . Other studies have followed up and found similar results attributing curcumin’s beneficial effects to its ability to stimulate AMPK activity which is a enzyme also activated by exercise [16, 17]. When activated, AMPK decreases fat synthesis while also increasing the oxidation, or burning, of stored fat for fuel.
Studies have also found a significant decrease in visceral fat with turmeric supplementation . Visceral fat is the kind of fat that sits upon your organs and is very detrimental to your health. While many of these studies were done on rodent models, which has its limitations, the insights from these studies suggest promising benefits to those who are looking to decrease body fat levels or improve endurance performance through greater utilization of fat for fuel.
Finally, the activation of the AMPK pathway also assists with the uptake up glucose into the cell. By increasing glucose uptake while also improving the use of fat for fuel during low intensities, athletes may be better capable to sustain bouts of explosive power for a longer duration which is critical for intermediate sport athletes. While these implications are promising, this supplement won’t magically make all your fat disappear or make you a great athlete. That being said, it could be a useful addition to a solid exercise and nutrition program in the quest to meet these goals.
Important Considerations for Curcumin Supplementation
The benefits of curcumin supplementation are significant and plentiful, however, there are important considerations when supplementing with curcumin. Primarily, curcumin has a very low bioavailability. When taken as just supplemental turmeric on its own, only very trace levels of curcumin are found in the blood. In order, for curcumin to be better absorbed there are several steps that should be considered:
- A high quality turmeric supplement will be standardized to 95% curcuminoids. Furthermore, curcumin is fat soluble and was found to have a 50 times higher serum levels when consumed with lipids . This means that if you take it with a fat, like a fish oil supplement you may already be taking, it will help improve bioavailability.
- It has been found that a derivative of black pepper, called piperine showed a very significant contribution to curcumin bioavailability when ingested together. When 2g of curcumin is taken alone, the serum levels of curcumin were either undetectable or very low. In conjunction with 20mg of piperine, however, curcumin bioavailability was increased by 2000% . (That is not a typo.)
- One other form of curcumin that has been created to help increase solubility in human subjects called “nanocurcumin” in which the curcumin particles, which are fat soluble, are entrapped inside water-soluble nanoparticles, therefore allowing the curcumin to be dissolved in water, increasing its bioavailability .
- As far as dosing of curcumin, studies reviewed showed doses as low as 150mg/day may provide significant benefits, but increasing benefits up to doses of 500mg/day or more in some studies when used in conjunction with piperine or another enhancer of bioavailability .
Curcumin has a great many benefits for those with athletic endeavors, but it is not a magic pill. It can be a great addition to a healthy diet and training program to improve health and performance. If considering taking a curcumin supplement, be sure to take with piperine or a fat to help improve its bioavailability and get the most out of it. And for those nasty yellow stains, I have yet to figure that one out. Please leave a comment below if you have know something I don’t. It would save this man his favorite white shirt. If you are interested in learning about another topic, please feel free to let me know in the comments. Have a happy and healthy day! Also, enjoy this meme…
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- Siddiqui, R.A., et al., Attenuation of proteolysis and muscle wasting by curcumin c3 complex in MAC16 colon tumour-bearing mice. Br J Nutr, 2009. 102(7): p. 967-75.
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- Huang, W.-C., et al., Effect of Curcumin Supplementation on Physiological Fatigue and Physical Performance in Mice. Nutrients, 2015. 7(2): p. 905.
- Roohi, B.N., A. NasirvMoradlou, and L. Bolboli, Influence of Curcumin Supplementation on Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress. Asian Journal of Sports Medicine, 2017. 8(1).
- Sciberras, J.N., et al., The effect of turmeric (Curcumin) supplementation on cytokine and inflammatory marker responses following 2 hours of endurance cycling. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2015. 12: p. 5.
- Delecroix, B., et al., Curcumin and Piperine Supplementation and Recovery Following Exercise Induced Muscle Damage: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of sports science & medicine, 2017. 16(1): p. 147.
- Tanabe, Y., et al., Attenuation of indirect markers of eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage by curcumin. Eur J Appl Physiol, 2015. 115(9): p. 1949-57.
- Chandran, B. and A. Goel, A Randomized, Pilot Study to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Curcumin in Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis. Phytotherapy Research, 2012. 26(11): p. 1719-1725.
- Agrawal, S. and R.K. Goel, Curcumin and its protective and therapeutic uses. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 2016. 6(1): p. 1-8.
- Jang, E.M., et al., Beneficial effects of curcumin on hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance in high-fat-fed hamsters. Metabolism, 2008. 57(11): p. 1576-83.
- Qin, S., et al., Efficacy and safety of turmeric and curcumin in lowering blood lipid levels in patients with cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrition Journal, 2017. 16.
- Um, M.Y., et al., Curcumin Attenuates Diet‐Induced Hepatic Steatosis by Activating AMP‐Activated Protein Kinase. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 2013. 113(3): p. 152-157.
- Richter, E.A. and N.B. Ruderman, AMPK and the biochemistry of exercise: Implications for human health and disease. The Biochemical journal, 2009. 418(2): p. 261-275.
- Lee, C.H., et al., Turmeric (Curcuma longa) whole powder reduces accumulation of visceral fat mass and increases hepatic oxidative stress in rats fed a high-fat diet. FOOD SCIENCE AND BIOTECHNOLOGY, 2014. 23(1): p. 261-267.
- Begum, A.N., et al., Curcumin structure-function, bioavailability, and efficacy in models of neuroinflammation and Alzheimer’s disease. J Pharmacol Exp Ther, 2008. 326(1): p. 196-208.
- Shoba, G., et al., Influence of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of curcumin in animals and human volunteers. Planta Med, 1998. 64(4): p. 353-6.
- Bisht, S., et al., Polymeric nanoparticle-encapsulated curcumin (“nanocurcumin”): a novel strategy for human cancer therapy. J Nanobiotechnology, 2007. 5: p. 3.
- Na, L.X., et al., Curcumin improves insulin resistance in skeletal muscle of rats. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2011. 21(7): p. 526-33. | <urn:uuid:ca094347-3d2f-4bd2-8229-e70b1e43b87d> | {
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Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) was an American author, humorist, and atheist. Twain wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and numerous other classic works. Twain was known for his keen wit and biting satire. Faulkner considered him "the father of American Literature".
- "Man is a marvelous curiosity … he thinks he is the Creator's pet … he even believes the Creator loves him; has a passion for him; sits up nights to admire him; yes and watch over him and keep him out of trouble. He prays to him and thinks He listens. Isn't it a quaint idea."
- "There are those who scoff at the school boy, calling him frivolous and shallow. Yet it was the schoolboy who said, "Faith is believing what you know ain't so."
- "One of the proofs of the immortality of the soul is that myriads have believed in it. They have also believed the world was flat."
- "The gods offer no rewards for intellect. There was never one yet that showed any interest in it."
- "I cannot see how a man of any large degree of humorous perception can ever be religious -- unless he purposely shut the eyes of his mind & keep them shut by force."
- "Leaving out the gamblers, the burglars, and the plumbers, perhaps we do put our trust in God after a fashion. But, after all, it is an overstatement. If the cholera or black plague should come to these shores, perhaps the bulk of the nation would pray to be delivered from it, but the rest would put their trust in The Health Board."
- "Irreverence is another person's disrespect to your god; there isn't any word that tells what your disrespect to his god is."
- "Let me make the superstitions of a nation and I care not who makes its laws or its songs either."
- "A God who could make good children as easily a bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy one; who made them prize their bitter life, yet stingily cut it short; who gave his angels eternal happiness unearned, yet required his other children to earn it; who gave is angels painless lives, yet cursed his other children with biting miseries and maladies of mind and body; who mouths justice, and invented hell -- mouths mercy, and invented hell -- mouths Golden Rules and foregiveness multiplied by seventy times seven, and invented hell; who mouths morals to other people, and has none himself; who frowns upon crimes, yet commits them all; who created man without invitation, then tries to shuffle the responsibility for man's acts upon man, instead of honorably placing it where it belongs, upon himself; and finally, with altogether divine obtuseness, invites his poor abused slave to worship him!"
- "The so-called Christian nations are the most enlightened and progressive ... but in spite of their religion, not because of it. The Church has opposed every innovation and discovery from the day of Galileo down to our own time, when the use of anesthetic in childbirth was regarded as a sin because it avoided the biblical curse pronounced against Eve. And every step in astronomy and geology ever taken has been opposed by bigotry and superstition. The Greeks surpassed us in artistic culture and in architecture five hundred years before Christian religion was born." | <urn:uuid:40f91705-f406-443c-83d5-657ab06913b4> | {
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Fundamenta Genetica: The Revised Edition of Mendel's Classic Paper with a Collection of Twenty-seven Original Papers Published During the Rediscovery Era in Brno in 1865. Moravian Museum. Anthropological Publications (Oosterhout, The Netherlands); also Cz
The old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country has had two innings in the case of Gregor Mendel. It was in 1865 that that remarkable man founded the science of genetics, for nothing less by way of expression is adequate to describe the way in which he enunciated its principles, the basic correctness of which has been confirmed in every branch of experimental science that has been and can be brought to bear on the subject. Like Athena, sprung fullyarmed from the brow of Zeus, genetics came out of the mind of Mendel after eight years of experimental breeding of peas, and as everything is important that relates to mental acts of creation, it is of interest to consider Mendel’s case.
Before him there were horticulturalists who hybridized plants: Koelreuter, Gaertner, Herbert, Lecoq, and Michura, to whom Mendel gave credit in his paper; but there was little to give them credit for. Their results were inconsistent, contradictory, and chaotic, and the reasons for this were that they did not know what to look for when they selected the material on which they worked. Most important of all, they started by asking questions to which their experiments on such material could not provide clear-cut answers. Mendel avoided all this unsatisfactory muddle by taking two steps which, from the point of view of methodology, were models, and of cardinal importance. In the first place he selected his material in such a way as to have parental pairs that differed in one contrasted character at a time. He found this material in peas, and, having crossed them artificially, he allowed their offspring to pollinate themselves for at least three generations. The results that he obtained were not only constant (whichever character was introduced through the seed-parent or the pollen-parent), but also revealed the appearance of the parental types among the offspring in different numbers which he counted and expressed as ratios.
THIS IS WHERE the significance of his other step can be seen: He had thought out the whole scheme of “Mendelian” segregation and recombination of factors in his head, as a theoretical exercise, on the hypothesis that the characters of the organism are controlled by discrete factors (we now call them genes) which exist in pairs; but the members of these pairs separate from one another (segregate) when the organism forms reproductive cells (eggs and pollen-cells), so that no reproductive cell contains more than one member of each pair of genes. At pollination or fertilization, which is random, pairs of genes are recombined. So, if one parent has genes AA and the other parent has genes aa, the reproductive cells formed by the former contain A, those formed by the latter contain a. When they are crossed, the hybrid has the genetic constitution Aa and its reproductive cells contain A or a. Now when two such hybrids are bred (or one is allowed to pollinate itself), the result is the expansion of a simple…
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Paleontologist announces discovery
Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum. Illustration by Karen Carr
The dinosaur discovery actually happened over the summer of 2006. While performing exploration work near the Colville River on land within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, Dr. Fiorillo’s team excavated a large deposit of hundreds of bones, including some partial skulls, from at least 10 individual Pachyrhinosaurus dinosaurs. The find was unprecedented.
“Discovering hundreds of bones from all these pachyrhinosaurs in one spot was unbelievably exciting, and we really thought the expedition was an incredible success. To later realize that we had unearthed a whole new species was one of the best days of my career,” said Dr. Fiorillo.
Because of the jumbled and fragmentary nature of the materials recovered in 2006, it took over four years of painstaking study of the remains in Dallas to reveal that the dinosaurs were a new species of Pachyrhinosaurus. In early 2011, Dr. Fiorillo and his colleague Dr. Ronald S. Tykoski were stunned and excited when newly cleaned and reassembled pieces clearly showed that they had found a new species of Pachyrhinosaurus. The species is based on a partial skull and two fragments of parietals, which in Ceratopsians are the bones that formed the frill, a boney structure extending from the back of the skull over the dinosaur’s neck. The remains showed significant morphological differences from any prior Pachyrhinosaurus remains found elsewhere in the world, including from parts of northern Canada.
What makes the new species special is that it was a polar dinosaur, living on a landscape dominated by coniferous trees. These dinosaurs lived in herds demonstrating that the ancient Arctic was a rich biological ecosystem. When P. perotorum lived around 70 million years ago, the part of Alaska where it was found was warmer than today. It was also a time when Alaska was situated at latitudes similar to or even higher than its current geographical position, meaning that its northern inhabitants experienced extended periods of winter darkness. How such dinosaurs lived in those conditions is a key question still studied today.
A full life-size reconstruction of the new dinosaur will be featured in the Dallas Museum, recently renamed the Perot Museum of Nature & Science due to the strong support of the family of Ross and Margot Perot, for whom the new dinosaur is named.
For additional information, go to http://natureandscience.org/information/pdf/press_room/102811_pachyrhinosaurus.pdf | <urn:uuid:ef25c6e9-a5d9-418e-afae-abff139477d9> | {
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In the wake of multiple scares associated with contamination of foreign food and personal care product imports, the U.S. is now getting a closer look at how health scares can occur even within our own country. Despite recent ridicule of the FDA (much of which is valid), they often do a rather stand-up job of protecting consumer safety. The most recent reference of this being the recall of contaminated 10-ounce cans of hot dog chili sauce, manufactured by Castleberry’s, Austex and Kroger. These products, with expiration dates of April 30, 2009 through May 22, 2009, may contain the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
Clostridium botulinum is the bacterium associated with botulism, a paralytic illness that can often result in death if respiratory failure ensues from the nerve toxin released by the bacterium. However, most cases of botulism are treatable upon diagnosis, despite the fact that recovery can be a rather lengthy process. Botulism has not been as large of an issue as it once was because current manufacturing processes are quite thorough with their canning processes, heating foods for long enough and at high enough temperatures to eliminate the bacterium. However, mistakes do happen. And it is reassuring to know that this instance of contamination was noted in a timely manner and the recall of the products made public by both the companies themselves and the FDA.
So we reinstate a small portion of our faith in the FDA. Yet, a valuable lesson to take away is that even with very stringent safety procedures, it is nearly impossible to completely eliminate incidence. And though botulism has not been a major issue within the past twenty-some years, it still exists. Spores of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum are the reason that we are told not to feed infants honey before the age of one. Also, the USDA provides a Home Canning Guide to assist do-it-yourselfers in SAFELY canning their own fruits and vegetables. On a side note, small amounts of the toxin produced by the bacterium are used in the cosmetic Botox injection. Bacteria and disease are a part of everyday life and consistent knowledge and awareness are the tools to preventing harmful results. And despite our doubt and apprehension, “FDA approved” still provides quite a bit of reassurance. | <urn:uuid:59d4944e-bec7-45d7-980d-133beb82c66e> | {
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Highly Sensitive People: This is how they see the world
Do you often need to escape from your surroundings to “recharge”? Do you often feel overwhelmed in certain environments? Are you easily excited? You may be a highly sensitive person. Find out in this article how highly sensitive people are, tips for handling that sensitivity, how highly sensitive people in couples are and tips for parents of highly sensitive children.
Highly sensitive people have an increased sensitivity of the central nervous system and a deeper cognitive processing of physical, social and emotional stimuli than other people. They live emotions much more intensely than others, both positive and negative emotions.
We live in a society that rejects sensitivity. It is possible to control our feelings and not be guided by them. Sensitivity has also been culturally associated with women, considering it a weak trait. This is one of the reasons why highly sensitive people say they suffer more than others.
Highly Sensitive People: What does it mean to be highly sensitive?
High sensitivity is a genetically determined personality trait, discovered by Elaine N. Aron in 1975. It’s not a pathology or a gift, it’s a different way of perceiving the world. About 2 out of 10 people are thought to be highly sensitive people.
Although high sensitivity may be close to personality traits such as introversion or neuroticism (emotional instability), studies have shown that it is an independent trait that should be analyzed separately.
There is still a lot of research to be done on this topic. However, like all other personality traits, high sensitivity is likely to be part of the end of a continuum. In other words, many people may identify with many of the traits that we will mention in the following section, however, only a few will feel fully related to them.
Highly Sensitive People have four key characteristics:
- Cognitive processing of information is intense and deep. They tend to reflect a lot on the things that might interest them in order to reach a better understanding. CogniFit offers a General Assesment to evaluate the basic cognitive skills.
- They can become overwhelmed if they have to process a lot of information, both sensory and emotional. This is because they have a much finer sensory system, which is easily activated and captures more information than most people.
- Their expression of feelings, both positive and negative, is very intense. They also show great empathy, they are greatly affected by what others feel.
- High sensitivity to the information collected by the senses. They are able to perceive subtle changes in the environment and the emotional states of others.
Below you can see the trailer of the documentary film Sensitive.
Characteristics and traits of highly sensitive people
Highly sensitive people have particular traits that sometimes make them vulnerable. But it also has characteristics that allow them to have a very rich inner world.
Discover in the following video how highly sensitive people have positive characteristics and how not everything is about suffering.
1. Highly sensitive people often suffer from more stress and anxiety
A study has shown that high sensitivity is associated with increased perceived stress and as a result more health problems. They have a hard time keeping their focus on one task when they have several things to do.
It is not yet clear why this is happening. One possible explanation is that high sensitivity produces a general increase in the activation of the organism, making these people more prone to suffer stress and the negative consequences of it. Another possibility is that these people may be more aware of the body’s symptoms, paying more attention to them, caring more about them, and entering a discomfort loop similar to panic attacks.
2. Highly sensitive people are at risk for depression
According to this study, highly sensitive people are more likely to develop depression and bipolar disorder. This risk might lead them to feel sad and might have further consequences such as suicide risk.
The Computerized Assessment Battery for Depression from CogniFit is a complete assessment to detect possible symptoms of depression. It is a tool that allows a professional or a person to conduct an exhaustive exploration of the cognitive level and confirm or discard the possibility of a depressive disorder.
3. Highly sensitive people have a lower sensory threshold
This means that your senses (sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste) perceive and react more than other people. They are disturbed by loud noises, intense lights, and touch can feel very unpleasant.
4. Highly sensitive people reflect about everything
One characteristic or trait of highly sensitive people is that when faced with new situations, they stop to analyze all the pieces of information they find. They are able to quickly perceive small variations in the environment.
5. Highly sensitive people are highly empathic
A characteristic feature is that they are able to perceive and react to variations in people’s emotional states. They run away from violent movies. They sense other’s discomfort and know what to do to make them feel comfortable.
6. Highly sensitive people are especially moved by art
Another characteristic feature is that they deeply appreciate music, paintings, theatre, etc. They feel pleasure in artistic expressions.
7. Highly sensitive people are affected by hunger
When highly sensitive people are hungry, it is hard for them to handle their emotions, becoming irritable. They can even pay their frustration with loved ones.
If you still doubt that you can be a highly sensitive person there are several tests online. You can also find more resources at the Association Highly SeSensitiveeople.
8. Highly sensitive people can become paralyzed with they feel observed
When they feel like they are being watched or evaluated, they often “stall” and do the task worse than they would on their own.
9. Caffeine can affect highly sensitive people
Another feature of highly sensitive people is that caffeine affects them more than others.
The brain of highly sensitive people
If people with high sensitivity have a finer sensory system, then your brain is supposed to function differently than other people.
According to this study, faced with images of loved ones and images of happy faces, highly sensitive people show increased activation of brain regions involved in consciousness, empathy, and interpersonal processing. This suggests that awareness and responsiveness are critical in people with high sensitivity. It also shows greater activation in the cingulate cortex, the area of attention, alertness and premotor cortex that is in charge of the planned action.
Another finding of the study is the increased activation in limbic (emotional) functions, sensory-motor integration, and a wide range of functions including attention, emotion, and self-referential processing and mirror neurons.
There is also more brain activity in the visual areas and attention processing when it comes to detecting subtle differences in landscape photography.
All of this suggests that highly sensitive people feel and integrate sensory information to a greater extent in response to the affective states of their loved ones, and particularly to positive emotions.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that highly sensitive people show a greater activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, involved in cognitive processing, decision making and performing complex tasks.
Tips for highly sensitive people
Being highly sensitive can make everyday life difficult. That is why we offer you some tips to help you with this task, although they are not unique advice for these people. Many can benefit from them. Consider also seeing a psychologist and therapist to help you manage your sensitivity.
1. Get enough sleep: It is known that lack of sleep can contribute to irritability and negative mood. It also decreases concentration and cognitive functioning. Therefore, it is essential to always take care of sleep.
2. Plan to do things at your own pace: Highly sensitive people can be overwhelmed by having a lot of things to do. To solve this, plan well all your “to do” tasks. You can help yourself with agendas, lists, calendars. You can wake up in time to avoid rushing, or you can try to structure your day.
3. Learn to disconnect: Sometimes in our busy lives, it’s hard to find a place to disconnect. But highly sensitive people need that much more time than other people. Above all, after a few hours in an overwhelming environment, it is important to devote some time to relax alone.
4. Learn how to manage stress or anxiety: Highly sensitive people are at higher risk for anxiety. So it is important that you learn how to combat it through relaxing exercises, breathing, meditation, physical exercise, etc. Other activities are also an option like spending time with your loved one, a pet or artistic activities.
5. Eat regularly throughout the day: Hunger can upset your mood. So plan several meals throughout the day to keep hunger at bay. Make healthy choices, though. Run away from the buns, juices and ultra-processed foods.
6. Find a retreat space at home: Having a space to turn to when you feel overwhelmed by people and noise can help you a lot. It can be a comfortable room, a study or even a relaxing bath. When you need to disconnect it can also be helpful to listen to music, you can even use a sound canceling headset (which eliminates ambient sound).
7. Limit caffeine: As we said, caffeine affects them more than normal. Some people, even decaffeinated coffee or tea can alter them. If you want to have a calmer life, give up caffeine.
8. Keep the lights dim: It’s possible that the light is trying to disturb you. Use dim ambient light. Even avoiding certain establishments where they have strong lights can help.
9. Learn to do things outside of rush hour: If you want to lead a quiet and stress-free pace of life, a good way to do it is to run away from crowds. One way to do this is to choose off-peak timetables. For example, shopping in the late afternoon, early morning or lunchtime can save you a lot of discomforts. Going to the movies during daytime or going out for sports before other people do can be good alternatives, too.
10. Surround yourself with nature and art: Nature and art can transmit peace and improve your mood. Decorating your home in a minimalist and neat style can also contribute to this.
Highly sensitive people in a couple
Dr. Elaine N. Aron, in her book The Highly Sensitive Person in Love, talks about relationships with highly sensitive people.ghly sensitive people are happier as a couple than
Highly sensitive people are happier in a couple than alone, because they feel understood. However, according to Dr. Aron, couples involving highly sensitive people tend to be more unhappy than couples without them. This is explained by the fact that these people tend to reflect more on the subtleties of the environment because of the slight changes in their nervous system. This means that they have to demand greater depth in their relationships to be satisfied. They see greater threatening consequences on their partner’s behaviors and defects and they reflect and worry more.
Due to their overwhelmed nature, they tend to disconnect which can make the couple feel abandoned.
In the sexual sphere, highly sensitive people also have particular characteristics. For example, they tend to find sex mysterious and powerful, easily aroused with subtle stimuli (rather than explicit sexual stimuli). They are also easily distracted or feel physical pain during sex and they often find it difficult to return to a normal state afterward.
How to treat a highly sensitive people?
1. Avoid being too critical: Highly sensitive people do not tolerate criticism well. They don’t take it lightly and they may distance themselves away from you.
2. Don’t give them too many things to do in a short period of time: They will be overwhelmed and their performance will not be optimal.
3. Respect their space: They need to have time for themselves. Don’t feel rejected or ignored, they just need it to work and function properly.
4. Highly sensitive people need more time to make decisions: Don’t pressure them, let them take their time and analyze all the details of the situation.
5. Accept them as they are: Accept their quirks and don’t try to change them.
Highly sensitive children
As with adults, high sensitivity is not a disorder. This is a trait that requires more effort and attention from parents. This is especially important because good parenting is essential to prevent possible psychological disturbances in adolescence and adulthood.
In addition, highly sensitive people have been found to be more affected by negative childhood experiences than others. This has an impact on their levels of satisfaction with life in adulthood. That is why it is so important to pay attention to the parental style we have with highly sensitive children.
What are the risks for highly sensitive children?
Sensory processing specific to highly sensitive people can interfere with children’s participation in daily activities and social, cognitive and sensory-motor development, according to this study.
Highly sensitive children are at higher risk for behavioral problems, rituals, and even Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
A study shows us that these children have greater headaches and stomach pains for no apparent medical reason, more problems eating and sleeping than average.
High sensitivity in children is associated with problem internalization problems, such as anxiety.
Tips for Parents: Treating a Highly Sensitive Child
Parents and teachers often tell highly sensitive children that they are “too sensitive,””too shy,””too intense. These children try to change, but they can’t, which promotes feelings of loneliness and shame.
These children need to be appreciated. They need others to understand their special needs and sometimes intense behaviors and reactions. When they need some correction they need to be treated with special affection. They should feel supported and not despised for their mistakes.
Here are some tips for raising your highly sensitive children.
1. Give them space: Sometimes they like to play alone and relax. Make sure they find that moment of calm after some hectic activity. Music helmets or sound cancellation headphones might be useful.
2. Avoid crowds: Highly sensitive people don’t like crowds, noisy and crowded places or bright lights. Avoid taking your child to those places or plan to go when there are few people.
3. Encourage creativity: Highly sensitive people are creative. Help them discover what creative activity they like, be it music, painting, dance, etc. The sooner they discover a creative outlet valve, the sooner they can use it to disconnect and re-connect with the world.
4. Spend time in nature: The beauty of nature has an energizing effect on highly sensitive people. It is also a good way for children to learn how our world is, how it works and how we can be respectful of it.
5. Spend time with them: Highly sensitive children who spend time playing with their parents or an adult caregiver grow more confident and are able to face the world with their inner strength rather than from weakness. Let them choose the activity!
6. Help them recognize and manage their feelings: Don’t deny or belittle their feelings. Help them identify the different emotions (“Your toy is broken and you’re crying. You must feel very sad”). At the same time, help them handle that emotion (“Do you want us to try to fix it? But if it can’t be fixed, it’s okay, you have lots of other toys to play with). Teach your child to calm down or be distracted when he or she is agitated. Discover the keys to improving emotional intelligence.
7. Consider getting help: Sometimes parents feel helpless because they don’t know how to help their children. In those cases do not hesitate to contact a psychologist who can help you.
8. Boost their self-esteem: Don’t call him “sensitive” as if it were a negative thing. By helping them you strengthen their view on life and themselves. Encourage them, reinforce and reward what they do well. Give them small responsibilities appropriate to their age and developmental level.
9. Run away from punishment and harsh discipline: Discipline and harsh punishment are highly inadvisable, in most children and especially in the highly sensitive. They will feel guilty, rejected and will not know how to do things better.
10. Accept your child: Don’t try to change your child. You can help him to better manage his peculiarities, but sensitivity is not a negative thing, and that’s something you have to pass on to your child as well. Although it can be difficult at times, they are people with unique and positive characteristics.
This article is originally in Spanish written by Andrea García Cerdán, translated by Alejandra Salazar.
Psicóloga General Sanitaria y sexóloga. Deseosa de mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas mediante la práctica clínica y la comunicación a través de la red. | <urn:uuid:0f17c5cf-7255-466e-bb20-993a63c6fad6> | {
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Humans fail to appreciate the beauty of the world that is in front of them. We tend to take advantage of the things that are given to us. Nature, for example, suffers a lot because of our daily activities, but we are very much aware that we cannot survive without nature. Is it because of our stubbornnessthat drive us to destroy nature while we keep on benefiting from its gifts? Perhaps, but as long as we are not made aware of the full extent of the effects of our actions towards nature, we will continue to be stubborn.
For those who are willing to exert an extra effort to save the environment, there are many ways for us to let people know about the status of our nature. The problem is, in raising awareness about nature, we must make sure that everyone around us will listen and believe in what we are trying to tell them. This is why a little creativity can help us capture their attention, and that is through creating captivating works of art that can show a better picture of our environment.
Through your art, you can also show people that taking care of the environment is also about taking care of our own selves. It cannot be denied that our health is tied with the environment, and destroying it is much like ruining our own bodies.
Be Creative In Raising Awareness To Save The Environment
People love to look at beautiful things, so getting their attention will be easy if we can use our talent to create visually dazzling artworks. Of course, if we are here to save the environment, the theme of the artwork should be about nature. An easy idea would be a portrait of a natural location, like a forest or seaside. Remind them of how beautiful nature is through your works of art, then you can proceed to tell the story of how our own doings can contribute to the destruction of such beautiful scenery.
Nature Is A Work Of Art By Itself, And We Are In Charge To Protect It
If we can just frame nature and present it in front of everyone, we can make them realize of how much of a waste it would be if we continue doing the things that we do that destroy the environment. It sure does not feel good if a beautifully-crafted work of art is ruined by our own hands.
Of course, there are things we can do to remedy the negative effects of human activities on nature, such as planting trees and cleaning our surroundings. However, it will take quite a while for the environment to recover. When it comes to the health of our spine, Dr. Randall F. Dryer from Central Texas Spine Institute can give the best treatment for a patient who wants to feel normal again.
Hemp is making headlines at the moment. Touted as an ecological savior of the planet and also a pure option for maintaining optimal health, the plant is slowly breaking a significant reputation. While it could feel like those hemp gains are fresh discoveries, they’ve actually been in existence for centuries.
As a result of the domination of their oil and pharmaceutical businesses, hemp has discovered itself either entirely prohibited or consigned to au Naturelle, hippy dwelling. But hemp is now making a comeback, so stay tuned to learn about some remarkable hemp gains for our health and Earth.
A hemp is a number of Cannabis Sativa, a botanical flowering plant initially found in India. Hang on a sec, cannabis sativa? Does that imply that berry makes you stoned?
Well, really, no. Despite being out of precisely exactly the exact identical genus as marijuana, hemp was bred to possess long stalks and fewer blossoms. That is because, in northern Europe, it had been hemp’s permanent fiber which was of interest, in place of the mind-altering effects made by chemicals found from the resinous buds and blossoms.
How hemp dropped from favor
Just just how can a plant which rivals paper and cotton for strength and endurance, in addition to providing treatments for a multitude of health problems, wind up being bound and gagged from prohibition?
To discover why, we must concentrate our attention on the USA circa the 1930s, in which an unholy triumvirate of all anti-hemp financial pursuits was forming.
In the center could be seen Mr. Harry Anslinger, the leader of this newly-formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics, that, together with newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst and the Dupont Business -the founders of Nylon — left it their mission to wash hemp and cannabis from the map of America.
The end result was that the 1937 United States Marihuana Tax Act, banning the cultivation of hemp for virtually any purpose — medicinal or fiber. Other nations soon followed suit, culminating at 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in which cannabis obtained App 1 standing after enshrined from the UK’s 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act.
And therefore hemp became tarred with the’reefer madness’ propaganda brush-written off as a hippy has-been.
Hemp makes a comeback
The late twentieth century and early twentieth-century have witnessed our world turning increasingly closer towards ecological catastrophe. Our wanton Presence of limited organic resources, that the destruction of the rainforests, industrial-scale pollution, and naturally, consumerism, is literally nearing the region we call home.
Not just that we seem to have become hooked on ever-increasing amounts of pharmaceutical medication to palliate the symptoms of chronic ailments, a number of which are brought on by the medication we have been advised will heal us.
Our world is becoming sicker. But imagine if the response to both issues lays in a single plant? It, hemp.
Hemp health advantages
For centuries, hemp and cannabis are an essential part of folk medication. In an era when many people just feel confident using artificial pills in finely packed boxes, so it’s easy to overlook the number of pharmaceutical medications initially come from character.
Since the discovery in the 1940s of particular chemicals in cannabis and berry known as cannabinoids, scientists are exploring the vast array of consequences that they have on the entire human anatomy. Originally, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) has been the most important focus of attention, owing to the damaging effects. Recently, however, the 2nd most abundant cannabinoid, CBD (cannabidiol) was making a buzz, as much in part because of the complicated mechanism of activity and lots of anecdotal reports of exceptional health benefits.
Thus far, most scientific studies have been in a preclinical degree, which means it’s been performed just on cell cultures or animal variations. 1 CBD medication, Epidiolex, has been throughout the protracted and costly few phases of clinical trials also will shortly be accessible for kids with rare instances of epilepsy.
CBD has been demonstrated to decrease inflammation in animal models that implies berry for pain relief, so may also be yet another major reason to use this versatile plant.
Many CBD goods in the marketplace are offered since CBD oil supplements, accessible tinctures, CBD capsules, CBD sprays, also CBD vape juice, together with individuals picking hemp products comprising CBD for all from stress, chronic pain, and reduced mood or simply as a pure health supplement.
The uncooked berry can also be gathering momentum because of a fantastic hemp choice for fostering optimum wellbeing. Produced of freshly-picked raw berry, it includes a larger spectrum of compounds that are active, particularly, CBDA, that can be otherwise destroyed together using the use of heat (all of CBD oils are through a heating procedure so as to reverse CBDA, its acidity receptor, into CBD). Our Raw Hemp Capsules comprise malic berry juice, plentiful in CBDA, also is among the hottest product ranges. The impacts of CBDA and uncooked berry in the entire human body are less researched, but the study demonstrates CBDA to possibly reduce nausea and also be anti-inflammatory.
And then let’s not forget hemp seed oil. Not to be mistaken about hemp oil (basically, CBD oil), it’s created of hemp seeds also contains only trace amounts of CBD (you may visit https://macbdoil.co.uk/cannabis-oil-uk for more information). On the contrary, it’s rich in Omega 6 and 3, Vitamin E, magnesium and potassium. Perfect for moisturizing indoors and out, which makes it a superfood and super-ingredient in several hair and skin ranges.
It is reasonable to say then hemp gains for our wellbeing are far-reaching and reveal fascinating promise for a long time to come.
Hemp advantages for the environment
So what favorable hemp consequences are there for your own surroundings?
To begin with, it is believed anything which may be created from the plastic can be produced out of hemp.
Cellulose, a part of plastics like cellophane, celluloid, and rayon, may be produced out of hemp. Hemp may also form a part of a biocomposite plastic — in which it is blended with a synthetic plastic or as an element of a natural mix believed to become 5 times quicker and 2.5 more powerful than conventional plastic made out of polypropylene. Small surprise then that nearly 100 years since Henry Ford’s Hemp Car hit the headlines, hemp vinyl is used by businesses in the automobile industry, also for goods, as diverse as plastic luggage, sunglasses, along with dogs toys.
Providing a substitute for paper produced out of the wood chip, even the next biggest polluter to air, water, and soil in North America, is just yet another field of planet-saving hemp possible. Turns out, 1 acre of hemp provides exactly the exact identical quantity of paper as 4 acres of trees, even although the true paper-making procedure is a lot cleaner because no substance processing is necessary. Hemp paper is much significantly stronger than paper produced from wood pulp, and may also be much better recycled.
Hemp building substances
Were you aware there is a hemp solution to concrete? Called’hempcrete,” it is made out of hemp, water, and lime. Does hempcrete have an adverse carbon footprint i.e. it consumes more CO2 during farming than emitted through construction, but no walls created of hempcrete will last to absorb carbon dioxide over a building’s life?
Biofuel — gas derived from living thing that functions as a substitute for gas or gas — may be reached from pressed hemp seed oil or ethanol by your fermented hemp stalks. Hemp biofuel may be utilized in a gas engine with no need for any adjustments and also emits 47 percent less carbon dioxide than normal diesel.
Hemp fabric is the sexy, eco-fabric of this second, boasting a cleaner generation process than cotton. Without the demand for seeds, hemp requires relatively small water and just requires one acre to create up to 2-3 acres of cotton.
Hemp also surpasses cotton strength, is lightweight, absorbent, UV and also mold-resistant, as well as flame-retardant. Small surprise then berry has thrown off its tag because the hippies’ cloth of selection, allegedly being picked by fashion brands like Armani, Polo Ralph Lauren, along with Oscar de la Renta.
Hemp for a dirt decontaminant
Among those most popular environment-saving attributes of hemp is the way it can clean up contaminated lands. This is by way of a procedure called phytoremediation, where contaminants are consumed by the fast-paced hemp roots, that either shop or flip the toxins to other benign materials.
A famous instance is that the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear tragedy when industrial plants have been developed in the wake to clean contaminants in the ground. Hemp also absorbs cadmium, also a thickly poisonous heavy metal accountable for polluting huge swathes of property globally.
This is only one reason why it is incredibly important to guarantee that some hemp products that you eat are taken from organically developed, or at least, European accredited hemp.
It is always great seeing people doing their fair share of preserving and saving the environment. However, not everyone simply has the financials to do so. Thus, this is where fundraising come into place.
Fundraising abstract offers the best tips and practices to make the most of your fundraising strategies and techniques. On the other hand, it still helps to be mindful about figures and numbers in every abstraction. With this in mind, let us take a good look to some of the statistics on where it is best to perform fundraising. This way, you will be able to maximize all your efforts and time.
Social Media Fundraising Statistic
In the United States alone, there is a massive percentage of people who are heavily using social media on a day to day basis. Let me run you down the numbers:
Instagram (IG), 18%
Imagine, being able to tap into this percentage for your fundraising endeavor would be a big help in hitting your target goal. You can be more effective as well in attracting bigger portion of these users by integrating some marketing and advertising skills which can be amplified by visiting hustlelife.net.
Mobile Fundraising Statistic
If you are targeting mobile users, these are the figures that can help you to narrow down your focus.
51 percent of people are visiting nonprofit website on their smartphone or tablet device
Websites that are responsive are capable of converting 34 percent more donations
Apple devices in general have processed 80 percent more mobile donations in the past few years
Text donors are likely at the age range of 49 to 59 years old who have college degrees
107 dollars is the average text-to-give donations
Email Fundraising Statistic
In case that you are more expert or knowledgeable in email marketing, then email fundraising may be more beneficial on your end.
As a matter of fact, email delivers the biggest ROI on any marketing channel playing at 40 dollars for every dollar spent.
For every 1000 email subscribers, non profits receive 112 Twitter followers, 113 mobile subscribers and 285 Facebook Fans. It only shows that sending out emails for fundraising is just a massive and effective approach.
It’s genuinely fascinating to look after your owned backyard to make it seem attractive. Cutting down the trees and grass throughout is vital to keep its resplendency. Together with congruous planting techniques carried up sooner you can facilely handle trimming the shrubs and trees.
Garden shears and electrical trimmer are opportune implements for cutting the trees and shrubs. Trees from the garden should be shredded time after time to be able to keep the shape.Casual hedges aren’t compulsorily to be trimmed however, cutting them down into a form is going to be a fantastic practice so as to prevent crocked growths.
Trimming hedges will surely adorn them. Hedges look natural and meaty since they’re stained and trimmed. Various other shrubs and trees do not have to be trimmed in customary periods since they need to grow more in order to increase in natural contours.
Dried outside or plenarily dead trees and shreds will need to be trimmed out so as to keep up the resplendency of lawns and garden.Sometimes some insects or dust in your dead trees put into live trees and then spoil their own magnification. Rosemary organic amalgamation is to be habituated to prevent any type of disorder to enter into other trees. Grafted trees such as decorative cherries, plums, and peaches are troubled by suckers in the rootstock appearing from beneath.
Such rootstocks must be trimmed out anon in their origins to be able to prevent them from coming .Cutting on the hedges just before fall in addition to winter seasons empowers magnification for flowering shrubs in springs. Sides of shrubs can be trimmed at a specific angle in order to create its foundation wide and vigorous. With this particular shape opportune sunlight could reach all leaves of this tree on the top and in the bottom. It’s imperative to disinfect all of the secateurs and shears anon following their usage.
Cutting shrubs and trees is like taking care of yourself. Dermaroller helps enhance your physical appearance by using it religiously, same with “grooming” your environment at appropriate time and at proper shape. It is vital to offer you a glow into the garden and yards.
As opposed to private transportation, Taxis make sense – they’re exceptional for getting to areas, and fantastic for the motorist who’s within the limit which transportation will not reach or can not. You pay a premium to have the driver out of bed, and then contribute towards the many licences he and the operator need to get, but you can then leave your vehicle at home, if you have one, or prevent queuing for the bus or sinking to the train. The customer can ride healthful motor vehicle and ensured of a licensed driver.
Taxi and Private Hire licences are issued to vehicles which have passed a complete MOT evaluation (this necessitates renewing two times annually ) – motorists are subject to regular Medicals in addition to CRB checks. Most airports have taxi services, from schiphol taxi to middle east taxis, cabs are available from airports if you are to travel to different countries.
A cab could be seen as a “green” choice – automobiles will have been assessed often for emissions and security, and they frequently take greater than the only’fare’ – possibly taking more than a car off the street.
The general public might be unwilling to pay in what’s a competitive marketplace, a high, and the line is cost instead of environment. Road traffic accounts for approximately 10 percent of CO2 emissions in the UK (normally that is much greater than aviation, which has carbon levies set up on each travel ), and is subject to a number of studies, such as things like street charging and pollution taxation – we have congestion charging and a banded street tax in impact. The auto sector could be regarded by legislators so as to generate a stage later on, when operators and drivers might be directing the public’s reaction to the challenge.
With flooding, storms and shipwrecks hitting on the information, the field of climate change could shortly be taken badly by different members of the British people – perhaps taxi transport ought to be a part of this argument, and it would be fantastic to see Taxi businesses taking the initiative and using environmental issues as part of the marketing and advertising approaches.
We cannot seclude ourselves from the earth’s normal processes and our fast-changing climate. Every single aspect of our presence is made from our habitat. Those factors that make up our bodily form and all living and non-living matter have been around since the earth was created from the sun just about 4.6 billion years ago. As an outcome, the atmosphere provides man with food and vitality. The energy released from the sun extends millions of miles to earth, where it is kept in vegetation through photosynthesis. In addition to other necessary elements, the matter then is imparted to man by way of the food chain.
The environment offers many advantages. It heals us and allows us to remain healthy. While medicines are extracted from the components of the environment and active organisms, at times simply being under the sunlight and clean air helps make a change in how we feel.
Science and technological innovation are the results of observing, researching and using the physical, chemical and natural world all over us. The environment benefits us when it is applied to recreate our sciences and perform our arts. Its organic resources and energy also function as a distinctive means of capital, enabling us to run our businesses and the economy. In exchange, man gives back to the surroundings all the matter and energy that creates his existence.
As a similar function to the environment, webshop laten maken, as an excelled company, you can no longer survive without a webshop today. People and businesses are progressively ordering products online, which implies that you will certainly miss out on a substantial number of clients if you do not have a webshop yourself. We are mindful of the professional improvement of your webshop for you. Based on your existing website, in the design of your current site or perhaps with a totally new idea. The design is formulated so that it can be reused on all webpages.
When people talk about being healthy, there are many ways of living a healthy lifestyle that come to their minds. Some will say think that being healthy is avoiding unhealthy habits like drinking, smoking, and doing drugs. Being healthy also means consistently following a healthy balanced diet. With the various types of diet, there are many options to choose from.Years ago, the famous diet types are the low-fat diet, low-carb diet, and high-protein diet. But it was found out that it is possible to lose weight even by eating larger portion of foods high in fats. This type of diet is called keto diet. And it is being followed by many people who want to lose weight. This site https://www.rectorycafe.com/obesity/purefit-keto-diet/ talks more about this kind of diet. Another type of diet is the intermittent fasting.Despite the fact that these different ways of living healthy help a lot in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, people often forget the main cause of unhealthy living, which is the unhealthy environment. It is believed that air pollution, especially in urban areas, is the major risk to human health. 7 million people across the world die each year due to everyday exposure to poor air quality.
One of the major factors that contribute to the increasing number of premature deaths is the environmental degradation. Negative impacts of an unhealthy environment is prominent among these groups: poor, young, elderly, women, and migrant workers according to some studies. Basically, those who are low and middle class will most likely suffer and compromise their health.
As mentioned in the earlier part of the article, air pollution plays a major role in environment degradation. Urban areas are more polluted because of the increasing number of people having vehicles. Road traffic constitutes to the air pollution in the larger cities because of the combustion of combustion of constituted fuels. Thus, those who want to shift to healthy lifestyle cannot think that they are fulling living in a healthy lifestyle because human made and natural made environmental risks will always be there.
Strengthening healthy ecosystems is one way of preventing or slowing the emergence of these diseases from these risks. A key need is for greater investment in integrated surveillance of wildlife, livestock and human health.
Products that are recycled are appealing to clients for a lot of reasons. As the availability of resources declines while the population increases, individuals start to think of ways on how to still make this planet a world to live in. Bearing that in mind, they would rather buy products made out of recycled materials.
Many customers look to determine whether a product contains substances that are recycled until they make a purchase. They’re prepared to go out of the way to discover a business which utilizes some proportion of recycled materials in their production procedure.
Purchasing things conveys a message which the buyer would like to play a part in helping to keep a healthful environment for future generations and to save our world. Men and women are ready to pay more to be able to aid with this endeavor.
Since the expense of oil and other materials continue to grow, there are more incentives to buy products made of such part. The power used to create products like plastic, paper, aluminum, iron and steel is less compared to the creation of new products. Increasing the rate of recycling of these materials can play a role in conserving energy that may allow our nation to be independent as opposed to our dependence on foreign sources of energy. This incentive is essential to customers in their decision making procedure.
Thrift and consignment shops are increasing and several men and women love the things which they can utilize and are unique. They would buy an item that is one of a type than a mass produced item that is inexpensive. This gives them reassurance that they’re currently helping conserve the environment and the retailer can raise their company as customers’ tastes for products continue to rise.
As the beauty of recycling continues to rise all over the globe no matter how important it is to a single consumer, a retailer that provides such products should see their company grow with or without Commence’s system for ticket management.
Detoxification, whether it is a home remedy body cleanse or in a healthcare facility, is a process and practice wherein the body is cleared out of undesirable toxins obtained from pollutants in the environment and/or from the excessive ingestion of food and beverages that are clearly bad for one’s health.
The Dangers of Environmental Pollutants
Supposedly, the human body must be capable of detoxifying itself, however we are constantly inundated with toxins and pollutants from the environment, such as insecticides and other chemicals placed in and on foods, chemicals like chlorine in our water, chemicals in beauty and household products, and all the impurities we breathe in.
The human body isn’t designed to handle or deal with the extreme degree of toxins and pollutants that we are exposed to on a daily basis.
Toxicity is a turning out to be a threat and a health crisis. New chemicals are added to food which we ingest; people are becoming more dependent on medications, sugar as well as refined and processed are favored more because of availability, affordability, and ease of food preparation. The prevalence of numerous diseases brought about by toxicity has multiplied as well. A lot of individuals suffer from chronic fatigue, headaches, bloating, skin irritations, allergies and constant and persistent colds and coughs.
The Worth of Having a Clean Environment
The environment is for habitation, a place where fauna, flora and humans live. Therefore, maintaining its cleanliness, from the air, land, and water, is everyone’s concern and responsibility. Having an environment that is clean and fresh and is rid of pollutants and impurities is crucially needed since this is what our body needs as well. A polluted and filthy environment directs to a bad and unhealthy societal conditions.
An environment that is clean, uncontaminated and unpolluted safeguards the continued existence as well as survival of every life here on Earth.
Cleaning and maintaining the cleanliness and purity of our environment lowers pollution.
It safeguards distinctive ecosystems and averts the disappearance of vanishing species of faunas and floras
A maintain a clean environment conserves vital resources needed for existence like water, air and land.
And it warrants the protection and safety of the ecosystems and biodiversity wherein all life on Earth relies on.
Several lists of countries ranked as most environment friendly have been published, to which European countries consistently rank high. Yet the list which we are more inclined to share is that of Yale’s, as it reflects the environmental performance of countries, based on the merits determined by the Environmental Performance Index (EPI).
What Is the Environmental Performance Index (EPI)
The EPI is a method that quantifies and numerically determines a country’s environmental performance in relation to a core set of issues; whether signs of progress are present or not at all.
The 2018 EPI captured the state of 180 countries in a so called Global Scorecard, using the most recent year data available and data recorded from around a decade earlier. The purpose of which is to determine the current standing of every nation.
A notable characteristic of the EPI is that it also evaluates correlation of the country’s wealth, to the sustainable methods introduced and implemented. Environmental performance as analyzed via the EPI takes into account any environmental trade off incurred in order to achieve income growth.
Trade off may include overuse of natural resources, unmanaged urbanization and unregulated industries. The message imparted by the EPI is that income growth must come with infrastructure necessary for protecting not only the ecosystem but also human health; such as building of facilities for mitigating pollution, for managing wastewater and for improving sources of drinking of drinking water.
The Most Eco-Friendly Countries Revealed by the 2018 Environmental Performance Index
Switzerland continues to top the list of Most Eco-Friendly Countries on a global scale, leading with a total score of 87.42 in terms of overall environmental performance. Switzerland’s impressive environmental performance is reflected through sustainable achievements made in Climate & Energy and Air Pollution, Water & Sanitation and Biodiversity & Habitat.
Completing the list of the world’s Five Most Eco-Friendly Countries are, France landing second place with a score of 83.95; Denmark at third place with 81.60, Malta at 4th by garnering 80.90, and closely followed by 5th placer Sweden with an 80.51 score.
The trend of green buildings has made progress on a global scale. It may entail numerous architectural and operational characteristics, making buildings somewhat eco-friendly when compared to others.
These features may incorporate the use of sustainable building materials and the use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy to conserve water. On the other hand, among the primary principles of environmentally friendly housing is energy efficiency.
What are Environment-Friendly Homes
Environment-friendly buildings make use of lesser energy source than standard homes, which helps save the property owners funds and helps to protect the natural environment. It can help decrease climate change in an exceedingly considerable means, mainly because 29 % of greenhouse gas exhausts originates from the electric energy.
Minimizing Cooling and Heating Requirements
Among the crucial approaches to lessen energy use by eco-friendly buildings is to decrease the volume of energy necessary for home cooling and heating. Eco-friendly buildings accomplish this in many strategies. Insulating the house thoroughly can prevent air from getting out or getting into the room. This suggests that the homeowner fix cracks and holes to help reduce heating or air conditioning energy use.
To be able to assess where airflow goes out, you may perform an audit for home energy through thermal mapping. This helps determine the areas where the air leak comes from. It is crucial to inspect every single part of the home. Attic spaces and openings including windows. If the leak is coming from windows, get in touch with window replacement professionals near your area. You can search for them online by searching the right keywords like Cleveland replacement windows.
Working with Natural Light
The average home in the U.S. uses 5% of its energy consumption for lighting. Eco-friendly houses save money through the use of energy-efficient lighting system and completely cutting down the requirement for lighting.
In some areas, building contractors can easily design houses to fully make use of natural lighting for illumination and heating. Large windows allow natural light into the house and naturally provides heating at specific times of the day.
In places where artificial light ought to be applied, shifting from classic incandescent light bulbs to halogen incandescent light bulbs, LED or CFL bulbs can help you save a whole lot of energy. You can also decrease the rate of recurrence of shopping light bulbs.
As modernization arise, environmental issues and concerns also increase. Each of us become more aware of the healthy state of the environment that we are in to. We develop this one goal of having a clean environment which generally shows a strong sense of responsibility of everyone and also a hope for the next generation.
The environment and the humans are always connected with each other. In fact, as humans, we cannot separate ourselves from the natural processes of the environment. All of the things that we are using now come from our surroundings. Because of this, our environment gives us nourishment and energy that we need.
Numerous Benefits of Our Environment
Our environment is very beneficial to us. It gives us many benefits in a natural way. Below is the list of the benefits that environment can provide:
The environment heals us
It keeps us healthy
It educates us through the application of science and technology
Our environment satisfies us through recreational means
By the use of our natural resources and the energy it emits, the environment becomes a means of our capital on our businesses and economic state.
Environmental Issues and the Way to Address It
Despite of the wide range of benefits that our environment provides, people are still able to give back some problems and issues to our surroundings.One way to solve it is through responsible consumption and conservation of our natural resources. Another thing is by providing the resources such as energy through wealth and surplus. The purpose of this is to have an orderly and clean place.
However, it is very crucial to sustain a healthy environment and economy at the same time. On the other hand, having a healthy economy is essential to pollution control and keeping the environment clean. Managing the resources and controlling the pollutants can be done through proper wealth management. More so, the environment that produces the wealth must maintain its cleanliness.
With this, the market are also looking after an effective cleaning services. Moreover, cleaning must have a value. In order to obtain this, every individual must be educated about the importance of cleaning. It is essential to protect our environment in our own simple ways.
Reasons Why We Need to Clean
Learning the essential of cleaning makes us appreciate its value and contribution to the quality of life.
Cleaning is a way to obtain a clean place with the absence of any unwanted material. Moreover, effective cleaning clear out unnecessary materials just like the goal of 24hr cleaners in North West London. The definition itself gives a clear notion that this type of cleaning process completely protects our environment.
Reduces the environmental risks
Having a clean environment decreases the exposures to hazardous chemicals. Due to this, it also decreases the risks alongside with the achievement of a good sanitary state.
By eating a wholesome diet, it’s as if you were able to turn the clock back, didn’t you? If you’re like countless Americans who wants to change their appearance for the better, then it’s as simple as just changing your diet plan. Within this article I will discuss added advantages that are astonishing that can be provided by fresh produce that you can grow by yourself, even in your backyard!
Among the very first of those fruit is that the blueberry. Blueberries have memory fostering antioxidants in addition to potential. Its consequences can be lowered via the use like blueberries although the inflammation that’s related to aging is. All berries are packed. To reduce different effects of aging, such as vision loss, you need to have more dark leafy greens; those specific veggies (like spinach)are exceptional sources of lutein and zeaxanthin that protect your eyesight from ultraviolet sunlight. Due to their count of Vitamin K leafy greens may lower the consequences of bone loss as we get older.
Eating a diet full of vegetables and fruit may help us reach rapid weight reduction.
A healthy meal is needed and read this before choosing the right program for proper diets — which food to intake and what’s healthy for your body. We age very fast if we are not eating healthily.We’re also more likely to having various diseases. That’s the reason it’s necessary to be nutrition an significant part your daily life. Comprise your diet of: nutri melt shakes, some vitamins, or meal shakes, along with physical activity most importantly. Make certain fruit is in your menu in the event that you would like to modify your life and increase your wellbeing.
There are lots of contributing factors that can able to assist us in achieving a slimmer body and a better health. However, there is one factor that undermine all your hard works to be sexy and healthy. That factor is none other than the environment around us. Our environment is our life. However, we have this ultimate goal of changing our dietary needs. But, it is always our environment that stop us from doing so.
Ways in which environment affect our diet
Below are ways in which the environment stops us from having a healthy diet.
Our working environment
Basically, the challenging facets that we had in our working environment are those parties, meetings, and other conferences where it calls for a celebration. Snacks and foods available are very hard to avoid.
Our nesting place
Our home is an easy access environment for all kind of food, even those that are tempting and hard to avoid. So, it is difficult to keep up a healthy way of living especially when you are surrounded with this kind of food.
Our relatives and peers
It is no wonder that an unhealthy eating habits is usually produced when we are surrounded by our relatives and friends. We just can’t resists the temptation of their invites whether it is just a snack with a picky kids, family celebrations or eating out with friends. These challenges stop us from engaging into healthy eating.
Creating a environment to enhance healthy dieting
In order to have a healthy dieting approach despite of the environmental blockade, what you’ll need is make your home a place of healthy snacks. Here are ways to make it happen.
1. Making a healthy fridge and pantry by storing healthy foods and snacks. Organizing the content of your refrigerator can also help you to decrease the food waste.
2. Store healthy food substitutes. Try to stock nutritious staples like hummus, eggs, cheese, yogurt, nuts, whole grains, frozen vegetables, and some frozen meats. Avoid reaching out for convenient foods.
3. Plan more about your eating habits. It is advisable to have a framework of the quantity to eat, its cost, and the time that you need to consume it.
Moreover, there are some dieting programs that are also influenced by natural and healthy way of dieting. To know more of it, check www.shortcutketo.com.
We often hear talks about the importance of protecting the environment and protecting natural resources. We watch it on TV, hear it on the radio, read it on newspapers and magazines, and even listen about it in classrooms. Proper education about our environment makes us aware of the need to protect our natural wealth. However, we also know that knowing is not enough. We need action to get things done if we want to save anything.
When did you do things to protect the environment? Have you ever wanted to do something to make a difference? to save mother nature? We understand the call to protect the environment. But more talk less action is not the solution. We have to do something, even in our own small ways.
Reuse and recycle things as much as you can
This is among the best ways to help save nature. There are many simple ways to reduce and recycle. Here are a few things we can do in our daily routine.
Minimize the use of plastic and rubber. As an alternative, make use of paper bags or cardboard boxes.
Buy in bulk rather than in small pieces. This reduces the use of too many packaging materials.
Buy items that are reusable. Reusing items on a daily basis like scrap paper, wood, and old clothes can help in many ways.
Change your habits
There are simple habits that you can do or change to help in saving the environment. In the workplace, for instance, you print only when needed. Or opt to send out an email rather than printing out a memorandum to all employees.
Save energy as much as you can like turning off the lights when not in use. Turning off the computer monitor at the end of the workday. Keeping the computer monitor turned off when not in use. Prevent air conditioner overuse. Use your own cups or plates to stay away from disposables.
When destined in another country, you can still practice a good habit even if there’s some language barrier or you can enroll in an English course like bakırköy ingilizce kursu to help you influence others or make sense of what others in that country are doing to make their own small changes for the environment.
All these are just simple things we can do in our own ways. Every small action counts and if everyone makes their small contribution, we can actually start saving the environment.
Environment is everything that is around us. It can be living or non-living things. It includes physical and chemical and other natural forces. Living things live in their environment. They constantly interact with it and adapt themselves to conditions in their environment. In the environment there are different interactions between animals, plants, soil, water, and other living and non-living things. | <urn:uuid:9f75e4fd-dc4d-40b9-905d-927c3a6eac8b> | {
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Chapter 4: Corpus-Based Translation Studies
Since 1993, researchers have started to use corpora in translation studies and develop corpora specifically for this use. The term corpus refers to a body of natural language (written and spoken data) material held in machine-readable form and analysable automatically or semi-automatically in a variety of ways. A corpus may include a large number of texts that may originate from different sources and may be based upon a wide range of topics. Texts can be full, i.e. complete, but they can also be part of a larger text, e.g. a chapter from a book.
There are three main types of corpora. In the majority of cases they are bilingual or multilingual, but monolingual corpora are also valuable for a number of applications (Monolingual single and comparable corpora and bilingual and multilingual comparable corpora; for a full discussion on types of corpora, see Baker 1993 and Olohan 2004).
The type of corpus used for this session is a parallel corpus. Parallel Corpora consist of original, source language-texts in language A and their translated versions in language B, and in this context, the results of a query to the corpus are normally given as parallel sentences. The parallel corpus under investigation is composed of one English novel, Virginia Woolf’s Waves, and its French translations: two for The Waves: Les Vagues (1937) translated by Marguerite Yourcenar and Les Vagues (1993) translated by Cécile Wajsbrot. In order to work with the texts, they have to be acquired and converted to electronic form and converted in ASCII text format for subsequent processing using the corpus tools (for more information on this process, this for instance Olohan 2004).
Tools and Software for Corpus Investigation
Corpus-based paradigm can be used to study various phenomena thanks to software packages which allow researchers to process texts in machine-readable form. These complex and comprehensive tools are used for the collection of information from the data stored in a corpus. The most widely used tools are the concordance program and the frequency list, both of which are available with WordSmith Tools, the first piece of software discussed below.
WordSmith Tools is an integrated suite of programs designed to facilitate the analysis of the behaviour of words in texts. It was developed by Mike Scott of the University of Liverpool and consists of three main tools: WordList, Keyword lists and Concord.
This facility allows listing all the word forms in a corpus in order of frequency and/or in alphabetical order. Items are classified according to a given scheme and the results of an arithmetical count of the number of items or tokens occurring in the text belonging to each classification or type are displayed. The operation of counting word frequency gives a list of all the words occurring in a corpus together with their frequency and this can be expressed both in raw form and as a percentage of the total number of words. The word list can be displayed in different ways, in alphabetical order or in descending order of frequency. WordList allows users to view lists of the words in a text in alphabetical order or according to their frequency. There are three lists: the first one ‘new wordlist F’ is a frequency list; the second one ‘new wordlist A’ is an alphabetical list and the third one ‘new wordlist S’ present statistics such as type/token ratio and mean or average sentence length.
The most common types are ‘function’ or ‘grammatical’ words, i.e. conjunctions, determiners or personal pronouns. The second column presents the type’s absolute frequency in the corpus and the third one its relative frequency. This list indicates statistics about the text under investigation such as the number of running words (tokens), the number of different words (types) and the ratio calculating the range of vocabulary in the text.
For instance, the following table shows the first twenty types in Woolf’s The Waves (1931), according to their frequency:
The most common types in this novel, and indeed in most pieces of writing, are ‘function’ or ‘grammatical’ words, i.e. conjunctions, determiners or personal pronouns. The second column presents the type’s absolute frequency in the corpus, and the third one its relative frequency. For instance, there are 2,452 instances of the type I and it accounts for 3.14% of all the tokens in the corpus.
The following table shows the ‘WordList S’ for The Waves:
This list indicates statistics about the text under investigation such as the number of running words (tokens), the number of different words (types) and the ratio calculating the range of vocabulary in the text.
The concordance program allows the user to search the corpus for a selected item or ‘node’. Hence, if the user is interested in the usage of a particular word, he or she can search for it with the concordance program, which will retrieve all the occurrences of that word from the corpus and return a list of all those instances. At this stage, the computer returns a KWIC concordance, KWIC being an acronym for Key Word In Context. This is a list of all the occurrences of a specified keyword in the corpus, with each instance of the word set in the middle of one line of each context.
An example of the word wave in the corpus is shown below:
KWIC concordances can be sorted in a variety of ways, for example, alphabetically according to the words appearing on the left or right of the keyword. Concord also allows the user to view extended co-text online and to look at whole sentences or paragraphs in which the word has been located. As with type/token ratios, one has to be aware of homographs and lemmas. One way to overcome these difficulties is to use a wildcard. Wildcards are characters that can be used instead of others. For instance, the Kleene star * or ‘?’ can be used to replace any number of characters in a search term, e.g. ‘wav*’ to obtain wave, waves, waved, waving, waver, wavers, wavered and wavering. Wildcards can also be combined with for instance ‘nationali?*’, which will give: nationalise, nationalize, nationalizing, nationalising, nationalized, nationalised, nationalizes, nationalises, etc. Finally, they can also be used in ‘phrase’ searches like ‘on * wave’. WordSmith Tools thus allow identifying the word-forms under investigation, which can then be used as search terms in the Multilingual Concordancer Multiconcord, which is discussed in the next section. | <urn:uuid:a1278664-3e34-4af0-93cd-907987099fe7> | {
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The liberal studies major provides a broad course of study which serves as a foundation for meeting a wide range of future goals including graduate study, career development and community services. Because it is interdisciplinary, it is especially designed for students interested in teaching at the elementary school level. Courses for the major cover the content required for multiple subject teacher credential candidates.
Goals of the major are to build in students:
- The ability and desire to understand, evaluate and communicate ideas
- The ability and desire to discover ideas through disciplinary processes
- The ability and desire to engage in intensive study
- A sense of interrelatedness among knowledge, experience, responsibilities and values
- A respect for diversity
Fast Track Program option allows students to become teachers earlier
A Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies is versatile and can be applied to almost any desired career field because of its broad course of study. However, most graduates continue on in their education to become elementary school teachers because the liberal studies major provides the course content required for the multiple subject teacher credential.
Students must choose an area of concentration. Concentrations permit the candidate to specialize in areas of interest and depth. All students must complete a concentration of 12 or more units in one discipline or area of study. Concentration requirements may overlap with a minor.
- American Civilization and Culture Concentration (Contemporary Focus)
- American Civilization and Culture Concentration (Historical Focus)
- Art Concentration
- Biblical Studies Concentration
- Biology Concentration
- Coaching Concentration
- Communication Concentration
- Conflict and Peacemaking Studies Concentration
- English Concentration
- Environmental Studies Concentration
- Intercultural/Domestic Studies Concentration
- Intercultural/International Studies Concentration
- Language Studies Concentration
- Mathematics Concentration
- Ministry Concentration
- Music Concentration
- Physical Education Concentration
- Psychology Concentration
- Religious Studies Concentration
- Science Concentration
- Spanish Concentration
- Theater Concentration
- Western Civilization and Culture Concentration
- World Civilization and Culture Concentration
The Fast Track Program allows prepared students to start teaching a full semester ahead of other students.
Are there additional requirements?
- Students must prepare a portfolio in their last semester prior to graduation.
- Students planning to enter the FPU teacher education program must maintain a 2.75 GPA or better during their baccalaureate program. Grades of D+ or below are not accepted in general education or major coursework.
- Students are encouraged to take coursework leading to the BCLAD credential emphasis.
- The state of California requires that all students admitted to multiple subject credential programs pass the CBEST to prove basic skills and the CSET to prove subject matter competency.
- Find out more about becoming a teacher.
General Education Requirements
When choosing general education courses, liberal studies students should select the following:
- BIOL-100 Principles of Biology (4)
- HIST-150 American Civilization (4)
- LIT-180 Introduction to Literature (3)
- PE-120 Dance Movement (1)
- PHYS-106 Physical Science (4)
- PHYS-150 Earth Science (3)
- PSY-120 General Psychology (3)
Required Courses (47 Units)
- ART-300 Art for Elementary Teachers (3)
- DRA-355 Creative Drama (3)
- HIST-440 California History and Politics (4)
- ENV-150 Introduction to Environmental Studies (4)
- KIN-320 Theory of Physical Education (3)
- LA-180 Paths to Teaching (3)
- LA-380 Learning Communities (1)
- LANG-310 First and Second Language Acquisition (3)
- LANG-340 Introduction to Linguistics (3)
- LIT-465 Literature for Children and Young Adults (3)
- MATH-132 Arithmetic and Data Analysis (3)
- MATH-134 Algebraic Thinking and Geometry (3)
- MUS-305 Music in the Classroom (3)
- PSY-350 Child Development (3)
- SOC-410 American Ethnicity and Pluralism (3)
A concentration and/or minor must also be completed.
Traditional undergraduate programs are in a semester format. The fall semester begins at the end of August and the spring semester begins at the beginning of January. Application for admission will be accepted until July 31 or enrollment is full for the fall semester and until December 5 for the spring semester. Applications received later than these dates will be considered, but acceptance and registration are not guaranteed. Admission notification is handled on a rolling basis.
Why the Central Valley?
A fast-growing and culturally diverse city, Fresno serves as the business, financial, cultural and entertainment center of California's Central Valley. Because of our central location, students have easy access to the best of the rest of California including three national parks and the central coast. View more advantages to studying in Fresno. | <urn:uuid:b1390911-f6a0-434c-ac8d-7188b19054fa> | {
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Philosophers of the Islamic world enjoyed thought experiments. If the heavens vanished, they wondered, would time continue to pass? If existence were distinct from essence, would that mean that existence itself must exist? Can God turn your household servant into a horse, so that you come back home to find it has urinated all over your books?
But the most famous is the so-called ‘flying man’ thought experiment, devised by the most influential philosopher of the Islamic world, Avicenna (in Arabic, Ibn Sīnā, who lived from 980 to 1037 CE). Imagine, he says, that a person is created by God in mid-air, in good condition but with his sight veiled and his limbs outstretched so that he is touching nothing, not even his own body. This person has no memories, having only just been created. Will his mind be a blank, devoid as it is of past or present sensory experience?
Read the rest at Aeon Ideas | <urn:uuid:948c71c7-83eb-41db-b0de-83e7e28c39d8> | {
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Which Joe gave his name to ‘sloppy joes’? We look at five interesting sandwiches and their lexical origins.
1A creeping evergreen North American shrub of the heather family, with spiny scented leaves and waxy white flowers.Also called wintergreen
- ‘When this constant lover returned he brought an offering of late May-flowers and bright checkerberries held clumsily in his big hand, and gave them to the only woman he had ever loved.’
- ‘The leaves and flowers of Eastern teaberry (also known as checkerberry, boxberry, partridge berry, wintergreen berry, teaberry and mountain tea) have a mildly perfume scented aroma.’
- ‘Further north you have service berries or juneberries in the wet woodlands; bearberries on the moors and heaths, checkerberries or wintergreen in the woods and moors, and cranberries in the boggy heaths, which has berries that remain on the plant throughout winter.’
- 1.1The edible red fruit of the checkerberry plant.
- ‘Here we gathered all the berries before named, and besides them checkerberries, dangleberries, and grapes.’
- ‘These little people, quite recovered from their fatigue, had set about gathering checkerberries, and now came clambering to meet their play-fellows.’
- ‘She and her younger sister Annie were allowed one April day, by their mother, to go into the woods just before school hours, to gather checkerberries.’
- ‘Because checkerberry was once popular for making a tea, another name for it is eastern teaberry.’
Late 18th century: from checkers or chequers ‘berries of the service tree’(so named from their colour) + berry.
Are you looking for a word for a foolish person? We explore twelve interesting words to describe the dunderheads in your life.
Before you run for the hills, let’s run through a list of ‘run’ expressions that are running through our minds.
The definitions of ‘buddy’ and ‘bro’ in the OED have recently been revised. We explore their history and increase in popularity. | <urn:uuid:b1040c8e-b8f9-487b-888b-46cf2ba2792b> | {
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Mini Review ARTICLE
How does morality work in the brain? A functional and structural perspective of moral behavior
- 1Department of Personality, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- 2Mint Labs S.L., Barcelona, Spain
- 3Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior (IR3C), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Neural underpinnings of morality are not yet well understood. Researchers in moral neuroscience have tried to find specific structures and processes that shed light on how morality works. Here, we review the main brain areas that have been associated with morality at both structural and functional levels and speculate about how it can be studied. Orbital and ventromedial prefrontal cortices are implicated in emotionally-driven moral decisions, while dorsolateral prefrontal cortex appears to moderate its response. These competing processes may be mediated by the anterior cingulate cortex. Parietal and temporal structures play important roles in the attribution of others' beliefs and intentions. The insular cortex is engaged during empathic processes. Other regions seem to play a more complementary role in morality. Morality is supported not by a single brain circuitry or structure, but by several circuits overlapping with other complex processes. The identification of the core features of morality and moral-related processes is needed. Neuroscience can provide meaningful insights in order to delineate the boundaries of morality in conjunction with moral psychology.
“By four-thirty in the morning the priest was all cleaned up. I felt a lot better. I always did, after. Killing makes me feel good. (…) It's a sweet release, a necessary letting go of all the little hydraulic valves inside. (…) It has to be done the right way, at the right time, with the right partner—very complicated, but very necessary.”
Dexter, Darkly dreaming Dexter (Jeff Lindsay)
Can immoral behavior sometimes turn out to be moral? What mechanisms underlie morality? The above quotation is taken from a scene in the American TV series “Dexter.” Dexter is a respected employee at the Miami Metro Police Department, and a family man. However, at night Dexter doubles as a covert serial killer, applying his own moral code and murdering assassins whom the legal system has failed to condemn or catch. To what extent can a murder be considered necessary or even moral? Dexter's code includes clear examples of moral paradoxes that are not yet well understood. Does Dexter's brain work in the same way as the brains of other people? Researchers in moral neuroscience have tried to find domain-specific structures and processes that shed light on what morality is and where it is in the brain, if in fact it is there at all.
In this article, we focus on the history of the scientific study of neuroscience and the ways in which it has approached morality. We briefly review the main brain areas that have recently been associated with morality at both structural and functional levels and then discuss some of the implications of our review. We also speculate about how morality can be studied from the point of view of neuroscience. Here, we did a comprehensive review based on database search and references' search complemented with Neurosynth as a tool to conduct reverse and forward inferences (Yarkoni et al., 2011).
What is Morality?
Morality has traditionally been regarded as a code of values guiding the choices and actions that determine the purpose and the course of our lives (Rand, 1964). Recently, it has been operationalized as a code of conduct that, given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons (Gert, 2012). From a scientific point of view, the studies by Kohlberg represented a milestone in the psychological study of morality (Kohlberg, 1963, 1984). Kohlberg considered moral reasoning to be a result of cognitive processes that may exist even in the absence of any kind of emotions. However, findings in evolutionary psychology (Trivers, 1971; Pinker, 1997) and primatology (Flack and de Waal, 2000) suggested that emotions played a key part in the origins of human morality (e.g., kin altruism, reciprocal altruism, revenge).
Today, there is a general consensus in psychology and philosophy in favor of the differentiation of moral processes into two different classes: (1) rational, effortful and explicit, and (2) emotional, quick and intuitive (De Neys and Glumicic, 2008). The controversy remains, though, in how they interact. Among current models of moral processes and how they relate to each other, three distinct theories outstand (Greene and Haidt, 2002; Moll and Schulkin, 2009). The “social intuitionist theory” (Haidt, 2001) links research on automaticity (Bargh and Chartrand, 1999) to recent findings in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology. The “cognitive control and conflict theory” (Greene et al., 2004) postulates that responses arising from emotion-related brain areas favor one outcome, while cognitive responses favor a different one (Kahneman and Frederick, 2007; McClure et al., 2007). According to the “cognitive and emotional integration theory,” behavioral choices cannot be split into cognitive vs. emotional. Complex contextual situations can make behavioral decisions exceptionally difficult (Gottfried, 1999; Moll et al., 2003).
How can Morality be Studied Scientifically?
A variety of methods for exploring morality have been developed, from moral vs. non-moral situations to moral dilemmas (Young and Dungan, 2012). Moral dilemmas are situations in which every possible course of action breaches some otherwise binding moral principle (Thomson, 1985). The two main distinctions between moral dilemmas and judgments that have traditionally been taken into account are: (1) personal dilemmas and judgments, as opposed to impersonal ones (Greene et al., 2004); (2) utilitarian moral judgments vs. non-utilitarian ones (Brink, 1986).
These distinctions have led to the development of a variety of paradigms. Probably the most famous ones are the trolley paradigm (Thomson, 1985) and the footbridge dilemma (Navarrete et al., 2012). In both the trolley problem and the footbridge dilemma, the choice is between saving five people at the expense of killing one person or letting five die and one survive (Hauser, 2006; Greene, 2007). However, the latter meets the criteria of a personal dilemma, while the former does not (for extensive reviews of similar moral dilemmas, see Greene et al., 2004; Koenigs et al., 2007; Decety et al., 2011; Pujol et al., 2011). Other tasks that bring morality under experimental scrutiny present visual sentences or pictures (Greene et al., 2001; Harenski and Hamaan, 2006), or scales and questionnaires that can be used to assess moral behavior from a clinical point of view (see Rush et al., 2008 for a review).
The Neuroanatomy of Morality
Being a highly complex process, morality involves a highly complex neural circuitry. In this section we overview the main brain areas and circuitry that have been associated with it. The “moral brain” comprises a large functional network that includes several brain structures. At the same time, many of these structures overlap with other regions that control different behavioral processes. We will review them in the following order: (1) the frontal lobe, (2) the parietal lobe, (3) the temporal lobe and insula, and (4) the subcortical structures. The findings are summarized in Figure 1 and Table 1.
Figure 1. Density of moral neuroscience studies. The intensity of the color is proportional to the number of the citations of the corresponding region in the article.
The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) is consistently engaged in moral judgement (Greene et al., 2001; Moll et al., 2002; Harenski and Hamaan, 2006; Koenigs et al., 2007; Prehn et al., 2008; Harada et al., 2009). VMPFC seems to play a crucial role in the mediation of the emotions engaged during moral processing (Young and Koenigs, 2007). Patients with VMPFC lesions are reported to be significantly more likely to endorse utilitarian responses to hard personal moral dilemmas (Koenigs et al., 2007) and have trouble representing the abstract consequences of their decisions (Krajbich et al., 2009). It is also involved in adherence to social norms and values (Moll et al., 2005) and in the integration of representations of others' intentions with their outcomes during social decision-making (Cooper et al., 2010). The left VMPFC shows higher activation in subjects with lower moral judgment competence when identifying norm violations (Prehn et al., 2008).
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been associated with morality, and has been implicated in the on-line representation of reward and punishment (O'Doherty et al., 2001; Shenhav and Greene, 2010). The right medial OFC was found to be activated during passive viewing of moral stimuli compared with non-moral stimuli (Harenski and Hamaan, 2006), while the activation of the left OFC has been related to processing of emotionally salient statements with moral value (Moll et al., 2002). Greene et al. (2004) speculated that the orbital and ventromedial prefrontal cortices seem to be involved in emotionally driven moral decisions, whereas the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) competes with it, eventually mitigating its responses (Greene et al., 2004). The DLPFC is differentially activated when subjects emit a utilitarian response (Young and Koenigs, 2007). This area is involved in cognitive control and problem-solving (Greene et al., 2004). The DLPFC plays an important role during the judgment of responsibility for crimes and its punishment from a third-party perspective (Haushofer and Fehr, 2008), and also in the analysis of situations that demand rule-based knowledge (Prehn et al., 2008). Greene and Paxton (2009) related it to lying processes, and others have hypothesized that it may trigger an executive function used to combine predictions based on social norms with inferences about the intent to deceive (Harada et al., 2009).
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is involved in error detection (Shackman et al., 2011). It is activated when subjects generate a utilitarian response (Young and Koenigs, 2007). The ACC, among others, has been implicated in theory of mind (ToM) and self-referential tasks (Frith, 2001), and it has been involved in moral conflict monitoring (Greene et al., 2004, p. 391). The medial frontal gyrus is another frontal region that seems to intervene in ToM, and also in other social functions relevant to moral judgment (Amodio and Frith, 2006) and in the integration of emotion into decision-making and planning (Partiot et al., 1995).
The inferior parietal region is mainly associated with working memory and cognitive control, and so its recruitment during moral processing might be due to some cognitive engagement (Greene et al., 2004; Harenski et al., 2008; Cáceda et al., 2011). One of its functions, together with the posterior area of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) which we will review below, seems to be the perception and representation of social information that may be crucial for making inferences about others' beliefs and intentions (Allison et al., 2000) and the representation of personhood (Greene and Haidt, 2002).
The temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) plays a key role in moral intuition and in belief attribution during moral processing in others (Young and Saxe, 2008; Harada et al., 2009; Young et al., 2010; Moor et al., 2011; Young and Dungan, 2011). The TPJ, as well as the precuneus, is involved in encoding beliefs and integrating them with other relevant features of the action such as the outcome (Young and Saxe, 2008). The right TPJ and the precuneus are active when subjects process prior intentions, while the left TPJ is activated when a subset of social intentions is involved (Ciaramidaro et al., 2007) as well as lying (Harada et al., 2009). The disruption of the right TPJ activity affects the capacity to use mental states during moral judgment (Young et al., 2010). In the dictator game, activation in the TPJ is associated with punishment of the excluders through lower offers (Moor et al., 2011).
Temporal lobe is one of the main neural regions activated during ToM tasks (Völlm et al., 2006; Ciaramidaro et al., 2007; Muller et al., 2010). Structural abnormalities within this area have even been related to psychopathy (Blair, 2010; Pujol et al., 2011).
One of the main temporal sub-regions involved in moral judgment is the superior temporal sulcus (STS) (Allison et al., 2000; Moll et al., 2002; Greene et al., 2004; Harenski et al., 2008). This structure has been understood as an initial site of social perception (Allison et al., 2000) and has been repeatedly associated with emotional processing and social cognition (Greene et al., 2004; Harenski et al., 2008). The STS has been described as indispensable for making inferences about others' beliefs and intentions (Allison et al., 2000). Increased activity of this area is also observed in personal dilemmas compared with other types (Greene et al., 2001). In the dictator game the STS has been found to be activated when subjects applied punishment to the excluders (Moor et al., 2011). The posterior STS shows greater activity during justice-based dilemmas than in care-based dilemmas (Harenski et al., 2008). Subjects with lower moral judgment competence showed greater activation in the left posterior STS when identifying norm violations (Prehn et al., 2008).
The anterior/middle temporal gyrus has been also related to moral judgment (Moll et al., 2001; Greene et al., 2004; Harenski and Hamaan, 2006). Angular gyrus engagement has been observed during the evaluation of personal moral dilemmas (Greene et al., 2001; Borg et al., 2006; Funk and Gazzaniga, 2009).
The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is known to be involved in the processing of personal memory, self-awareness and emotionally salient stimuli (Sestieri et al., 2011). It is one of the brain regions that exhibit greater engagement in personal than in impersonal dilemmas (Funk and Gazzaniga, 2009). Its activation has been related to social ability (Greene et al., 2004), empathy (Völlm et al., 2006) and forgiveness (Farrow et al., 2001), and can predict the magnitude of the punishments applied in criminal scenarios (Buckholtz et al., 2008).
The insular cortex is also engaged in moral tasks (Moll et al., 2002; Greene et al., 2004). It exhibits greater activation in first-person and other-person experiences of disgust (Wicker et al., 2003). It is associated with emotional processing (Greene et al., 2004), empathic sadness in young subjects (Decety et al., 2011), detection and processing of uncertainty (Cooper et al., 2010) and perception of inequity (Hsu, 2008).
The anterior insular cortex is involved in visceral somatosensation, emotional feeling and regulation, and empathy (Immordino-Yang and Singh, 2011). This sub-region is activated during the experiencing of anger or indignation (Wicker et al., 2003; Moll et al., 2005), and when perceiving or assessing painful situations in others (Jackson et al., 2005). Its activation is also correlated with empathy scores (Völlm et al., 2006) and with unfair offers in a ‘ultimatum game’ (Hsu, 2008).
The hippocampus is known to be a crucial region for the acquisition and retrieval of fear conditioning (Tsetsenis et al., 2007) and plays a facilitative role in inducing appropriate emotional reactions, in self-related processing during social emotions (Immordino-Yang and Singh, 2011) and in the processing of emotional facial expressions (Fusar-Poli et al., 2009).
The amygdala is a necessary structure for moral learning (Mendez, 2006). It is involved in the evaluation of moral judgments (Greene et al., 2004) and in empathic sadness during morally-salient scenarios (Decety et al., 2011). It can predict punishment magnitude in criminal scenarios (Buckholtz et al., 2008). Its dysfunction has been implicated in the affective deficits in psychopathy (Blair, 2010).
Rating empathic sadness, and perceiving and assessing painful situations has been associated with significant activation changes in the thalamus (Jackson et al., 2005; Decety et al., 2011). Bilateral thalamic activations are also observed when subjects are asked to choose between following a moral rule or a personal desire (Sommer et al., 2010).
The septum is activated while subjects make charitable contributions (Moll et al., 2006) and has been associated with psychopathy (Kent and Kiehl, 2006). Finally, the caudate nucleus is activated during altruistic punishment (de Quervain et al., 2004) and during the evaluation of morally salient stimuli (Luo et al., 2006).
Discussion and Conclusion
Moral neuroscience is an intricate and expanding field. This review summarizes the main scientific findings obtained to date. Morality is a set of complex emotional and cognitive processes that is reflected across many brain domains. Some of them are recurrently found to be indispensable in order to emit a moral judgment, but none of them is uniquely related to morality. The orbital and ventromedial prefrontal cortices are implicated in emotionally-driven moral decisions, whereas the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex seems to mitigate the salience of prepotent emotional responses. These competing processes may be monitored by the anterior cingulate cortex, which is also crucial for ToM. The TPJ and the STS play important roles in the attribution of others' beliefs and intentions. The insular cortex is engaged during empathic processes, and seems to be in charge of the evaluation of disgust and inequity. Other regions such as the posterior cingulate cortex, the anterior/middle temporal gyrus and the inferior parietal lobe seem to play a more complementary role in morality, being recruited in order to accomplish general cognitive processes engaged during the moral tasks proposed (e.g., working memory or cognitive control). On the other hand, regions like the amygdala seem to play an important role in the processing of emotions involved in moral judgment. Some of the emotions processed are more central to morality than others, but all emotions contribute to moral judgment given specific contextual situations.
The neural circuits of brain regions implicated in morality overlap with those that regulate other behavioral processes, suggesting that there is probably no undiscovered neural substrate that uniquely supports moral cognition. The most plausible option is that the “moral brain” does not exist per se: rather, moral processes require the engagement of specific structures of both the “emotional” and the “cognitive” brains, and the difference with respect to other cognitive and emotional processes may lie in the content of these processes, rather than in specific circuits. Some authors, though, have related morality to basic emotions such as disgust (Chapman et al., 2009). Further research is needed in order to uncover the relationships between basic emotions and morality, as well as basic cognition blocks such as attentional control (van Dillen et al., 2012).
Given that morality is a highly complex process influenced by many factors, future studies should take into account individual differences (e.g., personality, genetics, religiosity, cultural and socioeconomic level) in order to understand the variety of mechanisms that govern it. Genetic factors and environmental-dependent processes during developmental stages may strengthen specific neural circuits that process various moral dimensions (Gallardo-Pujol et al., submitted).
Another important constraint in moral research is the heterogeneity of the tasks used in different studies to assess morality, which makes the comparison of the different results extremely difficult. Moreover, some of the tasks proposed barely suggest actual daily moral situations and usually require abstract evaluation, a circumstance that may blur the results obtained. The inclusion of innovative techniques such as immersive virtual environments (Slater et al., 2006; Navarrete et al., 2012) adds apparent validity to moral dilemmas and may facilitate the generalization of results to real-life settings.
All in all, morality is supported not by a single brain circuitry or structure, but by a multiplicity of circuits that overlap with other general complex processes. One of the key issues that needs to be addressed is the identification of the core features of morality and moral-related processes. In this endeavor, neuroscience can provide meaningful insights in order to delineate the boundaries of morality in conjunction with moral psychology.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
This manuscript was made possible through the support of a grant from The Character Project at Wake Forest University and the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Character Project, Wake Forest University or the John Templeton Foundation. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Keywords: fMRI, morality, neuroscience, moral judgement, social brain, neuroimaging
Citation: Pascual L, Rodrigues P and Gallardo-Pujol D (2013) How does morality work in the brain? A functional and structural perspective of moral behavior. Front. Integr. Neurosci. 7:65. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2013.00065
Received: 29 January 2013; Accepted: 10 August 2013;
Published online: 12 September 2013.
Edited by:Gordon M. Shepherd, Yale University School of Medicine, USA
Reviewed by:Antonio Pereira, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Alexander J. Shackman, University of Maryland, USA
Copyright © 2013 Pascual, Rodrigues and Gallardo-Pujol. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: David Gallardo-Pujol, Department of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron 171, Barcelona, 08035, Spain e-mail: [email protected] | <urn:uuid:d4b16955-f20f-4c93-9fd3-50f9614c3ad9> | {
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Today, buildings are increasingly responsible for hosting number of energy consuming electronics and electrical equipments. Apart from general electronic products such as Refrigerators, washing machines and Air conditioning units, people with middle income groups are also buying high-end equipments. Also the formal and informal market of inefficient electrical products, influences the unprecedented energy consumption at household level. Therefore, Ministry of Power has established the Bureau of Energy Efficiency to monitor, register and verify the Energy Star Labeled equipments which are more energy efficient and saves money for the consumers.
The consumers’ dilemma to know-how and select the best category of appliance according to their needs and requirement is necessary to discuss. In May 2006, the Ministry of Power launched the standards and labelling programme with an objective to provide the consumer an informed choice about energy saving and thereby the cost saving potential of the marketed household and other equipments. There was a need for standards and labelling programme because of wide variation in energy consumption of products, information on energy consumption being often not easily available or easy to understand from the nameplate and leading to continued manufacture and purchase of inefficient equipments and appliances.
Under this programme, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has established comparative star labelling system for indoor appliances like tubular fluorescent lamps, refrigerators (frost free and direct cool), and air conditioners. Other appliances include distribution transformer, induction motors, pump sets, ceiling fans, LPG, electric geysers and colour TV.
More the number of stars, more is the energy efficiency of the appliance. There are six significant benefits from this programme which include providing information on energy use to consumers, enabling consumers to reduce energy bills, reducing capital investment in energy supply infrastructure, strengthening competitive markets, mitigating climate change goals and reducing urban/regional pollution
What is it?
These are one of the highest consumers of electricity. However, they have become significantly efficient in the past few years, and are still improving.
What is the life span and cost?
A typical refrigerator has a lifespan of 15 to 20 years. The cost of running it over that time period is several times the initial purchase price. Therefore it is important to buy the most efficient model available. A BEE 5-star rated refrigerator that costs more initially will have lower operation costs because of better construction and insulation, and will pay for itself in less than four years compared to a 2-star refrigerator. Models with top or bottom mounted freezers use 12 per cent less energy than side-by-side designs.
Star label: The BEE has rated 422 models of refrigerators from 13 companies based on their gross volume, storage volume in litres and electricity consumption in units per year. According to the BEE rating, the best refrigerators get a 5 star energy label whereas the ones with lowest performance have got a 2 star label.
The available stars are between a minimum of one and a maximum of five shown in one star interval. The star rating is calculated from the Star Rating Band which is the range of energy efficiency (kWh/year). This is used for determining the number of stars displayed on the energy label.
What is the energy issue?
Air conditioners usually consume the highest energy among all home appliances. Window and split air conditioners (AC) are most commonly used. These are available in different sizes --- 0.75 tonne, 1 tonne, 1.5 tonne, and 2 tonne.
What is the benefit of a BEE star label AC?
The energy consumption of an AC depends on its size. Therefore, it is important to select an AC with requirements one have. A 1-tonne AC is appropriate for a 150 sq ft room, while a 2-tonne AC is sufficient for a room, which is 300 sq ft in area.
The efficiency of an AC affects energy consumption as much as the size of the AC does. The number of stars on the BEE label indicates the efficiency of an AC; the higher the number of stars the more efficient the appliance.
The BEE has rated 254 models of window and split ACs with high performers getting a 5 star label and 1 star for a worst performer. The labeling is based on the cooling capacity, power consumption and energy efficiency ratio.
What is the lifespan and cost?
For instance, a BEE 4-star rated 1.5-tonne AC would consume 194 units of electricity in a month compared to an inefficient AC of the same size that would consume 278 units during the same period. An efficient 1.5-tonne AC would cost about Rs. 16, 500, whereas an ordinary AC would cost about Rs 15, 000. The additional Rs. 1,500 invested on the efficient AC will be recovered in less than six months due to savings in the electricity bill.
It is said that fans consume the maximum energy among our electric home appliances. The BEE has specified the labelling requirements for ceiling fans covering 1200 mm sweep. So far various models of 9 brands have been rated. All these have got five star labels.
The BEE has specified the energy labeling requirements for domestic LPG gas stoves that are being manufactured, imported or sold in India. The energy labeling requirements is based on the thermal efficiency of gas stoves which should not be lesser than 64 per cent. In the star rating index, the minimum thermal efficiency of a burner of a stove (having any number of burners) is taken to decide the thermal efficiency of the stove.
Stationary storage type water heaters (electric geysers)
The BEE has specified the energy labeling requirements for stationary storage type electric water heaters up to a rated capacity of 200 liters being manufactured, imported, or sold in India. The ratings are based on the standing losses per 24 hours. The Standing loss (kwh/24hour/45 degrees centigrade difference) which is the energy consumption of a filled water heater after steady state conditions have been reached when connected to electrical supply when no water is drawn for 24 hours. Starting with 6 litres rated capacity of a water heater followed by 10, 15, 25, 35, 50, 70, 100, 140 and 200 litres, depending on the standing loss per 24 hours, star ratings are given to each category.
A colour television is a commercially available electronic product designed primarily for the display and reception of audiovisual signals from terrestrial, cable, satellite, Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), or other transmission of analog and/or digital signals, consisting of a tuner/receiver and a display encased in a single housing. This product relies upon a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display, or other display device. The BEE has rated various models of Videocon and Samsung CRT TVs and Onida LCD. | <urn:uuid:639b5a1b-8078-4576-affd-a7ccdb4b1cf5> | {
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The call to open a college in West Texas began shortly after the arrival of settlers in the area in the 1880s. In 1917, the Texas legislature passed a bill creating a branch of Texas A&M to be located in Abilene. However, the bill was repealed two years later during the next session after it was discovered that Governor James E. Ferguson had falsely reported the site committee's choice of location. After new legislation passed in the state house and senate in 1921, Governor Pat Neff vetoed it, citing hard financial times in West Texas. Furious about Neff's veto, some in West Texas went so far as to recommend that West Texas secede from the state.
In 1923, the legislature decided that, rather than a branch campus, an entirely new university would better serve the needs of the region. On February 10, 1923, Neff signed the legislation creating Texas Technological College, and in July of that year a committee began searching for a site. When the members of the committee visited Lubbock, they were overwhelmed to find residents lining the streets to show support for the idea of hosting the institution. That August, Lubbock was chosen as the site for the school.
The school opened in 1925 with six buildings and an enrollment of 914. Graduate instruction did not begin until 1927 within the school of Liberal Arts.
By the 1960's, the school had expanded its offerings to more than just technical subjects. Some suggested changing the name to "Texas State University", feeling the phrase "Technological College" was insufficient to define the expanded scope of the institution. While most students supported this change, the Board of Directors and many alumni, wanting to preserve the Double T logo, opposed it. Other names were considered, but the Board of Directors chose Texas Tech University, submitting it to the state legislature in 1964. A failed move by Governor John Connally to have the school placed into the Texas A&M University System, as well as continued disagreement and heated debate regarding the school's new name, kept the name change from being approved.
In spite of objections by many students and faculty, the Board of Directors again submitted the change in 1969. It finally received the legislature's approval on June 6 and the name Texas Tech University went into effect that September.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the university invested heavily in the campus to construct buildings for the library, foreign languages, social sciences, communications, philosophy, electrical and petroleum engineering, art, and architecture. Some other buildings were significantly expanded.
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Karl Marx (1818 - 1883) and Max Weber (1864 - 1920) have often been regarded as the founding fathers of interpretive sociology, or of the social action approach within sociology.
Marx and Weber’s characteristics of modern societies were different. Marx stressed capitalism and class conflict and Weber stressed rationalisation and bureaucracy. Marx and Weber identified problems within modern society. Marx had a generally optimistic view about the future and believed his theory could improve human conditions. Weber on the other hand was more pessimistic.
Weber argued that modern societies are characterised increasingly by a process of rationalisation meaning that the world is increasingly governed by rationality in which tradition and affective forms of action are replaced by predominantly rational forms. This leads to disenchantment being seen as secularisation, including the progressive disposal of non-rational elements from all spheres of life. Weber feared that this process of rationalisation would drive out the warmth and humanity of social life, the very things that give meaning to human existence.
According to Marx however, modern societies are characterised by capitalism and who owns the means of production. Marx distinguished four types of production that have succeeded each other; these are primitive communism, ancient society, feudalism and capitalism. These types of production are characterised by a set of class relations. Those who own the means of production exploit the labour of those who do not own the means of production. In ancient society, masters exploited slaves. In feudal society, Lords exploited serfs who were tied to the land; and in capitalist society, the bourgeoisie exploit the labour power of the proletariat who are forced to work for the bourgeoisie in order to survive. In each case of production exploitation leads to class conflict and the eventual replacement of each mode of production.
Marx and Weber had different views on bureaucracy. Weber believed that bureaucratic organisations were essential for the operation of the industrial society. He believed that the growth of bureaucracy was a result of the development of new forms of power in industrial society with some individuals exercising more power than others within society and getting others to comply with their wishes whether they agreed with them or not. This was because the organisation or person is seen as having a right to command obedience.
Marx’s views were different on bureaucracy and he did not have much to say on the matter except that he saw state bureaucracy as an instrument of class oppression that maintained the dominance of the bourgeoisie. Marx predicted there would be a proletarian revolution where administrators would be elected and truly responsible to the people. Bureaucracy would cease to exist in a classless society.
Marx viewed the development of modern nation states that linked to the development of capitalism. The state acts to ensure that political decisions are taken that allow capitalists to continue accumulation wealth. Weber argued that the rise of bureaucratically organised states was part of the growing process of rationalisation, which accompanied the rise of capitalism.
With view to religion, Marx believed that it was a conservative force in society whereas Weber used the ideas of the Protestant Ethic and the spirit of capitalism to show that religion could bring about social change. Weber based these ideas on Christian Calvinists where the people had hard working lives, saving their money instead of spending it and ploughing it into their businesses. This meant that when the industrial revolution needed a large investment of capital, there was a group of people in society with good work ethics and money at their disposal.
According to Weber the Protestant ethic did not cause capitalism but it
provided the necessary moral and economic climate in which capitalism
could happen. Industrial revolution and capitalism brought big changes
so Weber used this to make a link between religious ideas and social
Weber perceived changes occurring in society through the efforts of a charismatic leader who is able to distance himself to a cause. Because rationalisation brings with it bureaucratisation and because bureaucracy brings with it ossification, the process of rationalisation is not sufficient for a continuing process of social change. So therefore social change needs charismatic leadership. Neither Weber nor Marx conceives social changes as involving an ongoing process of reflection and self - change.
Marx reduces conflict and the egotistical self-interest to capitalism or to that of a class society. In his views he does not see that conflict and repression are avoidable even in loving and caring communities. On the other hand Weber’s view of social life and existence is individuals banding together to realize their own individual ends. He does not see social relationships, community, or sociability as essential ends. Weber reduces social life to the motives and practices of self-interested people in society, all of who are engaged in powers for struggle.
Weber and Marx have different opinions on class. According to Marx there are only two classes in society. The bourgeoisie, those who own production and the proletariat those who do not own production and those who labour for the bourgeoisie. Weber has a different view of class and he thinks there are different levels of class; he introduced the middle class, which has upset Marx’s plans for a future proletariat revolution.
Marx sees communism as ending the alienation of the individual from community, he has a view that the proletariat will one day overthrow the bourgeoisie. Weber sees communism has stifling the individual and the individual spheres of life in the name of the community.
In my essay I have compared and contrasted Marx and Weber’s theories of social change and how they view change. I have illustrated how Marx sees change through capitalism and conflict and Weber through rationalisation and bureaucracy. They both have different views about social change and out come. Weber theories are based much on his ideal types, not best types but types that are of the purest kind. Marx’s views are much more optimistic than Weber’s idealistic pessimistic views.
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Friday, March 10, 2017
Feeling sleepy? Stressed? Eat some garlic!
A recent study suggests that prebiotics, which serve as food for probiotics (the good bacteria in your stomach), can improve sleep quality and tone down some physiological impacts of stress. Prebiotics are a type of dietary fiber found in chicory, artichokes, raw garlic, and onions. The experiment, lead by Robert Thomson at the University of Colorado Boulder, showed that rats that were fed diets high in prebiotics spent more time in the deep, restful cycles of sleep (NREM) than rats not given prebiotics, especially after exposing the rats to stress. Read this article from Science Daily to learn a little more, or, to learn a lot more, read Thomson's full paper here. | <urn:uuid:f44a69ab-e124-45dc-ae48-1aeb7930cd1a> | {
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In the United States today, more than half of mothers with young children work, compared to about one third in the 1970s. Working mothers are now the rule rather than the exception. Women have been moving into the workforce not only for career satisfaction but also because they and their families need the income.
Why Women Work
In many families today, mothers continue to work because they have careers that they have spent years developing. Some women return to work soon after giving birth because they know that most employers in this country are not sympathetic to working mothers who wish to take time off to be with their young children. If these women stop working, even for several months, they may give up some of the advantages they have earned or risk losing certain career opportunities.
Help From Others
As a greater number of women enter the workforce and stay there, more and more children are cared for by adults other than their parents. Relatives sometimes take on child care duties, or children are cared for in a variety of child care settings. Not surprisingly, working mothers are more likely to have their infants and toddlers in an out-of-the- home child care center than nonemployed mothers. However, most three- to five-year-olds are in center-based or preschool programs regardless of whether their mother works outside the home. Parents all want their children to have the best possible start in school, so they are likely to enroll their three- and four-year-olds in a program.
How It Can Impact Your Child
Some people still think that a “good mother” is one who gives up work to stay home with her children. However, no scientific evidence says children are harmed when their mothers work. A child’s development is influenced more by the emotional health of the family, how the family feels about the mother’s working, and the quality of child care. A child who is emotionally well adjusted, well loved, and well cared for will thrive regardless of whether the mother works outside the home.
A mother who successfully manages both an outside job and parenthood provides a role model for her child. In most families with working mothers, each person plays a more active role in the household. The children tend to look after one another and help in other ways. The father is more likely to help with household chores and child rearing as well as breadwinning. These positive outcomes are most likely when the working mother feels valued and supported by family, friends, and coworkers.
Problems can arise if a woman does not want to work or if her husband does not want her to work. If a woman works because she needs the money, she may have to take a job that she does not like. In that case, she needs to be careful not to bring her frustration and unhappiness home, where it will spill over into family relationships. The message the children may receive in this situation is that work is unpleasant and damages instead of builds self-esteem.
Family relationships may suffer if both parents want to work but only one has a job. Problems also can occur if there is competition or resentment because one parent is earning more money than the other. Such conflicts can strain the marriage and may make the children feel threatened and insecure. With both parents working, the need for mutual support and communication is even more important.
Even when there are no problems, however, a two-career family has to deal with issues that do not come up in other families. Parents may feel so divided between family and career that they have little time for a social life or each other. Both parents need to share household and child care responsibilities so that one will not end up doing most of the work and feeling resentful. Parents will lose an average of about ten work days per year due to the need to tend to a sick child, to care for their child when child care arrangements have broken down, or to take their child to necessary appointments.
When to Return to Work
A woman’s decision to return to work must take into account her own needs as well as those of her family. If you are considering returning to work, try to delay your return until three or four months after your child is born. Doing this will allow you to get to know your child and let her get to know you.
Take the time to prepare yourself and your family, so that the adjustment is as easy as possible for everyone. Time your return to work so that stress is minimal. If at all possible, avoid having your return coincide with other major family changes, such as moving or changing schools, or personal crises, such as illness or death in the family; arrange trustworthy child care as far in advance as possible.
Missing Your Child
As a working parent, you are bound to be concerned about the loss of time with your child, especially if he is very young. You may worry that you will miss some of your child’s important milestones, such as his first step or word. You may even feel jealous of the time your child spends with the caregiver. These are all normal feelings. Be aware of them and work to separate your own needs from concerns about your child’s welfare.
The first few years of life are very important in shaping a child’s future personality, but this does not mean that the mother is the only one able to do the shaping. In fact, child care seems to have some important benefits for young children. Youngsters who are routinely cared for by individuals other than their parents may be slightly more independent than other children. A high quality, stimulating, and nurturing child care program also prepares children for school, both socially and intellectually.
The Importance of Quality Child Care
Parents all wish for the best start for their child. Unfortunately, quality child care can be expensive and often hard to find. Many parents end up spending a large share of their paychecks for child care and still are not happy with the quality of the care their children receive. Lower-income families are much less likely to have their child in a quality center, and are more likely to have multiple changes in their child care arrangements, than middle- to higher-income families.
Finding quality child care is very important. Standards for child care settings may vary depending on the type of child care. Parents can, however, improve their children’s child care programs by becoming actively involved. You can visit the program regularly and talk with the caregiver often and extensively. You also can get involved in fund raising and donating supplies, can volunteer to help, or can work with the staff to create developmentally appropriate activities for the children. It also helps to bring the child’s activities home for family interaction, and on weekends, to try to maintain the child’s weekday schedule.
Taking an active role in your child’s care not only helps ensure a child’s well-being, but also may reduce any guilt or misgivings you may feel about working. Having quality child care and a good relationship with the caregiver also can ease some of the worry. Parents need to be especially attentive when they are with their children. The more involved parents are in all aspects of their children’s life—even when they are not physically with their children—the closer they will feel and the more effective they will be as parents. | <urn:uuid:d05dfe71-9ae3-4fc9-849b-5422a3dfa76d> | {
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Writing in response to John Henry Newman's comment in The Idea of a University that "English Literature will ever have been Protestant", G.K. Chesterton reminded his readers that, "English literature was English a long time before it was Protestant." On this occasion at least, Chesterton was right and Newman was wrong but you would be hard pushed to know it if you look around most bookshops. We live with the tyranny of the present and readily assume that if a book is more than a few hundred years old it's not worth reading.
However, to be Catholic means to be conscious of our need for the past to help us launch ourselves into the future and no Catholic writer of recent times has been more aware of this than "the author of the century", J.R.R. Tolkien.
There have been innumerable books about Tolkien and his fiction but the value of Stuart Lee and Elizabeth Solopova's The Keys of Middle-Earth is that it takes us back to the (mainly) English pre-Reformation literature which inspired him and which was the focus of his working life. Lee and Solopova, who can also be heard talking about Tolkien at Oxford in podcasts from Oxford University, give us an overview of Tolkien's life and career, a basic introduction to the three languages which he drew upon when writing his fiction - Old English, Middle English and Old Norse - and a survey of the main thematic parallels between his fiction and medieval literature. So far so technical, you might think. Perhaps. But even Tolkien enthusiasts will gain new insights from Lee and Solopova's overview.
What really distinguishes the book from others on the market though is what comes next: passages from Old Norse and Old and Middle English literature printed alongside commentaries on the parallel passages from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. So, for example, we discover the roots of Mordor in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. For anyone who has read Tom Shippey's excellent The Road to Middle-Earth, little of this is new but what is different is the presentation. By giving us relatively lengthy passages from early English literature, Lee and Solopova force us out of our contemporary shells.
One of the most intriguing sections in their book, for example, comes when they compare the crossing of the Nimrodel and the entry into Lothlórien with Pearl, the Middle English poem about the death of the poet's daughter and his dream vision of her on the other side of a heavenly stream which flows out from the throne of God. In most modern fiction the afterlife is usually ignored, parodied or mocked but neither Tolkien nor the Pearl poet succumbed to these temptations and their writing is the richer for it. What we get in Lee and Solopova's book, in other words, are new insights into Tolkien's fiction and a glimpse into the rich world of pre-Reformation English fiction, a world that is now all but forgotten by most readers.
I have only two minor quibbles with the book. Firstly, the authors repeatedly refer to Tolkien's "novels". However, as Tom Shippey pointed out in The Road to Middle-Earth, one of the reasons why The Lord of the Rings is interesting is precisely because it is not a novel. Rather he demonstrates that "the basic structural mode of The Lord of the Rings [is] the ancient and pre-novelistic device of entrelacement." This may seem like a minor semantic quibble but, since novels "have rights to that designation only insofar as they display their origins in and their debt to the Northern European Protestant matrix," according to Valentine Cunningham, Professor of English Language and Literature at Oxford University, the issue is actually of profound importance to Catholics. Tolkien is one of the few Catholic writers of fiction to have been aware of the fundamentally post-Protestant, secular nature of the novel and also, crucially, to have done something about it.
My second quibble concerns Lee and Solopova’s use of the term "medieval" throughout their book, even though they acknowledge that "it is a term that now has a derogatory connotation". The truth of the matter, as C.S. Lewis long ago demonstrated in his book on 16th Century Literature, is that the term has always had a derogatory connotation. It is in its very essence a put down, a criticism, an attack. And this matters because by using the word "medieval", Lee and Solopova unwittingly help to bolster the tyranny of the present which I referred to at the start of this post.
On his recent trip to Portugal, Pope Benedict said that, "Today's culture is in fact permeated by a tension which at times takes the form of a conflict between the present and tradition. The dynamic movement of society gives absolute value to the present, isolating it from the cultural legacy of the past, without attempting to trace a path for the future." The great value of Tolkien's fiction and The Keys of Middle-Earth, despite my quibbles, is that they help us to escape from this conflict. They also provide the Catholic English teacher with a ready-made way into pre-Reformation literature and for that alone we should value these books. | <urn:uuid:9a957591-17ea-4293-8890-3128e0f04779> | {
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Coming from the medieval French word ‘surnom’ translating as “above-or-over name,” surnames or descriptive names trace their use in France back to 11th century, when it first became necessary to add a second name to distinguish between individuals with the same given name. The custom of using surnames did not become common for several centuries, however.
Most French surnames can be traced back to one of these four types:
1) Patronymic Matronymic Surnames
Based on a parent’s name, this is the most common category of French last names. Patronymic surnames are based on the father’s name and matronymic surnames on the mother’s name. The mother’s name was usually used only when the father’s name was unknown.
Patronymic and matronymic surnames in France were formed in several different ways. The typical form of attaching a prefix or suffix that means “son of” (e.g. de, des, du, lu, or the Norman fitz) to a given name was less common in France that in many European countries, but still prevalent.
Examples include Jean de Gaulle, meaning “John, son of Gaulle,” or Tomas FitzRobert, or “Tomas, son of Robert.” Suffixes meaning “little son of” (-eau, -elet, -elin, elle, elet, etc.) may have also been used.
The majority of French patronymic and matronymic surnames have no identifying prefix, however, being direct derivations of the parent’s given name, such as August Landry, for “August, son of Landri,” or Tomas Robert, for “Tomas, son of Robert.”
2) Occupational Surnames
Also very common among French surnames, are based on the person’s job or trade, such as Pierre Boulanger [baker], or “Pierre, the baker.” Several common occupations found prevalently as French surnames include Berger (shepherd), Bisset (weaver), Boucher (butcher), Caron (cartwright), Charpentier (carpenter), Fabron (blacksmith), Fournier (baker), Gagne (farmer), Lefebvre (craftsman or blacksmith), Marchand (merchant) and Pelletier (fur trader).
3) Descriptive Surnames
Based on a unique quality of the individual, descriptive French surnames often developed from nicknames or pet names, such as Jacques Legrand, for Jacques, “the big.”Other common examples include Petit (small), LeBlanc (blonde hair or fair complexion), Brun (brown hair or dark complexion) and Roux (red hair or ruddy complexion).
4) Geographical Surnames
Geographical or habitational French surnames are based on a person’s residence, often a former residence (e.g. Yvonne Marseille – Yvonne from the village of Marseille). They may also describe the individual’s specific location within a village or town, such as Michel Léglise (church), who lived next to the church. The prefixes “de,” “des,” “du,” and “le” which translate as “of” may also be found used in geographical French surnames.
Alias Surnames or Dit Names
In some areas of France, a second surname may have been adopted in order to distinguish between different branches of the same family, especially when the families remained in the same town for generations. These alias surnames can often be found preceded by the word “dit.” Sometimes an individual even adopted the as the family name, and dropped the . This practice was most common in France among soldiers and sailors.
Germanic Origins of French Names
As so many French surnames are derived from first names, it is important to know that many common French first names have , coming into fashion during German invasions into France. Therefore, having a name with Germanic origins does not necessarily mean that you have !
Official Name Changes in France
Beginning in 1474, anyone who wished to change his name was required to get permission from the King. These official name changes can be found indexed in:
L’ Archiviste Jérôme. Dictionnaire des changements de noms de 1803–1956 (Dictionary of changed names from 1803 to 1956). Paris: Librairie Francaise, 1974. | <urn:uuid:d8f6e37d-6436-4918-84cb-7c463506d37a> | {
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The innermost moon of Jupiter, also known
as Jupiter XVI; it is a small object of uneven shape. Together with Adrastea,
Metis orbits inside the synchronous orbit radius of Jupiter,
which means that it orbits faster than Jupiter rotates on its axis. As a
result, its orbit will eventually decay and Metis will fall into the planet.
Metis and Adrastea also circle around inside Jupiter's main ring and are
undoubtedly the source of the material in this ring.
||1979, by Stephen Synnott
||127,690 km (79,340 miles)
||43 km (27 miles)
||0.027 km/s (97 km/h, 60 mph)
||0.295 days (7 h 5 min.) | <urn:uuid:19c7c439-071a-4cb4-b4e2-138ad09e5647> | {
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Responsive Web design is the approach that suggests that design and development should respond to the user’s behavior and environment based on screen size, platform and orientation. The practice consists of a mix of flexible grids and layouts, images and an intelligent use of CSS media queries. As the client switches from their portable computer to ipad, iphone or any mobile device, the site might as well immediately switch and react to the client’s preferences.
Three key technical features are the heart of responsive Web design:
- Media queries and media query listeners
- A flexible grid-based layout that uses relative sizing
- Flexible images and media, through dynamic resizing or CSS
Responsive Web Design tools for Developers
1. Web Designer Tools
The Google Web Designer Toos and Webflow allows you to create websites visually – you do also get access to code of course. You can create engaging, interactive HTML5-based designs and motion graphics that can run on any device
2. Frontend frameworks
Foundation / Twitter Bootstrap makes it a simple feat to create a responsive Web design framework.
3. Responsive Design Testing
This tool has been built to help with testing your responsive websites while you design and build them.
FitText makes font-sizes flexible. Use this plugin on your fluid or responsive layout to achieve scalable headlines that fill the width of a parent element.
5. Responsive Slides
ResponsiveSlides.js is a tiny jQuery plugin that creates a responsive slider using elements inside a container.
6. Adaptive Images
Adaptive Images detects your visitor’s screen size and automatically creates, caches, and delivers device appropriate re-scaled versions of your web page’s embeded HTML images.
When it comes to maintaining a website, nothing is quite as good as having a content management system in place to handle the heavy lifting for you. WordPress allows you to set up a system to add posts and pages to a website without having to go into the code at all. The templating system WordPress uses is easy to work around for developers and designers, and if you’re really lost there are plenty of basic templates to get you started. | <urn:uuid:4597eb5d-3bff-41b1-9b53-d2dd7e95dd96> | {
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Following on my post about çinar trees at Turkish mosques and shrines, one reader, none other than my brother-in-law Ryan, suggested I post about Senegal’s baobab trees, and I am delighted to oblige.
Baobabs (Adansonia digitata, guy in Wolof, boki in Pulaar, baak in Sereer, sito in Mandinka) are extraordinary in many regards. Their most distinctive attribute is their enormous girth. Their massive trunks can grow to circumferences of 25 meters or more. Their second distinctive feature is great longevity. Baobabs live well over a thousand years as attested by radio-carbon dating. There is every reason to believe that certain baobabs are far older still, but these ancient trees are invariably hollow – the oldest wood at the center having disintegrated to create a cavity – so their age is impossible to determine by carbon dating or dendrochronology.
The cavities within the trunks of old baobabs are as large as rooms and, depending on how they are configured, people put the space to a variety, using them as shrines, altars, and tombs as well as roadside kiosks and workshops.
Due to their size and longevity, baobabs are important landmarks in Senegal’s dry savanna plain, which generally lacks other types of natural spatial markers such as hills or streams. Some ancient baobabs are true historical landmarks in that they predate human settlement as recorded in oral histories. Their presence on the land has been permanent and they have proper names. In oral histories such baobabs are cited as loci of battles, or as marking borders between states.
In addition to baobabs, kapok trees (Ceiba pentandra, bénténe in Wolof, mbudaay in Sereer), cola trees (Cola cordifolia, or taba in Wolof and Mandinka), acacias (Acacia albida, kàdd in Wolof) and mbul trees (Celtis intergrifolia), have also played historical roles in the construction and maintenance of settlements with strong collective identities. Specific trees of a variety of species actualized notions of the community’s foundation-creation, duration-continuity and harmony-order, in both the cosmic and temporal realms. Kings could be crowned beneath a tree, parley with envoys beneath another, and administer justice beneath a third. Warriors might take oaths of allegiance at one tree while priest offered sacrifices at another. In effect, a variety of monumental trees marked the configurations of Senegal’s most important pre-colonial settlements, its royal capitals. These included coronation trees, constitution trees, tree altars and tree cemeteries, and, most importantly, palaver trees (pénc in Wolof), trees which mark the central public squares of polities. Many of these historic trees still stand today and, at last count, sixteen of them have been classified as historic monuments by the Ministry of Culture. At the end of this blog post readers will find the list of these classified arboreal monuments. The complete list of monuments can be found on this tourism information website.
During a session of field work ten years ago (December 2001-January 2002) I attempted an inventory of historic and monumental trees, mostly baobabs, in some of Senegal’s principal pre-colonial capitals. In the company of Prof. John Shoup and research assistant Cheikh Oumy Mbacké Diallo, I visited Mboul, Lambaye, Diakhao and Kahone, as well as a few of other historic sites in the Wolof-Sereer heartland.
Wherever possible, we interviewed the most senior local informants, members of old political lineages and local officials, and we did so as close as possible to the actual historic trees.
This Google Earth (kmz) file locates the places, and sometimes the specific trees discussed in this and the next post. Unfortunately, in 2001-2002 (before Google Earth) I did not yet have access to high-resolution satellite images and had only 1:50 000 scale topography maps to play with. I was not able to accurately map the places we visited or to precisely locate the various trees. More serious research on the history of these capitals would require partnership with an oral historian and an archaeologist. Any takers?
According to recorded oral tradition, Mboul, Kayor’s first capital, was founded in the second half of the 16th century when a Muslim cleric named Amadi Dia, at the behest of Amari Ngoné Sobel damel (king) of Kayor, attached a talisman to a pigeon and set it loose. The first tree on which the pigeon alighted was designated as the palaver tree at the center of the public square of the new capital. The bird landed on an mbul tree, and the capital was named Mboul. Mboul is now a very small village and the original mbul tree no longer exists, but the spot where it stood, in the former capital’s central square is still known to residents.
During our brief visit, the wife of the Chef de village provided a guided tour of Mboul’s historic trees.
The Guy Werugën was used during coronation ceremonies to measure the height of the new damel. Its trunk still caries numerous incised marks consisting of vertical and oblique strokes and aligned dots.
The use of baobab trunks to support arcane inscriptions is common throughout Senegambia. Such trees are known generically in Wolof as guy mbind (baobab of writing) and are discussed below.
Another great baobab in Mboul whose trunk is incised with horizontal strokes is the Guy Sanar Akanan, or “idol baobab,” which was used by traditional priests. When she showed it to us, the wife of the Chef de village kept well away from this tree, and so did we.
The Ndiangou Kàdd Laye-Laye gets its name from the Muslim recitation “Allâhu Allâhu” and is commonly referred to in French by local residents as l’arbre du marabout.
We were not shown the acacia beneath which damels were crowned, the Kàddou Pallou Kaye mentioned in published sources.
Lambaye was the capital of the kingdom of Baol from the 16th to 19th century. It is now a large complex of villages, each of which marks a neighborhood of what was once the capital area. During our visit Dame Diaw, the Chef de village, showed us many of its historic trees.
The Guy Ndëng is one of two great baobabs – the second has collapsed from the weight of age – still marking the capital’s oldest public square. Its trunk is incised with many short vertical and horizontal strokes.
Lambaye’s second public square, now also abandoned, is marked by a baobab called the Guy Pénc, while another large baobab nearby marks the location of the former royal compound.
Another tree, the Ngiicie Bàkku (a Ziziphus mauritiana), was where nobles and soldiers took oaths before departing for battle.
Several other baobabs in Lambaye are associated with the activities of the priests and griots attached to the court. The Guy Tan was where priests left sacrifices for vultures. It has a large inner cavity which is accessible at ground level through a high open “doorway,” quite Gothic.
Further a-field, the Guy Bateñ marks the neighborhood where the griots lived, while another baobab, the Guy Géwél, was their shrine.
Lambaye’s Guy Géwél has an inner cavity with a wide opening creating a semicircular architectural space which might have been conducive to the performance of rituals. Its trunk is incised with numerous vertical strokes.
Diakhao was the capital of the kingdom of Sine from the 16th century to the onset of colonial rule. Diakhao is still the administrative center for an arrondissement (or county) and its original pénc is still the town’s principal public square. It is Dieng Sarr, a village elder, who showed us the central pénc and the royal compound. Originally, four mbul trees stood on the pénc and symbolized political continuity during coronation ceremonies. Only one of these trees still stands.
Senegal’s Ministry of Culture has also classified as historic Diakhao’s Guy Kanger, a secluded baobab outside of town where the kings of Sine offered libations. We were not taken to see this tree. We were however taken to the royal compound which stands on the west side of Diakhao’s pénc to pay a courtesy visit to Mme. Hadi Diouf, daughter of Mahecor Diouf the last king of Sine (d. 1969). This is why I love field work.
Kahone, on the north bank of the Saloum River, was established as the capital of the kingdom of Saloum in the 16th century. It was a great tree, venerated by the local Sereer, which is purported to have given its name to the city. Today Kahone is an industrial suburb of Kaolack, the city that has replaced it as administrative capital of the Saloum region. During our visit El Hadj Malik Sarr, Farba of Kahone and member of its Municipal Council, granted us a tour of the old capital.
Kahone’s original central square retains its function today. It harbors the remnant stump of an old shade tree, one limb still living, and the mausoleum of the last Buur Saloum. The former royal compound, on the south side of the square, is entirely abandoned.
Two historic baobabs stand outside of the current settlement, to the east. The Guy Géwél, or “ Griot’s Baobab,” is truly huge and towers over the landscape. Its large inner cavity can only be reached through narrow apertures some eight meters above ground and, because of this, it may have served as burial chamber for griots. This practice was widespread. The special status of griots in society extended to their burials. Feared and respected for the manner in which they could affect destinies, griots were not buried in the earth lest they render it infertile. Instead, ancient baobabs with small, difficult apertures were turned into arboreal mausolea. Many generations of griots could be buried in the same tree and such trees can be found in many historic localities.
Further south, across National Road #1 and nearer to the bank of the Saloum River, the enormous Guy Njulli sprawls behind a protective fence. The main trunk of this ancient tree towers skywards while several great limbs grow horizontally along the ground for some distance before rising.
In the old days the Guy Njulli was the locus of a great annual festival called the gàmmu. Representatives of all the kingdom’s provinces would come to this tree to pledge their loyalty to the king. The festivities would go on for days.
Though never a royal capital, Diourbel was an important political center and has many historic trees. Two of Diuourbel’s historic baobabs, the Guy Sambaye Karang and the Guy Woté, are classified national monuments. And, according to tradition, a large kapok tree named Doumbe Diop was the focal point of a festival. We did not see these trees but were taken instead to the baobab called Fekh Bah, behind the hospital. Its trunk bares many incisions.
Another of Diourbel’s ancient baobabs, the Guy Kodiouf of Ndounka ward, was the object of a scholarly controversy between the great Senegalese intellectual Cheikh Anta Diop and Raymond Mauny, a well-known Africanist prehistorian. In the second volume of Nations nègres et culture (1954, p. 352) Diop recounts childhood memories of what he called hieroglyphs (signs of hands and feet, of animal feet and other objects) inscribed into the bark of this tree. Mauny then went to visit this baobab and concluded that the marks were merely graffiti, and not actually glyphs (Notes africaines #89, 1961, p. 11). After returning to the site Diop responded that, though the signs he could make out (a camel, prayer beads, a sword, a goat hide) were not as he had remembered them, the glyphs inscribed on its trunk might be deciphered and thus this tree and others like it constitute important archaeological artifacts. (Antériorité des civilizations nègres, 1967, p. 246).
In the old kingdoms, nobles, priests and griots all used to inscribe certain baobabs with religious or political markings in what may well have been secret scripts known only to initiates. As we have seen above, such guy mbind (baobabs of writing) feature in every important historic settlement. But, to the best of my knowledge, half a century after the Diop-Mauny debate no study of these trees and of the messages inscribed on their trunks has yet been undertaken. Though the secrets of these trees are now lost, and the priests and the nobles of olden days are now gone, local people still treat these trees with great respect. No harm is allowed to come to them and their stories are still told.
Fadiout and its lagoon were the subject of a previous post. One of the monuments in this historic town is the Baak no Maad, the King’s Baobab, which dominates the town square in the northern part of the island. When I visited Fadiout in 1988 I didn’t own a camera, so I have no picture of my own to show. The one bellow was downloaded from this tourist information site.
The baobab remains something of a national symbol in Senegal, figuring for instance on official stamps. The trunk of one splendid baobab in the nation’s capital, on the Corniche Est just south of the Presidential Palace, has been painted with two patriotic images: a lion (another national symbol) and map of African unity.
When I first visited this painted baobab, in 1988, it stood in a little village. Perhaps the authorities considered it a squatter settlement. The tiny village beneath the President’s Palace has been removed.
Publishing the research
My research on Senegal’s historic trees was presented and published twice. I first presented it at the annual conference of the African Studies Association in New Orleans, Louisiana, in November 2004. The following month I was able to present the work in Senegal, in Saint-Louis to be exact, at an international conference in honor of Belgian archaeologist Guy Thilmans (1922-2001). The article was published in the ensuing conference proceedings:
- “Le Pénc : élément du patrimoine et modèle d’aménagement urbain,” in Sénégalia: Études sur le patrimoine ouest-africain, Hommage à Guy Thilmans, edited by Cyr Descamps & Abdoulaye Camara, Saint-Maure-des-Fossés, Éditions Sépia, 2006.
The English version presented in New Orleans-before-Katrina appeared in an edited volume:
- “Palaver Trees Reconsidered in the Senegalese Landscape: Arboreal Monuments & Memorials,” in African Sacred Groves: Ecological Dynamics & Social Change, edited by Michael J. Sheridan & Celia Nyamweru, James Currey & Ohio University Press, 2008.
Trees listed as historic monuments
- the Guy Sambaye Karang, Keur Yéli Manel Fall ward, Diourbel
- the Guy Woté, Ndiodione ward, Diourbel
- the Guy Tékhé and Guy Ziarra, Touba (more on these in the next post)
- the Guy Ndëng, on the Sanghay Battlefield, Lambaye
- the Kanger baobab, Diakhao
- the Guy Géwel, Toukar, sous-préfecture of Tataguine
- the Guy Géwel, Senghor, sous-préfecture of Tataguine
- the Guy Njulli, Kahone
- the Front Bone baobab, Boutoupa Camaracounda, arrondissement of Niaguis
- the Palm Baobab, Baligname, Département of Bignona
- Dialang Bantang, a women’s shrine, Niéfoulène, Ziguinchor
- ancient kapok in Sindian, Département of Bignona
- ancient kapoks of Kagnout, Département of Oussouye
- Kadd Gui, across from the train station, Louga
- Jab Ndeb, sacred tree in Ndiaye–Ndiaye, Fatick
- Gagnick Godjil fetish trees, Département of Gossas
Many other historic and monumental trees in Sereer lands, not on the national monument list, have been inventoried by Charles Becker:
- Martin, V. & Charles Becker, “Lieux de culte et emplacements célèbres dans les pays sereer”, in Bulletin de l’IFAN (série B), vol. 41, #1, 1979. | <urn:uuid:de5c8e1e-fb51-423c-af58-1a56e284c60a> | {
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What is CoQ10 Anyway? Why is it important for your body... August 12, 2015 12:45
Coenzyme Q10 is a substance that is made in the human body and functions like an antioxidant. It’s important because it helps give energy, boost the immune system, and scavenges for free radicals. Our bodies create the coenzyme, and cells use it to produce energy we need for cell growth and maintenance.
The highest concentrations of CoQ10 are found in the heart, liver, kidneys, and pancreas. Levels of CoQ10 decrease as we age and it may be low in people with cancer, genetic disorders, diabetes, heart problems, and Parkinson’s disease. You can use supplements to get your CoQ10 or you could eat the food that will convert to CoQ10. A deficiency of CoQ10 include things like heart failure, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, depression, migraines and chest pain.
If you are not concerned about the deficiencies of CoQ10 it might be interesting to learn it also helps with aging skin! Another great reason to eat your Veggies!
CoQ10 is naturally found in high levels in organ meats: liver, kidney, and heart, and in beef, sardines, and mackerel.
Vegetarians or Vegans who do not eat the above foods can find suitable alternatives: Vegetable sources of CoQ10 include spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower. Legumes sources include peanuts and soybeans.Most people can get enough of CoQ10 naturally.
Eating a diverse, plant-based diet that includes legumes and the vegetables noted above will ensure that your body has enough CoQ10 to function properly, even if you’re not eating organ meats.
An example of a meal packed with CoQ10 would be a lentil, spinach and mushroom salad. For side dishes try cauliflower rice. Supper's On always has weekly options to get your CoQ10. The image on the left is packed full of CoQ10 it's a lentil, spinach and walnut salad. It's Delish!!
In the book, “The Most Natural Cures on Earth,” Dr. Jonny Bowden states that anyone over the age of 40 should take at least 60 to 100 mg of CoQ10 every day, regardless of whether or not you have a family history of heart disease. For those with high blood pressure or high cholesterol, who are at risk for heart disease, Bowden recommends taking 100 to 300 mg of CoQ10 each day.
At the 2009 UCLA Research Conference on Aging, Professors Frautschy and Zhaoping Li agree eating a variety of vegetables and fruit is the best way to ensure that your body maintains proper levels of Coenzyme Q10 and other essential nutrients.
I try to stay away from supplements myself and get all my nutrients from organic seasonal food. I believe most of your nutrients can come from food as long as the food is organic. Supper's On prides itself on providing a diverse plant based menu option that can help you to ensure you are getting the nutrients you body needs.
If you feel that your CoQ10 levels are low, particularly if you’re worried about aging healthily or if you have low energy levels, obtain a blood test and discuss supplementation possibilities with your doctor.
Please note: I am not a medical professional. The above information is my research that I have done on CoQ10 and my own finding of compiling data into one source. Please work with your doc or do your own research to verify this info. | <urn:uuid:519819c2-2831-4014-a852-d9edc6124651> | {
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Andreas Koenig, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University
Location: Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Chaiyaphum Province, Thai
Research: Primate Ecology and Conservation in Thailand: Training Workshop at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary
Species/Topic: multiple primate species
|Thailand's remaining forests harbor important habitats representing phylogenetic hotspots with uniquely diverse primate communities. However, primate communities of Thailand are almost unstudied and primates are not a priority in conservation efforts. In order to address these shortcomings, we will hold a workshop on primate ecology and conservation, teaching and training the participants in field methods. The workshop will take place at Thung Kha Mang, the headquarters of Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary (Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand) and include 18 participants. The major aim of this workshop is to enable participants to implement their own studies on primate behavioral ecology. It is planned to repeat this workshop annually in order to teach many research officers, lecturers, and students. Ultimately it is hoped to encourage the development and implementation of effective conservation plans for Thailand's primates and their habitats.
|Organizers and participants
Project Report: April 2005
Supported by the Cleveland Zoological Society we, a team of teachers, researchers, and governmental officials from Thailand and Stony Brook University (New York), conducted a 6-day workshop on primate ecology and conservation at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, northeastern Thailand in spring of 2005. With this third workshop we especially targeted the next generation of researchers and conservationists (21 participants from all over Thailand). Thus we trained mostly students and young researchers in primate biology, ecology, behavior, and conservation as well as the respective methods required.
Apart from lectures in primate biology and conservation, data collection and analytical methods, half of the time was spent on practical sessions either as lab or in the forest. These latter parts the participants seemed to favor. During labs they could handle casts of primate skulls and use measuring equipment like laser rangefinders and high precision compass'. For most participants this was the first time ever they could use such expensive materials and equipments. Another highlight has been the hours spent with our research monkey groups (Phayre's leaf monkeys,Trachypithecus phayrei) training how to distinguish individual monkeys and how to collect behavioral data. For many of the participants this was the first time being up close to a monkey, because until not long ago primates were hunted in Thailand.
The participants also got a real sense of the unpredictable nature of fieldwork. When we split up in several small groups to practice line transect sampling, a method used to measure primate densities, some groups met very few primates, returning rather disappointed. Others came back extremely excited having encountered up to seven groups (four different species).
In the end, teachers, organizers and students all were very happy. We plan to keep in touch, to further promote research and conservation of primates in Thailand. The casts and equipment have been handed over to the officials of the Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the Department of Forest Biology at Kasetsart University in Bangkok. These materials are now available for teaching and will be used also in our future workshops. In other words, we will continue the training with a forth workshop in spring 2006. | <urn:uuid:3d0cdef6-a0c7-4e25-b6f8-44510c08d9eb> | {
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People have attempted to devise a workable flying machine since at least the time of Leonardo da Vinci. Most of the early designs relied on close approximations of birds, using flapping wings. The gliding flight of birds was also observed and some of the more successful early designs sought to produce a device which would carry a human in gliding flight.
A theoretical understanding of the dynamics of flight was first defined in print by Sir George Cayley in 1809, the same year he built and flew a heavier-than-air model. Cayley is also credited with the first fairly successful glider flights carrying humans.
Aeronautically speaking, the middle of the 19th Century was dominated by the visions and efforts of two people, William Henson and John Stringfellow. They were visionaries, to be sure, but they also were practical people, who translated their visions into actual model flying machines, some of which had limited success. All practical efforts to design, build and fly model or actual flying machines owe their origins to the designs of Henson and Stringfellow. They were also the first to propose a commercial enterprise to exploit the flying machine, the Aerial Transit Company. The brilliant publicity of Frederick Marriott ensured that the image of the Henson Aerial Steam Carriage named ARIEL would become familiar around the globe. The proposed commercial passenger-carrying 1849 airship of Rufus Porter was also firmly fixed in the popular imagination through the printed image.
Throughout the last quarter of the 19th Century aerial researchers built and tested models to determine in a scientific manner which designs and which approaches would be most likely to succeed in carrying humans aloft in a heavier-than-air flying machine. Notable among these people were Alphonse Penaud, Horatio Phillips and Lawrence Hargrave.
The huge 1894 Test-Rig of Hiram Maxim and the bat-like flying machines of Clement Ader began to edge toward heavier-than-air flight. Each lacked adequate control mechanisms and each effort was lacking in significant ways, but these two attempts were clear evidence that the day of human-carrying heavier-than-air flight was dawning.
By the mid-1890's it was clear to many interested people that "the problem" of human flight, "Manflight" as it was called, was near to a solution. Some of the glider experiments conducted by Otto Lilienthal and slightly later by Octave Chanute were so strikingly successful that it seemed a certainty that someone would certainly succeed in making a powered, controlled, heavier-than-air flight within a decade. Indeed, Chanute's prediction (made in 1893) that the aerial problem would be solved within ten years was uncannily prophetic.
The remarkable series of experimental "Aerodromes" of Samuel Langley and the impressive machine of Wilhelm Kress stand as two of the most promising of the pre-Wright attempts at heavier-than-air flight. Unfortunately, due to the prolonged, even bitter, dispute between Orville Wright and the Smithsonian Institution over credit for the First Flight and Glenn Curtiss' rebuilding and use of the Langley "Aerodrome A" in 1914, some still hold Samuel Langley's Aerodromes in suspicion, even contempt, a profoundly mistaken view. Wilhelm Kress' great machine may well have flown, but for the eternal and almost universal lack of a proper engine. However, it was to be Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright who would finally discover and then combine all the requisite elements into a successful human-carrying heavier-then-air flying machine.
The success of the Wrights in December of 1903 was not immediately recognized or widely noted. Many experimenters continued to pursue their notions of a heavier-than-air flying machine, believing that they might yet be first to go aloft in such a machine. While many people have suggested and supported candidates other than the Wrights for the title of First To Fly, (notably Clement Ader, Gustave Whitehead, Richard Pearse and Karl Jatho) those claimants have been found lacking, for one reason or another. Significantly, the fundamental issue of controlling a flying machine seems to have been addressed in only the most perfunctory way by most of those who sought to build a successful flying machine. The concrete desire to have positive control of a flying machine and the discovery, through rigorous experimentation and study, of the means to exert it were the factors which separated Wilbur and Orville Wright from all others who tried to build a successful flying machine, and were the basis for their triumph. | <urn:uuid:660d9397-bd23-42d8-94f8-85d8d8d733ba> | {
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JOLLIET DE MINGAN, JEAN-BAPTISTE, merchant and trader, involved in fisheries; baptized 11 May 1683, son of Louis Jolliet* and Claire-Françoise Bissot; d. between 1732 and 1735, probably at Mingan.
When Louis Jolliet died in 1700 he left his family and associates a sizable territory in the Gulf of St Lawrence, consisting primarily of Anticosti and the islands and islets of Mingan. The poor quality of the moss-covered soil of the islands and nearby north shore made cultivation of the land unpractical, but the area was valuable nonetheless for it was strategically located for the fur trade and the cod, seal, and salmon fisheries.
In 1703 Jean-Baptiste, his older brother François Jolliet d’Abancourt, and the Bissot brothers, Charles-François and François-Joseph, formed a partnership for the exploitation of the trade and fisheries of the Mingan-Anticosti concessions. Backing the group was François Hazeur, the prominent Quebec merchant, who advanced the required merchandise, victuals, and fishing tackle. In 1705, however, both Charles-Francois Bissot and Francois Jolliet lost interest in the enterprise, and the latter ceded his share to his brother, Charles Jolliet d’Anticosti. The following year the association was completely dissolved. Jean-Baptiste remained in possession of the trade and fisheries of Mingan, while his brother Charles exploited Anticosti Island. Between them, the two Jolliets operated four or five trading posts.
On 11 Sept. 1708, at Quebec, Jean-Baptiste had married Marie Mars, daughter of the merchant Simon Mars and Anne de Faye. Since there is no record of their presence in Quebec after that date, one can assume that they moved to Mingan, where Jean-Baptiste lived out the remaining years of his life. Marie gave birth to six daughters and one son, Jean-Joseph, who later became a member of the group that was granted a monopoly of the trade of the Sioux country by Governor Charles de Beauharnois* de La Boische in 1731. After the death of her husband, Marie married Jean-Louis Volant d’Haudebourg on 18 April 1735; she was buried 28 Feb. 1776.
AJQ, Greffe de Louis Chambalon, 5, 7 avril, 19 sept. 1703; 3 juin, 27 sept. 1704; 9 mai, 30 sept. 1705; 24 juillet 1715; Greffe de Jean-Claude Louet, 25 mai 1732. AN, Col., C11A, 36, ff.501–4. P.-G. Roy, Inventaire de pièces sur la côte de Labrador conservées aux Archives de la Province de Québec (2v., Québec, 1940–42), I, 271–73. Wis. State Hist. Soc. Coll., XVII. Bonnault, “Le Canada militaire,” 414. Jean Delanglez, Louis Jolliet, vie et voyages (1645–1700) (Montréal, 1950). Fauteux, Essai sur l’industrie sous le régime français, II, 529–30. Ernest Gagnon, Louis Jolliet, découvreur du Mississipi et du pays des Illinois, premier seigneur de l’île d’Anticosti (Montréal, 1946). Pierre Margry, “Louis Jolliet,” RC, 1ère sér., VIII (1871), 931–42; IX (1872), 61–73, 121–38, 205–19. | <urn:uuid:5ec06eb5-bb16-471b-951b-a69dbd5c1db7> | {
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Definition of bottle bill in English:
Any of several US state laws that require deposits to be paid on beverages sold in recyclable bottles and cans.
- Opening the doors for privately-owned waste disposal plants will call for legislative changes, for example a meaningful bottle bill, like the one the EMA has had for years and is somehow being delayed and delayed.
- If passed, it would mark Oregon as much as the state's open beaches and the bottle bill.
- Studies have shown that the recycling rates in bottle bill states are much higher than the average.
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This past week has not been kind to Canadian seal hunters.
On April 24 in Luxembourg, the European Union’s highest court dealt the sealing industry a severe blow by upholding a three-year-old ban on the importation of seal products.
Several days later, at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Canada was blasted by animal welfare advocates for petitioning the WTO to overturn the embargo.
While the game is changing, with bans on seal products instituted by Russia and Europe in the past few years, arguments in the debate are the same.
The average age of a killed seal is 25 days.On one side are the animal rights activists armed with chilling facts about the sealing trade. For instance, the average age of a killed seal is 25 days, according to the Canadian government.
Yes, it is illegal in Canada to kill harp seal pups when they still have their famous and valuable white, fluffy fur. But that begins to molt after 12 days, at which time the animals are fair game.
That’s bad timing for pups because they are abruptly weaned by their mothers when they reach 80 pounds, and are left alone on the ice, where they don’t eat for up to six weeks, before finally seeking prey in the ocean.
“It’s when they are at their most vulnerable,” says a spokesperson for the Humane Society of the United States, Gabriel Wildgen. “It’s the prime time in their life that makes them perfect targets for Canadian commercial sealers.”
The pups cannot swim, they have not eaten, and their mothers are gone. Meanwhile, demand for baby seal pelts is higher than adult pelts, even if they are not white. Nearly all the pups killed are less than three months old.
On the other side, David Walters, spokesman for the government agency Fisheries and Oceans Canada, tells TakePart that Ottawa “remains unequivocal in its support for the Canadian sealing industry. We remain committed to supporting jobs and growth, which includes the economic benefits to northern and coastal regions of the country provided by the sealing industry.”
The “sustainable and well-managed seal harvest,” he adds, “continues to be an economic and cultural activity in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and the Arctic.”
And Terry Audla, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, an environmental, social, cultural and political organization, recently accused the EU of harboring a “colonial, holier-than-thou attitude,” and added that “their self-serving interests have not resulted in a fair or just process for Inuit,” who have long relied on sealing for oil, meat and income.
The EU ban was imposed in 2010, and this week Canada and Norway—which also has a seal hunt—hauled the Union before the WTO's dispute settlement body. EU attorneys reportedly feel confident of victory over the sealers, whose well-publicized hunting of thousands of young harp seals has offended governments and consumers from Moscow to Mexico. (The U.S. banned the import of seal products back in 1972 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.)
The EU contended that “the scientific evidence stacks up in favor of its claims that slaughter methods—such as using a hakapik, a club with a metal spike on it that stuns seals before killing them—are cruel,” according to Agence France Press. This concurs with the sentiments of “the EU public [who are] overwhelmingly in favor of the ban.”
The seal hunters are adamant that their harvesting methods are ethical and “no worse than those used in commercial deer-hunting, which is widespread in the EU,” according to the French news agency.
Scientists and activists reject the sealers’ claims. HSUS, which calls the hunt “one of the largest slaughters of marine mammals on the planet,” has doggedly pursued the sealing industry, from the ice floes of Newfoundland, where the hunt takes place every April, to courts in European capitals, to the general court of world public opinion.
Rebecca Aldworth, Canada’s Executive Director of the Humane Society International, observed the Geneva hearings. “The EU presented considerable scientific evidence that both Canada and Norway’s seal slaughters are inherently inhumane,” she said in a statement. “The EU ban on seal product trade is entirely justified from public morality and animal welfare perspectives.”
As part of their evidence, EU attorneys showed images filmed by HSI during this year’s hunt, she said, “including wounded seals suffering in agony and gaffed, while presumably conscious, onto sealing vessels.”
As for last week’s EU court order upholding the import ban, HSUS’s Wildgen tells TakePart, “We were thrilled that the EU General Court made what we thought was a correct decision in saying the EU has every right to choose to not allow seal products from the commercial seal hunt to enter beyond their borders,” he says. “The hunt is inherently inhumane, and a vast majority of EU citizens don’t want seal products in Europe.”
HSUS organized protests last week at Brussels’ European Seafood Show, the world’s largest, and at the Boston Seafood Show, North America’s largest, where someone in a seal suit handed out stuffed baby seal plush toys to attendees in front of a sign truck that said “SAVE THE SEALS: Don’t buy while seals die. Boycott Canadian seafood.”
On this side of the Atlantic, an American boycott of Canadian seafood continues to gain momentum. Its organizer, the HSUS, recently announced that 6,000 restaurants and food businesses, and 800,000 people have signed a pledge to not consume fish or shellfish from north of the border.
The boycott is also backed by major companies, including Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Legal Sea Foods, and top celebrity chefs such as Mario Batali, Cat Cora, and Brian Malarkey. Other pledge-takers include BI-LO Supermarkets, Bon Appetit Management Company, China Grill Management Group, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Cafes, Lowes Foods, Ted’s Montana Grill, the Old Spaghetti Factory Restaurants and the Venetian and Palazzo Resorts.
“They are making it clear that the Canadian annual commercial seal hunt is an unacceptable business practice undertaken by Canada’s fishing industry,” the HSUS’s Protect Seals website declares. “U.S. companies have the power to help shift Canada toward responsible marine stewardship.”
Currently, more than 60 percent of all seafood consumed in this country comes from Canada—a $2.6 billion market for our neighbors to the north.
There is some evidence to suggest the boycott is having some impact. A majority of Canadians already oppose the commercial seal hunt and now, according to Wildgen, “We know that 80 percent of Newfoundland fisherman surveyed—all of whom have sealing licenses—are concerned about the boycott and well over half who've heard of the boycott admit to having felt the boycott's effect.”
In 2012, exports of Canadian seafood hit their lowest volume by weight in years, at 593,454 metric tons. In 2007, in contrast, the country exported 669,149 metric tons. There is no way to know if the boycott is partly responsible.
TakePart contacted the Canadian Seals and Sealing Network, which has offered the media experts “to discuss the economic, ecological and cultural importance of the seal hunt.”
But network coordinator Gil Thériault responded to TakePart with an email saying, “You mean this publication: http://www.takepart.com/actions/save-seals-joing-nationwide-boycott-canadian-seafood. Then, it’s pretty clear what kind of treatment my answers will have. No comment.”
More than 80,000 harp seals have already been killed this yearIn a subsequent email, Thériault added: “Has [sic] my time is limited, I prefer to concentrate my efforts on media interested by the truth, no [sic] the lies and propaganda of groups who don’t even support the sustainable use of natural, abundant and renewable resources.”
More than 80,000 harp seals have already been killed this year, Wildgen says. “You often see several of them on the same ice floe, watching their friends be killed brutally and die slowly,” before their turn comes.
And, he says, 67 percent of the seals are not tested for unconsciousness before they are gaffed with hooks, thrown onto boats and skinned. Some seals are allegedly skinned alive, though industry defenders say the animals’ movements are just post-mortem reflexes, much like a dead chicken.
“More than two million seal pups have been slaughtered for their fur since 2002, in spite of warm temperatures that melted the ice and caused many pups to drown,” the Protect Seals website claims. “Even though [the EU ban] was followed by Russia's 2011 decision to prohibit imports of harp seal pelts—eliminating Canada's largest market—the hunt has actually rebounded, taking more than 70,000 seals last year.”
In 2011, the hunt yielded just 40,000 seals, a steep fall from the 354,000 killed in 2006. Last year, Canada set a limit of 400,000 seals, and this year the sealing industry said 100,000 will be killed.
So, with Europe, the U.S., and Russia out of the picture, who is buying all those slaughtered seal products? Outside Canada, it’s hard to tell—both the industry and Canadian government officials are not saying.
“Export statistics demonstrate that there is global demand for seal products, the Fisheries and Oceans Canada website states. Between 2005 and 2011, Canada exported over US$70 million worth of seal products to more than 35 countries, it says, without naming them, though the vast majority went to Russia prior to that country’s import ban.
The government website also promotes “Sealskin garments, including coats, boots, mittens and leather items.” Saying they are “both warm and waterproof, making them practical and prized in Canada’s harsh Northern regions.”
Ariane Bérubé, of the Magdalen Islands Sealers Association, said in a recent statement, “Market demand for Canadian seal products is on the rise. We receive calls from people every day looking for Canadian seal products, such as meat and Omega-3.”
This raises a red flag for those who do not wish to consume seal oil: If your Omega-3 products come from Canada, check the label.Seal meat “constitutes an important part of the Inuit diet and is also a traditional food in many Atlantic coastal communities,” the government site says. “Flipper pie is a traditional favourite in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
The site also explains, “Seal meat is also increasingly featured in restaurants, especially in Quebec, and has been showcased on the menu of the Parliamentary Restaurant. Seal oil continues to be used for fuel in Northern and Inuit communities and is also found in Omega 3 health products, which are marketed in Canada under various brand names.”
This raises a red flag for those who do not wish to consume seal oil: If your Omega-3 products come from Canada, check the label.
The Canadian government says 5,000 to 6,000 people, “derive some kind of income from sealing,” for about two months of the year. But, according to Dion Dakins, CEO of Carino Processing, a seal processing plant in South Dildo, Newfoundland and Labrador, the hunt this year provided work for “1,000 seal hunters and plant workers in more than 40 coastal communities.”
With so few employed, and just part time, animal rights activists find it difficult to understand why Canada holds on to such a controversial practice.
Meanwhile, the value of seal products has plummeted, from $34.3 million in 2006, when a grade A1 pelt fetched about $105, to just $1.3 million in 2010, when the same pelt was worth a meager $27. Hunters earn another two dollars from selling the fat, flippers, and carcass.
This year, 844 hunters are out on the ice in Canada. They stand to make about $2,500 each. When tax dollars to monitor the hunt and $10 million to challenge the EU ban are factored in, the country is likely losing money, making the slaughter seem even more senseless to many outside observers.
As for ecological factors, the Fisheries Department’s Walters said, “The Canadian seal harvest is clearly sustainable at recent levels: the Atlantic harp seal population is healthy and abundant; it is currently estimated at approximately 7.3 million animals, which is over three times what it was in the 1970s.”
However, seal populations were at record-low numbers in the 1970s, before regulations were instituted. Hunting at that time had killed two-thirds of Canadian harp seals.
Part of the HSUS campaign is to convince the Canadian government to buy back sealers’ licenses, to replace their lost income, and to “open new economic opportunities for the community by investing new money in seal-watching instead of seal-hunting, which could be more economically lucrative,” Wildgen explains.
Ultimately, Canadian sealers, most of whom are fishermen, make more money exporting seafood to the U.S. than from killing seals. Once they give up the secondary form of income, U.S. activists promise to call off the seafood boycott. That, they say, would be a very fair trade.
What other protections should be mandated to protect seal pup populations? Let us know in the Comments. | <urn:uuid:6a70db9f-9f74-429c-aa9e-97ddd3534c61> | {
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
) A writing directed or sent to a person or persons; a written communication; a letter; -- applied usually to formal, didactic, or elegant letters.
2. (n.) One of the letters in the New Testament which were addressed to their Christian brethren by Apostles.
3. (v. t.) To write; to communicate in a letter or by writing.
International Standard Bible EncyclopediaCOLOSSIANS, EPISTLE TO THE
ko-losh'-ans, ko-los'-i-anz: This is one of the group of Paul's epistles known as the Captivity Epistles (see PHILEMON, EPISTLE TO, for a discussion of these as a group).
1. External Evidence:
The external evidence for the Epistle to the Colossians, prior to the middle of the 2nd century, is rather indeterminate. In Ignatius and in Polycarp we have here and there phrases and terminology that suggest an acquaintance with Colossians but not much more (Ignat., Ephes., x.3, and Polyc. x0.1; compare with Colossians 1:23). The phrase in Ep Barnabas, xii, "in him are all things and unto him are all things," may be due to Colossians 1:16, but it is quite as possibly a liturgical formula. The references in Justin Martyr's Dialogue to Christ as the firstborn (prototokos) are very probably suggested by Colossians 1:15, "the firstborn of all creation" (Dial., 84, 85, 138). The first definite witness is Marcion, who included this epistle in his collection of those written by Paul (Tert., Adv. Marc., v. 19). A little later the Muratorian Fragment mentions Colossians among the Epistles of Paul (10b, l. 21, Colosensis). Irenaeus quotes it frequently and by name (Adv. haer., iii.14, 1). It is familiar to the writers of the following centuries (e.g. Tert., De praescrip., 7; Clement of Alexandria, Strom., I, 1; Orig., Contra Celsum, v. 8).
2. Internal Evidence:
The authenticity was not questioned until the second quarter of the 19th century when Mayerhoff claimed on the ground of style, vocabulary, and thought that it was not by the apostle. The Tubingen school claimed, on the basis of a supposed Gnosticism, that the epistle was the work of the 2nd century and so not Pauline. This position has been thoroughly answered by showing that the teaching is essentially different from the Gnosticism of the 2nd century, especially in the conception of Christ as prior to and greater than all things created (see V below). The attack in later years has been chiefly on the ground of vocabulary and style, the doctrinal position, especially the Christology and the teaching about angels, and the relation to the Ephesian epistle. The objection on the ground of vocabulary and style is based, as is so often the case, on the assumption that a man, no matter what he writes about, must use the same words and style. There are thirty-four words in Colossians which are not in any other New Testament book. When one removes those that are due to the difference in subject-matter, the total is no greater than that of some of the acknowledged epistles. The omission of familiar Pauline particles, the use of genitives, of "all" (pas), and of synonyms, find parallels in other epistles, or are due to a difference of subject, or perhaps to the influence on the language of the apostle of his life in Rome (von Soden). The doctrinal position is not at heart contradictory to Paul's earlier teaching (compare Godet, Introduction to the New Testament; Paul's Epistles, 440). The Christology is in entire harmony with Philippians (which see) which is generally admitted as Pauline, and is only a development of the teaching in 1 Corinthians (8:6; 15:24-28), especially in respect of the emphasis laid on "the cosmical activity of the preincarnate Christ." Finally, the form in which Paul puts the Christology is that best calculated to meet the false teaching of the Colossian heretics (compare V below). In recent years H. Holtzmann has advocated that this epistle is an interpolated form of an original Pauline epistle to the Colossians, and the work of the author of the Epistle to the Ephesians (which see). A modification of this theory of interpolation has recently been suggested by J. Weiss (Theologische Literaturzeitung, September 29, 1900). Both these theories are too complicated to stand, and even von Soden, who at first followed Holtzmann, has abandoned the position (von Soden, Einleitung., 12); while Sanday (DB2) has shown how utterly untenable it is. Sober criticism today has come to realize that it is impossible to deny the Pauline authorship of this epistle. This position is strengthened by the close relationship between Colossians and Philemon, of which Renan says: "Paul alone, so it would seem, could have written this little masterpiece" (Abbott, International Critical Commentary, lviii). If Philemon (which see) stands as Pauline, as it must, then the authenticity of Colossians is established beyond controversy.
II. Place and Date.
The Pauline authorship being established, it becomes evident at once that the apostle wrote Colossians along with the other Captivity Epistles, and that it is best dated from Rome (see PHILEMON, EPISTLE TO), and during the first captivity. This would be about 58 or, if the later chronology is preferred, 63 or 64.
The epistle was written, on the face of it, to the church at COLOSSAE (which see), a town in the Lycus valley where the gospel had been preached most probably by Epaphras (Colossians 1:7; Colossians 4:12), and where Paul was, himself, unknown personally (Colossians 1:4, 8, 9; Colossians 2:1, 5). From the epistle it is evident that the Colossian Christians were Gentiles (Colossians 1:27) for whom, as such, the apostle feels a responsibility (Colossians 2:1). He sends to them Tychicus (Colossians 4:7), who is accompanied by Onesimus, one of their own community (Colossians 4:9), and urges them to be sure to read another letter which will reach them from Laodicea (Colossians 4:16).
IV. Relation to Other New Testament Writings.
Beyond the connection with Ephesians (which see) we need notice only the relation between Colossians and Rev. In the letter to Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-21) we have two expressions: "the beginning of the creation of God," and "I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne," in which we have an echo of Colossians which "suggests an acquaintance with and recognition of the earlier apostle's teaching on the part of John" (Lightfoot, Colossians, 42, note 5).
V. The Purpose.
The occasion of the epistle was, we may be sure, the information brought by Epaphras that the church in Colosse was subject to the assault of a body of Judaistic Christians who were seeking to overthrow the faith of the Colossians and weaken their regard for Paul (Zahn). This "heresy," as it is commonly called, has had many explanations. The Tubingen school taught that it was gnostic, and sought to find in the terms the apostle used evidence for the 2nd century composition of the epistle. Pleroma and gnosis ("fullness" and "knowledge") not only do not require this interpretation, but will not admit it. The very heart of Gnosticism, i.e. theory of emanation and the dualistic conception which regards matter as evil, finds no place in Colossians. The use of pleroma in this and the sister epistle, Eph, does not imply Gnostic views, whether held by the apostle or by the readers of the letters. The significance in Colossians of this and the other words adopted by Gnosticism in later years is quite distinct from that later meaning. The underlying teaching is equally distinct. The Christ of the Colossians is not the aeon Christ of Gnosticism. In Essenism, on the other hand, Lightfoot and certain Germans seek the origin of this heresy. Essenism has certain affinities with Gnosticism on the one side and Judaism on the other. Two objections are raised against this explanation of the origin of the Colossian heresy. In the first place Essenism, as we know it, is found in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea, and there is no evidence for its establishment in the Lycus valley. In the second place, no references are found in Colossians to certain distinct Essene teachings, e.g. those about marriage, washings, communism, Sabbath rules, etc.
The Colossian heresy is due to Judaistic influences on the one hand and to native beliefs and superstitions on the other. The Judaistic elements in this teaching are patent, circumcision (Colossians 2:11), the Law (Colossians 2:14, 15), and special seasons (Colossians 2:16). But there is more than Judaism in this false teaching. Its teachers look to intermediary spirits, angels whom they worship; and insist on a very strict asceticism. To seek the origin of angel worship in Judaism, as is commonly done, is, as A. L. Williams has shown, to miss the real significance of the attitude of the Jews to angels and to magnify the bitter jeers of Celsus. Apart from phrases used in exorcism and magic he shows us that there is no evidence that the Jew ever worshipped angels (JTS, X, 413). This element in the Colossian heresy was local, finding its antecedent in the worship of the river spirits, and in later years the same tendency gave the impulse to the worship of Michael as the patron saint of Colosse (so too Ramsay, Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (five volumes), under the word "Colossae"). The danger of and the falsehood in this teaching were twofold. In the first place it brought the gospel under the bands of the Law once more, not now with the formality of the Galatian opponents, but none the less surely. But as the apostle's readers are Gentiles (Colossians 1:27) Paul is not interested in showing the preparatory aspect of the Law. He simply insists to them that they are quite free from all obligations of the Law because Christ, in whom they have been baptized (Colossians 2:12), has blotted out all the Law (Colossians 2:14). The second danger is that their belief in and worship of the heavenly powers, false ideas about Christ and the material world, would develop even further than it had. They, because of their union with Him, need fear no angelic being. Christ has triumphed over them all, leading them as it were captives in His train (Colossians 2:15), as He conquered on the cross. The spiritual powers cease to have any authority over the Christians. It is to set Christ forward, in this way, as Head over all creation as very God, and out of His relation to the church and to the universe to develop the Christian life, that the apostle writes.
The argument of the Epistle is as follows:
Colossians 1:1, 2:
Thanksgiving for their faith in Christ, their love for the saints, their hope laid up in heaven, which they had in and through the gospel and of which he had heard from Epaphras.
Prayer that they might be filled with the full knowledge of God's will so as to walk worthy of the Lord and to be fruitful in good works, thankful for their inheritance of the kingdom of His Son.
Statement of the Son's position, from whom we have redemption. He is the very image of God, Creator, pre-existent, the Head of the church, preeminent over all, in whom all the fullness (pleroma) dwells, the Reconciler of all things, as also of the Colossians, through His death, provided they are faithful to the hope of the gospel.
By his suffering he is filling up the sufferings of Christ, of whom he is a minister, even to reveal the great mystery of the ages, that Christ is in them, the Gentiles, the hope of glory, the object of the apostle's preaching everywhere. This explains Paul's interest in them, and his care for them, that their hearts may be strengthened in the love and knowledge of Christ.
He then passes to exhortation against those who are leading them astray, these false teachers of a vain, deceiving philosophy based on worldly wisdom, who ignore the truth of Christ's position, as One in whom all the Divine pleroma dwells, and their relation to Him, united by baptism; raised through the faith; quickened and forgiven; who teach the obligation of the observance of various legal practices, strict asceticisms and angel worship. This exhortation is closed with the appeal that as Christ's they will not submit to these regulations of men which are useless, especially in comparison with Christ's power through the Resurrection.
Practical exhortations follow to real mortification of the flesh with its characteristics, and the substitution of a new life of fellowship, love and peace.
Exhortation to fulfill social obligations, as wives, husbands, children, parents, slaves and masters.
Exhortation to devout and watchful prayer.
Salutations and greeting.
Lightfoot, Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon; Abbott, Ephesians and Colossians, International Critical Commentary; Peake, Colossians, Expositor's Greek Testament; Maclaren, Colossians, Expositor's Bible; Alexander, Colossians and Ephesians, Bible for Home and School; Moule, Colossians, Cambridge Bible; Haupt, Meyer's Krit. u. Exeg. Kom.; von Soden, Hand-Kom. zum New Testament.
C. S. Lewis
CORINTHIANS, FIRST EPISTLE TO THE
I. AUTHENTICITY OF THE TWO EPISTLES
1. External Evidence
2. Internal Evidence
3. Consent of Criticism
4. Ultra-Radical Attack (Dutch School)
II. TEXT OF 1 AND 2 CORINTHIANS
Integrity of 1 Corinthians
III. PAUL'S PREVIOUS RELATIONS WITH CORINTH
1. Corinth in 55 A.D.
2. Founding of the Church
IV. DATE OF THE EPISTLE
V. OCCASION OF THE EPISTLE
1. A Previous Letter
2. Letter from Corinth
1. General Character
2. Order and Division
(1) 1 Corinthians 1-6
(2) 1 Corinthians 7-10
(3) 1 Corinthians 11-16
VII. DISTINGUISHING FEATURES
1. Party Spirit
2. Christian Conscience
3. Power of the Cross
I. Authenticity of the Two Epistles.
1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians and Romans, all belong to the period of Paul's third missionary journey. They are the most remarkable of his writings, and are usually distinguished as the four great or principal epistles; a distinction which not only is a tribute to their high originality and intrinsic worth, but also indicates the extremely favorable opinion which critics of almost all schools have held regarding their authenticity. Throughout the centuries the tradition has remained practically unbroken, that they contain the very pectus Paulinum, the mind and heart of the great apostle of the Gentiles, and preserve to the church an impregnable defense of historical Christianity. What has to be said of their genuineness applies almost equally to both.
1. External Evidence:
The two epistles have a conspicuous place in the most ancient lists of Pauline writings. In the Muratorian Fragment (circa 170) they stand at the head of the nine epistles addressed to churches, and are declared to have been written to forbid heretical schism (primum omnium Corinthiis schisma haeresis intredicens); and in Marcion's Apostolicon (circa 140) they stand second to Gal. They are also clearly attested in the most important writings of the subapostolic age, e.g. by Clement of Rome (circa 95), generally regarded as the friend of the apostle mentioned in Philippians 4:3; Ignatius (Ad Ephes., chapter xviii, second decade of 2nd century); Polycarp (chapters ii, vi, xi, first half of 2nd century), a disciple of John; and Justin Martyr (born at close of let century); while the Gnostic Ophites (2nd century) were clearly familiar with both epistles (compare Westcott, Canon, passim, and Index II; also Charteris, Canonicity, 222-224, where most of the original passages are brought together). The witness of Clement is of the highest importance. Ere the close of the let century he himself wrote a letter to the Corinthians, in which (chapter xlvii, Lightfoot's edition, 144) he made a direct appeal to the authority of 1 Cor: "Take up the letter of Paul the blessed apostle; what did he write to you first in the beginning of the gospel? Verily he gave you spiritual direction regarding himself, Cephas, and Apollos, for even then you were dividing yourselves into parties." It would be impossible to desire more explicit external testimony.
2. Internal Evidence:
Within themselves both epistles are replete with marks of genuineness. They are palpitating human documents, with the ring of reality from first to last. They admirably harmonize with the independent narrative of Acts; in the words of Schleiermacher (Einltg., 148), "The whole fits together and completes itself perfectly, and yet each of the documents follows its own course, and the data contained in the one cannot be borrowed from those of the other." Complex and difficult as the subjects and circumstances sometimes are, and varying as the moods of the writer are in dealing with them, there is a naturalness that compels assent to his good faith. The very difficulty created for a modern reader by the incomplete and allusive character of some of the references is itself a mark of genuineness rather than the opposite; just what would most likely be the ease in a free and intimate correspondence between those who understood one another in the presence of immediate facts which needed no careful particularization; but what would almost as certainly have been avoided in a fictitious composition. Indeed a modicum of literary sense suffices to forbid classification among the pseudepigrapha. To take but a few instances from many, it is impossible to read such passages as those conveying the remonstrance in 1 Corinthians 9, the alternations of anxiety and relief in connection with the meeting of Titus in 2 Corinthians 2 and 7, or the ever-memorable passage which begins at 2 Corinthians 11:24 of the same epistle: "Of the Jews five times received I," ere, without feeling that the hypothesis of fiction becomes an absurdity. No man ever wrote out of the heart if this writer did not. The truth is that theory of pseudonymity leaves far more difficulties behind it than any it is supposed to solve. The unknown and unnamable literary prodigy of the 2nd century, who in the most daring and artistic manner gloried in the fanciful creation of those minute and life-like details which have imprinted themselves indelibly on the memory and imagination of mankind, cannot be regarded as other than a chimera. No one knows where or when he lived, or in what shape or form. But if the writings are the undoubted rescripts of fact, to whose life and personality do they fit themselves more exquisitely than to those of the man whose name stands at their head, and whose compositions they claim to be? They suit beyond compare the apostle of the missionary journeys, the tender, eager, indomitable "prisoner of the Lord," and no other. No other that has even been suggested is more than the mere shadow of a name, and no two writers have as yet seriously agreed even as to the shadow. The pertinent series of questions with which Godet (Intro to New Testament; Studies on the Epistles, 305) concludes his remarks on the genuineness may well be repeated: "What use was it to explain at length in the 2nd century a change in a plan of the journey, which, supposing it was real, had interest only for those whom the promised visit of the apostle personally concerned? When the author speaks of five hundred persons who had seen the risen Christ, of whom the most part were still alive at the time when he was writing, is he telling his readers a mere story that would resemble a bad joke? What was the use of discussing at length and giving detailed rules on the exercise of the glossolalia at a time when that gift no longer existed, so to say, in the church? Why make the apostle say: `We who shall be alive (at the moment of the Parousia)' at a time when everyone knew that he was long dead? In fine, what church would have received without opposition into its archives, as an epistle of the apostle, half a century after his death, a letter unknown till then, and filled with reproaches most severe and humiliating to it?"
3. Consent of Criticism:
One is not surprised, therefore, that even the radical criticism of the 19th century cordially accepted the Corinthian epistles and their companions in the great group. The men who founded that criticism were under no conceivable constraint in such a conclusion, save the constraint of obvious and incontrovertible fact. The Tubingen school, which doubted or denied the authenticity of all the rest of the epistles, frankly acknowledged the genuineness of these. This also became the general verdict of the "critical" school which followed that of Tubingen, and which, in many branches, has included the names of the leading German scholars to this day. F. C. Baur's language (Paul, I, 246) was: "There has never been the slightest suspicion of unauthenticity cast on these four epistles, and they bear so incontestably the character of Pauline originality, that there is no conceivable ground for the assertion of critical doubts in their case." Renan (St. Paul, Introduction, V) was equally emphatic: "They are incontestable, and uncontested."
4. Ultra-Radical Attack (Dutch School):
Reference, however, must be made to the ultra-radical attack which has gathered some adherents, especially among Dutch scholars, during the last 25 years. As early as 1792 Evanson, a retired English clergyman, rejected Rome on the ground that, according to Acts, no church existed in Rome in Paul's day. Bruno Bauer (1850-51-52) made a more sweeping attack, relegating the whole of the four principal epistles to the close of the 2nd century. His views received little attention, until, in 1886 onward, they were taken up and extended by a series of writers in Holland, Pierson and Naber, and Loman, followed rapidly by Steck of Bern, Volter of Amsterdam, and above all by Van Manen of Leyden. According to these writers, with slight modifications of view among themselves, it is very doubtful if Paul or Christ ever really existed; if they did, legend has long since made itself master of their personalities, and in every case what borders on the supernatural is to be taken as the criterion of the legendary. The epistles were written in the 1st quarter of the 2nd century, and as Paul, so far as he was known, was believed to be a reformer of anti-Judaic sympathies, he was chosen as the patron of the movement, and the writings were published in his name. The aim of the whole series was to further the interests of a supposed circle of clever and elevated men, who, partly imbued with Hebrew ideals, and partly with the speculations of Greek and Alexandrian philosophy, desired the spread of a universalistic Christianity and true Gnosis. For this end they perceived it necessary that Jewish legalism should be neutralized, and that the narrow national element should be expelled from the Messianic idea. Hence, the epistles The principles on which the main contentions of the critics are based may be reduced to two:
(1) that there are relations in the epistles so difficult to understand that, since we cannot properly understand them, the epistles are not trustworthy; and
(2) that the religious and ecclesiastical development is so great that not merely 20 or 30 years, but 70 or 80 more, are required, if we are to be able rationally to conceive it: to accept the situation at an earlier date is simply to accept what cannot possibly have been.
It is manifest that on such principles it is possible to establish what one will, and that any historical literature might be proved untrustworthy, and reshaped according to the subjective idiosyncrasies of the critic. The underlying theory of intellectual development is too rigid, and is quite oblivious of the shocks it receives from actual facts, by the advent in history from time to time of powerful, compelling, and creative personalities, who rather mould their age than are moulded by it. None have poured greater ridicule on this "pseudo-Kritik" than the representatives of the advanced school in Germany whom it rather expected to carry with it, and against whom it complains bitterly that they do not take it seriously. On the whole the vagaries of the Dutch school have rather confirmed than shaken belief in these epistles; and one may freely accept Ramsay's view (HDB, I, 484) as expressing the modern mind regarding them, namely, that they are "the unimpeached and unassailable nucleus of admitted Pauline writings." (Reference to the following will give a sufficiently adequate idea of the Dutch criticism and the replies that have been made to it: Van Manen, EB, article "Paul," and Expository Times, IX, 205, 257, 314; Knowling, Witness of the Epistles; Clemen, Einheitlichkeit der p. B.; Sanday and Headlam, Romans, ICC; Godet, Julicher and Zahn, in their Introductions; Schmiedel and Lipsius in the Hand-Commentar.)
II. Text of 1 and 2 Corinthians:
Integrity of 1 Corinthians:
The text of both epistles comes to us in the most ancient VSS, the Syriac (Peshito), the Old Latin, and the Egyptian all of which were in very early use, undoubtedly by the 3rd century. It is complete in the great Greek uncials: Codex Sinaiticus (original scribe) and a later scribe, 4th century, Codex Vaticanus (B, 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A, 5th century, minus two verses, 2 Corinthians 4:13; 2 Corinthians 12:7), and very nearly complete in Codex Ephraemi (C, 5th century), and in the Greek-Latin Claromontanus (D, 6th century); as well as in numerous cursives. In both cases the original has been well preserved, and no exegetical difficulties of high importance are presented. (Reference should be made to the Introduction in Sanday and Headlam's Romans, ICC (1896), where section 7 gives valuable information concerning the text, not only of Roman, but of the Pauline epistles generally; also to the recent edition (Oxford, 1910), New Testament Graecae, by Souter, where the various readings of the text used in the Revised Version (British and American) (1881) are conveniently exhibited.) On the whole the text of 1 Corinthians flows on consistently, only at times, in a characteristic fashion, winding back upon itself, and few serious criticisms are made on its unity, although the case is different in this respect with its companion epistle Some writers, on insufficient grounds, believe that 1 Corinthians contains relics of a previous epistle (compare 1 Corinthians 5:9), e.g. in 1 Corinthians 7:17-24; 1 Corinthians 9:1-10:22; 15:1-55.
III. Paul's Previous Relations with Corinth.
1. Corinth in 55 A.D.:
When, in the course of his 2nd missionary journey, Paul left Athens (Acts 18:1), he sailed westward to Cenchrea, and entered Corinth "in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling" (1 Corinthians 2:3). He was doubtless alone, although Silas and Timothy afterward joined him (Acts 18:5 2 Corinthians 1:19). The ancient city of Corinth had been utterly laid in ruins when Rome subjugated Greece in the middle of the 2nd century B.C. But in the year 46 B.C. Caesar had caused it to be rebuilt and colonized in the Roman manner, and during the century that had elapsed it had prospered and grown enormously. Its population at this time has been estimated at between 600,000 and 700,000, by far the larger portion of whom were slaves. Its magnificent harbors, Cenchrea and Lechaeum, opening to the commerce of East and West, were crowded with ships, and its streets with travelers and merchants from almost every country under heaven. Even in that old pagan world the reputation of the city was bad; it has been compared (Baring-Gould, Study of Paul, 241) to an amalgam of new-market, Chicago and Paris, and probably it contained the worst features of each. At night it was made hideous by the brawls and lewd songs of drunken revelry. In the daytime its markets and squares swarmed with Jewish peddlers, foreign traders, sailors, soldiers, athletes in training, boxers, wrestlers, charioteers, racing-men, betting-men, courtesans, slaves, idlers and parasites of every description. The corrupting worship of Aphrodite, with its hordes of hierodouloi, was dominant, and all over the Greek-Roman world, "to behave as a Corinthian" was a proverbial synonym for leading a low, shameless and immoral life. Very naturally such a polluted and idolatrous environment accounts for much that has to be recorded of the semi-pagan and imperfect life of many of the early converts.
2. Founding of the Church:
Paul was himself the founder of the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 3:6, 10). Entering the city with anxiety, and yet with almost audacious hopefulness, he determined to know nothing among its people save Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). Undoubtedly he was conscious that the mission of the Cross here approached its crisis. If it could abide here, it could abide anywhere. At first he confined himself to working quietly at his trade, and cultivating the friendship of Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2 f); then he opened his campaign in the synagogue where he persuaded both Jews and Greeks, and ultimately, when opposition became violent, carried it on in the house of Titus Justus, a proselyte. He made deep impressions, and gradually gathered round him a number who were received into the faith (Acts 18:7, 8 1 Corinthians 1:14-16). The converts were drawn largely but not entirely from the lower or servile classes (1 Corinthians 1:26; 1 Corinthians 7:21); they included Crispus and Sosthenes, rulers of the synagogue, Gaius, and Stephanas with his household, "the firstfruits of Achaia" (1 Corinthians 16:15). He regarded himself joyfully as the father of this community (1 Corinthians 4:14, 15), every member of which seemed to him like his own child.
IV. Date of the Epistle.
After a sojourn of eighteen months (Acts 18:11) in this fruitful field, Paul departed, most probably in the year 52 (compare Turner, article "Chron. New Testament," HDB, I, 422), and, having visited Jerusalem and returned to Asia Minor (third journey), established himself for a period of between two and three years (trietia, Acts 20:31) in Ephesus (Acts 18:18 onward). It was during his stay there that his epistle was written, either in the spring (pre-Pentecost, 1 Corinthians 16:8) of the year in which he left, 55; or, if that does not give sufficient interval for a visit and a letter to Corinth, which there is considerable ground for believing intervened between 1 Corinthians and the departure from Ephesus, then in the spring of the preceding year, 54. This would give ample time for the conjectured events, and there is no insuperable reason against it. Pauline chronology is a subject by itself, but the suggested dates for the departure from Ephesus, and for the writing of 1 Corinthians, really fluctuate between the years 53 and 57. Harnack (Gesch. der altchrist. Litt., II; Die Chron., I) and McGiffert (Apos Age) adopt the earlier date; Ramsay (St. Paul the Traveler), 56; Lightfoot (Bib. Essays) and Zahn (Einl.), 57; Turner (ut supra), 55. Many regard 57 as too late, but Robertson (HDB, I, 485-86) still adheres to it.
V. Occasion of the Epistle.
1. A Previous Letter:
After Paul's departure from Corinth, events moved rapidly, and far from satisfactorily. He was quite cognizant of them. The distance from Ephesus was not great-about eight days' journey by sea-and in the constant coming and going between the cities news of what was transpiring must frequently have come to his ears. Members of the household of Chloe are distinctly mentioned (1 Corinthians 1:11) as having brought tidings of the contentions that prevailed, and there were no doubt other informants. Paul was so concerned by what he heard that he sent Timothy on a conciliatory mission with many commendations (1 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 16:10 f), although the present epistle probably reached Corinth first. He had also felt impelled, in a letter (1 Corinthians 5:9) which is now lost, to send earnest warning against companying with the immoral. Moreover, Apollos, after excellent work in Corinth, had come to Ephesus, and was received as a brother by the apostle (1 Corinthians 3:5, 6; 1 Corinthians 16:12). Equally welcome was a deputation consisting of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus (1 Corinthians 16:17), from whom the fullest information could be gained, and who were the probable bearers of a letter from the church of Corinth itself (1 Corinthians 7:1), appealing for advice and direction on a number of points.
2. Letter from Corinth:
This letter has not been preserved, but it was evidently the immediate occasion of our epistle, and its tenor is clearly indicated by the nature of the apostle's reply. (The letter, professing to be this letter to Paul, and its companion, professing to be Paul's own lost letter just referred to, which deal with Gnostic heresies, and were for long accepted by the Syrian and Armenian churches, are manifestly apocryphal. (Compare Stanley's Corinthians, Appendix; Harnack's Gesch. der altchrist. Litt., I, 37-39, and II, 506-8; Zahn, Einleitung., I, 183-249; Sanday, Encyclopedia Biblica, I, 906-7.) If there be any relic in existence of Paul's previous letter, it is possibly to be found in the passage 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; at all events that passage may be regarded as reminiscent of its style and message.) So that 1 Corinthians is no bow drawn at a venture. It treats of a fully understood, and, on the whole, of a most unhappy situation. The church had broken into factions, and was distracted by party cries. Some of its members were living openly immoral lives, and discipline was practically in abeyance. Others had quarrels over which they dragged one another into the heathen courts. Great differences of opinion had also arisen with regard to marriage and the social relations generally; with regard to banquets and the eating of food offered to idols; with regard to the behavior of women in the assemblies, to the Lord's Supper and the love-feasts, to the use and value of spiritual gifts, and with regard to the hope of the resurrection. The apostle was filled with grief and indignation, which the too complacent tone of the Corinthians only intensified. They discussed questions in a lofty, intellectual way, without seeming to perceive their real drift, or the life and spirit which lay imperiled at their heart. Resisting the impulse to visit them "with a rod" (2 Corinthians 4:21), the apostle wrote the present epistle, and dispatched it, if not by the hands of Stephanas and his comrades, most probably by the hands of Titus.
1. General Character:
In its general character the epistle is a strenuous writing, masterly in its restraint in dealing with opposition, firm in its grasp of ethical and spiritual principles, and wise and faithful in their application. It is calm, full of reasoning, clear and balanced in judgment; very varied in its lights and shadows, in its kindness, its gravity, its irony. It moves with firm tread among the commonest themes, but also rises easily into the loftiest spheres of thought and vision, breaking again and again into passages of glowing and rhythmical eloquence. It rebukes error, exposes and condemns sin, solves doubts, upholds and encourages faith, and all in a spirit of the utmost tenderness and love, full of grace and truth. It is broad in its outlook, penetrating in its insight, unending in its interest and application.
2. Order and Division:
It is also very orderly in its arrangement, so that it is not difficult to follow the writer as he advances from point to point. Weizsacker (Apos Age, I, 324-25) suggestively distinguishes the matter into
(1) subjects introduced by the letter from Corinth, and
(2) those on which Paul had obtained information otherwise.
He includes three main topics in the first class: marriage, meat offered to idols and spiritual gifts (there is a fourth-the logia or collection, 1 Corinthians 16:1); six in the second class: the factions, the case of incest, the lawsuits, the free customs of the women, the abuse connected with the Supper and the denial of the resurrection. It is useful, however, to adhere to the sequence of the epistle In broadly outlining the subject-matter we may make a threefold division:
(1) chapters 1-6;
(2) chapters 7-10; and
(3) chapter 11 through end.
(1) 1 Corinthians 1-6:
After salutation, in which he associates Sosthenes with himself, and thanksgiving for the grace given to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:1-9), Paul immediately begins (1 Corinthians 1:10-13) to refer to the internal divisions among them, and to the unworthy and misguided party cries that had arisen. (Many theories have been formed as to the exact significance of the so-called "Christus-party," a party whose danger becomes more obvious in 2 Cor. Compare Meyer-Heinrici, Comm., 8th edition; Godet, Intro, 250; Stanley, Cor, 29-30; Farrar, Paul, chapter xxxi; Pfleiderer, Paulinism, II, 28-31; Weiss, Intro, I, 259-65; Weizsacker, Apos Age, I, 325-33, and 354. Weizsacker holds that the name indicates exclusive relation to an authority, while Baur and Pfleiderer argue that it was a party watchword (virtually Petrine) taken to bring out the apostolic inferiority of Paul. On the other hand a few scholars maintain that the name does not, strictly speaking, indicate a party at all but rather designates those who were disgusted at the display of all party spirit, and with whom Paul was in hearty sympathy. SeeMcGiffert, Apos Age, 295-97.) After denouncing this petty partisanship, Paul offers an elaborate defense of his own ministry, declaring the power and wisdom of God in the gospel of the Cross (1:14-2:16), returning in chapter 3 to the spirit of faction, showing its absurdity and narrowness in face of the fullness of the Christian heritage in "all things" that belong to them as belonging to Christ; and once more defending his ministry in chapter 4, making a touching appeal to his readers as his "beloved children," whom he had begotten through the gospel. In chapter 5 he deals with the case of a notorious offender, guilty of incest, whom they unworthily harbor in their midst, and in the name of Christ demands that they should expel him from the church, pointing out at the same time that it is against the countenancing of immorality within the church membership that he specially warns, and had previously warned in his former epistle Ch 6 deals with the shamefulness of Christian brethren haling one another to the heathen courts, and not rather seeking the settlement of their differences within themselves; reverting once more in the closing verses to the subject of unchastity, which irrepressibly haunts him as he thinks of them.
(2) 1 Corinthians 7-10:
In 1 Corinthians 7 he begins to reply to two of the matters on which the church had expressly consulted him in its ep., and which he usually induces by the phrase peri de, "now concerning." The first of these bears (chapter 7) upon celibacy and marriage, including the case of "mixed" marriage. These questions he treats quite frankly, yet with delicacy and circumspection, always careful to distinguish between what he has received as the direct word of the Lord, and what he only delivers as his own opinion, the utterance of his own sanctified common-sense, yet to which the good spirit within him gives weight. The second matter on which advice was solicited, questions regarding eidolothuta, meats offered to idols, he discusses in chapter 8, recurring to it again in chapter 10 to end. The scruples and casuistries involved he handles with excellent wisdom, and lays down a rule for the Christian conscience of a far-reaching kind, happily expressed: "All things are lawful; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful; but not all things edify. Let no man seek his own, but each his neighbor's good" (10:23, 14). By lifting their differences into the purer atmosphere of love and duty, he causes them to dissolve away. Chapter 9 contains another notable defense of his apostleship, in which he asserts the principle that the Christian ministry has a claim for its support on those to whom it ministers, although in his own case he deliberately waived his right, that no challenge on such a matter should be possible among them. The earlier portion of chapter 10 contains a reference to Jewish idolatry and sacramental abuse, in order that the evils that resulted might point a moral, and act as a solemn warning to Christians in relation to their own rites.
(3) 1 Corinthians 11-16:
The third section deals with certain errors and defects that had crept into the inner life and observances of the church, also with further matters on which the Corinthians sought guidance, namely, spiritual gifts and the collection for the saints. 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 has regard to the deportment of women and their veiling in church, a matter which seems to have occasioned some difficulty, and which Paul deals with in a manner quite his own; passing thereafter to treat of graver and more disorderly affairs, gross abuses in the form of gluttony and drunkenness at the Lord's Supper, which leads him, after severe censure, to make his classic reference to that sacred ordinance (verse 20 to end). Chapter 12 sets forth the diversity, yet true unity, of spiritual gifts, and the confusion and jealousy to which a false conception of them inevitably leads, obscuring that "most excellent way," the love which transcends them all, which never faileth, the greatest of the Christian graces, whose praise he chants in language of surpassing beauty (chapter 13). He strives also, in the following chapter, to correct the disorder arising from the abuse of the gift of tongues, many desiring to speak at once, and many speaking only a vain babble which no one could understand, thinking themselves thereby highly gifted. It is not edifying: "I had rather," he declares, "speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue" (1 Corinthians 14:19). Thereafter follows the immortal chapter on the resurrection, which he had learned that some denied (1 Corinthians 15:12). He anchors the faith to the resurrection of Christ as historic fact, abundantly attested (verses 3-8), shows how all-essential it is to the Christian hope (verses 13-19), and then proceeds by reasoning and analogy to brush aside certain naturalistic objections to the great doctrine, "then they that are Christ's, at his coming" (verse 23), when this mortal shall have put on immortality, and death be swallowed up in victory (verse 54). The closing chapter gives directions as to the collection for the saints in Jerusalem, on which his heart was deeply set, and in which he hoped the Corinthians would bear a worthy share. He promises to visit them, and even to tarry the winter with them. He then makes a series of tender personal references, and so brings the great epistle to a close.
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CORINTHIANS, SECOND EPISTLE TO THE
I. TEXT, AUTHENTICITY AND DATE
1. Internal Evidence
2. External Evidence
II. RESUME OF EVENTS
III. THE NEW SITUATION
1. The Offender
2. The False Teachers
3. The Painful Visit
4. The Severe Letter
IV. HISTORICAL RECONSTRUCTION
V. INTEGRITY OF THE EPISTLE
1. 2 Corintians 6:14-7:1
2. 2 Corintians 10:1-13:10
VI. CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLE
1. 2 Corintians 1-7
2. 2 Corintians 8-9
3. 2 Corintians 10-13
VII. VALUE OF THE EPISTLE LITERATURE
I. Text, Authenticity and Date.
1. Internal Evidence:
Compare what has already been said in the preceding article. In the two important 5th-century uncials, Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Ephraemi (C), portions of the text are lacking. As to the genuineness internal evidence very vividly attests it. The distinctive elements of Pauline theology and eschatology, expressed in familiar Pauline terms, are manifest throughout. Yet the epistle is not doctrinal or didactic, but an intensely personal document. Its absorbing interest is in events which were profoundly agitating Paul and the Corinthians at the time, straining their relations to the point of rupture, and demanding strong action on Paul's part. Our imperfect knowledge of the circumstances necessarily hinders a complete comprehension, but the references to these events and to others in the personal history of the apostle are so natural, and so manifestly made in good faith, that no doubt rises in the reader's mind but that he is in the sphere of reality, and that the voice he hears is the voice of the man whose heart and nerves were being torn by the experiences through which he was passing. However scholars may differ as to the continuity and integrity of the text, there is no serious divergence among them in the opinion that all parts of the epistle are genuine writings of the apostle.
2. External Evidence:
Externally, the testimony of the sub-apostolic age, though not so frequent or precise as in the case of 1 Corinthians, is still sufficiently clear to establish the existence and use of the epistle in the 2nd century Clement of Rome is silent when he might rather have been expected to use the epistle (compare Kennedy, Second and Third Corinthians, 142); but it is quoted by Polycarp (Ad Phil., ii.4 and vi.1), and in the Epistle to Diognetus 5 12, while it is amply attested to by Irenaeus, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria.
It was written from Macedonia (probably from Philippi) either in the autumn of the same year as that in which 1 Corinthians was written, 54 or 55 A.D., or in the autumn of the succeeding year.
II. Resume of Events.
Great difficulty exists as to the circumstances in which the epistle was written, and as to the whole situation between 1 and 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians Paul had intimated his intention of visiting the Corinthians and wintering with them, coming to them through Macedonia (1 Corinthians 16:5-7; compare also Acts 19:21). In 2 Corinthians 1:15, 16 he refers to a somewhat different plan, Corinth-Macedonia-Corinth-Judaea; and describes this return from Macedonia to Corinth as a second or double benefit. But if this plan, on which he and his friends had counted, had not been entirely carried out, it had been for good reason (2 Corinthians 1:17), and not due to mere fickleness or light-hearted change to suit his own convenience. It was because he would "spare" them (2 Corinthians 1:23), and not come to them "again with sorrow" (2 Corinthians 2:1). That is, he had been with them, but there had been such a profound disturbance in their relations that he dared not risk a return meantime; instead, he had written a letter to probe and test them, "out of much affliction and anguish of heart. with many tears" (2 Corinthians 2:4) Thank God, this severe letter had accomplished its mission. It had produced sorrow among them (2 Corinthians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 7:8, 9)but it had brought their hearts back to him with the old allegiance, with great clearing of themselves, and fear and longing and zeal (2 Corinthians 7:11). There was a period, however, of waiting for knowledge of this issue, which was to him a period of intense anxiety; he had even nervously regretted that he had written as he did (2 Corinthians 7:5-8). Titus, who had gone as his representative to Corinth, was to return with a report of how this severe letter had been received, and when Titus failed to meet him at Troas 2 Corinthians 2:13, he had "no relief for his spirit," but pushed on eagerly to Macedonia to encounter him the sooner. Then came the answer, and the lifting of the intolerable burden from his mind. "He that comforteth the lowly, even God, comforted" him (2 Corinthians 7:6). The Corinthians had been swayed by a godly sorrow and repentance (2 Corinthians 7:8), and the sky had cleared again with almost unhoped-for brightness. One who had offended (2 Corinthians 2:5 and 2 Corinthians 7:12)-but whose offense is not distinctly specified-had been disciplined by the church; indeed, in the revulsion of feeling against him, and in sympathy for the apostle, he had been punished so heavily that there was a danger of passing to an extreme, and plunging him into despair (2 Corinthians 2:7). Paul accordingly pleads for leniency and forgiveness, lest further resentment should lead only to a further and sadder wrong (2:6-11). But in addition to this offender there were others, probably following in his train, who had carried on a relentless attack against the apostle both in his person and in his doctrine. He earnestly defends himself against their contemptuous charges of fleshliness and cowardice (chapter 10), and crafty venality (2 Corinthians 12:16, 17). Another Jesus is preached, a different spirit, a different gospel (2 Corinthians 11:4). They "commend themselves" (2 Corinthians 10:12), but are false apostles, deceitful workers, ministers of Satan, fashioning themselves into ministers of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13, 14). Their attacks are vehemently repelled in an eloquent apologia (chapters 11 and 12), and he declares that when he comes the third time they will not be spared (2 Corinthians 13:2). Titus, accompanied by other well-known brethren, is again to be the representative of the apostle 2 Corinthians 8:6, 17. At no great interval Paul himself followed, thus making his third visit (2 Corinthians 12:14; 2 Corinthians 13:1), and so far fulfilled his original purpose that he spent the winter peacefully in Corinth (compare Acts 20:2, 3 Romans 15:25-27 and 1 Corinthians 16:23).
III. The New Situation.
It is manifest that we are in the presence of a new and unexpected situation, whose development is not clearly defined, and concerning which we have elsewhere no source of information. To elucidate it, the chief points requiring attention are:
(1) The references to the offender in 2 Corinthians 2 and 7, and to the false teachers, particularly in the later chapters of the ep.;
(2) the painful visit implicitly referred to in 2:1; and
(3) the letter described as written in tears and for a time regretted (2:4; 7:8).
1. The Offender:
The offender in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 had been guilty of incest, and Paul was grieved that the church of Corinth did not regard with horror a crime which even the pagan world would not have tolerated. His judgment on the case was uncompromising and the severest possible-that, in solemn assembly, in the name and with the power of the Lord Jesus, the church should deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. On the other hand, the offender in 2 Corinthians 2:5 is one who obviously has transgressed less heinously, and in a way more personal to the apostle. The church, roused by the apostle to show whether they indeed cared for him and stood by him (2 Corinthians 2:9; 2 Corinthians 13:7), had, by a majority, brought censure to bear on this man, and Paul now urged that matters should go no farther, lest an excess of discipline should really end in a triumph of Satan. It is not possible to regard such references as applying to the crime dealt with in 1 Corinthians. Purposely veiled as the statements are, it would yet appear that a personal attack had been made on the apostle; and the "many" in Corinth (2 Corinthians 2:6), having at length espoused his cause, Paul then deals with the matter in the generous spirit he might have been expected to display. Even if the offender were the same person, which is most improbable, for he can scarcely have been retained in the membership, the language is not language that could have been applied to the earlier case. There has been a new offense in new circumstances. The apostle had been grievously wronged in the presence of the church, and the Corinthians had not spontaneously resented the wrong. That is what wounded the apostle most deeply, and it is to secure their change in this respect that is his gravest concern.
2. The False Teachers:
Esp. in the later chapters of 2 Corinthians there are, as we have seen, descriptions of an opposition by false teachers that is far beyond anything met with in 1 Corinthians. There indeed we have a spirit of faction, associated with unworthy partiality toward individual preachers, but nothing to lead us to suspect the presence of deep and radical differences undermining the gospel. The general consensus of opinion is that this opposition was of a Judaizing type, organized and fostered by implacable anti-Pauline emissaries from Palestine, who now followed the track of the apostle in Achaia as they did in Galatia. As they arrogated to themselves a peculiar relation to Christ Himself ("Christ's men" and "ministers of Christ," 2 Corinthians 10:7; 2 Corinthians 11:13), it is possible that the Christus-party of 1 Corinthians (and possibly the Cephas-party) may have persisted and formed the nucleus round which these newcomers built up their formidable opposition. One man seems to have been conspicuous as their ring-leader (2 Corinthians 10:7, 11), and to have made himself specially obnoxious to the apostle. In all probability we may take it that he was the offender of 2 Corinthians 2 and 7. Under his influence the opposition audaciously endeavored to destroy the gospel of grace by personal attacks upon its most distinguished exponent. Paul was denounced as an upstart and self-seeker, destitute of any apostolic authority, and derided for the contemptible appearance he made in person, in contrast with the swelling words and presumptuous claims of his epistles It is clear, therefore, that a profound religious crisis had arisen among the Corinthians, and that there was a danger of their attachment to Paul and his doctrine being destroyed.
3. The Painful Visit:
2 Corinthians 12:14 and 2 Corinthians 13:1, 2 speak of a third visit in immediate prospect, and the latter passage also refers to a second visit that had been already accomplished; while 2:1 distinctly implies that a visit had taken place of a character so painful that the apostle would never venture to endure a similar one. As this cannot possibly refer to the first visit when the church was founded, and cannot easily be regarded as indicating anything previous to 1 Corinthians which never alludes to such an experience, we must conclude that the reference points to the interval between 1 and 2 Corinthians. It was then beyond doubt that the visit "with sorrow," which humbled him (2 Corinthians 12:21) and left such deep wounds, had actually taken place. "Any exegesis," says Weizsacker justly, "that would avoid the conclusion that Paul had already been twice in Corinth is capricious and artificial" (Apostolic Age, I, 343). Sabatier (Apostle Paul, 172 note) records his revised opinion: "The reference here (2 Corinthians 2:1) is to a second and quite recent visit, of which he retained a very sorrowful recollection, including it among the most bitter trials of his apostolical career."
4. The Severe Letter:
Paul not only speaks of a visit which had ended grievously, but also of a letter which he had written to deal with the painful circumstances, and as a kind of ultimatum to bring the whole matter to an issue (2 Corinthians 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:8). This letter was written because he could not trust himself meantime to another visit. He was so distressed and agitated that he wrote it "with many tears"; after it was written he repented of it; and until he knew its effect he endured torture so keen that he hastened to Macedonia to meet his messenger, Titus, halfway. It is impossible by any stretch of interpretation to refer this language to 1 Corinthians, which on the whole is dominated by a spirit of didactic calm, and by a consciousness of friendly rapport with its recipients. Even though there be in it occasional indications of strong feeling, there is certainly nothing that we can conceive the apostle might have wished to recall. The alternative has generally been to regard this as another case of a lost epistle Just as the writer of Acts appears to have been willing that the deplorable visit itself should drop into oblivion, so doubtless neither Paul nor the Corinthians would be very anxious to preserve an epistle which echoed with the gusts and storms of such a visit. On the other hand a strong tendency has set in to regard this intermediate epistle as at least in part preserved in 2 Corinthians 10-13, whose tone, it is universally admitted, differs from that of the preceding chapters in a remarkable way, not easily accounted for. The majority of recent writers seem inclined to favor this view, which will naturally fall to be considered under the head of "Integrity."
IV. Historical Reconstruction.
In view of such an interpretation, we may with considerable probability trace the course of events in the interval between 1 and 2 Corinthians as follows: After the dispatch of 1 Corinthians, news reached the apostle of a disquieting character; probably both Titus and Timothy, on returning from Corinth, reported the growing menace of the opposition fostered by the Judaizing party. Paul felt impelled to pay an immediate visit, and found only too sadly that matters had not been overstated. The opposition was strong and full of effrontery, and the whole trend of things was against him. In face of the congregation he was baffled and flouted. He returned to Ephesus, and poured out his indignation in a severe epistle, which he sent on by the hands of Titus. Before Titus could return, events took a disastrous form in Ephesus, and Paul was forced to leave that city in peril of his life. He went to Troas, but, unable to wait patiently there for tidings of the issue in Corinth, he crossed to Macedonia, and met Titus, possibly in Philippi. The report was happily reassuring; the majority of the congregation returned to their old attachment, and the heavy cloud of doubt and anxiety was dispelled from the apostle's mind. He then wrote again-the present epistle-and forwarded it by Titus and other brethren, he himself following a little later, and finally wintering in Corinth as he had originally planned. If it be felt that the interval between spring and autumn of the same year is too brief for these events, the two epistles must be separated by a period of nearly 18 months, 1 Corinthians being referred to the spring of 54 or 55, and 2 Corinthians to the autumn of 55 or 56 A.D. (Reference on the reconstruction should especially be made to Weizsacker's Apostolic Age, English translation, I; to Sabatier's Note to the English edition (1893) of his Apostle Paul; and to Robertson's article in Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (five volumes).)
V. Integrity of the Epistle.
Although the genuineness of the various parts of the epistle is scarcely disputed, the homogeneity is much debated. Semler and some later writers, including Clemen (Einheitlichkeit), have thought that 2 Corinthians 9 should be eliminated as logically inconsistent with chapter 8, and as evidently forming part of a letter to the converts of Achaia. But the connection with chapter 8 is too close to permit of severance, and the logical objection, founded on the phraseology of 9:1, is generally regarded as hypercritical. There are two sections, however, whose right to remain integral parts of 2 Corinthians has been more forcibly challenged.
1. 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1:
The passage 2 Corinthians 6:14 to 2 Corinthians 7:1 deals with the inconsistency and peril of intimate relations with the heathen, and is felt to be incongruous with the context. No doubt it comes strangely after an appeal to the Corinthians to show the apostle the same frankness and kindness that he is showing them; whereas 7:2 follows naturally and links itself closely to such an appeal. When we remember that the particular theme of the lost letter referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:9 was the relation of the converts to the immoral, it is by no means unlikely that we have here preserved a stray fragment of that epistle
2. 2 Corinthians 10:1-13:10:
It is universally acknowledged that there is a remarkable change in the tone of the section 2 Corinthians 10:1-13:10, as Compared with that of the previous chapters In the earlier chapters there is relief at the change which Titus has reported as having taken place in Corinth, and the spirit is one of gladness and content; but from chapter 10 onward the hostility to the apostle is unexpectedly represented as still raging, and as demanding the most strenuous treatment. The opening phrase, "Now I Paul" (2 Corinthians 10:1), is regarded as indicating a distinctive break from the previous section with which Timothy is associated (2 Corinthians 1:1), while the concluding verse, 2 Corinthians 13:11 to end, seem fittingly to close that section, but to be abruptly out of harmony with the polemic that ends at 2 Corinthians 13:10. Accordingly it is suggested that 13:11 should immediately follow 9:15, and that 2 Corinthians 10:1-13:10 be regarded as a lengthy insertion from some other epistle. Those who, while acknowledging the change of tone, yet maintain the integrity of the epistle, do so on the ground that the apostle was a man of many moods, and that it is characteristic of him to make unexpected and even violent transitions; that new reports of a merely scotched antagonism may come in to ruffle and disturb his comparative contentment; and that in any case he might well deem it advisable finally to deliver his whole soul on a matter over which he had brooded and suffered deeply, so that there might be no mistake about the ground being cleared when he arrived in person. The question is still a subject of keen discussion, and is not one on which it is easy to pronounce dogmatically. On the whole, however, it must be acknowledged that the preponderance of recent opinion is in favor of theory of interpolation. Hausrath (Der Vier-Capitel-Brief des Paulus an die Korinther, 1870) gave an immense impetus to the view that this later section really represents the painful letter referred to in 2 Corinthians 2 and 7. As that earlier letter, however, must have contained references to the personal offender, the present section, which omits all such references, can be regarded as at most only a part of it. This theory is ably and minutely expounded by Schmiedel (Hand-Kommentar); and Pfleiderer, Lipsius, Clemen, Krenkel, von Soden, McGiffert, Cone, Plummer, Rendall, Moffatt, Adeney, Peake, and Massie are prominent among its adherents. J. H. Kennedy (Second and Third Cor) presents perhaps the ablest and fullest argument for it that has yet appeared in English. On the other hand Sanday (Encyclopaedia Biblica) declares against it, and Robertson (Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (five volumes)) regards it as decidedly not proven; while critics of such weight as Holtzmann, Beyschlag, Klopper, Weizsacker, Sabatier, Godet, Bernard, Denney, Weiss, and Zahn are all to be reckoned as advocates of the integrity of the epistle.
VI. Contents of the Epistle.
The order of matter in 2 Corintians is quite clearly defined. There are three main divisions:
(1) chapters 1-7;
(2) chapters 8-9; and
(3) chapters 10-13.
1. 2 Corinthians 1-7:
The first seven chapters in 2 Corinthians as a whole are taken up with a retrospect of the events that have recently transpired, joyful references to the fact that the clouds of grief in connection with them have been dispelled, and that the evangelical ministry as a Divine trust and power is clearly manifested. After a cordial salutation, in which Timothy is associated, Paul starts at once to express his profound gratitude to God for the great comfort that had come to him by the good news from Corinth, rejoicing in it as a spiritual enrichment that will make his ministry still more fruitful to the church (2 Corinthians 1:3-11). He professes his sincerity in all his relations with the Corinthians, and particularly vindicates it in connection with a change in the plan which had originally promised a return ("a second benefit") to Corinth; his sole reason for refraining, and for writing a painful letter instead, being his desire to spare them and to prove them (2 Corinthians 1:12; 2 Corinthians 2:4, 9). Far from harboring any resentment against the man who had caused so much trouble, he sincerely pleads that his punishment by the majority should go no farther, but that forgiveness should now reign, lest the Adversary should gain an advantage over them (2 Corinthians 2:5-11). It was indeed an agonizing experience until the moment he met Titus, but the relief was all the sweeter and more triumphant when God at length gave it, as he might have been sure He would give it to a faithful and soul-winning servant of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:12-17). He does not indeed wish to enter upon any further apologies or self-commendation. Some believe greatly in letters of commendation, but his living testimonial is in his converts. This he has, not of himself, but entirely through God, who alone has made him an efficient minister of the new and abiding covenant of the Spirit, whose glory naturally excels that of the old dispensation which fadeth because it really cannot bring life. Regarding this glorious ministry he must be bold and frank. It needs no veil as if to conceal its evanescence. Christ presents it unveiled to all who turn to Him, and they themselves, reflecting His glory, are spiritually transformed (2 Corinthians 3:1-18). As for those who by God's mercy have received such a gospel ministry, it is impossible for them to be faint-hearted in its exercise, although the eyes of some may be blinded to it, because the god of this world enslaves them (2 Corinthians 4:4). It is indeed wonderful that ministers of this grace should be creatures so frail, so subject to pressure and affliction, but it is not inexplicable. So much the more obvious is it that all the power and glory of salvation are from God alone (2 Corinthians 4:7, 15). Yea, even if one be called to die in this ministry, that is but another light and momentary affliction. It is but passing from a frail earthly tent to abide forever in a heavenly home (2 Corinthians 5:1). Who would not long for it, that this mortal may be swallowed up in immortality? Courage, therefore, is ours to the end, for that end only means the cessation of our separation from Christ, whom it is a joy to serve absent or present. And present we shall all ultimately be before Him on the judgment throne (2 Corinthians 5:10). That itself unspeakably deepens the earnestness with which preachers of the gospel seek to persuade men. It is the love of Christ constraining them (2 Corinthians 5:14) in the ministry of reconciliation, that they should entreat men as ambassadors on Christ's behalf (2 Corinthians 5:20). So sacred and responsible a trust has subdued the apostle's own life, and is indeed the key to its manifold endurance, and to the earnestness with which he has striven to cultivate every grace, and to submit himself to every discipline (2 Corinthians 6:1-10). Would God the Corinthians might open their hearts to him as he does to them! (Let them have no fellowship with iniquity, but perfect holiness in the fear of God, 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1.) He has never wronged them; they are enshrined in his heart, living or dying; he glories in them, and is filled with comfort in all his affliction (2 Corinthians 6:11-13; 2 Corinthians 7:2-4). For what blessed comfort that was that Titus brought him in Macedonia to dispel his fears, and to show that the things he regretted and grieved to have written had done no harm after all, but had rather wrought in them the joyful change for which he longed! Now both they and he knew how dear he was to them. Titus, too, was overjoyed by the magnanimity of their reception of him. The apostle's cup is full, and "in everything he is of good courage concerning them" (2 Corinthians 7:16).
2. 2 Corinthians 8-9:
In the second section, 2 Corinthians 8-9, the apostle, now abundantly confident of their good-will, exhorts the Corinthians on the subject of the collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem. He tells them of the extraordinary liberality of the Macedonian churches, and invites them to emulate it, and by the display of this additional grace to make full proof of their love (2 Corinthians 8:1-8). Nay, they have a higher incentive than the liberality of Macedonia, even the self-sacrifice of Christ Himself (2 Corinthians 8:9). Wherefore let them go on with the good work they were so ready to initiate a year ago, giving out of a willing mind, as God hath enabled them (2 Corinthians 8:10-15). Further to encourage them he sends on Titus and other well-known and accredited brethren, whose interest in them is as great as his own, and he is hopeful that by their aid the matter will be completed, and all will rejoice when he comes, bringing with him probably some of those of Macedonia, to whom he has already been boasting of their zeal (2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5). Above all, let them remember that important issues are bound up with this grace of Christian liberality. It is impossible to reap bountifully, if we sow sparingly. Grudging and compulsory benevolence is a contradiction, but God loveth and rewardeth a cheerful giver. This grace blesseth him that gives and him that takes. Many great ends are served by it. The wants of the needy are supplied, men's hearts are drawn affectionately to one another, thanksgivings abound, and God himself is glorified (2 Corinthians 9:6-15).
3. 2 Corinthians 10-13:
The third section, 2 Corinthians 10-13, as has been pointed out, is a spirited and even passionate polemic, in the course of which the Judaizing party in Corinth is vigorously assailed. The enemies of the apostle have charged him with being very bold and courageous when he is absent, but humble enough when he is present. He hopes the Corinthians will not compel him to show his courage (2 Corinthians 10:2). It is true, being human, he walks in the flesh, but not in the selfish and cowardly way his opponents suggest. The weapons of his warfare are not carnal, yet are they mighty before God to cast down such strongholds as theirs, such vain imaginations and disobedience. Some boast of being "Christ's," but that is no monopoly; he also is Christ's. They think his letters are mere "sound and fury, signifying nothing"; by and by they will discover their mistake. If he should glory in his authority, he is justified, for Corinth was verily part of his God-appointed province, and he at least did not there enter on other men's labors. But it would be well if men who gloried confined themselves to glorying "in the Lord." For after all it is His commendation alone that is of any permanent value (2 Corinthians 10:3-18). Will the adepts - Corinthians bear with him in a little of this foolish boasting? Truly he ventures on it out of concern for them (2 Corinthians 11:2).
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EPHESIANS, EPISTLE TO THE
1. External Evidence 2. Internal Evidence
II. PLACE AND DATE OF WRITING
1. Title 2. The Inscription 3. The Evidence of the Letter Itself 4. Conclusion
IV. RELATION TO OTHER NEW TESTAMENT WRITINGS
1. Peter 2. Johannine Writings 3. Colossians
V. THE PURPOSE
1. External Evidence:
None of the epistles which are ascribed to Paul have a stronger chain of evidence to their early and continued use than that which we know as the Epistle to the Ephesians. Leaving for the moment the question of the relation of Eph to other New Testament writings, we find that it not only colors the phraseology of the Apostolic Fathers, but is actually quoted. In Clement of Rome (circa 95 A.D.) the connection with Ephesians might be due to some common liturgical form in xlvi.6 (compare Ephesians 4:6); though the resemblance is so close that we must feel that our epistle was known to Clement both here and in lxiv (compare Ephesians 1:3-4); xxxviii (compare Ephesians 5:21); xxxvi (compare Ephesians 4:18); lix (compare Ephesians 1:18; Ephesians 4:18). Ignatius (died 115) shows numerous points of contact with Ephesians, especially in his Epistle to the Ephesians. In chap. xii we read: "Ye are associates and fellow students of the mysteries with Paul, who in every letter makes mention of you in Christ Jesus." It is difficult to decide the exact meaning of the phrase "every letter," but in spite of the opinion of many scholars that it must be rendered "in all his epistle," i.e. in every part of his epistle, it is safer to take it as an exaggeration, "in all his epistles," justified to some extent in the fact that besides Ephesians, Paul does mention the Ephesian Christians in Roman (16:5); 1 Corinthians (15:32; 16:8, 19); 2 Corinthians (1:8); 1 Timothy (1:3) and 2 Timothy (1:18). In the opening address the connection with Ephesians 1:3-6 is too close to be accidental. There are echoes of our epistle in chap. i (Ephesians 6:1); ix (Ephesians 2:20-22); xviii (oikonomia, Ephesians 1:10); xx (Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 4:24); and in Ignat. ad Polyc. v we have close identity with Ephesians 5:25 and less certain connection with Ephesians 4:2, and in vi with Ephesians 6:13-17.
The Epistle of Polycarp in two passages shows verbal agreement with Eph: in chap. i with Ephesians 1:8, and in xii with Ephesians 4:26, where we have (the Greek is missing here) ut his scripturis dictum est. Hermas speaks of the grief of the Holy Spirit in such a way as to suggest Ephesians (Mand. X, ii; compare Ephesians 4:30). Sim. IX, xiii, shows a knowledge of Ephesians 4:3-6, and possibly of 5:26 and 1:13. In the Didache (4) we find a parallel to Ephesians 6:5: "Servants submit yourselves to your masters." In Barnabas there are two or three turns of phrase that are possibly due to Ephesians. There is a slightly stronger connection between II Clement and Ephesians, especially in chap. xiv, where we have the Ephesian figure of the church as the body of Christ, and the relation between them referred to in terms of husband and wife. This early evidence, slight though it is, is strengthened by the part Ephesians played in the 2nd century where, as we learn from Hippolytus, it was used by the Ophites and Basilides and Valentinus. The latter (according to Hip., Phil., VI, 29) quoted Ephesians 3:16-18, saying, "This is what has been written in Scripture," while his disciple Ptolemais is said by Irenaeus (Adv. Haer., i.8, 5) to have attributed Ephesians 5:13 to Paul by name. According to the addenda to the eighth book of the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria, Theodotus, a contemporary of Valentinus, quoted Ephesians 4:10 and 30 with the words: "The apostle says," and attributes Ephesians 4:24 to Paul. Marcion knew Ephesians as Tertullian tells us, identifying it with the epistle referred to in Colossians 4:16 as ad Laodicenos. We find it in the Muratorian Fragment (10b, l. 20) as the second of the epistles which "Paul wrote following the example of his predecessor John." It is used in the letter from the church of Lyons and Vienne and by Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen and later writers. We can well accept the dictum of Dr. Hort that it "is all but certain on this evidence that the Epistle was in existence by 95 A.D.; quite certain that it was in existence by about fifteen years later or conceivably a little more" (Hort, Judaistic Christianity, 118).
2. Internal Evidence:
To this very strong chain of external evidence, reaching back to the very beginning of the 2nd century, if not into the end of the 1st, showing Ephesians as part of the original Pauline collection which no doubt Ignatius and Polycarp used, we must add the evidence of the epistle itself, testing it to see if there be any reason why the letter thus early attested should not be accredited to the apostle.
(1) That it claims to be written by Paul is seen not only in the greeting, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints that are at Ephesus," but also in Ephesians 3:1, where we read: "For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you Gentiles," a phrase which is continued in 4:1: "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord." This claim is substantiated by the general character of the epistle which is written after the Pauline norm, with greeting and thanksgiving, leading on to and serving as the introduction of the special doctrinal teaching of the epistle. This is the first great division of the Pauline epistles and is regularly followed by an application of the teaching to practical matters, which in turn yields to personal greetings, or salutations, and the final benediction, commonly written by the apostle's own hand. In only one particular does Ephesians fail to answer completely to this outline. The absence of the personal greetings has always been marked as a striking peculiarity of our letter. The explanation of this peculiarity will meet us when we consider the destination of the epistle (see III below).
(2) Further evidence for the Pauline authorship is found in the general style and language of the letter. We may agree with von Soden (Early Christ. Lit., 294) that "every sentence contains verbal echoes of Pauline epistles, indeed except when ideas peculiar to the Epistle come to expression it is simply a mosaic of Pauline phraseology," without accepting his conclusion that Paul did not write it. We feel, as we read, that we have in our hands the work of one with whom the other epistles have made us familiar. Yet we are conscious none the less of certain subtle differences which give occasion for the various arguments that critics have brought against the claim that Paul is the actual author. This is not questioned until the beginning of the last century, but has been since Schleiermacher and his disciple Usteri, though the latter published his doubts before his master did his. The Tubingen scholars attacked the epistle mainly on the ground of supposed traces of Gnostic or Montanist influences, akin to those ascribed to the Colossians. Later writers have given over this claim to put forward others based on differences of style (De Wette, followed by Holtzmann, von Soden and others); dependence on Colossians (Hitzig, Holtzmann); the attitude to the Apostles (von Soden); doctrinal differences, especially those that concern Christology and the Parousia, the conception of the church (Klopper, Wrede and others). The tendency, however, seems to be backward toward a saner view of the questions involved; and most of those who do not accept the Pauline authorship would probably agree with Julicher (Encyclopedia Biblica), who ascribes it to a "Pauline Christian intimately familiar with the Pauline epistles, especially with Colossians, writing about 90," who sought in Ephesians "to put in a plea for the true catholicism in the meaning of Paul and in his name."
(3) Certain of these positions require that we should examine the doctrinal objections. (a) First of these is the claim that Ephesians has a different conception of the person and work of Christ from the acknowledged epistles of Paul. Not only have we the exaltation of Christ which we find in Colossians 1:16, but the still further statement that it was God's purpose from the beginning to "sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth" (Ephesians 1:10). This is no more than the natural expansion of the term, "all things," which are attributed to Christ in 1 Corinthians 8:6, and is an idea which has at least its foreshadowing in Romans 8:19, 20 and 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19. The relation between Christ and the church as given in Ephesians 1:22 and 5:23 is in entire agreement with Paul's teaching in Romans 12, and 1 Corinthians 12. It is still the Pauline figure of the church as the body of Christ, in spite of the fact that Christ is not thought of as the head of that body. The argument in the epistle does not deal with the doctrine of the cross from the standpoint of the earlier epistles, but the teaching is exactly the same. There is redemption (Ephesians 1:7, 14; Ephesians 4:30); reconciliation (Ephesians 2:14-16); forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 4:32). The blood of Christ shed on the cross redeems us from our sin and restores us to God. In like manner it is said that the Parousia is treated (Ephesians 2:7) as something far off. But Paul has long since given up the idea that it is immediately; even in 2 Thessalonians 2 he shows that an indeterminate interval must intervene, and in Romans 11:25 he sees a period of time yet unfulfilled before the end. (b) The doctrine of the church is the most striking contrast to the earlier epistles. We have already dealt with the relation of Christ to the church. The conception of the church universal is in advance of the earlier epistles, but it is the natural climax of the development of the apostle's conception of the church as shown in the earlier epistles. Writing from Rome with the idea of the empire set before him, it was natural that Paul should see the church as a great whole, and should use the word ekklesia absolutely as signifying the oneness of the Christian brotherhood. As a matter of fact the word is used in this absolute sense in 1 Corinthians 12:28 before the Captivity Epistles (compare 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Corinthians 10:32). The emphasis here on the unity of Jew and Gentile in the church finds its counterpart in the argument of the Epistle to the Romans, though in Ephesians this is "urged on the basis of God's purpose and Christian faith, rather than on the Law and the Promises."
Neither is it true that in Ephesians the Law is spoken of slightingly, as some say, by the reference to circumcision (2:11). In no case is the doctrinal portion of the epistle counter to that of the acknowledged Pauline epistles, though in the matter of the church, and of Christ's relationship to it and to the universe, there is evidence of progress in the apostle's conception of the underlying truths, which none the less find echoes in the earlier writings. "New doctrinal ideas, or a new proportion of these ideas, is no evidence of different authorship." (c) In the matter of organization the position of Ephesians is not in any essential different from what we have in 1 Cor.
(4) The linguistic argument is a technical matter of the use of Greek words that cannot well be discussed here. The general differences of style, the longer "turgid" sentences, the repetitions on the one hand; the lack of argument, the full, swelling periods on the other, find their counterpart in portions of Romans. The minute differences which show themselves in new or strange words will be much reduced in number when we take from the list those that are due to subjects which the author does not discuss elsewhere (e.g. those in the list of armor in Ephesians 6:13). Holtzmann (Einl, 25) gives us a list of these hapax legomena (76 in all). But there are none of these which, as Lock says, Paul could not have used, though there are certain which he does not use elsewhere and others which are only found in his accepted writings and here. The following stand out as affording special ground for objection. The phrase "heavenly places" (ta epourania, Ephesians 1:3, 10; Ephesians 2:6; Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 6:12) is peculiar to this epistle. The phrase finds a partial parallel it in 1 Corinthians 15:49 and the thought is found in Philippians 3:20. The devil (ho diabolos, Ephesians 4:27; Ephesians 6:11) is used in place of the more usual Satan (satanas).
But in Acts Paul is quoted as using diabolos in 13:10 and satanas in 26:18. It is at least natural that he would have used the Greek term when writing from Rome to a Greek-speaking community. The objection to the expression "holy" (hagiois) apostles (Ephesians 3:5) falls to the ground when we remember that the expression "holy" (hagios) is Paul's common word for Christian and that he uses it of himself in this very epistle (Ephesians 3:8). In like manner "mystery" (musterion), "dispensation" (oikonomia) are found in other epistles in the same sense that we find them in here. The attack on the epistle fails, whether it is made from the point of teaching or language; and there is no ground whatever for questioning the truth of Christian tradition that Paul wrote the letter which we know as the Epistle to the Ephesians.
II. Place and Date of Writing.
The time and place of his writing Ephesians turn on the larger question of the chronology of Paul's life (see PAUL) and the relation of the Captivity Epistles to each other; and the second question whether they were written from Caesarea or Rome (for this see PHILEMON, EPISTLE TO). Suffice it here to say that the place was undoubtedly Rome, and that they were written during the latter part of the two years' captivity which we find recorded in Acts 28:30. The date will then be, following the later chronology, 63 or 64 A.D.; following the earlier, which is, in many ways, to be preferred, about 58 A.D.
To whom was this letter written?
The title says to the Ephesians. With this the witness of the early church almost universally agrees. It is distinctly stated in the Muratorian Fragment (10b, 1. 20); and the epistle is quoted as to the Ephesians by Irenaeus (Adv. Haer., v.14, 3; 24, 3); Tertullian (Adv. Marc., v.11, 17; De Praesc., 36; De Monag., v); Clement of Alexandria (Strom., iv0.65; Paed., i.18) and Origen (Contra Celsum, iii.20). To these must be added the evidence of the extant manuscripts and VSS, which unite in ascribing the epistle to the Ephesians. The only exception to the universal evidence is Tertullian's account of Marcion (circa 150 A.D.) who reads Ad Laodicenos (Adv. Marc., v.11: "I say nothing here about another epistle which we have with the heading `to the Ephesians,' but the heretics `to the Laodiceans'. (v.17): According to the true belief of the church we hold this epistle to have been dispatched to the Ephesians, not to the Laodiceans; but Marcion had to falsify its title, wishing to make himself out a very diligent investigator").
2. The Inscription:
This almost universal evidence for Ephesus as the destination of our epistle is shattered when we turn to the reading of the first verse. Here according to Textus Receptus of the New Testament we read "Paul unto the saints which are at Ephesus (en Epheso) and to the faithful in Christ Jesus." When we look at the evidence for this reading we find that the two words en Epheso are lacking in Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, and that the corrector of the cursive known as 67 has struck them out of his copy. Besides these a recently described MS, Cod. Laura 184, giving us a text which is so closely akin to that used by Origen that the scribe suggests that it was compiled from Origen's writings, omits these words (Robinson, Ephesians, 293). To this strong manuscript evidence against the inclusion of these two words in the inscription we must add the evidence of Origen and Basil. Origen, as quoted in Cramer's Catena at the place, writes: "In the Ephesians alone we found the expression `to the saints which are,' and we ask, unless the phrase `which are' is redundant, what it can mean. May it not be that as in Exodus He who speaks to Moses declares His name to be the Absolute One, so also those who are partakers of the Absolute become existent when they are called, as it were, from non-being into being?" Origen evidently knows nothing here of any reading en Epheso, but takes the words "which are" in an absolute, metaphysical sense. Basil, a century and a half later, probably refers to this comment of Origen (Contra Eun., ii.19) saying: "But moreover, when writing to the Ephesians, as to men who are truly united with the Absolute One through clear knowledge, he names them as existent ones in a peculiar phrase, saying `to the saints which are and faithful in Christ Jesus.' For so those who were before us have handed it down, and we also have found (this reading) in old copies." In Jerome's note on this verse there is perhaps a reference to this comment on Origen, but the passage is too indefinitely expressed for us to be sure what its bearing on the reading really is. The later writers quoted by Lightfoot (Biblical Essays, 384) cannot, as Robinson shows (Eph, 293), be used as witnesses against the Textus Receptus. We may therefore conclude that the reading en Epheso was wanting in many early manuscripts, and that there is good ground for questioning its place in the original autograph. But the explanations suggested for the passage, as it stands without the words, offend Pauline usage so completely that we cannot accept them. To take "which are" in the phrase "the saints which are" (tois ousin) as absolute, as Origen did; or as meaning "truly," is impossible. It is possible to take the words with what follows, "and faithful" (kai pistois), and interpret this latter expression (pistois) either in the New Testament sense of "believers" or in the classical sense of "steadfast." The clause would then read either "to the saints who are also believers," or "to the saints who are also faithful," i.e. steadfast. Neither of these is wholly in accord with Paul's normal usage, but they are at least possible.
3. The Evidence of the Letter Itself:
The determining factor in the question of the destination of the epistle lies in the epistle itself. We must not forget that, save perhaps Corinth, there was no church with which Paul was so closely associated as that in Ephesus. His long residence there, of which we read in Acts (chapters 19; 20), finds no echo in our epistle. There is no greeting to anyone of the Christian community, many of whom were probably intimate friends. The close personal ties, that the scene of Acts 20:17-38 shows us existed between him and his converts in Ephesus, are not even hinted at. The epistle is a calm discussion, untouched with the warmth of personal allusion beyond the bare statement that the writer is a prisoner (Ephesians 3:1; Ephesians 4:1), and his commendation of Tychicus (Ephesians 6:21, 22), who was to tell them about Paul's condition in Rome. This lack of personal touch is intensified by the assumption underlying Ephesians 3 and 4 that the readers do not know his knowledge of the mysteries of Christ. In 3:2 and 4:21, 22 there is a particle (eige, "if indeed") which suggests at least some question as to how far Paul himself was the missionary through whom they believed. All through the epistle there is a lack of those elements which are so constant in the other epistles, which mark the close personal fellowship and acquaintance between the apostle and those to whom he is writing.
This element in the epistle, coupled with the strange fact of Marcion's attributing it to the Laodiceans, and the expression in Colossians 4:16 that points to a letter coming from Laodicea to Colosse, has led most writers of the present day to accept Ussher's suggestion that the epistle is really a circular letter to the churches either in Asia, or, perhaps better, in that part of Phrygia which lies near Colosse. The readers were evidently Gentiles (Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 3:1, 2) and from the mission of Tychicus doubtless of a definite locality, though for the reasons given above this could not well be Ephesus alone. It is barely possible that the cities to whom John was bidden to write the Revelation (Revelation 1-3) are the same as those to whom Paul wrote this epistle, or it may be that they were the churches of the Lycus valley and its immediate neighborhood. The exact location cannot be determined. But from the fact that Marcion attributed the epistle to Laodicea, possibly because it was so written in the first verse, and from the connection with Colossians, it is at least probable that two of these churches were at Colosse and Laodicea. On this theory the letter would seem to have been written from Rome to churches in the neighborhood of, or accessible to, Colosse, dealing with the problem of Christian unity and fellowship and the relations between Christ and the church and sent to them by the hands of Tychicus. The inscription was to be filled in by the bearer, or copies were to be made with the name of the local church written in, and then sent to or left with the different churches. It was from Ephesus, as the chief city of Asia in all probability, that copies of this circular letter reached the church in the world, and from this fact the letter came to be known in the church at large as that from Ephesus, and the title was written "to the Ephesians," and the first verse was made to read to the "saints which are in Ephesus."
IV. Relation to Other New Testament Writings.
Ephesians raises a still further question by the close resemblances that can be traced between it and various other New Testament writings.
The connection between Ephesians and 1 Peter is not beyond question. In spite of the disclaimer of as careful a writer as Dr. Bigg (ICC) it is impossible to follow up the references given by Holtzmann and others and not feel that Peter either knew Ephesians or at the very least had discussed these subjects with its author. For, as Dr. Hort tells us, the similarity is one of thought and structure rather than of phrase. The following are the more striking passages with their parallels in 1 Peter: Ephesians 1:3 (1 Peter 1:3); 1:18-20 (1 Peter 1:3-5); 2:18-22 (1 Peter 2:4-6); 1:20-22 (1 Peter 3:22); 3:9 (1 Peter 1:20); 3:20 (1 Peter 1:12); 4:19 (1 Peter 1:14). The explanations that 1 Peter and Ephesians are both from the pen of the same writer, or that Ephesians is based on 1 Pet, are overthrown, among other reasons, by the close relation between Ephesians and Colossians.
2. Johannine Writings:
The connection with the Apocalypse is based on Ephesians 2:20 as compared with Revelation 21:14 Ephesians 3:5 and Revelation 10:7 Ephesians 5:11 and Revelation 18:4, and the figure of the bride of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7; compare Ephesians 5:25). Holtzmann adds various minor similarities, but none of these are sufficient to prove any real knowledge of, let alone dependence on Ephesians. The contact with the Fourth Gospel is more positive. Love (agape) and knowledge (gnosis) are used in the same sense in both Ephesians and the Gospel. The application of the Messianic title, the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6), to Christ does not appear in the Gospel (it is found in Matthew 3:17), but the statement of the Father's love for Him constantly recurs. The reference to the going up and coming down of Christ (Ephesians 4:9) is closely akin to John 3:13 ("No man hath ascended into heaven, but he," etc.). So, too, Ephesians 5:11, 13 finds echo in John 3:19, 20 Ephesians 4:4, 7 in John 3:34 Ephesians 5:6 in John 3:36. Ephesians 5:8 is akin to 1 John 1:6 and Ephesians 2:3 to 1 John 3:10.
When we turn to Colossians we find a situation that is without parallel in the New Testament. Out of 155 verses in Ephesians, 78 are found in Colossians in varying degrees of identity. Among them are these: Ephesians 1:6 parallel Colossians 1:13 Ephesians 1:16 parallel Colossians 1:9 Ephesians 1:21 parallel Colossians 1:16; Ephesians 2:16 parallel Colossians 2:20 Ephesians 4:2 parallel Colossians 3:12 Ephesians 4:15 parallel Colossians 2:19 Ephesians 4:22 parallel Colossians 3:9 Ephesians 4:32 parallel Colossians 3:12; Ephesians 5:5 parallel Colossians 3:5 Ephesians 5:19 parallel Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 6:4 parallel Colossians 3:21 Ephesians 6:5-9 parallel Colossians 3:22-4:1. For a fuller list see Abbott (ICC, xxiii). Not only is this so, but there is an identity of treatment, a similarity in argument so great that Bishop Barry (NT Commentary for English Readers, Ellicott) can make a parallel analysis showing the divergence and similarity by the simple device of different type. To this we must add that there are at least a dozen Greek words common to these two epistles not found elsewhere. Over against this similarity is to be set the dissimilarity. The general subject of the epistles is not approached from the same standpoint.
In one it is Christ as the head of all creation, and our duty in consequence. In the other it is the church as the fullness of Christ and our duty-put constantly in the same words-in consequence thereof. In Ephesians we have a number of Old Testament references, in Colossians only one. In Ephesians we have unique phrases, of which "the heavenly spheres" (ta epourania) is most striking, and the whole treatment of the relation of Jew and Gentile in the church, and the marriage tie as exemplified in the relation between Christ and the church. In Colossians we have in like manner distinct passages which have no parallel in Ephesians, especially the controversial section in chapter 2, and the salutations. In truth, as Davies (Ephesians, Paul to Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians.) well says: "It is difficult indeed to say, concerning the patent coincidences of expression in the two epistles, whether the points of likeness or of unlikeness between them are the more remarkable." This situation has given rise to various theories.
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e-pis'-'-l (epistole, "a letter," "epistle"; from epistello, "to send to"):
1. New Testament Epistles 2. Distinctive Characteristics 3. Letter-Writing in Antiquity 4. Letters in the Old Testament 5. Letters in the Apocrypha 6. Epistolary Writings in the New Testament 7. Epistles as Distinguished from Letters 8. Patristic Epistles 9. Apocryphal Epistles
1. New Testament Epistles:
A written communication; a term inclusive of all forms of written correspondence, personal and official, in vogue from an early antiquity. As applied to the twenty-one letters, which constitute well-nigh one-half of the New Testament, the word "epistle" has come to have chiefly a technical and exclusive meaning. It refers, in common usage, to the communications addressed by five (possibly six) New Testament writers to individual or collective churches, or to single persons or groups of Christian disciples. Thirteen of these letters were written by Paul; three by John; two by Peter; one each by James and Jude; one-the epistle to the Hebrews-by an unknown writer.
2. Distinctive Characteristics:
As a whole the Epistles are classified as Pauline, and Catholic, i.e. general; the Pauline being divided into two classes: those written to churches and to individuals, the latter being known as Pastoral (1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus; some also including Philemon; see Lange on Romans, American edition, 16). The fact that the New Testament is so largely composed of letters distinguishes it, most uniquely, from all the sacred writings of the world. The Scriptures of other oriental religions-the Vedas, the Zend Avesta, the Tripitaka, the Koran, the writings of Confucius-lack the direct and personal address altogether. The Epistles of the New Testament are specifically the product of a new spiritual life and era. They deal, not with truth in the abstract, but in the concrete. They have to do with the soul's inner experiences and processes. They are the burning and heart-throbbing messages of the apostles and their confreres to the fellow-Christians of their own day. The chosen disciples who witnessed the events following the resurrection of Jesus and received the power (Acts 1:8) bestowed by the Holy Spirit on, and subsequent to, the Day of Pentecost, were spiritually a new order of men. The only approach to them in the spiritual history of mankind is the ancient Hebrew prophets. Consequently the Epistles, penned by men who had experienced a great redemption and the marvelous intellectual emancipation and quickening that came with it, were an altogether new type of literature. Their object is personal. They relate the vital truths of the resurrection era, and the fundamental principles of the new teaching, to the individual and collective life of all believers. This specific aim accounts for the form in which the apostolic letters were written. The logic of this practical aim appears conspicuously in the orderly Epistles of Paul who, after the opening salutation in each letter, lays down with marvelous clearness the doctrinal basis on which he builds the practical duties of daily Christian life. Following these, as each case may require, are the personal messages and affectionate greetings and directions, suited to this familiar form of address.
The Epistles consequently have a charm, a directness, a vitality and power unknown to the other sacred writings of the world. Nowhere are they equaled or surpassed except in the personal instructions that fell from the lips of Jesus. Devoted exclusively to experimental and practical religion they have, with the teachings of Christ, become the textbook of the spiritual life for the Christian church in all subsequent time. For this reason "they are of more real value to the church than all the systems of theology, from Origen to Schleiermacher" (Schaff on St. Paul's Epistles, History of the Christian Church, 741). No writings in history so unfold the nature and processes of the redemptive experience. In Paul and John, especially, the pastoral instinct is ever supreme. Their letters are too human, too personal, too vital to be formal treatises or arguments. They throb with passion for truth and love for souls. Their directness and affectionate intensity convert their authors into prophets of truth, preachers of grace, lovers of men and missionaries of the cross. Hence, their value as spiritual biographies of the writers is immeasurable. As letters are the most spontaneous and the freest form of writing, the New Testament Epistles are the very life-blood of Christianity. They present theology, doctrine, truth, appeal, in terms of life, and pulsate with a vitality that will be fresh and re-creative till the end of time. (For detailed study of their chronology, contents and distinguishing characteristics, see articles on the separate epistles.)
3. Letter-Writing in Antiquity:
While the New Testament Epistles, in style and quality, are distinct from and superior to all other literature of this class, they nevertheless belong to a form of personal and written address common to all ages. The earliest known writings were epistolary, unless we except some of the chronologies and inscriptions of the ancient Babylonian and Assyrian kings. Some of these royal inscriptions carry the art of writing back to 3800 B.C., possibly to a period still earlier (see Goodspeed, Kent's Historical Series, 42-43, secs. 40-41), and excavations have brought to light "an immense mass of letters from officials to the court-correspondence between royal personages or between minor officials," as early as the reign of Khammurabi of Babylon, about 2275 B.C. (ibid., 33). The civilized world was astonished at the extent of this international correspondence as revealed in the Tell el-Amarna Letters (1480 B.C.), discovered in Egypt in 1887, among the ruins of the palace of Amenophis IV. This mass of political correspondence is thus approximately synchronous with the Hebrew exodus and the invasion of Canaan under Joshua.
4. Letters in the Old Testament:
As might be expected, then, the Old Testament abounds with evidences of extensive epistolary correspondence in and between the oriental nations. That a postal service was in existence in the time of Job (Job 9:25) is evident from the Hebrew term ratsim, signifying "runners," and used of the mounted couriers of the Persians who carried the royal edicts to the provinces. The most striking illustration of this courier service in the Old Testament occurs in Esther 3:13, 15; Esther 8:10, 14 where King Ahasuerus, in the days of Queen Esther, twice sends royal letters to the Jews and satraps of his entire realm from India to Ethiopia, on the swiftest horses. According to Herodotus, these were usually stationed, for the sake of the greatest speed, four parasangs apart. Hezekiah's letters to Ephraim and Manasseh were sent in the same way (2 Chronicles 30:1, 6, 10). Other instances of epistolary messages or communications in the Old Testament are David's letter to Joab concerning Uriah and sent by him (2 Samuel 11:14, 15); Jezebel's, to the elders and nobles of Jezreel, sent in Ahab's name, regarding Naboth (1 Kings 21:8, 9); the letter of Ben-hadad, king of Syria, to Jehoram, king of Israel, by the hand of Naaman (2 Kings 5:5-7); Jehu's letters to the rulers of Jezreel, in Samaria (2 Kings 10:1, 2, 6, 7); Sennacherib's letter to Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:14 Isaiah 37:14 2 Chronicles 32:17), and also that of Merodach-baladan, accompanied with a gift (2 Kings 20:12 Isaiah 39:1). Approximating the New Testament epistle in purpose and spirit is the letter of earnest and loving counsel sent by Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon. It is both apostolic and pastoral in its prophetic fervor, and is recorded in full (Jeremiah 29:1, 4-32) with its reference to the bitterly hostile and jealous letter of Shemaiah, the false prophet, in reply.
As many writers have well indicated, the Babylonian captivity must have been a great stimulus to letter-writing on the part of the separated Hebrews, and between the far East and Palestine. Evidences of this appear in the histories of Ezra and Nehemiah, e.g. the correspondence, back and forth, between the enemies of the Jews at Jerusalem and Artaxerxes, king of Persia, written in the Syrian language (Ezra 4:7-23); also the letter of Tattenai (the King James Version "Tatnai") the governor to King Darius (Ezra 5:6-17); that of Artaxerxes to Ezra (Ezra 7:11), and to Asaph, keeper of the royal forest (Nehemiah 2:8); finally the interchange of letters between the nobles of Judah and Tobiah; and those of the latter to Nehemiah (Nehemiah 6:17, 19; so Sanballat verse 5).
5. Letters in the Apocrypha:
The Old Testament Apocrypha contains choice specimens of personal and official letters, approximating in literary form the epistles of the New Testament. In each case they begin, like the latter, in true epistolary form with a salutation: "greeting" or "sendeth greeting" (APC 1Macc 11:30, 32; 12:6, 20; 15:2, 16), and in two instances closing with the customary "Fare ye well" or "Farewell" (2 Maccabees 11:27-33, 34-38; compare 2 Corinthians 13:11), so universally characteristic of letter-writing in the Hellenistic era.
6. Epistolary Writings in the New Testament:
The most felicitous and perfect example official correspondence in the New Testament is Claudius Lysias' letter to Felix regarding Paul (Acts 23:25-30). Equally complete in form is the letter, sent, evidently in duplicate, by the apostles and elders to their Gentilebrethren in the provinces of Asia (Acts 15:23-29). In these two letters we have the first, and with James 1:1, the only, instance of the Greek form of salutation in the New Testament (chairein). The latter is by many scholars regarded as probably the oldest letter in epistolary form in the New Testament, being in purport and substance a Pastoral Letter issued by the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem to the churches of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. It contained instructions as to the basis of Christian fellowship, similar to those of the great apostle to the churches under his care.
The letters of the high priest at Jerusalem commending Saul of Tarsus to the synagogues of Damascus are samples of the customary letters of introduction (Acts 9:2; Acts 22:5; compare Acts 28:21; also Acts 18:27). As a Christian apostle Paul refers to this common use of "epistles of commendation" (2 Corinthians 3:1 1 Corinthians 16:3) and himself made happy use of the same (Romans 16:1); he also mentions receiving letters, in turn, from the churches (1 Corinthians 7:1). Worthy of classification as veritable epistles are the letters, under the special guidance of the Holy Spirit, to the seven churches of Asia (Revelation 2:1-3:22). In fact, the entire Book of Re is markedly epistolary in form, beginning with the benedictory salutation of personal and apostolic address, and closing with the benediction common to the Pauline epistles. This again distinguishes the New Testament literature in spirit and form from all other sacred writings, being almost exclusively direct and personal, whether in vocal or written address. In this respect the gospels, histories and epistles are alike the product and exponent of a new spiritual era in the life of mankind.
7. Epistles as Distinguished from Letters:
This survey of epistolary writing in the far East, and especially in the Old Testament and New Testament periods, is not intended to obscure the distinction between the letter and the epistle. A clear line of demarcation separates them, owing not merely to differences in form and substance, but to the exalted spiritual mission and character of the apostolic letters. The characterization of a letter as more distinctly personal, confidential and spontaneous, and the epistle as more general in aim and more suited to or intended for publication, accounts only in part for the classification. Even when addressed to churches Paul's epistles were as spontaneous and intimately and affectionately personal as the ordinary correspondence. While intended for general circulation it is doubtful if any of the epistolary writers of the New Testament ever anticipated such extensive and permanent use of their letters as is made possible in the modern world of printing. The epistles of the New Testament are lifted into a distinct category by their spiritual eminence and power, and have given the word epistle a meaning and quality that will forever distinguish it from letter. In this distinction appears that Divine element usually defined as inspiration: a vitality and spiritual endowment which keeps the writings of the apostles permanently "living and powerful," where those of their successors pass into disuse and obscurity.
8. Patristic Epistles:
Such was the influence of the New Testament Epistles on the literature of early Christianity that the patristic and pseudepigraphic writings of the next century assumed chiefly the epistolary form. In letters to churches and individuals the apostolic Fathers, as far as possible, reproduced their spirit, quality and style.
9. Apocryphal Epistles:
Pseudo-epistles extensively appeared after the patristic era, many of them written and circulated in the name of the apostles and apostolic Fathers. SeeAPOCRYPHAL EPISTLES. This early tendency to hide ambitious or possibly heretical writings under apostolic authority and Scriptural guise may have accounted for the anathema pronounced by John against all who should attempt to add to or detract from the inspired revelation (Revelation 22:18, 19). It is hardly to be supposed that all the apostolic letters and writings have escaped destruction. Paul in his epistles refers a number of times to letters of his that do not now exist and that evidently were written quite frequently to the churches under his care (1 Corinthians 5:9 2 Corinthians 10:9, 10 Ephesians 3:3); "in every epistle" (2 Thessalonians 3:17) indicates not merely the apostle's uniform method of subscription but an extensive correspondence. Colossians 4:16 speaks of an "epistle from Laodicea," now lost, doubtless written by Paul himself to the church at Laodicea, and to be returned by it in exchange for his epistle to the church at Colosse.
Dwight M. Pratt
GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO THE
" I. THE AUTHORSHIP
1. Position of the Dutch School
2. Early Testimony
II. THE MATTER OF THE EPISTLE
A) Summary of Contents
2. Personal History (Galatians 1:11-2:21; 4:12-20; 6:17)
Paul's Independent Apostleship
3. The Doctrinal Polemic (Galatians 3:1-5:12)
(2) Main Argument
(3) Appeal and Warning
4. The Ethical Application (Galatians 5:12-6:10)
Law of the Spirit of Life
5. The Epilogue (Galatians 6:11-18)
B) Salient Points
1. The Principles at Stake
2. Present Stage of the Controversy
3. Paul's Depreciation of the Law
4. The Personal Question
1. Idiosyncrasy of the Epistle
2. Jewish Coloring
III. RELATIONS TO OTHER EPISTLES
1. Galatians and Romans
2. Links with 1 and 2 Corinthians
3. With the Corinthians-Romans Group
4. With Other Groups of Epistles
5. General Comparison
IV. THE DESTINATION AND DATE
1. Place and Time Interdependent
2. Internal Evidence
3. External Data
(1) Galatia and the Galatians
(2) Prima facie Sense of Acts 16:6
(3) The Grammar of Acts 16:6
(4) Notes of Time in the Epistle
(5) Paul's Renewed Struggle with Legalism (6) Ephesus or Corinth?
(7) Paul's First Coming to Galatia
(8) Barnabas and the Galatians
(9) The Two Antiochs
(10) Wider Bearings of the Problem
When and to whom, precisely, this letter was written, it is difficult to say; its authorship and purpose are unmistakable. One might conceive it addressed by the apostle Paul, in its main tenor, to almost any church of his Gentilemission attracted to Judaism, at any point within the years circa 45-60 A.D. Some plausibly argue that it was the earliest, others place it among the later, of the Pauline Epistles. This consideration dictates the order of our inquiry, which proceeds from the plainer to the more involved and disputable parts of the subject.
I. The Authorship.
1. Position of the Dutch School:
The Tubingen criticism of the last century recognized the four major epistles of Paul as fully authentic, and made them the corner-stone of its construction of New Testament history. Only Bruno Bauer (Kritik. d. paulin. Briefe, 1850-52) attacked them in this sense, while several other critics accused them of serious interpolations; but these attempts made little impression. Subsequently, a group of Dutch scholars, beginning with Loman in his Quaestiones Paulinae (1882) and represented by Van Manen in the Encyclopedia Biblica (art. "Paul"), have denied all the canonical epistles to the genuine Paul. They postulate a gradual development in New Testament ideas covering the first century and a half after Christ, and treat the existing letters as "catholic adaptations" of fragmentary pieces from the apostle's hand, produced by a school of "Paulinists" who carried their master's principles far beyond his own intentions. On this theory, Galatians, with its advanced polemic against the law, approaching the position of Marcion (140 A.D.), was work of the early 2nd century. Edwin Johnson in England (Antiqua Mater, 1887), and Steck in Germany (Galaterbrief, 1888), are the only considerable scholars outside of Holland who have adopted this hypothesis; it is rejected by critics so radical as Scholten and Schmiedel (see the article of the latter on "Galatians" in EB). Knowling has searchingly examined the position of the Dutch school in his Witness of the Epistles (1892)-it is altogether too arbitrary and uncontrolled by historical fact to be entertained; see Julicher's or Zahn's Introduction to New Testament (English translation), to the same effect. Attempts to dismember this writing, and to appropriate it for other hands and later times than those of the apostle Paul, are idle in view of its vital coherence and the passionate force with which the author's personality has stamped itself upon his work; the Paulinum pectus speaks in every line. The two contentions on which the letter turns-concerning Paul's apostleship, and the circumcision of GentileChristians-belonged to the apostle's lifetime: in the fifth and sixth decades these were burning questions; by the 2nd century the church had left them far behind.
2. Early Testimony:
Early Christianity gives clear and ample testimony to this document. Marcion placed it at the head of his Apostolikon (140 A.D.); Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Melito, quoted it about the same time. It is echoed by Ignatius (Philad., i) and Polycarp (Philip., iii and v) a generation earlier, and seems to have been used by contemporary Gnostic teachers. It stands in line with the other epistles of Paul in the oldest Latin, Syriac and Egyptian translations, and in the Muratorian (Roman) Canon of the 2nd century. It comes full into view as an integral part of the new Scripture in Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian at the close of this period. No breath of suspicion as to the authorship, integrity or apostolic authority of the Ep. to the Galatians has reached us from ancient times.
II. Matter of the Epistle.
A) Summary of Contents:
A double note of war sounds in the address and greeting (Galatians 1:1, 4). Astonishment replaces the customary thanksgiving (Galatians 1:6-10): The Galatians are listening to preachers of "another gospel" (1:6, 7) and traducers of the apostle (1:8, 10), whom he declares "anathema." Paul has therefore two objects in writing-to vindicate himself, and to clear and reinforce his doctrine. The first he pursues from 1:11 to 2:21; the second from 3:1 to 5:12. Appropriate: moral exhortations follow in 5:13-6:10. The closing paragraph (6:11-17) resumes incisively the purport of the letter. Personal, argumentative, and hortatory matter interchange with the freedom natural in a letter to old friends.
2. Personal History (Galatians 1:11-2:21 (4:12-20; 6:17)):
Paul's Independent Apostleship.
Paul asserts himself for his gospel's sake, by showing that his commission was God-given and complete (Galatians 1:11, 12). On four decisive moments in his course he dwells for this purpose-as regards the second manifestly (Galatians 1:20), as to others probably, in correction of misstatements:
(1) A thorough-paced Judaist and persecutor (Galatians 1:13, 14), Paul was supernaturally converted to Christ (Galatians 1:15), and received at conversion his charge for the Gentiles, about which he consulted no one (Galatians 1:16, 17).
(2) Three years later he "made acquaintance with Cephas" in Jerusalem and saw James besides, but no "other of the apostles" (Galatians 1:18, 19). For long he was known only by report to "the churches of Judea" (Galatians 1:21-24).
(3) At the end of "fourteen years" he "went up to Jerusalem," with Barnabas, to confer about the "liberty" of Gentilebelievers, which was endangered by "false brethren" (Galatians 2:1-5). Instead of supporting the demand for the circumcision of the "Greek" Titus (Galatians 2:3), the "pillars" there recognized the sufficiency and completeness of Paul's "gospel of the uncircumcision" and the validity of his apostleship (Galatians 2:6-8). They gave "right hands of fellowship" to himself and Barnabas on this understanding (Galatians 2:9, 10). The freedom of GentileChristianity was secured, and Paul had not "run in vain."
(4) At Antioch, however, Paul and Cephas differed (Galatians 2:11). Cephas was induced to withdraw from the common church-table, and carried "the rest of the Jews," including Barnabas, with him (Galatians 2:12, 13). "The truth of the gospel," with Cephas' own sincerity, was compromised by this "separation," which in effect "compelled the Gentiles to Judaize" (Galatians 2:13, 14). Paul therefore reproved Cephas publicly in the speech reproduced by Galatians 2:14-21, the report of which clearly states the evangelical position and the ruinous consequences (2:18, 21) of reestablishing "the law."
3. Doctrinal Polemic (Galatians 3:1-5:12):
The doctrinal polemic was rehearsed in the autobiography (Galatians 2:3-5, 11-12). In Galatians 2:16 is laid down thesis of the epistle: "A man is not justified by the works of law but through faith in Jesus Christ." This proposition is (a) demonstrated from experience and history in 3:1-4:7; then (b) enforced by 4:8-5:12.
(2) Main Argument.
(a1) From his own experience (Galatians 2:19-21) Paul passes to that of the readers, who are "bewitched" to forget "Christ crucified" (Galatians 3:1)! Had their life in "the Spirit" come through "works of the law" or the "hearing of faith"? Will the flesh consummate what the Spirit began (Galatians 3:2-5)?
(a2) Abraham, they are told, is the father of God's people; but `the men of faith' are Abraham's true heirs (Galatians 3:6-9). "The law" curses every transgressor; Scripture promised righteousness through faith for the very reason that justification by legal "doing" is impossible (Galatians 3:10, 12). "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law" in dying the death it declared "accursed" (Galatians 3:13). Thus He conveyed to the nations "the promise of the Spirit," pledged to them through believing Abraham (Galatians 3:7, 14).
(a3) The "testament" God gave to "Abraham and his seed" (a single "seed," observe) is unalterable. The Mosaic law, enacted 430 years later, could not nullify this instrument (Galatians 3:15-17 the King James Version). Nullified it wound have been, had its fulfillment turned on legal performance instead of Divine "grace" (Galatians 3:18).
(a4) "Why then the law?" Sin required it, pending the accomplishment of "the promise." Its promulgation through intermediaries marks its inferiority (Galatians 3:19, 20). With no power `to give life,' it served the part of a jailer guarding us till "faith came," of "the paedagogus" training us `for Christ' (Galatians 3:21-25).
(a5) But now "in Christ," Jew and Greek alike, "ye are all sons of God through faith"; being such, "you are Abraham's seed" and `heirs in terms of the promise' (Galatians 3:26-29). The `infant' heirs, in tutelage, were `subject to the elements of the world,' until "God sent forth his Son," placed in the like condition, to "redeem" them (Galatians 4:1-5). Today the "cry" of "the Spirit of his Son" in your "hearts" proves this redemption accomplished (Galatians 4:6, 7).
The demonstration is complete; Galatians 3:1-4:7 forms the core of the epistle. The growth of the Christian consciousness has been traced from its germ in Abraham to its flower in the church of all nations. The Mosaic law formed a disciplinary interlude in the process, which has been all along a life of faith. Paul concludes where he began (3:2), by claiming the Spirit as witness to the full salvation of the Gentiles; compare Romans 8:1-27 2 Corinthians 3:4-18; Ephesians 1:13, 14. From Galatians 4:8 onward to 5:12, the argument is pressed home by appeal, illustration and warning.
(3) Appeal and Warning.
(b1) After "knowing God," would the Galatians return to the bondage in which ignorantly they served as gods "the elements" of Nature? (4:8, 9). Their adoption of Jewish "seasons" points to this backsliding (4:10, 11).
(b2) Paul's anxiety prompts the entreaty of 4:12-20, in which he recalls his fervent reception by his readers, deplores their present alienation, and confesses his perplexity.
(b3) Observe that Abraham had two sons-"after the flesh" and "through promise" (4:21-23); those who want to be under law are choosing the part of Ishmael: "Hagar" stands for `the present Jerusalem' in her bondage; `the Jerusalem above is free-she is our mother!' (4:24-28, 31). The fate of Hagar and Ishmael pictures the issue of legal subjection (4:29, 30): "Stand fast therefore" (5:1). (b4) The crucial moment comes at 5:2: the Galatians are half-persuaded (5:7, 8); they will fatally commit themselves, if they consent to `be circumcised.' This will sever them from Christ, and bind them to complete observance of Moses' law: law or grace-by one or the other they must stand (5:3-5). "Circumcision, uncircumcision"-these "count for nothing in Christ Jesus" (5:6). Paul will not believe in the defection of those who `ran' so "well"; "judgment" will fall on their `disturber' (5:7-10, 12). Persecution marks himself as no circumcisionist (5:11)!
4. The Ethical Application (Galatians 5:13-6:10):
Law of the Spirit of Life
The ethical application is contained in the phrase of Romans 8:2, "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus."
(1) Love guards Christian liberty from license; it `fulfills the whole law in a single word' (Galatians 5:13-15).
(2) The Spirit, who imparts freedom, guides the free man's "walk." Flesh and spirit are, opposing principles: deliverance from "the flesh" and its "works" is found in possession by "the Spirit," who bears in those He rules His proper "fruit." `Crucified with Christ' and `living in the Spirit,' the Christian man keeps God's law without bondage under it (Galatians 5:16-26).
(3) In cases of unwary fall, `men of the Spirit' will know how to "restore" the lapsed, `fulfilling Christ's law' and mindful of their own weakness (Galatians 6:1-5).
(4) Teachers have a peculiar claim on the taught; to ignore this is to `mock God.' Men will "reap corruption" or "eternal life," as in such matters they `sow to the flesh' or `to the Spirit.' Be patient till the harvest! (Galatians 6:6-10).
5. The Epilogue (Galatians 6:11-18):
The autograph conclusion (Galatians 6:11) exposes the sinister motive of the circumcisionists, who are ashamed of the cross, the Christian's only boast (Galatians 6:12-15). Such men are none of "the Israel of God!" (Galatians 6:16). "The brand of Jesus" is now on Paul's body; at their peril "henceforth" will men trouble him! (Galatians 6:17). The benediction follows (Galatians 6:18).
B) Salient Points:
1. The Principles at Stake:
The postscript reveals the inwardness of the legalists' agitation. They advocated circumcision from policy more than from conviction, hoping to conciliate Judaism and atone for accepting the Nazarene-to hide the shame of the cross-by capturing for the Law the Gentilechurches. They attack Paul because he stands in the way of this attempt. Their policy is treason; it surrenders to the world that cross of Christ, to which the world for its salvation must unconditionally submit. The grace of God the one source of salvation Galatians (1:3; 2:21; 5:4), the cross of Christ its sole ground (1:4; 2:19-21; 3:13; 6:14), faith in the Good News its all-sufficient means (2:16, 20; 3:2, 5-9, 23-26; 5:5), the Spirit its effectuating power (3:2-5; 4:6, 7; 5:5, 16-25; 6:8)-hence, emancipation from the Jewish law, and the full status of sons of God open to the Gentiles (2:4, 5, 15-19; 3:10-14; 3:28-4:9, 26-31; 5:18; 6:15): these connected principles are at stake in the contention; they make up the doctrine of the epistle.
2. Present Stage of the Controversy:
Circumcision is now proposed by the Judaists as a supplement to faith in Christ, as the qualification for sonship to Abraham and communion with the apostolic church (Galatians 3:7, 29). After the Council at Jerusalem, they no longer say outright, "Except ye be circumcised after the custom of Moses, ye cannot be saved" (Acts 15:1). Paul's Galatian converts, they admit, "have begun in the Spirit"; they bid them "be perfected" and attain the full Christian status by conforming to Moses-"Christ will profit" them much more, if they add to their faith circumcision (Galatians 3:3; Galatians 5:2; compare Romans 3:1). This insidious proposal might seem to be in keeping with the findings of the Council; Peter's action at Antioch lent color to it. Such a grading of the Circumcision and Uncircumcision within the church offered a tempting solution of the legalist controversy; for it appeared to reconcile the universal destination of the gospel with the inalienable prerogatives of the sons of Abraham. Paul's reply is, that believing Gentiles are already Abraham's "seed"-nay, sons and heirs of God; instead of adding anything, circumcision would rob them of everything they have won in Christ; instead of going on to perfection by its aid, they would draw back unto perdition.
3. Paul's Depreciation of the Law:
Paul carries the war into the enemies' camp, when he argues,
(a) that the law of Moses brought condemnation, not blessing, on its subjects (Galatians 3:10-24); and
(b) that instead of completing the work of faith, its part in the Divine economy was subordinate (Galatians 3:19-25).
It was a temporary provision, due to man's sinful unripeness for the original covenant (Galatians 3:19, 24; Galatians 4:4). The Spirit of sonship, now manifested in the Gentiles, is the infallible sign that the promise made to mankind in Abraham has been fulfilled. The whole position of the legalists is undermined by the use the apostle makes of the Abrahamic covenant.
4. The Personal Question:
The religious and the personal questions of the epistle are bound up together; this Galatians 5:2 clearly indicates. The latter naturally emerges first (1:1, 11). Paul's authority must be overthrown, if his disciples are to be Judaized. Hence, the campaign of detraction against him (compare 2 Corinthians 10-12). The line of defense indicates the nature of the attack. Paul was said to be a second-hand, second-rate apostle, whose knowledge of Christ and title to preach Him came from Cephas and the mother church. In proof of this, an account was given of his career, which he corrects in Galatians 1:13-2:21. "Cephas" was held up (compare 1 Corinthians 1:12) as the chief of the apostles, whose primacy Paul had repeatedly acknowledged; and "the pillars" at Jerusalem were quoted as maintainers of Mosaic rule and authorities for the additions to be made to Paul's imperfect gospel. Paul himself, it was insinuated, "preaches circumcision" where it suits him; he is a plausible time-server (Galatians 1:10; Galatians 5:11; compare Acts 16:3 1 Corinthians 9:19-21). The apostle's object in his self-defense is not to sketch his own life, nor in particular to recount his visits to Jerusalem, but to prove his independent apostleship and his consistent maintenance of Gentilerights. He states, therefore, what really happened on the critical occasions of his contact with Peter and the Jerusalem church. To begin with, he received his gospel and apostolic office from Jesus Christ directly, and apart from Peter (Galatians 1:13-20); he was subsequently recognized by "the pillars" as apostle, on equality with Peter (Galatians 2:6-9); he had finally vindicated his doctrine when it was assailed, in spite of Peter (Galatians 2:11-12). The adjustment of Paul's recollections with Luke's narrative is a matter of dispute, in regard both to the conference of Galatians 2:1-10 and the encounter of 2:11-21; to these points we shall return, iv.3 (4), (5).
1. Idiosyncrasy of the Epistle:
This is a letter of expostulation. Passion and argument are blended in it. Hot indignation and righteous scorn (Galatians 1:7-9; Galatians 4:17; Galatians 5:10, 12; 6:12, 13), tender, wounded affection (Galatians 4:11-20), deep sincerity and manly integrity united with the loftiest consciousness of spiritual authority (Galatians 1:10-12, 20; Galatians 2:4-6, 14; 5:02; 6:17), above all a consuming devotion to the person and cross of the Redeemer, fill these few pages with an incomparable wealth and glow of Christian emotion. The power of mind the epistle exhibits matches its largeness of heart. Roman indeed carries out the argument with greater breadth and theoretic completeness; but Galatians excels in pungency, incisiveness, and debating force. The style is that of Paul at the summit of his powers. Its spiritual elevation, its vigor and resource, its subtlety and irony, poignancy and pathos, the vis vivida that animates the whole, have made this letter a classic of religious controversy. The blemishes of Paul's composition, which contribute to his mastery of effect, are conspicuous here-his abrupt turns and apostrophes, and sometimes difficult ellipses (Galatians 2:4-10, 20; Galatians 4:16-20; 5:13), awkward parentheses and entangled periods (Galatians 2:1-10, 18; Galatians 3:16, 20; 4:25), and outburst of excessive vehemence (Galatians 1:8, 9; Galatians 5:12).
2. Jewish Coloring:
The anti-legalist polemic gives a special Old Testament coloring to the epistle; the apostle meets his adversaries on their own ground. In Galatians 3:16, 19-20; Galatians 4:21-31, we have examples of the rabbinical exegesis Paul had learned from his Jewish masters. These texts should be read in part as argumenta ad hominem; however peculiar in form such Pauline passages may be, they always contain sound reasoning.
III. Relations to Other Epistles.
(1) The connection of Galatians with Romans is patent; it is not sufficiently understood how pervasive that connection is and into what manifold detail it extends. The similarity of doctrine and doctrinal vocabulary manifest in Galatians 2:13-6:16 and Romans 1:16-8:39 is accounted for by the Judaistic controversy on which Paul was engaged for so long, and by the fact that this discussion touched the heart of his gospel and raised questions in regard to which his mind was made up from the beginning (1:15, 16), on which he would therefore always express himself in much the same way. Broadly speaking, the difference is that Romans is didactic and abstract, where Galatians is personal and polemical; that the former presents, a measured and rounded development of conceptions projected rapidly in the latter under the stress of controversy. The emphasis lies in Romans on justification by faith; in Galatians on the freedom of the Christian man. The contrast of tone is symptomatic of a calmer mood in the writer-the lull which follows the storm; it suits the different address of the two epistles.
1. Galatians and Romans:
Besides the correspondence of purport, there is a verbal resemblance to Romans pervading the tissue of Galatians, and traceable in its mannerisms and incidental expressions. Outside of the identical quotations, we find more than 40 Greek locutions, some of them rare in the language, common to these two and occurring in these only of Paul's epistles-including the words rendered "bear" (Romans 11:18 and Galatians 5:10, etc.); "blessing" or "gratulation" (makarismos), "divisions" (Romans 16:17 Galatians 5:20); "fail" or "fall from" (ekpipto); "labor on" or "upon" (of persons), "passions" (pathemata, in this sense); "set free" or "deliver" (eleutheroo); "shut up" or "conclude," and "shut out" or "exclude"; "travail (together)," and such phrases as "die to" (with dative), "hearing of faith," "if possible," "put on (the Lord Jesus) Christ," "those who do such things," "what saith the Scripture?" "where then?" (rhetorical), "why any longer?" The list would be greatly extended by adding expressions distinctive of this pair of letters that occur sporadically elsewhere in Paul. The kinship of Galatians-Romans in vocabulary and vein of expression resembles that existing between Colossians-Ephesians or 1 and 2 Thessalonians; it is twice as strong proportionately as that of 1 and 2 Corinthians. Not only the same current of thought, but with it, much the same stream of language was running through Paul's mind in writing these two epistles.
The association of Galatians with the two Corinthian letters, though less intimate than that of Galatians-Romans, is unmistakable.
2. Links with 1 and 2 Corinthians:
We count 23 distinct locations shared by 2 Corinthians alone (in its 13 chapters) with Galatians, and 20 such shared with 1 Corinthians (16 chapters)-a larger proportion for the former. Among the Galatians-1 Corinthians peculiarities are the sayings, "A little leaven," etc., "circumcision is nothing," etc., and the phrases, "be not deceived," "it is manifest" (delon as predicate to a sentence), "known by God," "profit nothing" and "to be something," "scandal of the cross," "the spiritual" (of persons), "they that are Christ's (of Christ Jesus)." Peculiar to Galatians through 2 Corinthians are "another gospel" and "false brethren," "brings into bondage," "devour" and "zealously seek" or "am jealous over" (of persons); "a new creation," "confirm" or "ratify" (kuroo); "I am perplexed," the antithesis of "sowing" and "reaping" (figuratively); the phrase "on the contrary" or "contrariwise" (t'ounantion), etc. The conception of the "two covenants" (or "testaments") is conspicuous in both epistles (Galatians 3:17-21; Galatians 4:21-31 2 Corinthians 3:8-18), and does not recur in Paul; in each case the ideas of "law" (or "letter"), "bondage," "death," are associated with the one, diatheke, of "spirit," "freedom," "life," with the other. Galatians 3:13 ("Christ. made a curse for us") is matched by 2 Corinthians 5:21 ("made sin for us"); in Galatians 2:19 and 6:14 we find Paul "crucified to the world" in the cross of his Master and "Christ" alone "living in" him; in 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 this experience becomes a universal law for Christians; and where in Galatians 6:17 the apostle appears as `from hence-forth. bearing in' his `body the brand of Jesus,' in 2 Corinthians 4:10 he is "always bearing about in" his "body the dying of Jesus."
These identical or closely congruous trains of thought and turns of phrase, varied and dominant as they are, speak for some near connection between the two writings. By its list of vices in Galatians 5:19, 20 Galatians curiously, and somewhat intricately, links itself at once with 2 Corinthians and Roman (see 2 Corinthians 12:20 Romans 13:13; Romans 16:17). Galatians is allied by argument and doctrine with Romans, and by temper and sentiment with 2 Corinthians. The storm of feeling agitating our epistle blows from the same quarter, reaches the same height, and engages the same emotions with those which animate 2 Corinthians 10-13.
3. With the Corinthians-Romans Group:
If we add to the 43 locutions confined in the Pauline Epistles to Galatians-Romans the 23 such of Galatians-2 Corinthians, the 20 of Galatians-1 Corinthians, the 14 that range over Galatians-Romans-2 Corinthians, the 15 of Galatians-Romans-1 Corinthians, the 7 of Galatians-1-2 Corinthians, and the 11 running through all four, we get a total of 133 words or phrases (apart from Old Testament quotations) specific to Galatians in common with one or more of the Corinthians-Romans group-an average, that is, of close upon 3 for each chapter of those other epistles.
With the other groups of Pauline letters Galatians is associated by ties less numerous and strong, yet marked enough to suggest, in conjunction with the general style, a common authorship.
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HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE
1. The Author's Culture and Style
2. Letter, Epistle or Treatise?
3. A Unity or a Composite Work?
III. THE AUTHOR
(1) Alexandrian: Paul
(2) African: Barnabas
(3) Rome and the West: Anonymous
2. The Witness of the Epistle Itself
(1) Paul not the Author
(2) Other Theories
(a) Luke and Clement
(b) Barnabas; Priscilla and Aquila; Philip; Aristion; Apollos
1. General Character of the Readers
2. Jews or Gentiles?
3. The Locality of the Readers
1. Terminal Dates
2. Conversion and History of the Readers
3. Doctrinal Development
4. The Fall of Jerusalem
6. Two Persecutions
1. Summary of Contents
2. The Main Theme
3. Alexandrian Influences
4. The Christian Factor
In the King James Version and the English Revised Version the title of this book describes it as "the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews." Modern scholarship has disputed the applicability of every word of this title. Neither does it appear in the oldest manuscripts, where we find simply "to Hebrews" (pros Hebraious). This, too, seems to have been prefixed to the original writing by a collector or copyist. It is too vague and general for the author to have used it. And there is nothing in the body of the book which affirms any part of either title. Even the shorter title was an inference from the general character of the writing. Nowhere is criticism less hampered by problems of authenticity and inspiration. No question arises, at least directly, of pseudonymity either of author or of readers, for both are anonymous. For the purpose of tracing the history and interpreting the meaning of the book, the absence of a title, or of any definite historical data, is a disadvantage. We are left to infer its historical context from a few fragments of uncertain tradition, and from such general references to historical conditions as the document itself contains. Where no date, name or well-known event is fixed, it becomes impossible to decide, among many possibilities, what known historical conditions, if any, are pre-supposed. Yet this very fact, of the book's detachment from personal and historical incidents, renders it more self-contained, and its exegesis less dependent upon understanding the exact historical situation. But its general relation to the thought of its time must be taken into account if we are to understand it at all.
II. Literary Form.
1. The Author's Culture and Style:
The writer was evidently a man of culture, who had a masterly command of the Greek language. The theory of Clement of Alexandria, that the work was a translation from Hebrew, was merely an inference from the supposition that it was first addressed to Hebrew-speaking Christians. It bears none of the marks of a translation. It is written in pure idiomatic Greek. The writer had an intimate knowledge of the Septuagint, and was familiar with Jewish life. He was well-read in Hellenic literally (e.g. Wisdom), and had probably made a careful study of Philo (see VI below). His argument proceeds continuously and methodically, in general, though not strict, accord with the rules of Greek rhetoric, and without the interruptions and digressions which render Paul's arguments so hard to follow. "Where the literary skill of the author comes out is in the deft adjustment of the argumentative to the hortatory sections" (Moffatt, Introduction, 424). He has been classed with Luke as the most "cultured" of the early Christian writers.
2. Letter, Epistle or Treatise?:
It has been questioned whether Hebrews is rightly called a letter at all. Unlike all Paul's letters, it opens without any personal note of address or salutation; and at the outset it sets forth, in rounded periods and in philosophical language, the central theme which is developed throughout. In this respect it resembles the Johannine writings alone in the New Testament. But as the argument proceeds, the personal note of application, exhortation and expostulation emerges more clearly (Hebrews 2:1; Hebrews 3:1-12; 4:1, 14; 5:11; 6:09; 10:09; 13:7); and it ends with greetings and salutations (Hebrews 13:18). The writer calls it "a word of exhortation." The verb epesteila (the Revised Version (British and American) "I have written") is the usual expression for writing a letter (Hebrews 13:22). Hebrews begins like an essay, proceeds like a sermon, and ends as a letter.
Deissmann, who distinguishes between a "true letter," the genuine personal message of one man to another, and an "epistle," or a treatise written in imitation of the form of a letter, but with an eye on the reading public, puts Hebrews in the latter class; nor would he "consider it anything but a literary oration-hence, not as an epistle at all-if the epesteila, and the greetings at the close, did not permit of the supposition that it had at one time opened with something of the nature of an address as well" (Bible Studies, 49-50). There is no textual or historical evidence of any opening address having ever stood as part of the text; nor does the opening section bear any mark or suggestion of fragmentariness, as if it had once followed such an address.
Yet the supposition that a greeting once stood at the beginning of our document is not so impossible as Zahn thinks (Introduction to the New Testament, II, 313), as a comparison with James or 1 Peter will show.
So unusual is the phenomenon of a letter without a greeting, that among the ancients, Pantaenus had offered the explanation that Paul, out of modesty, had refrained from putting his name to a letter addressed to the Hebrews, because the Lord Himself had been apostle to them.
In recent times, Julicher and Harnack have conjectured that the author intentionally suppressed the greeting, either from motives of prudence at a time of persecution, or because it was unnecessary, since the bearer of the letter would communicate the name of the sender to the recipients.
Overbeck advanced the more revolutionary hypothesis that the letter once opened with a greeting, but from someone other than Paul; that in order to satisfy the general conditions of canonization, the non-apostolic greeting was struck out by the Alexandrians, and the personal references in Hebrews 13:22-25 added, in order to represent it as Pauline.
3. A Unity or a Composite Work?:
W. Wrede, starting from this theory, rejects the first part of it and adopts the second. He does not base his hypothesis on the conditions of canonization, but on an examination of the writing itself. He adopts Deissmann's rejected alternative, and argues that the main part of the book was originally not an epistle at all, but a general doctrinal treatise. Then Hebrews 13, and especially 13:18, were added by a later hand, in order to represent the whole as a Pauline letter, and the book in its final form was made, after all, pseudonymous. The latter supposition is based upon an assumed reference to imprisonment in 13:19 (compare Philemon 1:22) and upon the reference to Timothy in Hebrews 13:23 (compare Philippians 2:19); and the proof that these professed Pauline phrases are not really Pauline is found in a supposed contradiction between Hebrews 13:19 and 13:23. But 13:19 does not necessarily refer to imprisonment exclusively or even at all, and therefore it stands in no contradiction with 13:23 (compare Romans 1:9-13). And Timothy must have associated with many Christian leaders besides Paul. But why should anybody who wanted to represent the letter as Pauline and who scrupled not to add to it for that purpose, refrain from the obvious device of prefixing a Pauline greeting? Moreover, it is only by the most forced special pleading that it can be maintained that Hebrews 1-12 are a mere doctrinal treatise, devoid of all evidences of a personal relation to a circumscribed circle of readers. The period and manner of the readers' conversion are defined (2:3). Their present spiritual condition is described in terms of such anxiety and hope as betoken a very intimate personal relation (5:11; 6:9-11). Their past conflicts, temptations, endurance and triumph are recalled for their encouragement under present trials, and both past and present are defined in particular terms that point to concrete situations well known to writer and readers (10:32-36). There is, it is true, not in Hebrews the same intense and all-pervading personal note as appears in the earlier Pauline letters; the writer often loses sight of his particular audience and develops his argument in detached and abstract form. But it cannot be assumed that nothing is a letter which does not conform to the Pauline model. And the presence of long, abstract arguments does not justify the excision or explaining away of undoubted personal passages. Neither the language nor the logic of the book either demands or permits the separation of doctrinal and personal passages from one another, so as to leave for residuum a mere doctrinal treatise. Doctrinal statements lead up to personal exhortations, and personal exhortations form the transition to new arguments; they are indissolubly involved in one another; and chapter 13 presents no such exceptional. features as to justify its separation from the whole work. There is really no reason, but the unwarrantable assumption that an ancient writer must have conformed with a certain convention of letter-writing, to forbid the acceptance of Hebrews for what it appears to be-a defense of Christianity written for the benefit of definite readers, growing more intimate and personal as the writer gathers his argument into a practical appeal to the hearts and consciences of his readers,
III. The Author.
Certain coincidences of language and thought between this epistle and that of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians justify the inference that Hebrews was known in Rome toward the end of the 1st century A.D. (compare Hebrews 11:7, 31 and 1:3 with Clement ad Cor 9, 12, 36). Clement makes no explicit reference to the book or its author: the quotations are unacknowledged. But they show that Hebrews already had some authority in Rome. The same inference is supported by similarities of expression found also in the Shepherd of Hermas. The possible marks of its influence in Polycarp and Justin Martyr are too uncertain and indefinite to justify any inference. Its name does not appear in the list of New Testament writings compiled and acknowledged by Marcion, nor in that of the Muratorian Fragment. The latter definitely assigns letters by Paul to only seven churches, and so inferentially excludes Hebrews.
When the book emerges into the clear light of history toward the end of the 2nd century, the tradition as to its authorship is seen to divide into three different streams.
(1) Alexandrian: Paul
In Alexandria, it was regarded as in some sense the work of Paul. Clement tells how his teacher, apparently Pantaenus, explained why Paul does not in this letter, as in others, address his readers under his name. Out of reverence for the Lord (II, 2, above) and to avoid suspicion and prejudice, he as apostle of the Gentiles refrains from addressing himself to the Hebrews as their apostle. Clement accepts this explanation, and adds to it that the original Hebrew of Paul's epistle had been translated into Greek by Luke. That Paul wrote in Hebrew was assumed from the tradition or inference that the letter was addressed to Aramaic-speaking Hebrews. Clement also had noticed the dissimilarity of its Greek from that of Paul's epistles, and thought he found a resemblance to that of Acts.
Origen starts with the same tradition, but he knew, moreover, that other churches did not accept the Alexandrian view, and that they even criticized Alexandria for admitting Hebrews into the Canon. And he feels, more than Clement, that not only the language, but the forms of thought are different from those of Paul's epistles. This he tries to explain by the hypothesis that while the ideas were Paul's, they had been formulated and written down by some other disciple. He found traditions that named Luke and Clement of Rome, but who the actual writer was, Origen declares that "God alone knows."
The Pauline tradition persisted in Alexandria, and by the 4th century it was accepted without any of the qualifications made by Clement and Origen. It had also in the same period spread over the other eastern churches, both Greek and Syrian. But the Pauline tradition, where it is nearest the fountain-head of history, in Clement and Origen, only ascribes Hebrews to Paul in a secondary sense.
(2) African: Barnabas
In the West, the Pauline tradition failed to assert itself till the 4th century, and was not generally accepted till the 5th century. In Africa, another tradition prevailed, namely, that Barnabas was the author. This was the only other definite tradition of authorship that prevailed in antiquity. Tertullian, introducing a quotation of Hebrews 6:1, 4-6, writes: "There is also an Epistle to the Hebrews under the name of Barnabas. and the Epistle of Barnabas is more generally received among the churches than that apocryphal `Shepherd' of adulterers" (De Pudicitia, 20). Tertullian is not expressing his mere personal opinion, but quoting a tradition which had so far established itself as to appear in the title of the epistle in the MS, and he betrays no consciousness of the existence of any other tradition. Zahn infers that this view prevailed in Montanist churches and may have originated in Asia. Moffatt thinks that it had also behind it "some Roman tradition" (Introduction, 437). If it was originally, or at any time, the tradition of the African churches, it gave way there to the Alexandrian view in the course of the 4th century. A Council of Hippo in 393 reckons "thirteen epistles of the apostle Paul, and one by the same to the Hebrews." A council of Carthage in 419 reckons "fourteen epistles of the apostle Paul." By such gradual stages did the Pauline tradition establish itself.
(3) Rome and the West: Anonymous
All the evidence tends to show that in Rome and the remaining churches of the West, the epistle was originally anonymous. No tradition of authorship appears before the 4th century. And Stephen Gobarus, writing in 600, says that both Irenaeus and Hippolytus denied the Pauline authorship. Photius repeats this statement as regards Hippolytus. Neither he nor Gobarus mentions any alternative view (Zahn, Intro, II, 310). The epistle was known in Rome (to Clement) toward the end of the 1st century, and if Paul's name, or any other, had been associated with it from the beginning, it is impossible that it could have been forgotten by the time of Hippolytus. The western churches had no reason for refusing to admit Hebrews into the Pauline and canonical list of books, except only that they did not believe it to be the work of Paul, or of any other apostle.
It seems therefore certain that the epistle first became generally known as an anonymous writing. Even the Alexandrian tradition implies as much, for it appears first as an explanation by Pantaenus why Paul concealed his name. The idea that Paul was the author was therefore an Alexandrian inference. The religious value of the epistle was naturally first recognized in Alexandria, and the name of Paul, the chief letter-writer of the church, at once occurred to those in search for its author. Two facts account for the ultimate acceptance of that view by the whole church. The spiritual value and authority of the book were seen to be too great to relegate it into the same class as the Shepherd or the Epistle of Barnabas. And the conception of the Canon developed into the hard-and-fast rule of apostolicity. No writing could be admitted into the Canon unless it had an apostle for its author; and when Hebrews could no longer be excluded, it followed that its apostolic authorship must be affirmed. The tradition already existing in Alexandria supplied the demand, and who but Paul, among the apostles, could have written it?
The Pauline theory prevailed together with the scheme of thought that made it necessary, from the 5th to the 16th century. The Humanists and the Reformers rejected it. But it was again revived in the 17th and 18th centuries, along with the recrudescence of scholastic ideas. It is clear, however, that tradition and history shed no light upon the question of the authorship of Hebrews. They neither prove nor disprove the Pauline, or any other theory.
2. The Witness of the Epistle Itself:
We are therefore thrown back, in our search for the author, on such evidence as the epistle itself affords, and that is wholly inferential. It seems probable that the author was a Hellenist, a Greek-speaking Jew. He was familiar with the Scriptures of the Old Testament and with the religious ideas and worship of the Jews. He claims the inheritance of their sacred history, traditions and institutions (Hebrews 1:1), and dwells on them with an intimate knowledge and enthusiasm that would be improbable, though not impossible, in a proselyte, and still more in a Christian convert from heathenism. But he knew the Old Testament only in the Septuagint translation, which he follows even where it deviates from the Hebrew. He writes Greek with a purity of style and vocabulary to which the writings of Luke alone in the New Testament can be compared. His mind is imbued with that combination of Hebrew and Greek thought which is best known in the writings of Philo. His general typological mode of thinking, his use of the allegorical method, as well as the adoption of many terms that are most familiar in Alexandrian thought, all reveal the Hellenistic mind. Yet his fundamental conceptions are in full accord with the teaching of Paul and of the Johannine writings.
The central position assigned to Christ, the high estimate of His person, the saving significance of His death, the general trend of the ethical teaching, the writer's opposition to asceticism and his esteem for the rulers and teachers of the church, all bear out the inference that he belonged to a Christian circle dominated by Pauline ideas. The author and his readers alike were not personal disciples of Jesus, but had received the gospel from those who had heard the Lord (Hebrews 2:3) and who were no longer living (Hebrews 13:7). He had lived among his readers, and had probably been their teacher and leader; he is now separated from them but he hopes soon to return to them again (Hebrews 13:18 f).
Is it possible to give a name to this person?
(1) Paul not the Author
Although the Pauline tradition itself proves nothing, the internal evidence is conclusive against it. We know enough about Paul to be certain that he could not have written Hebrews, and that is all that can be said with confidence on the question of authorship. The style and language, the categories of thought and the method of argument, all differ widely from those of any writings ascribed to Paul. The latter quotes the Old Testament from the Hebrew and Septuagint, but He only from Septuagint. Paul's formula of quotation is, "It is written" or "The scripture saith"; that of Hebrews, "God," or "The Holy Spirit," or "One somewhere saith." For Paul the Old Testament is law, and stands in antithesis to the New Testament, but in Hebrews the Old Testament is covenant, and is the "shadow" of the New Covenant. Paul's characteristic terms, "Christ Jesus," and "Our Lord Jesus Christ," are never found in Hebrews; and "Jesus Christ" only 3 times (10:10; 13:8), and "the Lord" (for Christ) only twice (2:3; 7:14)-phrases used by Paul over 600 times (Zahn). Paul's Christology turns around the death, resurrection and living presence of Christ in the church, that of Hebrews around His high-priestly function in heaven. Their conceptions of God differ accordingly. In Hebrews it is Judaistic-Platonistic, or (in later terminology) Deistic. The revelation of the Divine Fatherhood and the consequent immanence of God in history and in the world had not possessed the author s mind as it had Paul's. Since the present world is conceived in Hebrews as a world of "shadows," God could only intervene in it by mediators.
The experience and conception of salvation are also different in these two writers. There is no evidence in Hebrews of inward conflict and conversion and of constant personal relation with Christ, which constituted the entire spiritual life of Paul. The apostle's central doctrine, that of justification by faith, does not appear in Hebrews. Faith is less the personal, mystical relation with Christ, that it is for Paul, than a general hope which lays hold of the future to overcome the present; and salvation is accomplished by cleansing, sanctification and perfection, not by justification. While Paul's mind was not uninfluenced by Hellenistic thought, as we find it in Alexandria (as, e.g. in Col and Eph), it nowhere appears in his epistles so clearly and prominently as it does in Hebrews. Moreover, the author of Hebrews was probably a member of the community to which he writes (Hebrews 13:18 f), but Paul never stood in quite the relation supposed here to any church. Finally, Paul could not have written Hebrews 2:3, for he emphatically declares that he did not receive his gospel from the older disciples (Galatians 1:12; Galatians 2:6).
The general Christian ideas on which He was in agreement with Paul were part of the heritage which the apostle had left to all the churches. The few more particular affinities of Hebrews with certain Pauline writings (e.g. Hebrews 2:2 parallel Galatians 3:19 Hebrews 12:22; Hebrews 3:14 parallel Galatians 4:25 Hebrews 2:10 parallel Romans 11:36; also with Ephesians; see yon Soden, Hand-Commentar, 3) are easily explicable either as due to the author's reading of Paul's Epistles or as reminiscences of Pauline phrases that were current in the churches. But they are too few and slender to rest upon them any presumption against the arguments which disprove the Pauline tradition.
(2) Other Theories
The passage that is most conclusive against the Pauline authorship (Hebrews 2:3) is equally conclusive against any other apostle being the author. But almost every prominent name among the Christians of the second generation has been suggested. The epistle itself excludes Timothy (Hebrews 13:23), and Titus awaits his turn. Otherwise Luke, Clement of Rome, Barnabas, Silas, Apollos, Priscilla and Aquila, Philip the Deacon, and Aristion have all had their champions.
(a) Luke and Clement
The first two, Luke and Clement, were brought in through their connection with Paul. Where it was recognized that a direct Pauline authorship could not be maintained, the Pauline tradition might still be retained, if the epistle could be assigned to one of the apostle's disciples. These two were fixed upon as being well-known writers. But this very fact reveals the improbability of theory. Similar arguments from language and thought to those derived from the comparison of Hebrews with the Pauline writings avail also in the comparison of Hebrews with the writings of Luke and Clement. Both these disciples of the apostle adhere much closer to his system of thought than Hebrews does, and they reveal none of the influences of Alexandrian thought, which is predominant in Hebrews.
(b) Barnabas; Priscilla and Aquila; Philip; Aristion; Apollos
Of all the other persons suggested, so little is known that it is impossible to establish, with any convincing force, an argument for or against their authorship.
(i) Barnabas was a Levite of Cyprus (Acts 4:36), and once a companion of Paul (Acts 13:2). Another ancient writing is called "the Epistle of Barnabas," but it has no affinity with Hebrews. The coincidence of the occurrence of the word "consolation" in Barnabas' name (Acts 4:36) and in the writer's description of Hebrews (13:22) is quite irrelevant. Tertullian's tradition is the only positive argument in favor of the Barnabas theory. It has been argued against it that Barnabas, being a Levite, could not have shown the opposition to the Levitical system, and the unfamiliarity with it (Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 9:4), which is supposed to mark our epistle. But the author's Levitical system was derived, not from the Hebrew Old Testament, nor from the Jerusalem temple, but from Jewish tradition; and the supposed inaccuracies as to the daily sin offering (7:27), and the position of the golden altar of incense (9:4) have been traced to Jewish tradition (see Moffatt, Introduction, 438). And the writer's hostility to the Levitical system is not nearly as intense as that of Paul to Pharisaism. There is nothing that renders it intrinsically impossible that Barnabas was the author, nor is anything known of him that makes it probable; and if he was, it is a mystery why the tradition was confined to Africa.
(ii) Harnack has argued the probability of a joint authorship by Priscilla and Aquila. The interchange of "I" and "we" he explains as due to a dual authorship by persons intimately related, but such an interchange of the personal "I" and the epistolary "we" can be paralleled in the Epistles of Paul (e.g. Romans) where no question of joint authorship arises. The probable relation of the author to a church in Rome may suit Priscilla arid Aquila (compare Romans 16:5 with Hebrews 13:22-24), but even if this interpretation of the aforementioned passages were correct, it is possible and probable that Luke, Barnabas, Apollos, and certainly Clement, stood in a similar relation to a Roman church. Harnack, on this theory, explains the disappearance of the author's name as due to prejudice against women teachers. This is the only novel point in favor of this theory as compared with several others; and it does not explain why Aquila's name should not have been retained with the address. The evidences adduced of a feminine mind behind the epistle are highly disputable. On the other hand, a female disciple of Paul's circle would scarcely assume such authority in the church as the author of Hebrews does (13:17; compare 1 Corinthians 14:34). And nothing that is known of Priscilla and Aquila would suggest the culture and the familiarity with Alexandrian thought possessed by this writer. Acts 18:26 does not prove that they were expert and cultured teachers, but only that they knew and could repeat the salient points of Paul's early preaching. So unusual a phenomenon as this theory supposes demands more evidence to make it even probable. (But see Rendel Harris, Sidelights on New Testament Research, 148-76.)
(iii) Philip the Deacon and Aristion, "a disciple of the Lord" mentioned by Papias, are little more than names to us. No positive knowledge of either survives on which any theory can be built. It is probable that both were personal disciples of the Lord, and they could not therefore have written Hebrews 2:3.
(iv) Apollos has found favor with many scholars from Luther downward. No ancient tradition supports this theory, a fact which tells heavily against it, but not conclusively, for someone must have written the letter, and his name was actually lost to early tradition, unless it were Barnabas, and that tradition too was Unknown to the vast majority of the early churches. All that is known of Apollos suits the author of Hebrews. He may have learned the gospel from "them that heard" (2:3); he was a Jew, "an Alexandrian by race, a learned (or eloquent) man," "mighty in the Scriptures," "he powerfully confuted the Jews" (Acts 18:24), and he belonged to the same Pauline circle as Timothy and Titus (1 Corinthians 16:10-12 Titus 3:13; compare Hebrews 13:23). The Alexandrian type of thought, the affinities with Philo, the arguments from Jewish tradition and ceremonial, the fluent style, may all have issued from "an eloquent Jew of Alexandria." But it does not follow that Apollos was the only person of this type. The author may have been a Gentile, as the purity of his Greek language and style suggests; and the combination of Greek and Hebrew thought, which the epistle reflects, and even Philo's terms, may have had a wide currency outside Alexandria, as for instance in the great cosmopolitan cities of Asia. All that can be said is that the author of Hebrews was someone generally like what is known of Apollos, but who he actually was, we must confess with Origen, "God alone knows."
The identity of the first readers of Hebrews is, if possible, more obscure than that of the author. It was written to Christians, and to a specific body or group of Christians (see I above). The title "to Hebrews" might mean properly Palestinian Jews who spoke the Hebrew language, but the fact that the epistle was written in Greek excludes that supposition. It therefore meant Christians of Jewish origin, and gives no indication of their place of residence. The title represents an early inference drawn from the contents of the document, and the tradition it embodies was unanimously accepted from the 2nd century down to the early part of the last century. Now, however, a considerable body of critics hold that the original readers were Gentiles. The question is entirely one of inference from the contents of the epistle itself.
1. General Character of the Readers:
The readers, like the writer, received the gospel first from "them that heard" (Hebrews 2:3), from the personal disciples of the Lord, but they were not of their number. They had witnessed "signs and wonders" and "manifold powers" and "gifts of the Holy Spirit" (Hebrews 2:4). Their conversion had been thorough, and their faith and Christian life had been of a high order. They had a sound knowledge of the first principles of Christ (Hebrews 6:1).
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JAMES, EPISTLE OF
" I. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EPISTLE
II. AUTHOR OF THE EPISTLE
III. STYLE OF THE EPISTLE
2. Good Greek
5. Figures of Speech
6. Unlikeness to Paul
7. Likeness to Jesus
IV. DATE OF THE EPISTLE
V. HISTORY OF THE EPISTLE
VI. MESSAGE OF THE EPISTLE TO OUR TIMES
1. To the Pietist
2. To the Sociologist
3. To the Student of the Life and Character of Jesus
I. Characteristics of the Epistle.
The Epistle of James is the most Jewish writing in the New Testament. The Gospel according to Matthew was written for the Jews. The Epistle to the Hebrews is addressed explicitly to them. The Apocalypse is full of the spirit of the Old Testament. The Epistle of Jude is Jewish too. Yet all of these books have more of the distinctively Christian element in them than we can find in the Epistle of James. If we eliminate two or three passages containing references to Christ, the whole epistle might find its place iust as properly in the Canon of the Old Testament as in that of the New Testament, as far as its substance of doctrine and contents is concerned. That could not be said Of any other book in the New Testament. There is no mention of the incarnation or of the resurrection., the two fundamental facts of the Christian faith. The word "gospel" does not occur in the epistle There is no suggestion that the Messiah has appeared and no presentation of the possibility of redemption through Him. The teaching throughout is that of a lofty morality which aims at the fulfillment of the requirements of the Mosaic law. It is not strange therefore that Spitta and others have thought that we have in the Epistle of James a treatise written by an unconverted Jew which has been adapted to Christian use by the interpolation of the two phrases containing the name of Christ in 1:1 and 2:1. Spitta thinks that this can be the only explanation of the fact that we have here an epistle practically ignoring the life and work of Jesus and every distinctively Christian doctrine, and without a trace of any of the great controversies in the early Christian church or any of the specific features of its propaganda. This judgment is a superficial one, and rests upon superficial indications rather than any appreciation of the underlying spirit and principles of the book. The spirit of Christ is here, and there is no need to label it. The principles of this epistle are the principles of the Sermon on the Mount. There are more parallels to that Sermon in this epistle than can be found anywhere else in the New Testament in the same space. The epistle represents the idealization of Jewish legalism under the transforming influence of the Christian motive and life. It is not a theological discussion. It is an ethical appeal. It has to do with the outward life for the most part, and the life it pictures is that of a Jew informed with the spirit of Christ. The spirit is invisible in the epistle as in the individual man. It is the body which appears and the outward life with which that body has to do. The body of the epistle is Jewish, and the outward life to which it exhorts is that of a profoundly pious Jew. The Jews familiar with the Old Testament would read this epistle and find its language and tone that to which they were accustomed in their sacred books. James is evidently written by a Jew for Jews. It is Jewish in character throughout. This is apparent in the following particulars:
(1) The epistle is addressed to the 12 tribes which are of the Dispersion (11). The Jews were scattered abroad through the ancient world. From Babylon to Rome, wherever any community of them might be gathered for commercial or social purposes, these exhortations could be carried and read. Probably the epistle was circulated most widely in Syria and Asia Minor, but it may have gone out to the ends of the earth. Here and there in the ghettos of the Roman Empire, groups of the Jewish exiles would gather and listen while one of their number read this letter from home. All of its terms and its allusions would recall familiar home scenes.
(2) Their meeting-place is called "your synagogue" (2:2).
(3) Abraham is mentioned as "our father" (2:21).
(4) God is given the Old Testament name, "the Lord of Sabaoth" (5:4).
(5) The law is not to be spoken against nor judged, but reverently and loyally obeyed. It is a royal law to which every loyal Jew will be subject. It is a law of liberty, to be freely obeyed (2:8-12; 4:11).
(6) The sins of the flesh are not inveighed against in the epistle, but those sins to which the Jews were more conspicuously liable, such as the love of money and the distinction which money may bring (2:2-4), worldliness and pride (4:4-6), impatience and murmuring (5:7-11), and other sins of the temper and tongue (3:1-12; 4:11, 12).
(7) The illustrations of faithfulness and patience and prayer are found in Old Testament characters, in Abraham (2:21), Rahab (2:25), Job (James 5:11),and Elijah (James 5:17, 18). The whole atmosphere of the epistle is Jewish.
The writer of this epistle speaks as one having authority. He is not on his defense, as Paul so often is. There is no trace of apology in his presentation of the truth. His official position must have been recognized and unquestioned. He is as sure of his standing with his readers as he is of the absoluteness of his message.
No Old Testament lawgiver or prophet was more certain that he spoke the word of the Lord. He has the vehemence of Elijah and the assured meekness of Moses. He has been called "the Amos of the New Testament," and there are paragraphs which recall the very expressions used by Amos and which are full of the same fiery eloquence and prophetic fervor. Both fill their writings with metaphors drawn from the sky and the sea, from natural objects and domestic experiences. Both seem to be countrybred and to be in sympathy with simplicity and poverty. Both inveigh against the luxury and the cruelty of the idle rich, and both abhor the ceremonial and the ritual which are substituted for individual righteousness. Malachi was not the last of the prophets. John the Baptist was not the last prophet of the Old Dispensation. The writer of this epistle stands at the end of that prophetic line, and he is greater than John the Baptist or any who have preceded him because he stands within the borders of the kingdom of Christ. He speaks with authority, as a messenger of God. He belongs to the goodly fellowship of the prophets and of the apostles. He has the authority of both. There are 54 imperatives in the 108 verses of this epistle.
The epistle is interested in conduct more than in creed. It has very little formulated theology, less than any other epistle in the New Testament; but it insists upon practical morality throughout. It begins and it closes with an exhortation to patience and prayer. It preaches a gospel of good works, based upon love to God and love to man. It demands liberty, equality, fraternity for all. It enjoins humility and justice and peace. It prescribes singleness of purpose and stedfastness of soul. It requires obedience to the law, control of the passions, and control of the tongue. Its ideal is to be found in a good life, characterized by the meekness of wisdom. The writer of the epistle has caught the spirit of the ancient prophets, but the lessons that he teaches are taken, for the most part, from the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament and the Apocrypha. His direct quotations are from the Pentateuch and the Book of Proverbs; but it has been estimated that there are 10 allusions to the Book of Proverbs, 6 to the Book of Job, 5 to the Book of Wisdom, and 15 to the Book of Ecclesiasticus. This Wisdom literature furnishes the staple of his meditation and the substance of his teaching. He has little or nothing to say about the great doctrines of the Christian church.
He has much to say about the wisdom that cometh down from above and is pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, without hypocrisy (James 3:15-17). The whole epistle shows that the author had stored his mind with the rich treasure of the ancient wisdom, and his material, while offered as his own, is both old and new. The form is largely that of the Wisdom literature of the Jews. It has more parallels with Jesus the son of Sirach than with any writer of the sacred books.
The substance of its exhortation, however, is to be found in the Synoptics and more particularly in the Sermon on the Mount. Its wisdom is the wisdom of Jesus the son of Joseph, who is the Christ.
These are the three outstanding characteristics of this epistle In form and on the surface it is the most Jewish and least Christian of the writings in the New Testament. Its Christianity is latent and not apparent. Yet it is the most authoritative in its tone of any of the epistles in the New Testament, unless it be those of the apostle John. John must have occupied a position of undisputed primacy in the Christian church after the death of all the other apostles, when he wrote his epistles. It is noteworthy that the writer of this epistle assumes a tone of like authority with that of John. John was the apostle of love, Paul of faith, and Peter of hope. This writer is the apostle of good works, the apostle of the wisdom which manifests itself in peace and purity, mercy and morality, and in obedience to the royal law, the law of liberty. In its union of Jewish form, authoritative tone, and insistence upon practical morality, the epistle is unique among the New Testament books.
II. Author of the Epistle.
The address of the epistle states that the writer is "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1). The tradition of the church has identified this James with the brother of our Lord. Clement of Alexandria says that Peter and James and John, who were the three apostles most honored of the Lord, chose James, the Lord's brother, to be the bishop of Jerusalem after the Lord's ascension (Euscb., HE, II, 1). This tradition agrees well with all the notices of James in the New Testament books. After the death of James the brother of John, Peter was thrown into prison, and having been miraculously released, he asked that the news be sent to James and to the brethren (Acts 12:17). This James is evidently in authority in the church at this time. In the apostolical conference held at Jerusalem, after Peter and Paul and Barnabas had spoken, this same James sums up the whole discussion, and his decision is adopted by the assembly and formulated in a letter which has some very striking parallels in its phraseology to this epistle (Acts 15:6-29). When Paul came to Jerusalem for the last time he reported his work to James and all the elders present with him (Acts 21:18). In the Epistle to the Galatians Paul says that at the time of one of his visits to Jerusalem he saw none of the apostles save Peter and James the Lord's brother (Galatians 1:18, 19). At another visit he received the right hand of fellowship from James and Cephas and John (Galatians 2:9). At a later time certain who came from James to Antioch led Peter into backsliding from his former position of tolerance of the Gentiles as equals in the Christian church (Galatians 2:12).
All of these references would lead us to suppose that James stood in a position of supreme authority in the mother-church at Jerusalem, the oldest church of Christendom. He presides in the assemblies of the church. He speaks the final and authoritative word. Peter and Paul defer to him. Paul mentions his name before that of Peter and John. When he was exalted to this leadership we do not know, but all indications seem to point to the fact that at a very early period James was the recognized executive authority in the church at Jerusalem, which was the church of Pentecost and the church of the apostles. All Jews looked to Jerusalem as the chief seat of their worship and the central authority of their religion. All Christian Jews would look to Jerusalem as the primitive source of their organization and faith, and the head of the church at Jerusalem would be recognized by them as their chief authority. The authoritative tone of this epistle comports well with this position of primacy ascribed to James.
All tradition agrees in describing James as a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a man of the most rigid and ascetic morality, faithful in his observance of all the ritual regulations of the Jewish faith. Hegesippus tells us that he was holy from his mother's womb. He drank no wine nor strong drink. He ate no flesh. He alone was permitted to enter with the priests into the holy place, and he was found there frequently upon his knees begging forgiveness for the people, and his knees became hard like those of a camel in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God and asking forgiveness for the people (Euseb., HE, II, 23). He was called James the Just. All had confidence in his sincerity and integrity, and many were persuaded by him to believe on the Christ. This Jew, faithful in the observance of all that the Jews held sacred, and more devoted to the temple-worship than the most pious among them, was a good choice for the head of the Christian church. The blood of David flowed in his veins. He had all the Jew's pride in the special privileges of the chosen race. The Jews respected him and the Christians revered him. No man among them commanded the esteem of the entire population as much as he.
Josephus (Ant., XX, ix) tells us that Ananus the high priest had James stoned to death, and that the most equitable of the citizens immediately rose in revolt against such a lawless procedure, and Ananus was deposed after only three months' rule. This testimony of Josephus simply substantiates all that we know from other sources concerning the high standing of James in the whole community. Hegesippus says that James was first thrown from a pinnacle of the temple, and then they stoned him because he was not killed by the fall, and he was finally beaten over the head with a fuller's club; and then he adds significantly, "Immediately Vespasian besieged them" (Euscb., HE, II, 23). There would seem to have been quite a widespread conviction among both the Christians and the Jews that the afflictions which fell upon the holy city and the chosen people in the following years were in part a visitation because of the great crime of the murder of this just man. We can understand how a man with this reputation and character would write an epistle so Jewish in form and substance and so insistent in its demands for a practical morality as is the Epistle of James. All the characteristics of the epistle seem explicable on the supposition of authorship by James the brother of the Lord. We accept the church tradition without hesitation.
III. The Style of the Epistle.
The sentence construction is simple and straightforward. It reminds us of the English of Bunyan and DeFoe. There is usually no good reason for misunderstanding anything James says. He puts his truth plainly, and the words he uses have no hidden or mystical meanings. His thought is transparent as his life.
2. Good Greek:
It is somewhat surprising to find that the Greek of the Epistle of James is better than that of the other New Testament writers, with the single exception of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Of course this may be due to the fact that James had the services of an amanuensis who was a Greek scholar, or that his own manuscript was revised by such a man; but, although unexpected, it is not impossible that James himself may have been capable of writing such Greek as this.
It is not the good Greek of the classics, and it is not the poor and provincial Greek of Paul. There is more care for literary form than in the uncouth periods Of the Gentile apostle, and the vocabulary would seem to indicate an acquaintance with the literary as well as the commercial and the conversational Greek "Galilee was studded with Greek towns, and it was certainly in the power of any Galilean to gain a knowledge of Greek. We may reasonably suppose that our author would not have scrupled to avail himself of the opportunities within his reach, so as to master the Greek language, and learn something of Greek philosophy. This would be natural, even if we think of James as impelled only by a desire to gain wisdom and knowledge for himself; but if we think of him also as the principal teacher of the Jewish believers, many of whom were Hellenists, instructed in the wisdom of Alexandria, then the natural bent would take the shape of duty: he would be a student of Greek in order that he might be a more effective instructor to his own people" (Mayor, The Epistle of James, ccxxxvi). The Greek of the epistle is the studied Greek of one who was not a native to it, but who had familiarized himself with its literature. James could have done so and the epistle may be proof that he did.
James is never content to talk in abstractions. He always sets a picture before his own eyes and those of his readers. He has the dramatic instinct. He has the secret of sustained interest. He is not discussing things in general but things in particular. He is an artist and believes in concrete realities. At the same time he has a touch of poetry in him, and a fine sense of the analogies running through all Nature and all life. The doubting man is like the sea spume (1:6). The rich man fades away in his goings, even as the beauty of the flower falls and perishes (1:11). The synagogue scene with its distinction between the rich and the poor is set before us with the clear-cut impressiveness of a cameo (2:1-4). The Pecksniffian philanthropist, who seems to think that men can be fed not by bread alone but by the words that proceed magnificently from his mouth, is pilloried here for all time (2:15, 16). The untamable tongue that is set on fire of hell is put in the full blaze of its world of iniquity, and the damage it does is shown to be like that of a forest fire (3:1-12). The picture of the wisdom that comes from above with its sevenfold excellences of purity, peaceableness, gentleness, mercy, fruitfulness, impartiality, sincerity, is worthy to hang in the gallery of the world's masterpieces (3:17). The vaunting tradesmen, whose lives are like vanishing vapor, stand there before the eyes of all in Jerusalem (4:13-16). The rich, whose luxuries he describes even while he denounces their cruelties and prophesies their coming day of slaughter, are the rich who walk the streets of his own city (5:1-6). His short sentences go like shots straight to the mark. We feel the impact and the impress of them. There is an energy behind them and a reality in them that makes them live in our thought. His abrupt questions are like the quick interrogations of a cross-examining lawyer (2:4-7, 14, 16; 3:11, 12; 4:1, 4, 5, 12, 14). His proverbs have the intensity of the accumulated and compressed wisdom of the ages. They are irreducible minimums. They are memorable sayings, treasured in the speech of the world ever since his day.
Sometimes James adds sentence to sentence with the repetition of some leading word or phrase (1:1-6, 19-24; 3:2-8). It is the painful style of one who is not altogether at home with the language which he has chosen as the vehicle of his thought. It is the method by which a discussion could be continued indefinitely. Nothing but the vividness of the imagery and the intensity of the thought saves James from fatal monotony in the use of this device.
5. Figures of Speech:
James has a keen eye for illustrations. He is not blind to the beauties and wonders of Nature. He sees what is happening on every hand, and he is quick to catch any homiletical suggestion it may hold. Does he stand by the seashore? The surge that is driven by the wind and tossed reminds him of the man who is unstable in all his ways, because he has no anchorage of faith, and his convictions are like driftwood on a sea of doubt (1:6). Then he notices that the great ships are turned about by a small rudder, and he thinks how the tongue is a small member, but it accomplishes great things (3:4, 5). Does he walk under the sunlight and rejoice in it as the source of so many good and perfect gifts? He sees in it an image of the goodness of God that is never eclipsed and never exhausted, unvarying for evermore (1:17). He uses the natural phenomena of the land in which he lives to make his meaning plain at every turn: the flower of the field that passes away (1:10, 11), the forest fire that sweeps the mountain side and like a living torch lights up the whole land (3:5), the sweet and salt springs (3:11), the fig trees and the olive trees and the vines (3:12), the seed-sowing and the fruit-bearing (3:18), the morning mist immediately lost to view (4:14), the early and the latter rain for which the husbandman waiteth patiently (5:7).
There is more of the appreciation of Nature in this one short epistle of Jas than in all the epistles of Paul put together. Human life was more interesting to Paul than natural scenery. However, James is interested in human life just as profoundly as Paul. He is constantly endowing inanimate things with living qualities. He represents sin as a harlot, conceiving and bringing forth death (1:15). The word of truth has a like power and conceives and brings forth those who live to God's praise (1:18). Pleasures are like joyful hosts of enemies in a tournament, who deck themselves bravely and ride forth with singing and laughter, but whose mission is to wage war and to kill (4:1, 2). The laborers may be dumb in the presence of the rich because of their dependence and their fear, but their wages, fraudulently withheld, have a tongue, and cry out to high heaven for vengeance (5:4). What is friendship with the world? It is adultery, James says (4:4). The rust of unjust riches testifies against those who have accumulated them, and then turns upon them and eats their flesh like fire (5:3). James observed the man who glanced at himself in the mirror in the morning, and saw that his face was not clean, and who went away and thought no more about it for that whole day, and he found in him an illustration of the one who heard the word and did not do it (1:23, 14). The epistle is full of these rhetorical figures, and they prove that James was something of a poet at heart, even as Jesus was. He writes in prose, but there is a marked rhythm in all of his speech. He has an ear for harmony as he has an eye for beauty everywhere.
6. Unlikeness to Paul:
The Pauline epistles begin with salutations and close with benedictions. They are filled with autobiographical touches and personal messages. None of these things appear here. The epistle begins and ends with all abruptness. It has an address, but no thanksgiving. There are no personal messages and no indications of any intimate personal relationship between the author and his readers. They are his "beloved brethren." He knows their needs and their sins, but he may never have seen their faces or visited their homes. The epistle is more like a prophet's appeal to a nation than a personal letter.
7. Likeness to Jesus:
Both the substance of the teaching and the method of its presentation remind us of the discourses of Jesus. James says less about the Master than any other writer in the New Testament, but his speech is more like that of the Master than the speech of any one of them. There are at least ten parallels to the Sermon on the Mount in this short epistle, and for almost everything that James has to say we can recall some statement of Jesus which might have suggested it. When the parallels fail at any point, we are inclined to suspect that James may be repeating some unrecorded utterance of our Lord. He seems absolutely faithful to his memory of his brother's teaching. He is the servant of Jesus in all his exhortation and persuasion.
Did the Master shock His disciples' faith by the loftiness of the Christian ideal He set before them in His great sermon, "Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48)? James sets the same high standard in the very forefront of his ep.: "Let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing" (1:4). Did the Master say, "Ask, and it shall be given you" (Matthew 7:7)? James says, "If any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God.; and it shall be given him" (1:5). Did the Master add a condition to His sweeping promise to prayer and say, "Whosoever. shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he faith cometh to pass; he shall have it" (Mark 11:23)? James hastens to add the same condition, "Let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed" (1:6). Did the Master close the great sermon with His parable of the Wise Man and the Foolish Man, saying, "Every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man. And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man" (Matthew 7:24, 26)? James is much concerned about wisdom, and therefore he exhorts his readers, "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves" (1:22). Had the Master declared, "If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them" (John 13:17)? James echoes the thought when he says, "A doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing" (1:25). Did the Master say to the disciples, "Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God" (Luke 6:20)? James has the same sympathy with the poor, and he says, "Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him?" (2:5). Did the Master inveigh against the rich, and say, "Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you, ye that are full now! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you, ye that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep" (Luke 6:24, 25)? James bursts forth into the same invective and prophesies the same sad reversal of fortune, "Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you" (5:1). "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness" (4:8, 9). Had Jesus said, "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matthew 7:1)? James repeats the exhortation, "Speak not one against another, brethren. He that. judgeth his brother. judgeth the law:. but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor?" (4:11, 12). Had Jesus said, "Whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted" (Matthew 23:12)? We find the very words in James, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you" (4:10). Had Jesus said, "I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet.. But let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one" (Matthew 5:34-37)? Here in James we come upon the exact parallel: "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that ye fall not under judgment" (5:12). We remember how the Master began the Sermon on the Mount with the declaration that even those who mourned and were persecuted and reviled and reproached were blessed, in spite of all their suffering and trial. Then we notice that James begins his epistle with the same paradoxical putting of the Christian faith, "Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold trials" (1:12, the American Revised Version margin). We remember how Jesus proceeded in His sermon to set forth the spiritual significance and the assured permanence of the law; and we notice that James treats the law with the same respect and puts upon it the same high value. He calls it "the perfect law" (1:25), "the royal law" (2:8), the "law of liberty" (2:12). We remember what Jesus said about forgiving others in order that we ourselves may be forgiven; and we know where James got his authority for saying, "Judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy" (2:13). We remember all that the Master said about good trees and corrupt trees being known by their fruits, "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" (Matthew 7:16-20). Then in the Epistle of James we find a like question, "Can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine figs?" (3:12). We remember that the Master said, "Know ye that he is nigh, even at the doors" (Matthew 24:33). We are not surprised to find the statement here in James, "Behold, the judge standeth before the doors" (5:9). These reminiscences of the sayings of the Master meet us on every page. It may be that there are many more of them than we are able to identify. Their number is sufficiently large, however, to show us that James is steeped in the truths taught by Jesus, and not only their substance but their phraseology constantly reminds us of Him.
IV. Date of the Epistle.
There are those who think that the Epistle of James is the oldest epistle in the New Testament. Among those who favor an early date are Mayor, Plumptre, Alford, Stanley, Renan, Weiss, Zahn, Beyschlag, Neander, Schneckenburger, Thiersch, and Dods.
The reasons assigned for this conclusion are: (1) the general Judaic tone of the ep., which seems to antedate admission of the Gentiles in any alarming numbers into the church; but since the epistle is addressed only to Jews, why should the Gentiles be mentioned in it, whatever its date? and (2) the fact that Paul and Peter are supposed to have quoted from James in their writing; but this matter of quotation is always an uncertain one, and it has been ably argued that the quotation has been the other way about.
Others think that the epistle was written toward the close of James's life. Among these are Kern, Wiesinger, Schmidt, Bruckner, Wordsworth, and Farrar.
(1) that the epistle gives evidence of a considerable lapse of time in the history of the church, sufficient to allow of a declension from the spiritual fervor of Pentecost and the establishment of distinctions among the brethren; but any of the sins mentioned in the epistle in all probability could have been found in the church in any decade of its history.
(2) James has a position of established authority, and those to whom he writes are not recent converts but members in long standing; but the position of James may have been established from a very early date, and in an encyclical of this sort we could not expect any indication of shorter or longer membership in the church.
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JEREMY, THE EPISTLE OF
jer'-e-mi, (Epistole Ieremiou):
2. Canonicity and Position
4. Original Language
5. Authorship, Date and Aim
6. Text and Versions
In manuscripts Vaticanus and Alexandrinus the title is simply "An Epistle of Jeremiah." But in Codex Vaticanus, etc., there is a superscription introducing the letter: "Copy of a letter which Jeremiah sent to the captives about to be led to Babylon by (Peshitta adds Nebuchadnezzar) the king of the Babylonians, to make known to them what had been commanded him by God." What follows is a satirical exposure of the folly of idolatry, and not a letter. The idea of introducing this as a letter from Jeremiah was probably suggested by Jeremiah 29:1;.
2. Canonicity and Position:
The early Greek Fathers were on the whole favorably disposed toward this tract, reckoning it to be a part of the Canon. It is therefore included in the lists of Canonical writings of Origen, Epiphanius, Cyril of Jerusalem and Athanasius, and it was so authoritatively recognized by the Council of Laodicea (360 A.D.).
In most Greek manuscripts of the Septuagint (Codices Alexandrinus and Vaticanus. March, Chisl, in the Syriac Hexateuch), it follows Lamentations as an independent piece, closing the supposed writings of Jeremiah. In the bestknown printed of the Septuagint (Tischendorf, Swete, etc.), the order is Jeremiah, Baruch, Lain, Epistle of Jeremy. In Fritzsche, Lib. Apocrypha VT Graece, Epistle Jeremiah stands between Baruch and Tobit. But in Latin manuscripts, including those of the Vulgate, it is appended to Baruch, of which it forms chapter 6, though it really has nothing to do with that book. This last is the case with Protestant editions (English versions of the Bible, etc.) of the Apocrypha, a more intelligible arrangement, since Jeremiah and Lamentations do not occur in the Apocrypha, and the Biblical Baruch was Jeremiah's amanuensis.
In the so-called letter (see 1, above) the author shows the absurdity and wickedness of heathen worship. The Jews, for their sins, will be removed to Babylon, where they will remain 7 generations. In that land they will be tempted to worship the gods of the people. The writer's aim is ostensibly to warn them beforehand by showing how helpless and useless the idols worshipped are, and how immoral as well as silly the rites of the Bah religion are. For similar polemics against idolatry, see Isaiah 44:9-19 (which in its earnestness resembles the Epistle Jeremiah closely); Jeremiah 10:3-9 Psalm 115:4-8; Psalm 135:15-18; The Wisdom of Solomon 13:10-19; 15:13-17.
4. Original Language:
That the Epistle Jeremiah was composed in Greek is the opinion of practically all scholars. There are no marks of translation; the Greek is on the whole good, and abounds in such rhetorical terms as characterized the Greek of Northern Egypt about the be ginning of our era. There is no trace of a Hebrew original, though Origen has been mistakenly understood to say there was one in his day (see Schurer, GJV4, III, 467). Romanist writers defend a Hebrew original, and point to some Hebraisms (verse 44 and the use of the fut. for the past), but these can be matched in admittedly Hellenistic Greek writings.
5. Authorship, Date and Aim:
The writer was almost certainly a resident in Alexandria toward the close of the last century B.C. The Greek of the book, the references to Egyptian religion (verse 19, where the Feast of Lights at Sais-Herod. ii.62-is referred to), and the allusion to the Epistle Jeremiah in 2 Maccabees 2:2, denied by Schurer, etc., make the above conclusion very probable. The author had in mind the dangers to the religion of his fellow-countrymen presented by the fascinating forms of idolatry existing at Alexandria. Certainly Jeremiah is not the author, for the book was written in Greek and never formed part of the Hebrew Canon. Besides, the treatment is far below the level of the genuine writings of that prophet.
6. Text and Versions:
(1) The Greek.
This epistle occurs in the principal manuscripts of the Septuagint uncials (Codices Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, Q, Gamma, contain 7b-24a, etc.) and cursives (except 70, 96, 229).
(2) The Syriac.
P follows the Greek, but very freely. The Syriac H follows the text of Codex Vaticanus closely, often at the expense of Syriac idioms.
(3) The Latin.
The Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) is made direct from the Greek. There is a different Latin version published by Sabatier in his Biblical Sacr. Latin Versiones Antiquas, II, 734;. It is freer than the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.)
(4) The Arabic.
There are also Arabic (following A), Coptic (ed Quatremere, 1810), and Ethiopic (ed Dillmann, 1894)versions.
See under APOCRYPHA for commentary and various editions. But note in addition to the literature mentioned the article the following: Reusch, Erklar. des B. Baruch, 1853; Daubanton, "Het Apok boek Epistole Ieremiou," Theol. Studien, 1888, 126-38.
T. Witton Davies
JUDE, THE EPISTLE OF
I. JUDE'S POSITION IN THE CANON
II. THE OCCASION OF ITS COMPOSITION
III. DESCRIPTION OF THE LIBERTINES AND APOSTATES
IV. RELATION OF JUDE TO THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PETER
3. Further Contrasts
5. Evidence of Priority of Peter
6. Corroborative References
V. DATE OF THE EPISTLE
VI. THE LIBERTINES OF JUDE'S EPISTLE
The writer of this short epistle calls himself Jude or Judas (Ioudas. His name was a common one among the Jews: there were few others of more frequent use. Two among the apostles bore it, namely, Judas, mentioned in John 14:22 (compare Luke 6:16), and Judas Iscariot. Jude describes himself as "a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James" (Jude 1:1). The James here mentioned is no doubt the person who is called "the Lord's brother" (Galatians 1:19), the writer of the epistle that bears his name. Neither of the two was an apostle. The opening sentence of Jude simply affirms that the writer is a "servant of Jesus Christ." This, if anywhere, should be the appropriate place for the mention of his apostleship, if he were an apostle. The appellation "servant of Jesus Christ" "is never thus barely used in an address of an epistle to designate an apostle" (Alford). Philippians 1:1 has a similar expression, "Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ," but "the designation common to two persons necessarily sinks to the rank of the inferior one." In other instances "servant" is associated with "apostle" (Romans 1:1 Titus 1:1). Jude 1:17, 18 speaks of the "apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; that they said to you"-language which an apostle would hardly use of his fellow-apostles.
In Mark 6:3 are found the names of those of whom Jesus is said to be the brother, namely, James and Joses, and Judas and Simon. It is quite generally held by writers that the James and Judas here mentioned are the two whose epistles are found in the New Testament. It is noteworthy, however, that neither of them hints at his relationship with Jesus; their unaffected humility kept them silent. Jude mentions that he is the "brother of James," perhaps to give authority and weight to his words, for James was far more distinguished and influential than he. The inference seems legitimate that Jude addresses Christians among whom James was highly esteemed, or, if no longer living, among whom his memory was sacredly revered, and accordingly it is altogether probable that Jude writes to the same class of readers as James-Jewish Christians. James writes to the "Twelve Tribes of the Dispersion." Jude likewise addresses a wide circle of believers, namely, the "called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ" (1:1). While he does not designate a special and distinct class, yet as James's "brother," as belonging to the family of Joseph, and as in some true sense related to the Lord Jesus Himself, it seems probable, if not certain, that his Epistle was intended for Christian Hebrews who stood in urgent need of such testimony and appeal as Jude offers.
I. Jude's Position in the Canon.
It is now and for a long while has been an assured one. Its rank, though not altogether that of 1 Peter and 1 John, is high, for centuries indeed undoubted. Almost from the beginning of the Christian era men every way qualified to speak with authority on the question of genuineness and authenticity endorsed it as entitled to a place in the New Testament Scriptures. Origen repeatedly quotes it, in one place describing it as an "ep. of but few lines, but full of powerful words of heavenly grace" (Matt., tom. X, 17). But Origen knew that it was not universally received. Clement of Alexandria "gave concise expositions of all the canonical Scriptures, not omitting the disputed books-the Epistle of Jude and the other Catholic epp." (quoted by Westcott, Canaanite, 322-23 and Salmon, Intro, 493). Tertullian (Cult. Fem. i.3) in striving to establish the authority of the Book of Enoch urges as a crowning argument that it is quoted by "the apostle Jude." "We may infer that, Jude's Ep,; was an unquestioned part of Tertullian's Canon. Athanasius inserted it in his list of New Testament books, but Eusebius placed it among the disputed books in his classification. The Canon of Muratori includes Jude among the books of Scripture, though it omits the Epistles of James, Peter and Hebrews. This is one of the earliest documents containing a list of the New Testament books now known. By the great majority of writers the date of the fragment is given as circa 170 A.D., as it claims to have been written not long after Pius was bishop of Rome, and the latest date of Pius is 142-57 A.D. The words of the document are, "The Shepherd was written very recently in our own time by Hermas, while his brother Pius sat in the chair of the Church of Rome." Twenty or twenty-five years would probably satisfy the period indicated by the words, "written very recently in our own time," which would fix the date of the fragment at circa 170 A.D. Salmon, however, strongly inclines to a later date, namely, circa 200-210 A.D., as does Zahn.
Zahn (Introduction to the New Testament, II, 259, English Translation), and Professor Chase (H D B) are of the decided opinion that the Didache, ii. 7: "Thou shalt not hate anyone, but some thou shalt rebuke, and for some thou shalt pray, and some thou shalt love above thine own soul (or life)," is rounded on Jude 1:22. Dr. Philip Schaff dates the Didache between 90-100 A.D. L'Abbe E. Jacquier (La doctrine des Douze Apotres, 1891) is persuaded that the famous document was written not later than 80 A.D. It appears, therefore, more than probable that the Epistle of Jude was known and referred to as Scripture some time before the end of the 1st century. From the survey we have thus rapidly taken of the field in which the Epistle circulated, we may conclude that in Palestine, at Alexandria, in North Africa, and at Rome, it was received as the veritable letter of Jude, "the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James."
The chief reason why it was rejected by some and regarded with suspicion by others in primitive times is its quotation from the apocryphal Book of Enoch, so Jerome informs us (Vir. Ill., 4). It is possible that Jude had in mind another spurious writing, namely, the Assumption of Moses, when he spoke of the contention of Michael the archangel with the devil about the body of Moses (1:9). This, however, is not quite certain, for the date assigned to that writing is circa 44 A.D., and although Jude might have seen and read it, yet its composition is so near his own day that it could hardly have exerted much influence on his mind. Besides, the brevity of the Epistle and its dealing with a special class of errorists would limit to a certain extent its circulation among Christians. All this serves to explain its refusal by some and the absence of reference to it by others.
II. The Occasion of Its Composition.
Jude, after his brief introduction (1:1, 2), explains very definitely why he writes as he does. He indicates distinctly his anxiety on behalf of the saints (1:3): "Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints." He had received very distressing knowledge of the serious state into which the Christian brotherhood was rapidly drifting, and he must as a faithful servant of Jesus Christ exhort them to steadfastness and warn them of their danger. He had in mind to write them a doctrinal work on the salvation common to all Christians. Perhaps he contemplated the composition of a book or treatise that would have discussed the great subject in an exhaustive manner. But in face of the perils that threatened, of the evils already present in the community, his purpose was indefinitely postponed. We are not told how he became acquainted with the dangers which beset his fellow-believers, but the conjecture is probably correct that it was by means of his journeys as an evangelist. At any rate, he was thoroughly conversant with the evils in the churches, and he deals with them as befitted the enormities that were practiced and the ruin that impended.
The address of the Epistle is remarkable for the affection Jude expresses for these saints. Obviously they are distinct from the libertines of whom he speaks with such solemn condemnation. They were the faithful who kept aloof from the ungodly that surrounded them, and who held fast to the truth they had been taught. Jude describes them as those "that are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: Mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied." At the close of the Epistle he commends them "unto him that is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy." A separated and devoted band they certainly were, a noble and trustworthy company of believers for whose well-being Jude was supremely anxious.
III. Description of the Libertines and Apostates.
It is needful to gaze with steady vision on the portrait Jude furnishes of these depraved foes, if we are to appreciate in any measure the force of his language and the corruption already wrought in the brotherhood. Some of their foul teachings and their vicious practices, not all, are here set down.
1. Surreptitious Foes.
"For there are certain men crept in privily.... ungodly men" (Jude 1:4). They are enemies who feign to be friends, and hence, in reality are spies and traitors; like a stealthy beast of prey they creep into the company of the godly, actuated by evil intent.
2. Perverters of Grace and Deniers of Christ.
"Turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" (Jude 1:4). They are those who by a vile perverseness turn the grace and the liberty of the Gospel into a means for gratifying their unholy passions, and who in doctrine and life repudiate their Master and Lord.
3. Censorious and Arrogant Detractors.
"In their dreamings defile the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail at dignities" (Jude 1:8). Destitute of true reverence, they rail at the holiest and best things, and sit in judgment on all rule and all authority. They have the proud tongue of the lawless: "Our lips are our own: who Is lord over us?" (Psalm 12:4).
4. Ignorant Calumniators and Brutish Sensualists.
"These rail at whatsoever things they know not: and what they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason, in these things are they destroyed" (Jude 1:10). What they do not know, as something lofty and noble, they deride and denounce; what they know is that which ministers to their disordered appetites and their debased tastes.
5. Hypocrites and Deceivers.
"These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water.... autumn trees without fruit.... wild waves of the sea.... wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved forever" (Jude 1:12, 13). A most graphic picture of the insincerity, the depravity, and the doom of these insolents! And yet they are found in the bosom of the Christian body, even sitting with the saints at their love-feasts!
6. Grumblers, Fault-finders, Pleasure-seekers, Boasters, Parasites.
"These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts.... showing respect of persons for the sake of advantage" (Jude 1:16). They impeach Divine wisdom, are the foes of peace and quietness, boast of their capacities to manage things, and yet they can be servile, even sycophants, when thereby advantage is secured.
7. Schismatics and Sensualists.
"These are they who make separations, sensual, having not the Spirit" (Jude 1:19). It was characteristic of the false teachers and mockers who had invaded the Christian church that they drew lines of demarcation between themselves and others, or between different classes of believers, which the Holy Spirit did not warrant, but which was the product of their own crafty and wicked wills. There seems to be a hint in these words of incipient Gnosticism, that fatal heresy that boasted of a recondite knowledge, a deep mystery which only the initiated possessed, of which the great mass of Christians were ignorant. Jude brands the pretension as the offspring of their own sensuality, not at all of God's Spirit.
Such is the forbidding portrait drawn of the libertines in the Epistle. But Jude adds other and even darker features. He furnishes a number of examples of apostates and of apostasy which disclose even more strikingly the spirit and the doom of them that pervert the truth, that deny the Lord Jesus Christ, and that mock at the things of God. These all mark a fatal degeneracy, a "falling away," which bodes nothing but evil and judgment. Against the corrupters and skeptics Jude writes with a vehemence that in the New Testament is without a parallel. Matters must have come to a dreadful pass when the Spirit of God is compelled to use such stern and awful language.
IV. Relation of Jude to the Second Epistle of Peter.
The relation is confined to 2 Peter 2-3:4. A large portion of Peter's Epistle, namely, 2 Peter 1 and 3:5-18, bears no resemblance to Jude, at least no more than does Jas or 1 Pet. Between the sections of 2Pe indicated above and Jude the parallelism is close, both as to the subjects treated and the historical illustrations introduced, and the language itself to some considerable extent is common to both. All readers must be impressed with the similarity. Accordingly, it is very generally held by interpreters that one of the writers copied from the other. There is not entire agreement as to which of the two epistles is the older, that is, whether Peter copied from Jude, or Jude from Peter. Perhaps a majority favor the former of the two alternatives, though some of the very latest and most learned of those who write on Introductions to the New Testament hold strongly to the view that Jude copied from 2 Pet. Reference is made particularly to Deuteronomy. Theodore v. Zahn, whose magnificent work on Introduction has been but recently translated into English, and who argues convincingly that Jude copied from 2 Pet.
However, it must be admitted that there are in the two epistles as pronounced differences and divergences as there are resemblances. If one of the two did actually copy from the other, he was careful to add, subtract, and change what he found in his "source" as best suited his purpose. A servile copyist he certainly was not. He maintained his independence throughout, as an exact comparison of the one with the other will demonstrate.
If we bring them into close proximity, following the example of Professor Lumby in the "Bible Comm." (Intro to 2 Pet), we shall discover a marked difference between the two pictures drawn by the writers. We cannot fail to perceive how much darker and more sinister is that of Jude. The evil, alarming certainly in Peter, becomes appalling in Jude. Subjoined are proofs of the fact above stated:
2 Peter 2:1
But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers....
Jude 1:4 For there are certain men crept in privily....
2 Peter 2:1
who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them....
.... ungodly men, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 2:3
And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you....
.... murmerers, complainers, walking after their own lusts (and their mouth speaketh great swelling words), showing respect of persons for the sake of advantage.
These contrasts and comparisons between the two epistles prove
(1) that in Jude the false teachers are worse, more virulent than in Peter, and
(2) that in Peter the whole description is predictive, whereas in Jude the deplorable condition is actually present.
If 2Pe is dependent on Jude, if the apostle cited from Jude, how explain the strong predictive element in his opening verses (2 Peter 2:1-3)? If as Peter-wrote he had lying before him Jude's letter, which represents the corrupters as already within the Christian community and doing their deadly work, his repeated use of the future tense is absolutely inexplicable. Assuming, however, that he wrote prior to Jude, his predictions become perfectly intelligible. No doubt the virus was working when he wrote, but it was latent, undeveloped; far worse would appear; but when Jude wrote the poison was widely diffused, as 1:12, 19 clearly show. The very life of the churches was endangered.
2 Peter 2:4, 5
For if God spared not the angels when they sinned.... and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others....
Jude 1:5, 6
.... The Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them.... and angels that.... left their proper habitation....
3. Further Contrasts:
Peter speaks of the angels that sinned, Jude of their apostasy. Peter makes prominent the salvation of Noah and his family when the flood overwhelmed the world of the ungodly, while Jude tells of those who, delivered from bondage, afterward were destroyed because of their unbelief. He speaks of no rescue; we know of but two who survived the judgments of the wilderness and who entered the Land of Promise, Caleb and Joshua. Peter mentions the fate of the guilty cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, but he is careful to remind us of the deliverance of righteous Lot, while Jude makes prominent their nameless crimes and consigns them to "the punishment of eternal fire," but he is silent on the rescue of Lot. Manifestly Jude's illustrations are darker and more hopeless than Peter's.
Peter instances Balsam as an example of one who loved the hire of wrongdoing and who was rebuked for his transgression. But Jude cites three notable instances in the Old Testament to indicate how far in apostasy and rebellion the libertines had gone. Three words mark their course, rising into a climax, "way" "error" "gainsay." They went in the way of Cain, i.e. in the way of self-will, of hate, and the spirit of murder. Moreover, they "ran riotously in the error of Balsam for hire." The words denote an activity of viciousness that enlisted all their eagerness and all their might. Balaam's error was one that led into error, one that seduced others into the commission of the like sins. The reference seems to be to the whole career of this heathen prophet, and includes his betrayal of the Israelites through the women of Moab (Numbers 31:16). Balsam is the prototype of Jude's libertines, both in his covetousness and his seductive counsel. Furthermore, they "perished in the gainsaying of Korah." This man with 250 followers rebelled against the Divinely appointed leaders and rulers of Israel, Moses and Aaron, and sought to share their authority in Israel, if not to displace them altogether. Comparable with these rebels in ancient Israel are the treacherous and malignant foes whom Jude so vigorously denounces.
Peter speaks of them as "daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities: whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord" (Jude 1:10, 11). Jude is more specific: These dreamers "defile the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail at dignities." They repudiate all authority, despise every form of lordship, and revile those in positions of power. He cites the contention of Michael the archangel with the devil about the body of Moses, and yet this loftiest of the heavenly spirits brought no railing judgment against the adversary. Jude's description is more vivid and definite: he describes an advanced stage of apostasy.
Very noteworthy is Jude 1:22, 23. He here turns again to the loyal and stedfast believers whom he addresses at the beginning of his letter, and he gives them directions how they are to deal with those who were ensnared by the wily foes. (The text in 1:22 is somewhat uncertain, but the revision is followed.) There were some who were "in doubt." They were those who had been fascinated by the new teaching, and although not captured by it, they were engaged in its study, were drawn toward it and almost ready to yield. On these the faithful were to have mercy, were to convince them of their danger, show them the enormities to which the false system inevitably leads, and so win them back to Christ's allegiance. As if Jude said, Deal with the wavering in love and fidelity; but rescue them if possible.
There were others whose peril was greater: "And some save, snatching them out of the fire." These were identified with the wicked, were scorched by the fires of destruction and hence, almost beyond reach of rescue; but if possible they are to be saved, however seethed and blackened. Others still there were who were in worse state than the preceding, who were polluted and smirched by the foul contamination of the guilty seducers, and such were to be saved, and the rescuers were to fear lest they should be soiled by contact with the horrible defilement. This is Jude's tremendous summary of the shameful work and frightful evils wrought in the bosom of the church by the libertines. He discloses in these trenchant verses how deeply sunk in sin the false teachers were, and how awful the ruin they had wrought. The description is quite unparalleled in 2 Pet. The shadings in Jude are darker and deeper than those in 2 Pet.
The comparison between the two writings warrants, we believe, the following conclusions:
(1) that Peter and Jude have in view the same corrupt parties;
(2) that Peter paints them as godless and extremely dangerous, though not yet at their worst; while Jude sets them forth as depraved and as lawless as they can well be;
(3) that Peter's is the older writing and that Jude was acquainted with what the apostle had written.
Stronger evidence than any yet produced of Peter's priority is now to be submitted, and here we avail ourselves in part of Zahn's array of evidence.
5. Evidence of Priority of Peter:
Jude asserts with great positiveness that (1:4) certain men had crept in privily into the Christian fold, "even they who were of old written of beforehand unto this condemnation, ungodly men." Obviously Jude is here speaking of the enemies whom he afterward goes on to describe and denounce in his Epistle. He distinctly affirms that these foes had been of old written of and beforehand designated unto "this condemnation." He clearly has in mind an authoritative writing that spoke of the identical parties Jude himself deals with. He does not tell us whose writing it is that contains the "condemnation" of the errorists; he only declares that there is such a Scripture existing and that he is acquainted with it. Now, to what writing does he refer? Not to any Old Testament prophecy, for none can be found that answers to the words. Nor yet to the prediction of Enoch (1:14, 15), for it speaks of the advent of the Lord in judgment at the last day, whereas Jude applies his reference to the ungodly who were then present in the Christian assemblies, corrupting the churches with their wicked teaching and practices. "In 2 Peter 2-3:4, we have a prophecy which exactly suits, namely, the announcement that false teachers whose theory and practice exactly correspond to those godless bearers of the Christian name in Jude will appear among a certain group of Jewish Christian churches" (Zahn). Peter's account of them is so particular that Jude would encounter no difficulty in identifying them. He is furnished by the apostle with such characteristics of them, with such illustrations and even words and phrases that he has only to place the description alongside of the reality to see how completely they match.
It may be objected that the words, "were of old written of beforehand," denote a long period, longer than that which elapsed between the two epistles. But the objection is groundless. The original term for "of old" (palai) sometimes indicates but a brief space of time, e.g. Mark 15:44 (according to the text of Weymouth and Nestle, and the Revised Version (British and American)) relates that Pilate asked the centurion if Jesus had been "any while" (palai) dead, which limits the term to a few hours. In 2 Corinthians 12:19 the word occurs, and there it must be restricted to Paul's self-defense which occupies the part of the Epistle preceding, and hence, does not extend beyond a day or two. Probably some years lie between the composition of these two epp., ample time to justify Jude's use of the word if he is referring to 2 Peter 2-3:4, as we certainly believe he is.
6. Corroborative References:
This interpretation of Jude 1:4 is confirmed by Jude 1:17, 18. These verses are intimately connected with 2 Peter 3:2-4. Jude's readers are told to keep in remembrance the words spoken by the apostles of Christ, namely, "In the last time there shall be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts." Peter writes, "that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts." The resemblance of the one passage to the other is very close, indeed, they are almost identical. Both urge their readers to remember what had been said by the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, and both speak of the immoral scoffers who would invade or had invaded the Christian brotherhood. But Peter distinctly asserts that these mockers shall appear in the last days. His words are, "Knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts." Jude writes that "in the last time there shall be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts." The phrases, "the last days," and "the last time," denote our age, the dispensation in which we live, as Hebrews 1:2 proves. Peter puts the appearance of the scoffers in the future, whereas Jude, after quoting the words, significantly adds, "These are they who make separations, sensual, having not the Spirit." He means, of course the mockers just mentioned, and he affirms they are now present. With Peter they are yet to come when he wrote, but with Jude the prediction is already fulfilled, so far as the scoffers are concerned. Therefore Jude's writing is subsequent to Peter's, and if there be copying on the part of either, it is Jude who copies.
Peter mentions "your apostles," including himself in the phrase, but Jude does not employ the plural pronoun, for he was not of the apostolic body. But why the plural, "apostles"? Because at least one other apostle had spoken of the perilous times which were coming on the church of God. Paul unites his testimony with that of Peter, and writes, "But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come" (2 Timothy 3:1-5). His prediction is near akin to that of Peter; it belongs apparently to the same historic time and to the same perilous class of evil-doers and corrupters. In 2 Peter 3:15 the apostle lovingly and tenderly speaks of his "brother Paul," and says suggestively that in his Epistle he speaks of these things-no doubt about the scoffers of the last days among the rest. He certainly seems to have Paul in mind when he penned the words. "Knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come."
Here, then, is positive ground for the reference in Jude 1:4 to a writing concerning those who had crept into the fold and who were of old doomed to this condemnation, with which writing his readers were acquainted; they had it in the writing of the apostles Peter and Paul both, and so were forewarned as to the impending danger. Jude's Epistle is subsequent to Peter's.
V. Date of the Epistle.
There is little or no agreement as to the year, yet the majority of writers hold that it belongs to the latter half of the 1st century. Zahn assigns it to 70-75 A.D.; Lumby, circa 80 A.D.; Salmon, before the reign of Domitian (81 A.D.); Sieffert, shortly. prior to Domitian; Chase, not later than 80 A.D., probably within a year or two of the Pastoral Epistles. Zahn strongly insists on 64 A.D. as the date of Peter's death. If the 2nd Epistle bearing his name is authentic, the apostle could not possibly have copied from Jude, for Jude's letter was not in existence when he died. Even on the supposition that he suffered death 65-66 A.D., there could have been no copying done save by Jude, for it is almost demonstrable that Jude was written after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. If 2 Peter is pseudonymous and written about the middle of the 2nd century, as some confidently affirm, it has no right to a place in the Canon nor any legitimate relation to Jude. If genuine, it antedates Jude.
VI. The Libertines of Jude's Epistle.
Their character is very forcibly exhibited, but no information is given us of their origin or to what particular region they belonged. They bore the Christian name, were of the loosest morals, and were guilty of shameful excesses. Their influence seems to have been widespread and powerful, else Jude would not denounce them in such severe language. Their guilty departure from the truth must not be confounded with the Gnosticism of the 2nd century, though it tended strongly in that direction; it was a 1st-century defection. Were they newly risen sensualists, without predecessors? To some extent their forerunners had already appeared. Sensuality in some of its greaser forms disgraced the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 1 Corinthians 6:13-20). In the common meals of this congregation which ended in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, they indulged in revelry and gluttony, some of them even being intoxicated (1 Corinthians 11:17-22).
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LAODICEANS, EPISTLE TO THE
la-od-i-se'-anz, (en te Laodikeon ekklesia.... ten ek Laodikias, "in the church of the Laodiceans.... the epistle from Laodicea," Colossians 4:16):
I. EXPLANATIONS OF PAUL'S STATEMENT
1. Written by the Laodiceans?
2. Written by Paul from Laodicea?
3. An Epistle Addressed to the Laodiceans
II. EVIDENCE FAVORING EPISTLE TO EPHESIANS
1. Marcion's Opinion
2. References in Ephesians and Other Epistles
3. Ephesian Church Jewish in Origin
4. Ephesians and Colossians, Sister Epistles
III. LAODICEA DISPLACED BY EPHESUS
1. A Circular Epistle
2. Proof from Biblical Prologues
IV. REASON FOR SUCH AN EPISTLE
Paul here writes to the Colossians, "And when this epistle hath been read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye also read the epistle from Laodicea." What was or what is this epistle?
I. Explanations of Paul's Statement.
The words used by the apostle may mean:
(1) a letter written by the Laodiceans;
(2) an epistle written by Paul from Laodicea;
(3) an epistle written to the Laodiceans, and to be procured from them by the Colossians.
1. Written by the Laodiceans?:
The words may mean a letter written by the Laodiceans. But here it is sufficient to refer to the fact that Paul enjoins the Colossians to procure and to read "the epistle from Laodicea." How could a command of this kind be given in reference to an epistle written by third parties? How could Paul know that a copy of it had been made by the Laodiceans before sending it off? How could he tell that the Laodiceans would be willing to give away a copy of it? The suppositions involved by this hypothesis are incredible. Besides, the context regards the Epistle to the Colossians, and "that from Laodicea," as companion epistles, of which the two churches are to make an interchange, so that each church is directed to read both.
2. Written by Paul from Laodicea?:
Or, the words may refer to an epistle written by Paul from Laodicea. And it has been suggested that the epistle of which we are in search may be 1 Timothy, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, or Galatians. But in the case of these epistles, the probability is that every one of them was written elsewhere than from Laodicea. At the time when Paul wrote to Colosse, he was a prisoner in Rome, and for this reason alone, it was impossible that he could, at any recent date, have written any epistle from Laodicea. But his own statement (Colossians 2:1) is that those in Laodicea had not seen his face in the flesh. As he had never been in Laodicea, he could, not have written any epistle from that city.
3. An Epistle Addressed to the Laodiceans:
A third possibility is a letter written:
(1) not by Paul, but by some other person. But the whole tone of the passage does not favor this suggestion in the least;
(2) by Paul, but that the epistle is lost; this is the ordinary interpretation;
(3) the apocryphal Latin epistle. "To the Laodiceans."
This spurious epistle is a mere compilation clumsily put together; it has no marks of authenticity. Lightfoot (Colossians, 282) gives its general character thus: it "is a cento of Pauline phrases strung together without any definite connection or any clear object. They are taken chiefly from the Epistle to the Philippians, but here and there one is borrowed elsewhere, e.g. from the Epistle to the Galatians. Of course, it closes with an injunction to the Laodiceans to exchange epistles with the Colossians. The apostle's injunction in Colossians 4:16 suggested the forgery, and such currency as it ever attained was due to the support which that passage was supposed to give to it. Unlike most forgeries, it had no ulterior aim. It has no doctrinal peculiarities. It is quite harmless, so far as falsity and stupidity combined can ever be regarded as harmless" (Lightfoot, in the work quoted 282).
See APOCRYPHAL EPISTLES.
(4) The only other alternative is that "the epistle from Laodicea" is an epistle to the Laodiceans from Paul himself, which he directs the Colossians to procure from Laodicea. There seems to be not only a high degree of probability, but proof, that the epistle from Laodicea is the epistle known as the Epistle to the Ephesians. Paul therefore had written an epistle to Laodicea, a city which he had twice already mentioned in the Epistle to the Colossians, "For I would have you know how greatly I strive for you, and for them at Laodicea" (Colossians 2:1): "Salute the brethren that are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church that is in their house" (Colossians 4:15). Accepting Colossians 4:16 to mean that he wrote to Laodicea at the same time as he wrote to Colosse, what has become of the former ep.? Do we know nothing more of it now than is contained in this reference to it in Colossians? The fact that it was, by Paul's express command, to be communicated to at least the two churches in Colosse and Laodicea, would make its disappearance and loss very strange.
II. Evidence Favoring Epistle to Ephesians.
But is there any warrant for concluding that it is lost at all? A statement of the facts of the case seems to show that the epistle which Paul wrote to the Laodiceans is extant, but only under another title. The lines of evidence which seem to show that the so-called Epistle to the Ephesians is in reality the epistle written by Paul to the Laodiceans are these:
It is well known that the words "at Ephesus" (Ephesians 1:1) in the inscription of the epistle are very doubtful. The Revised Version (British and American) reads in the margin, "Some very ancient authorites omit `at Ephesus.' " Among the authorities which omit "at Ephesus" are the Vatican and Sinaitic manuscripts, the best and most ancient authorities existing.
1. Marcion's Opinion:
Tertullian asserts that the heretics, i.e. Marcion, had altered the title, "the Epistle to the Ephesians," to "the Epistle to the Laodiceans." But this accusation does not carry with it any doctrinal or heretical charge against Marcion in this respect. "It is not likely," says Moule (Eph, 25), "that Marcion was guilty here, where the change would have served no dogmatic purpose." And the fact that at that very early period, the first half of the 2nd century, it was openly suggested that the destination of the epistle was Laodicea, is certainly entitled to weight, especially in view of the other fact already mentioned, which is of no less importance, that "at Ephesus" is omitted in the two great manuscripts, the Vatican and the Sinaitic.
2. References in Ephesians and Other Epistles:
The "Epistle to the Ephesians" could not be, primarily at least, addressed to Ephesus, because Paul speaks of his readers as persons in regard to whose conversion from heathenism to the faith of Christ he had just recently heard: "For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which ye show toward all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers" (Ephesians 1:15 f). These words could not well be used in regard to the church at Ephesus, which Paul himself had founded, and in reference to persons among whom he had lived for three years, and where he even knew personally "every one" of the Christians (Acts 20:31).
And in Ephesians 3:1 the King James Version, he writes: "For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward." But how could he ever doubt that the elders of the church in Ephesus (Acts 20:17), as well as the members of that important church, were ignorant of the fact that a dispensation of the grace of God had been given to him? The inquiry, whether his readers had heard of the one great fact on which his ministry was based, could not apply in any degree to the Christians in Ephesus. The apostle and the Ephesians had a clear and intimate mutual knowledge. They knew him and valued him and loved him well. When he bade the elders of the church farewell, they all fell on his neck and kissed him (Acts 20:37).
Clearly therefore the statement that he had just recently heard of their conversion, and his inquiry whether they had heard that a dispensation of the grace of God had been entrusted to him, do not and cannot describe the members of the church in Ephesus. "It is plain," writes Moule (Eph, 26), "that the epistle does not bear an Ephesian destination on the face of it."
In the Epistle to the Corinthians there are many local references, as well as allusions to the apostle's work in Corinth. In the Epistle to the Galatians there are also many references to his work among the people of the churches in Galatia. The same is the case in the Epistle to the Philippians, several names being mentioned of persons known to the apostle. In the two Epistles to the Thessalonians, references also occur to his work among them.
Turning to the Epistle to the Colossians, and to that to the Romans-Colossae and Rome being cities which he had not visited previous to his writing to the churches there-he knows several persons in Colosse; and in the case of the Epistle to the Romans, he mentions by name no fewer than twenty-six persons in that city.
How is it then that in "the Epistle to the Ephesians" there are no references at all to the three years which he spent in Ephesus? And how also is there no mention of any one of the members of the church or of the elders whom he knew so intimately and so affectionately? "Ephesians" is inexplicable on the ordinary assumption that Ephesus was the city to which the epistle was addressed. The other theory, that the epistle was a circular one, sent in the first instance to Laodicea, involves no such difficulty.
3. Ephesian Church Jewish in Origin:
Another indication in regard to the primary destination of the epistle is in the words, "ye, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands; that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:11, 12). Do these words describe the church in Ephesus? Was the church there Gentilein its origin? Very far from this, for as a matter of fact it began by Paul preaching the gospel to the Jews, as is narrated at length by Luke in Acts 18. Then in Acts 19, Paul comes again to Ephesus, where he went into the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three months, but when divers were hardened and believed not, but spake evil of the Way before the multitude, he separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
Here, therefore, is definite proof that the church in Ephesus was not Gentilein its origin. It was distinctly Jewish, but a Gentileelement had also been received into it. Now the church to which Paul writes "the Epistle to the Ephesians" was not Jewish at all. He does not speak to his readers in any other way than "you Gentiles."
4. Ephesians and Colossians Sister Epistles:
But an important consideration is that the "Epistle to the Ephesians" was written by Paul at the same sitting almost as that to the Colossians. These two are sister epistles, and these along with the Epistle to Philemon were written and sent off at the same time, Onesimus and Tychicus carrying the Epistle to the Colossians (Colossians 4:7, 8, 9), Onesimus being the bearer of that to Philem, while Tychicus in addition to carrying the Colossian epistle was also the messenger who carried "the Epistle to the Ephesians" (Ephesians 6:21).
A close scrutiny of Colossians and "Ephesians" shows, to an extent without a parallel elsewhere in the epistles of the New Testament, a remarkable similarity of phraseology. There are only two verses in the whole of Colossians to which there is no parallel in "Ephesians." The same words are used, while the thought is so varied and so rich, that the one epistle is in no sense a copy or repetition of the other (see list of parallelisms, etc., in Paul's Epistles to Colosse and Laodicea, T. and T. Clark, Edinburgh). Both epistles come warm and instinct with life from the full heart of the great apostle who had not, up to that time, visited either city, but on whom, none the less, there came daily the care of all the churches.
(1) The words "at Ephesus" in the inscription of the epistle are wanting in the two oldest and best manuscripts.
(2) Paul speaks of his readers as persons of whose conversion to Christ he knew only by report. Similarly he speaks of them as knowing only by hearsay of his commission as an apostle of Christ. Also, though he had lived in Ephesus for three years, this epistle does not contain a single salutation.
(3) He speaks of his readers as forming a church exclusively of the Gentiles. But the church in Ephesus, so far from being exclusively gentile, was actually Jewish in origin.
(4) "Ephesians" was written at the same sitting as Colossians, and the same messenger, Tychicus, carried them both.
Therefore as the epistle was not, and could not be, addressed to Ephesus, the conclusion is that it was addressed to some church, and that it was not a treatise sent to the Christian church generally. The words of the first verse of the ep., "to the saints that are," proves that the name of the place to which it was addressed is all that is lost from the manuscripts, but that the name of the city was there originally, as the epistle came from Paul's hand.
Now Paul wrote an epistle to Laodicea at the same time as he wrote to Colosse. He dispatched both epistles by Tychicus. The thought and feeling and even the diction of the two epistles are such that no other explanation is possible but that they came warm from the heart of the same writer at the same time. On all these grounds the conclusion seems inevitable that the Epistle to Laodicea is not lost at all, but that it is identical with the so-called "Epistle to the Ephesians."
III. Laodicea Displaced by Ephesus.
1. A Circular Epistle:
How then did Ephesus displace Laodicea? It is explained at once if theory is adopted that the epistle was a "circular" one addressed not to Laodicea only, but to other cities. We know e.g. that the apostle orders it to be taken to the church in Colosse and read there. So also it might have been sent to other cities, such as Hierapolis (Colossians 4:13) and Ephesus. Hence, if the church in Laodicea were not careful to see that the epistle was returned to them, by those churches to whom they had sent it, it can easily be understood how a copyist in any of those cities might leave out the words "in Laodicea," as not agreeing with the name of the city where the manuscript actually was at the time. As copies were multiplied, the words "in Ephesus" would be suggested, as the name of the chief city of Asia, from which province the epistle had come to the knowledge of the whole Christian church, and to which, in point of fact, Paul had sent it. The feeling would be natural, that it was in keeping with the fitness of things, that Paul, who had rounded the church in Ephesus, should have written an epistle to the church there.
2. Proof from Biblical Prologues:
In an article upon "Marcion and the Canon" by Professor J. Rendel Harris, LL.D., in the The Expository Times, June, 1907, there is reference to the Revue Benedictine for January of that year, which contained a remarkable article by de Bruyne, entitled "Biblical Prologues of Marcionite Origin," in which the writer succeeded in showing that a very widely spread series of prefaces to the Pauline Epistles, which occur in certain Latin Bibles, must have been taken from a Marcionite Bible. Professor Rendel Harris adds that the prefaces in question may go back to Marcion himself, for in any case the Marcionite hand, from which they come, antedates the Latin tradition in which the prologues are imbedded. "It is clear from Tertullian's polemic against Marcion, that the Pauline Epistles stood in the following order in the Marcionite Canon: Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, then Ephesians (which Marcion calls by the name of the Epistle to the Laodiceans), Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon..... Let us turn to the prologues that are current in Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) and other manuscripts for Ephesians and Colossains: the Ephesian prologue runs as follows: `Ephesii sunt Asiani. Hi accepto verbo veritatis perstiterunt in fide. Ho conlaudat apostolus, scribens eis a Roma de carcere!' When, however, we turn to the Colossian prologue, we find that it opens as follows: `Colossenses et hi sicut Laodicenses sunt Asiani. Et ipsi praeventi erant a pseudapostolis, nec ad hos accessit apostolus sed et hos per epistolam recorrigit,' etc.
"From this it is clear that originally the prologue to the Laodiceans preceded the prologue to Colossians, and that the
Ephesian prologue is a substitute for the Laodicean prologue, which can be partly reconstructed from the references to it in the Colossian prologue. We can see that it had a statement that the Laodiceans belonged to Asia Minor, that they had been under the influence of false apostles, and had never been visited by Paul, who corrects their error by an epistle....
"We have now shown that the original Canon had `Laodiceans, Colossians.' It is interesting to observe how some Latin manuscripts naively admit this: `You must know that the epistle which we have as that written to the Ephesians, the heretics, and especially the Marcionites, entitle the Epistle to the Laodiceans.' "
IV. Reason for Such an Epistle.
Assuming therefore that the "Epistle to the Ephesians" is the epistle which Paul wrote to the Laodiceans, various questions arise, such as, Why did he write to the church there? What was there in the state of the church in Laodicea to call for an epistle from him? Was there any heresy there, like the false teaching which existed in the neighboring church in Colosse?
The answer to such questions is that though we do not possess much information, yet these churches in the province of Asia had many things in common. They had originated at the same time, during the two whole years of Paul's residence in Ephesus. They were composed of men of the same races, and speaking the same languages. They were subject to the same influences of doctrinal error. The errors into which any one church fell could not fail to affect the others also. These churches were permeated to a large extent by the same ideas, derived both from the current philosophy and from their ancestral heathen religions. They would, therefore, one and all, require the same apostolic instruction and exhortation. This epistle, accordingly, bears a close resemblance to the Epistle to the Colossians, just for the reason that the circumstances of the church in Laodicea were similar to those of the church in Colosse; and also, that the thoughts which filled Paul's heart as he wrote to Colosse were adapted, in the first place, to counteract the false teaching in Colosse, but they are also the foundation of all Christian experience, and the very life of all Christian truth and doctrine. These are the great thoughts of Christ the Creator of all things, Christ the Upholder of all things, Christ the Reconciler of all things. Such thoughts filling Paul's heart would naturally find expression in language bearing a close resemblance to that in which he had just written to Colosse.
It is no more astonishing that Paul should have written to Laodicea, than that he also wrote to Colosse, which was probably the least important of all the cities and churches mentioned in the apostle's work and career. Neither is it any more to be wondered at that he should have written so profound an epistle as that to "the Ephesians," than that he should also have given directions that it be sent on to Colosse and read there; for this reason, that the exposition of Christ's great love to the church and of His giving Himself for it-the doctrine of the grace of God-is the very corrective required by the errors of the false teachers at Colosse, and is also the groundwork of Christian truth and experience for all ages.
NOTE: A very remarkable circumstance in regard to the apocryphal Epistle to the Laodiceans is mentioned by Nestle in the preface to his edition of the Latin New Testament, published in Stuttgart in 1906. He writes that "the Epistle to the Laodiceans was for a thousand years part of very many Latin Bibles, and obtained a place in pre-Lutheran German Bibles, together with Jerome's Epistle to Damasus."
Greek1992. epistole -- an epistle, a letter ...
, a letter. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: epistole Phonetic
Spelling: (ep-is-tol-ay') Short Definition: a letter, dispatch, epistle ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1992.htm - 6k
1121. gramma -- that which is drawn or written, ie a letter
... letter, writings, learning Definition: a letter of the alphabet; collectively: written
(revelation); (a) a written document, a letter, an epistle, (b) writings ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1121.htm - 6k
5060. Tertios -- "third," Tertius, a Christian to whom Paul ...
... Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: Tertios Phonetic Spelling: (ter'-tee-os)
Short Definition: Tertius Definition: Tertius, who wrote the Epistle to the ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5060.htm - 6k
4899. suneklektos -- chosen together with
... 4899 ("chosen together") refers to believers as divinely- () -- a theme elaborated
on earlier in the epistle (1 Pet 1:1,2). 1 Pet 5:13: "She who is in Babylon ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4899.htm - 7k
Strong's Hebrew107. iggereth -- a letter...
4), letters (6). letter. Feminine of 'iggra'; an epistle
-- letter. see HEBREW
'iggra'. 106, 107. iggereth. 108 . Strong's Numbers. /hebrew/107.htm - 6k
104. iggerah -- a letter
... letter. (Aramaic) of Persian origin; an epistle (as carried by a state courier or
postman) -- letter. 103, 104. iggerah. 105 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/104.htm - 6k
5406. nishtevan -- a letter
... decree (1), letter (1). letter. Probably of Persian origin; an epistle --
letter. 5405, 5406. nishtevan. 5407 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/5406.htm - 5k
The Epistle of Barnabas
The Epistle of Barnabas. <. The Epistle of Barnabas Barnabas. Table of Contents.
Title Page. Introductory Note to the Epistle of Barnabas. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/barnabas/the epistle of barnabas /
The First Epistle of John, Practically Explained
The First Epistle of John, Practically Explained. <. The First Epistle of
John, Practically Explained Augustus Neander. Table of Contents. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/neander/the first epistle of john/
The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. <. The First Epistle of Clement
to the Corinthians Clement of Rome. Table of Contents. Title Page. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/clement/the first epistle of clement to the corinthians/
The Epistle of James, Practically Explained
The Epistle of James, Practically Explained. <. The Epistle of James, Practically
Explained Augustus Neander. Table of Contents. Title Page. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/neander/the epistle of james practically explained/
Epistle of Peter to James
Epistle of Peter to James. <. Epistle of Peter to James Pseudo-Clementine
Literature. Table of Contents. Title Page. Introductory ...
//christianbookshelf.org/unknown/epistle of peter to james/
The Second Epistle of Clement
The Second Epistle of Clement. <. The Second Epistle of Clement
Unknown. Table of Contents. Title Page. AN ANCIENT HOMILY ...
//christianbookshelf.org/unknown/the second epistle of clement/
Epistle Sermons, Vol. II
Epistle Sermons, Vol. II. <. Epistle Sermons, Vol. II Martin
Luther. Produced by Ron Swanson (This file was produced ...
//christianbookshelf.org/luther/epistle sermons vol ii/
Epistle Sermons, Vol. III
Epistle Sermons, Vol. III. <. Epistle Sermons, Vol. III Martin
Luther. Produced by Ron Swanson (This file was produced ...
//christianbookshelf.org/luther/epistle sermons vol iii/
The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians
The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians. <. The Epistle of Ignatius
to the Ephesians Ignatius. Table of Contents. Title Page. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/ignatius/the epistle of ignatius to the ephesians/
The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp and the Ephesians
The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp and the Ephesians. <. The Epistle of Ignatius
to Polycarp and the Ephesians Ignatius. Table of Contents. ...
/.../ignatius/the epistle of ignatius to polycarp and the ephesians/
ThesaurusEpistle (13 Occurrences)...
TO THE. ...
The first definite witness is Marcion, who included thisepistle
in his collection of those written by Paul (Tert., Adv. .../e/epistle.htm - 101k
Apollos (11 Occurrences)
... He was with Paul at Ephesus when he wrote the First Epistle to the Corinthians;
and Paul makes kindly reference to him in his letter to Titus (3:13). ...
/a/apollos.htm - 16k
Jeremy (2 Occurrences)
... JEREMY, THE EPISTLE OF. ... In the bestknown printed of the Septuagint (Tischendorf,
Swete, etc.), the order is Jeremiah, Baruch, Lain, Epistle of Jeremy. ...
/j/jeremy.htm - 12k
Colossians (1 Occurrence)
... Colossians, Epistle to the: Was written by Paul at Rome during his first imprisonment
there (Acts 28:16, 30), probably in the spring of AD 57, or, as some think ...
/c/colossians.htm - 23k
Nymphas (1 Occurrence)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Nymph, saluted by Paul in his Epistle to the Colossians
as a member of the church of Laodicea (Colossians 4:15). Int. ...
/n/nymphas.htm - 9k
Philemon (2 Occurrences)
... instrumentality of Paul (19), and held a prominent place in the Christian community
for his piety and beneficence (4-7). He is called in the epistle a "fellow ...
/p/philemon.htm - 17k
Praetorian (2 Occurrences)
... The meaning, therefore, of the words, "My bonds in Christ are manifest in the whole
praetorium," will be that when Paul wrote the Epistle to the Philippians ...
/p/praetorian.htm - 15k
Onesimus (2 Occurrences)
... his master Philemon (qv) at Colosse, fled to Rome, where he was converted by the
apostle Paul, who sent him back to his master with the epistle which bears his ...
/o/onesimus.htm - 12k
Gaius (5 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary. (1.) A Macedonian, Paul's fellow-traveller, and his
host at Corinth when he wrote his Epistle to the Romans (16:23). ...
/g/gaius.htm - 10k
Tertius (1 Occurrence)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary The third, a Roman Christian whom Paul employed as his
amanuensis in writing his epistle to the Romans (16:22). Int. ...
/t/tertius.htm - 8k
Bible ConcordanceEpistle (13 Occurrences)
Acts 15:30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
(KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT)
Acts 23:33 Who, when they came to Caesarea and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
Romans 16:22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.
(KJV ASV DBY WBS)
1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
(KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT)
2 Corinthians 3:2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
(KJV ASV WBS)
2 Corinthians 7:8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
(KJV ASV WBS)
Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.
(KJV ASV WBS YLT)
1 Thessalonians 5:27 I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.
(KJV ASV WBS)
2 Thessalonians 2:2 to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand;
2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
(KJV ASV WBS)
2 Thessalonians 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
(KJV ASV WBS)
2 Thessalonians 3:17 The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.
(KJV ASV WBS)
2 Peter 3:1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
(KJV ASV WBS)
Epistle Of Jude
Epistle To the 1 and 2 Thessalonians
Epistle To The Colossians
Epistle To The Ephesians
Epistle To The Hebrews
Epistle To The Philippians
Epistle To The Romans
Epistle To Titus
Apollos (11 Occurrences)
Jeremy (2 Occurrences)
Colossians (1 Occurrence)
Nymphas (1 Occurrence)
Philemon (2 Occurrences)
Praetorian (2 Occurrences)
Onesimus (2 Occurrences)
Gaius (5 Occurrences)
Tertius (1 Occurrence)
Laodiceans (2 Occurrences)
Titus (15 Occurrences)
Lady (37 Occurrences)
Tychicus (5 Occurrences)
Elect (32 Occurrences)
Clement (1 Occurrence)
Timothy (28 Occurrences)
Melchizedek (12 Occurrences)
Guard (185 Occurrences)
Letter (112 Occurrences)
Ephesians (4 Occurrences)
Middle (169 Occurrences)
Partition (4 Occurrences)
Barnabas (33 Occurrences)
Wall (227 Occurrences)
Galatians (2 Occurrences)
Philippians (2 Occurrences)
Jude (4 Occurrences)
Romans (8 Occurrences)
Thessalonians (6 Occurrences)
Separate (115 Occurrences)
Priesthood (30 Occurrences)
Kindness (295 Occurrences)
Laodicea (6 Occurrences)
Aristarchus (6 Occurrences)
Persecution (22 Occurrences)
Stephanas (3 Occurrences)
Silas (22 Occurrences)
Brotherly (8 Occurrences)
Law (670 Occurrences)
Adam (29 Occurrences)
Text (5 Occurrences)
Love (703 Occurrences)
Melchisedec (10 Occurrences)
Pontus (3 Occurrences)
Person (807 Occurrences)
Corinth (13 Occurrences)
Hebrews (24 Occurrences)
James (40 Occurrences)
Simon (75 Occurrences)
Unchangeableness (1 Occurrence)
Unchangeable (4 Occurrences)
Ascension (1 Occurrence)
Corinthians (3 Occurrences)
Ishmael (44 Occurrences)
Sacrifice (300 Occurrences)
Latin (2 Occurrences)
Likewise (149 Occurrences)
Luke (4 Occurrences)
Philippi (8 Occurrences)
Malefactor (2 Occurrences)
Paul (207 Occurrences)
Thessalonica (8 Occurrences)
Borrowing (1 Occurrence)
Justification (6 Occurrences)
Supper (17 Occurrences)
Consist (7 Occurrences)
Literature (2 Occurrences)
Epistles (2 Occurrences)
• Bible Dictionary
• Bible Encyclopedia
• Topical Bible
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Welcome to Global Learning for Kids! I am so excited to write about Kenya, a country in East Africa with coastline on the Indian Ocean. Kenya is known for its beautiful landscapes as its exotic wildlife. Let’s learn more together about this beautiful country and its people.
“This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, Multicultural Kid Blogs receives a small commission.”
1. Read A Book
Malika, my eldest daughter, has often said of late, that she wants to be a scientist when she’s older. So what better way to combine Malika’s new found passion for science, with knowledge about Kenya, than with the book, Seeds of Change: Wangari’s Gift to the World
This beautifully illustrated book, is a biography of scientist Wangari Maathai, the first African woman and environmentalist, to win the Nobel Peace Prize, in 2004, for her work planting trees in her native Kenya. Malika and Ameenah loved the illustrations and the inspiring story has persuaded Malika to further her dreams of becoming a scientist!
2. Make a Friend
Ammara is actually Malika and Ameenah’s cousin, who has recently made a huge move from Kenya to Northern Ireland, to live with her Irish father. Malika and Ameenah have yet to meet Ammara, but will meet her in Scotland in March, which we are all very excited about! In the meantime we have had a few catch-ups on Facebook and Whats App, to help Malika and Ameenah and their newly arrived cousin, to get to know one another.
Question: What do you think about Northern Ireland so far?
Answer: I really like it so far! The roads and pavements are very different to what i was used to in Kenya! I really love my new school, called the Enniskillen Model Primary (a unique school in NI with Catholic and Protestant pupils) and the teachers have been really kind to me.
Q: Where are you from in Kenya?
A: I was born in Mombassa and lived in a town just outside it called Mtwapa. You can see them on the map here:
Q: How old are you and what class are you in, at school?
A: I am eight years old and in Primary Five.
Q: What was your school like in Kenya?
A: The school I went to in Kenya was very different, to the school that I am in now. My school in Kenya had no windows or doors – the weather was very different and very hot Malika, so we didn’t need the same kind of building there, as we do here! We would start really early in Kenya as the school day started at 7am and did not finish until 5pm! There were around 365 children in my old school and 2-3 to a desk. We get less homework in Enniskillen which I prefer!
Q: What was your school dinner like?
A: The food is really different also – we would have ugali, beans, and chapati for lunch. Very different from an “Ulster Fry” which is a famous breakfast in Northern Ireland!
Q: What is the biggest difference between Kenya and Ireland?
A: One of the biggest differences for me is the weather! As you know I lived on the coast area in Kenya and the weather was always very hot. Northern Ireland is very cold and damp in comparison.
3. Learn about the Kenyan Flag
Ammara also taught Malika and Ameenah about the Kenyan flag and we used templates from here – to colour in copies of the flag.
According to Ammara, the flag of Kenya has many different meanings behind it. The Masai shield is in the middle of the flag, and the shield and spears, protect everything in Kenya that the flag represents. The black colour, in the middle of the flag, represents the Kenyan Black majority. The red color, is to represent the blood shed during the fight for independence. The green represents the land and the white stripes symbolize peace and honesty!
Finally we made a large map of Africa and tried to locate Kenya on the map. We got back from a family trip to Morocco two weeks ago, so locating Kenya, in relation to Morocco, helped the girls make sense of the location of the two countries.
4. Learn Some Fun Facts
Whilst locating Kenya on the map, we also discussed some fun Kenyan facts.
- Kenya is located in East Africa, on the equator.
- In 2012, the population of Kenya was estimated to be around 43 million.
- Kenya is officially known as the Republic of Kenya.
- The capital and largest city is Nairobi. Mombasa is the second largest city.
- The two official languages in Kenya are English and Swahili, although there are dozens of other languages spoken in various parts of the country. | <urn:uuid:df83c737-3012-4d62-a8d0-7089eee3ea97> | {
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[ Note: This essay, written in October 1996, remains one of my most requested web documents, downloaded 2349 times during a week in September 2002. Though the Web has changed a great deal since 1996, the FONT element is still around, and still exhibits all the harmful effects described below, even in modern browsers. Fortunately, Style Sheets are much more widespread than they were, and these can avoid most of the harmful effects of the FONT element. ]
When Netscape introduced its FONT element, with its SIZE= and COLOR= attributes, many web authors welcomed the promise of control over the presentation of their documents; the same authors felt a twinge of anticipation when Microsoft introduced an additional FACE= attribute. Many of these authors did not realize that their documents would become invisible, illegible, or inaccessible to many viewers. Yet this is exactly what has happened, due to mistaken expectations and faulty implementation in popular browsers.
Extensions to HTML are said to "degrade gracefully" if they do not interfere with basic legibility in browsers that do not support these extensions. For character-mode browsers such as Lynx, or other browsers that do not support font sizes, colors, and styles, the effects of the FONT element are relatively benign. If the author tries to emphasize specific text by its size or color, the user of the text-mode browser will see the text, but will not see the emphasis. If the author uses font settings instead of HTML headings, the same user will not see headings, and neither will the search engine or indexer looking for keywords in high-level headings to display prominently in the search results. But at least, the Lynx user will be able to see the text.
The truly insidious effects of the FONT element are reserved for users of popular graphic browsers like Netscape and Internet Explorer.
The font tag is a hindrance to communication over the World Wide Web because it makes too many assumptions about the user's system, browser, and configuration. Cascading Style Sheets, on the other hand, negotiate between author and viewer to create a carefully-designed appearance that is accessible to all. People create web documents for many reasons. If you have something to say, information to provide, a message to preach, feelings to express, a product to sell, then it's in your interest to make your work accessible. Smart web authors, who want to get their message across, stay far away from the FONT element.
Is the FONT element ever appropriate? Not the COLOR= or FACE= attributes, nor absolute values of the SIZE= attribute (e.g. <FONT SIZE=1>). Relative values may be useful in moderation as a gentle (and expendable) form of emphasis, or to mark legalistic disclaimers or other "fine print." In other words, <FONT SIZE="+1"> and <FONT SIZE="-1"> may be acceptable. But their appearance is precisely duplicated by the long-standing HTML tags <BIG> and <SMALL>. The FONT element is broken in current implementations, is prone to cause unpredictable and unavoidable data loss, and is quickly becoming obsolete with the advent of Style Sheets.Warren Steel ([email protected])
12 May 2003
[ References | Hints for Web Authors | Warren Steel ] | <urn:uuid:e2f7778c-13cd-48ff-9be6-e80f653f4edb> | {
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Vertebrates are animals with backbones. Our collections include specimens of birds, mammals, fishes, reptiles and frogs. The collections date from the early days of the museum and are an invaluable resource.
The study of mammals including placental mammals, marsupials and monotremes.
The study of reptiles and amphibians including snakes, lizards, crocodiles, turtles and frogs.
The study of fishes including bony fishes and cartilaginous fishes such as sharks and rays.
The study of Birds including eagles, gulls, penguins and cockatoos.
Ornithology highlights gallery
Quick tour of the fish collection
Quick tour of the bird collection
WiFi is available throughout the Museum
All our phone, email and other contact details.
Become a Member for free admission, Explore magazine subscription and more.
Subscribe to our newsletters for the latest events, offers and information. | <urn:uuid:2bfb9d5d-3240-4d7d-a108-34e452a478e2> | {
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Hoa Hao: Religion and Politics
That the millenarian tradition of the Buu Son Ky Huong sect had endured and even flourished was demonstrated spectacularly in 1939 when a 20 year-old youth named Huynh Phu So founded the Hoa Hao sect. A native of the southwest, Huynh Phu So capitalized on the millenarian beliefs, claiming that he was the reincarnation of the founder of the Buu Son Ky Huong sect and that his mission was to bring the tradition back to its original purity. He reactivated the myth of the millennium, predicting that the end of the world would come within a few years. In a few months he gained thousands of followers. Over the period of World War II, he gathered nearly one million followers who were fanatically devoted to him.
Huynh Phu So stressed virtue in one's daily conduct as the chief method of seeking salvation, for over the years, the tendency to stage elaborate ceremonies with expensive offerings to Buddha had taken over, and with it the reliance on prayers rather than good deeds. Religion, he said, was to provide the guidelines for all activities. It was not enough, furthermore, to seek salvation for oneself only. In this era of imminent apocalypse, collective salvation was the ultimate aim. Religion should not stay separate from political matters; on the contrary, religious people had the duty to become politically involved since both politics and religion were concerned with salvation. To those who accused him of politicizing religion, Huynh Phu So replied that he was bringing religion into politics, as was right and proper. His Hoa Hao sect was thus not only a religious movement, but a political one as well, with a formidable mass base made up of nearly one million peasants, mostly located in the southwest and the Mekong delta. When World War II ended and the Japanese surrendered to the Allies, the sect refused to accept the leadership of the communist-dominated Viet Minh coalition. In 1947, Huynh Phu So was assassinated by Viet Minh agents, and his followers became implacably opposed to the Viet Minh. This hostility lasted through the Vietnam War, although some Hoa Hao members turned to the National Liberation Front (NLF) after the South Vietnamese government of President Ngo Dinh Diem crushed an uprising in which the sect had taken part, and disarmed it.
The Buu Son Ky Huong and Hoa Hao sects made the most explicit refutation of the traditional Confucian state's contention that the political order must prevail over all areas of life, and of its claim to determine what role religion should play in the lives of ordinary Vietnamese. Essentially the two sects took a completely opposite view of the relationship between religion and politics. Both the sects and the state, however, were agreed about the fundamentally inextricable nature of this relationship.
The Hoa Hao sect illustrates a reformist, purifying strand in popular religion. Historically, such reformist movements periodically appeared in reaction to the inherent tendency of popular religion towards excessive eclecticism. The latter tendency is well illustrated by the other major political-religious sect of southern Vietnam, the Cao Dai sect, which was founded in 1926, 13 years before the appearance of the Hoa Hao sect.
Cao Dai: Something for Everyone
Caodaism was not only an exuberant blend of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and popular cults, it also aspired to be a universal religion by virtue of incorporating into its pantheon Jesus Christ and various figures from Western history, whose only connecting link was their claim to have had direct communication with God. The most important aspect of its doctrine was a belief in a Supreme Being or Cao Dai who made his wishes known through the agency of teen-age mediums. The eclectic nature of the Cao Dai teachings was reflected in its architecture and in its organization. Whereas the Hoa Hao sect remained family-oriented, and thus did not necessitate the construction of temples, the Cao Dai religion was congregational. The sayings of Cao Dai were transmitted to the faithful in oratories. The most important of these oratories was the Holy See in Tay Ninh province. Its structure was borrowed from the Catholic cathedral of Saigon, but its decoration was a product of Vietnamese popular religion at its gaudiest. Ubiquitous among this decoration was the Heavenly Eye represented by a very naturalistic picture of a human eye, and symbolizing the omniscience and omnipresence of Cao Dai. On the wall fronting the entrance was a large mural depicting Victor Hugo, Confucius and Sun Yat-sen, a painted symbol of the mixed origins of the Cao Dai beliefs.
Cao Dai organization was as eclectic as its architectural style, and as complex as its pantheon of deities. Whereas the Hoa Hao sect had no institutional infrastructure until after World War II, the Cao Dai hierarchy was well developed. There were three different hierarchies made up of Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist followers, divided into nine grades. Furthermore, the structure of the sect was composed of a council of mediums, an administrative organ and a body overseeing the operation of charitable agencies serving as recruitment organs. To further complicate matters, male and female dignitaries of the sect were organized separately.
Although the majority of the faithful were peasants from the southeastern provinces of Vietnam, the leaders came mostly from the ranks of colonial civil servants and landowners. In creating a new religion in which Christianity was but one strand, they were trying, in the words of Alexander Woodside, to find equivalence with the West. In organizing the sect as they did, they were also trying to be all things to all men.
In trying to characterize the Cao Dai religion, the words adaptability and inclusiveness come to mind. Whereas the Hoa Hao sect under Huynh Phu So was rigid in its religious and political claims, the Cao Dai sect proved much more flexible. It avoided open conflict with the Viet Minh, while maintaining control over its territory. But in 1955, it too took part in the unsuccessful confrontation with President Diem, and it too was forced to give up its military role. Many of the sectaries, who had no memories of conflict to embitter their relations with the communists, were able to make common cause with them and to join the NLF.
Conclusion: Religion in an Atheist State
Religion affects the lives of ordinary men and women on many different levels. It provides them with moral guidelines, it gives meaning to their existence and to the world they inhabit. It gives them solace and hope for the future. As in 19th century Vietnam, religion can inspire them to build new communities that embody their vision of the perfect world in the most desolate places. The claims of religion need not be in conflict with the claims of the state. Throughout history, religion served both to integrate the Vietnamese people into a cohesive society and to reinforce the presence, if not the power, of the emperor while softening his rule. But it also served as a refuge for those who wanted to escape this rule, and as a vehicle of dissent for those who rejected the all encompassing claims of the state. In their turn, dissenters could, on behalf of their religious beliefs, present claims as sweeping as those made by the state on behalf of politics, and be as intransigent with those who disagreed with them.
The communist state is in many ways heir to the Confucian state. This is evident in the social origins of much of its leadership. Like its Confucian predecessors, the new leadership has made a rigorous attempt to control the religious life of its population, only with the aid of a new state orthodoxy, Marxism-Leninism. The leadership insists that the Vietnamese Catholic church be a national church. It has ordered the confiscation of properties belonging to the Buddhist church, including schools and orphanages, on the grounds that the state alone should run such institutions. It refuses to allow draft-age males into the ranks of the Catholic and Buddhist clergies. Not unsurprisingly, these attempts at state control have provoked a reaction. Although the Communist party is securely at the helm, its leaders are taking no chances. Periodic appeals for vigilance against enemies of the state continue to be issued. Chief among these suspected enemies are members of the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao sects, as well as Catholics and Buddhists. The modern state has greater powers, and much more effective means of control than the traditional state ever possessed. It is conceivable that the communist state will succeed where the Confucian state did not. But religious aspirations are too strong to be uprooted easily.
The outcome of the centuries-old tension between state and religion is very much in the laps of the gods. | <urn:uuid:644a9a20-855c-49c4-b5db-5f6d0e3693a2> | {
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Whilst originally producing Windows Embedded Operating System images for their customers to evaluate the capabilities of, it soon became apparent that the desire to heavily customise the Operating System was not there for every customer – the result being that customers favoured utilising what was initially designed to be an evaluation platform as their production image!
As Windows Embedded Standard (WES), consisting of XP Embedded and WES 2009, are easily retrospectively customisable, customers were looking to DSL to provide an essentially one-size-fits-all image that saves them the costs associated with development tools, learning curves for training employees and the administration of deploying images and purchasing licenses as part of the production process.
As embedded computers are designed to be just that, once a system is deployed and in use by an end user, it is barely recognisable as a PC. Whilst everyone knows that PCs should be shutdown rather than just turned off to avoid disk corruption, either due to an inaccessible shutdown option, or the end user not even realising the risk still exists – embedded systems often experience power being cut without prior warning.
A huge advantage for industrial rugged systems is WES’ ability to use flash memory. Whilst flash memory is enormously beneficial due to its non-mechanical nature in a system exposed to shock and vibration, its downside is the comparatively limited number of read/write cycles in its lifetime compared to a mechanical Hard Drive.
Thankfully WES considers both potential pitfalls of the hardware platforms it is designed to run on. The solution? Write filters that divert storage device writes to volatile RAM, whilst fully emulating normal processes such that no software modification is required.
– Hugely increases the lifetime of flash memory, necessitating storage medium writes only during initial booting phase
– Permits sudden power outage, original files (critically also registry files, those most prone to cause BSOD errors when corrupted) left intact, all writes occur in RAM. Allows system to be truly embedded and not need to be treated as a PC at all.
– Protects against malicious end users making configuration changes – any changes made to the registry (or any part of the disk) are all stored in volatile RAM, so once reset the system defaults back to its original state.
– Protects against viruses – any malicious software inadvertently installed will not survive a reboot.
– Permits booting from read only media – allows hardware protected ‘read only’ devices, including CD or DVD media to be used to store an OS, the latter offering multi-layer read only protection.
– Permits booting from previously non-OS friendly media – even USB drives can be used to reliable run a WES operating system long term.
– Does not persist changes through a reboot – Interestingly which in some cases can be a major advantage, this becomes a disadvantage in the following situations
– An administrator or field engineer wishes to make configuration changes locally to an embedded system, or their own Client software.
– Client software wishes to log activity within log files.
– Clients wish to update their software either locally or remotely
Thankfully these common situations were also considered well in advance, WES’ write filters circumvent these potential pitfalls via a number of means to provide a ‘best of both worlds’ environment.
Multiple types of write filters
Both types of write filter offer distinct advantages, the earlier EWF (Enhanced Write Filter) now have been superseded by the highly configurable FBWF (File Based Write Filter). The fundamental difference being EWF is concerned with protecting entire drives & volumes, FBWF is concerned with folders and files.
Offers all of the advantages listed above, though what it cannot do is allow some paths to be protected against writes and others not (to allow log files, etc). For read only media (such as a CD-ROM) EWF is the most suitable.
Controlling at file/folder level allows every single file or directory on the device to be either read only, or not – permitting log file directories, software configuration changes, etc).
Both types of write filter can be temporarily disabled during development to persist changes, but as this requires a complete reboot it is not recommended that this method is used to service field production units, as the system is left exposed.
For details of how to configure the FBWF that DSL pre-installs, please see our Frequently Asked Questions
The main purpose of write filters is to protect the vulnerable registry, note by default the registry is not protected. Execute “FBWFMGR /removeexclusion C: \regfdata” to protect the registry – whilst it is disabled of course!
Device Update Agent allows remote updating of client software and configuration that operates securely but within the restraints of the write filter setup. This circumvents the issue that any updated software would not persist through a reboot, yet doesn’t require the directory it is stored in to be exposed as allowing writes.
Hibernate Once, Resume Many function allows an embedded system to boot significantly quicker (as a desktop PC would resume from hibernation) and offers an almost ‘instant’ on experience. This also means the end user does not see the booting process thus is able to recognise it as a PC based device at all. Note EWF is required, FBWF is not supported. | <urn:uuid:58ae90bb-3c68-4d31-867c-1f599bdd4c28> | {
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- Kalapuya Treaty (30 March 1855)
- Oregon Constitution
- Oregon Treaty
- Treaty of 1818
- Healthy Oregon Act
- Oregon's Native Americans During the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of Oregon
- Oregon and Washington Volunteers
- Women's suffrage proclamation, Oregon 1912
- Act of Congress admitting Oregon into Union
- “Oregon” by J. W. Hawes in The American Cyclopædia, 1879.
- “Oregon” by T. W. Symons and G. H. Atkinson in Encyclopædia Britannica (9th ed.), 1884.
- “Oregon” in The Nuttall Encyclopædia by James Wood, London: Frederick Warne and Co., Ltd., 1907.
- “Oregon” in Encyclopædia Britannica, (11th ed.), 1911
- “Oregon,” by Edwin V. O'Hara in Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913.
- “Oregon,” The New Student's Reference Work, Chicago: F.E. Compton and Co., 1914.
- “Oregon,” Collier's New Encyclopedia. New York: P.F. Collier & Son Co., 1921.
- Frederic George Young, “Oregon,” Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.), 1922. | <urn:uuid:8c8fdb49-69ea-4079-ab85-c0c7cbc4a6d9> | {
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From treats to toys, many pet owners don’t think twice about showering a pet with love. After all, pets have our hearts. But what about protecting theirs through heartworm prevention?
Heartworm disease is one of the more deadly, but preventable illnesses we see in pets. Yet, many pets remain unprotected. This game of chance may not seem like such a big deal – until a pet is diagnosed with heartworm.
The Risk of Heartworm
Heartworm disease is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes acquire these microscopic parasites, called microfilariae, from other mammals such as coyotes, skunks, and foxes. Continue… | <urn:uuid:e4ef735e-952e-46fe-ba46-3881de4d504c> | {
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List of Indian Space Programs
- Chandrayaan – 1, the unmanned lunar exploration spacecraft was launched on 22nd October 2008 from HSAR, Sriharikota. Later the Moon Impact Probe separated from the spacecraft and descended towards the lunar south pole.
- It carries five ISRO payloads and six payloads from other international agencies including NASA, ESA and the Bulgarian Aerospace Agency, carried free of cost.
- ISRO provides training in space applications to personnel of developing countries through its Sharing of Experience in Space (SHARES) program.
- Megha – Tropiques is a joint satellite mission of ISRO and French Space Agency CNES for atmospheric studies. The satellite will be built and launched by ISRO and CNES will develop two of the payloads and the third payload jointly with ISRO.
- Scientific instruments developed in the United States, Germany, Swedan, UK and Bulgaria will be launched on board India’s Chandrayaan – 1 spacecraft.
- Instruments for astronomical observation jointly developed with Israel and Canada will be flown on board. India’s GSAT – 4 and RISAT satellites repectively.
- Indian scientific instrument in study solar physics and solar – terrestrial sciences will be flown on board Russia’s CORONAS – PHOTON satellite.
ANTRIX: It is the commercial front of the department of space, is a single window agency for marketing Indian Space Capabilities.
- Antrix offers launch services using India’s PSLV. Two German, one Korean and one Belgaian satellites have already been successfully launched by PSLV.
- The successful launch of INSAT – 4A, the heaviest and most powerful satellite built by the India so far, on 22 December 2005 was the other major event of the year 2005 – 06. INSAT – 4A is capable of providing Direct - To – Home (DTH) television broadcasting services. | <urn:uuid:6a7957ca-98a9-42f0-9551-e56a84c0bb60> | {
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A new study finds that the introduction of “right-to-work” laws has reduced the unionization rate by 2.1 percentage points and lowered worker wages by 2.6% in Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Recent “right-to-work” laws have had negative consequences for many workers in Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois Economic Policy Institute.
The analysis focuses on labor markets in six Midwest states from 2010 through 2016. Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin all enacted “right-to-work” (RTW) laws during this period, providing a regional experiment on the effects of the laws. Three neighboring states– Illinois, Minnesota, and Ohio– serve as a comparison group because they did not have RTW laws at the beginning of the time frame and still do not have RTW today.
As of 2016, there were significant differences between the two groups of states. Notably, workers in Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin earned 8% less per hour on average than their counterparts in Illinois, Minnesota, and Ohio.
However, the authors note that these economic indicators could be due to many factors other than whether the state enacted a RTW law, such as educational attainment, occupation, and demographics.
After accounting for these and other important factors, the analysis finds that the introduction of RTW laws has reduced the unionization rate by 2.1 percentage points and lowered hourly wages by 2.6% in Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
RTW laws have had particularly adverse impacts on occupations that have traditionally provided middle-class careers for workers in the Midwest. As examples, RTW has statistically reduced the hourly earnings of construction and extraction workers by 5.9%, of workers in service occupations (including police officers and firefighters) by 3.1%, and of workers in professional, educational, and health occupations by 1.9%.
Similarly, the negative impact of RTW has been largest for workers with levels of educational attainment that typically provide pathways into the middle class in the Midwest. RTW has decreased the wages of workers with bachelor’s degrees, associate’s degrees, and some college experience by over 3% percent, while having no effect for workers with Master’s degrees or with professional or doctorate degrees.
Based on early data on the impact of “right-to-work” in the Midwest, the laws have likely contributed to the shrinking middle class in the region. RTW has especially hurt working-class Americans, including those in construction, protective services, office support jobs, and those with two- and four-year college degrees.
These findings echo previous research on RTW laws. Economic studies consistently show that RTW reduces worker earnings by 2-4%. By reducing unionization, RTW has helped to redistribute income from middle-class workers to the wealthy, boosting owner income by 2% with “little ‘trickle-down’ to the largely non-unionized workforce.”
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of high school students are receiving lottery tickets or scratch cards as gifts during the holiday season. Based on this research, we feel it is important to raise public awareness around the impact of giving lottery products as gifts to minors.
Research shows that the majority of adolescents gamble occasionally, and that lottery products may be a gateway to problem gambling. Youth gambling has been shown to be linked to other risk-taking behaviors such as smoking, drinking and drug use, and youth are 2-4 times more likely to develop a gambling problem compared to adults.
Along with not buying lottery products for minors this holiday season Atlantic Lottery also encourages parents to:
- Learn the facts about gambling
- Encourage discussions and questions about gambling with your children
- Be aware of your own gambling behavior
- Know where your kids are going online and establish clear rules about what online games your children can play
For more information about youth gambling visit www.youthgambling.com | <urn:uuid:71ceb76a-7443-457f-bb08-bbabd3c78fd9> | {
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Research and private study only. Not to be reproduced without prior written permission. Rights holder: Michael Keniger
Located 166 km north of Brisbane, Gympie is known as the 'Town that Saved Queensland'. Gympie's heritage began in 1867 with the discovery of gold at the site now occupied by the Town Hall. At the time, Queensland was facing bankruptcy due to drought and the fall in wool prices. The Gympie Gold Rush provided the boost to the Queensland economy that enabled the colony to survive. Named after a local stinging tree which the Aborigines reputedly called 'gimpi gimpi', the town officially became Gympie in 1868. It was proclaimed a municipality in 1880, became a town a decade later and was a city by 1905. The gold mining continued until 1925. The city then became the most important regional centre for the area servicing the variety of agricultural activities which spread from the coast into the hinterland. Today Gympie is the centre of the Mary River Valley agricultural district. The architecture typical of Gympie lends to the atmosphere of a bygone era, with many of the original buildings still in use today. | <urn:uuid:f0f521ee-9fdb-42f2-86d1-b5aa8c4537d0> | {
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US scientists have identified a faulty gene that appears to increase the risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease in women.
The gene variant affects the PCDH11X gene, which occurs on the X chromosome.
A genome scan of 844 Alzheimer's patients and 1,255 healthy people revealed that women with two copies of the variant were significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than women with no copies.
Women with a variant on one of their two X chromosomes also had a slightly elevated risk, as did men whose X chromosome was affected.
Dr Steven Younkin, from Mayo Clinic in Florida, commented: 'This is a very common genetic variant and many women who had two copies of it did not have disease.
'But, overall, the odds were substantially greater that female patients with the disease did have two copies.'
The findings are published in Nature Genetics and represent the first gender-linked gene for a late-onset form of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia. | <urn:uuid:dc73d2cc-21e8-4afe-9ed8-0b3246f38647> | {
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Researchers, growers and Industry specialists from 22 countries are sharing the latest research into the use of Brassica species, such as mustard, radish, or rapeseed, to manage soil-borne pests and weeds – a technique known as biofumigation.
"Brassica plants naturally release compounds that suppress pests and pathogens, principally isothiocyanates (ITCs), which most people would recognise as the 'hot' flavour in mustard or horseradish," says CSIRO's Dr John Kirkegaard.
"When ITCs are released in soil by green-manuring, soil-borne pests and pathogens can be suppressed and the yields of solanaceous vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants can be increased by up to 40 per cent in some cases.
"The technique is relevant to developed countries seeking alternatives to banned synthetic pesticides such as methyl-bromide, as well as poor farmers in developing countries who often have few alternatives for controlling serious diseases in their crops," Dr Kirkegaard says.
"It can provide economic and social benefits, as improved crop yields lead to increased incomes, as well as a range of environmental and health benefits from a reduced reliance on fumigants and pesticides."
Using brassicas to manage soil-borne pests is not new, but modern science is providing new insights and techniques to enhance the reliability of the effect as part of an integrated pest control strategy. Brassicas can also provide other benefits to the soil as green manures.
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Effects of music essays music is one of the most prominent forms of communication it is used in every situation to set a tone, alter moods, change attitudes, and affect behavior. The nature of gangster rap influenced society in a negative fashion, yet there was nothing that could legally be done to stop this today, gangster rap still tends to send negative messages to its listeners, but there are individualized efforts taking place that will help the problem. Popular music and its effect on today's society in today's society the teenager has more rights than ever before along with these rights come responsibility, independence and the development of good judgment it is the belief of many people that all of the afore mentioned qualities are destroyed .
Influential beats: the cultural impact of music it is clear to me that changes in music hew closely to changes in society’s consensus world view “studies suggest that the main effects . Music on humans 4 the effect of music on the human body and mind every known society throughout effects (trehan, 2004) music for adolescents the power music . What influence and effects does rap music have on teens today but rap music is a diverse genre, used to express a wide variety of realities and aspirations even . Sexually explicit and derogatory lyrics are especially apparent in rap music, which has been criticized for its graphic derogatory presentation of women using lyrics that objectify, exploit or victimize them (weitzer & kubrin, 2009 cobb & boettcher, 2007).
The power of music: its impact on the intellectual, social and the positive effects of engagement with music on personal and social development will only. It might seem inconsequential, but music can definitely have a powerful impact on both the culture from which it is borne and the society into which it is released not only do music and rhythm have powerful impacts on how humans perceive their world, but the same influence can be applied in . Music is a very powerful medium and in some societies there have been attempts to control its use it is powerful at the level of the social group because it facilitates communication which goes beyond words, enables meanings to be shared, and promotes the development and maintenance of individual, group, cultural and national identities. Art influences society by changing opinions, instilling values and translating experiences across space and time research has shown art affects the fundamental sense of self painting, sculpture, music, literature and the other arts are often considered to be the repository of a society’s collective memory. Technology can have positive and negative impact on social interactions society is likely on the cusp of a social revolution, during which it will be important to .
Speculation as to the causes of the recent mass shooting at a batman movie screening in colorado has reignited debates in the psychiatric community about media violence and its effects on human behavior “violence in the media has been increasing and reaching proportions that are dangerous . Positive & negative effects of music by contributing writer music's place in modern medicine has been around, in america, since the 1940s the field is technically known as music therapy. A quick google search on the impact of music on morals will yield many results on the negative impact it has on society, especially in the realm of rap and hip-hop music but in all styles of music nowadays, there are a plethora of songs with lyrics that glorify sex, drugs, and violence.
How music affects society music has long been an expression of people from different cultures around the world the oldest artefacts that show people playing musical instruments are found in asia and are around four thousand years old. Four ways music strengthens social bonds music was present and important to society why else take time away from survival tasks to create a musical instrument . The psychedelic musicians were indisputably affected by the same kinds of concerns that affected their folk music counterparts, but bindas suggests that musicians and society as a whole had reached its threshold for message music, and wanted to return to the notion of a music that could transport one away from his or her problems rather than situate him or her directly in those problems and .
Social effects of rock music or people dressing and acting in a way to divide themselves from the rest of society, rock music has always had an influence by . Beneficial effects of music - how music affects our health and brain, including helps you to sleep better, learn and work better, heal some diseases, music effects on the brain. Popular culture by its very definition, means that it will have an effect on society, just like all popular culture however, rap music seems to be having more negative effects (and if this is not the case, it has a greater potential to have a negative effect). The psychological effects of film music may 8, 2015 by silje pileberg, university of oslo illustration from the pervasive drama 'the memory dealer' members of the audience were themselves . | <urn:uuid:645ca514-9933-4679-a069-2705a13bf817> | {
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Optimization of Repeater Spacing for Terrestrial and Undersea Fiber Optic Communication
Repeater spacing in fiber optic communication is optimized taking into consideration various parameters such as fiber attenuation, Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS), Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS), fiber attenuation, photodiode sensitivity and input power. In the authors' paper, they have taken a trade off between power threshold in order to reduce SBS varying the effective fiber length and effective fiber core area. Also, the authors have obtained results for various repeater spacing. Repeaters are basically used in Long Haul optical fiber communication and undersea fiber optic communication in order to increase the signal strength. Generally, when a signal propagates for long distances, its strength degrades and will be badly affected by noise. | <urn:uuid:e12f2c38-ffcd-4885-a922-5e6ff6203a25> | {
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Samaria was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Israel. It was also the name of the administrative district surrounding the city under later Greek and Roman administrations, referring to the mountainous region between the Sea of Galilee to the north and Judea to the south. The territory of Samaria was the central region of the biblical Land of Israel, today located in the northern West Bank.
Human habitation in Samaria dates back to the fourth millennium B.C.E., but the town was formally founded as Israel's capital by King Omri in the early ninth century B.C.E. It was the residence of the northern kingdom's most famous ruler, King Ahab, and his infamous queen, Jezebel. Many of the northern kings were entombed there. Between c. 884-722 B.C.E. Samaria endured several attacks and remained Israel's capital until it was captured by the Assyrian Empire and its leading residents were deported.
Samaria later became the central city of the Samaritan nation and lent its name to the surrounding administrative district in Greek and Roman times. It was rebuilt as Sebaste by Herod the Great in 27 B.C.E. In the New Testament, the territory of Samaria was where Jesus met the "woman at the well" to whom he revealed his identity as the Messiah. Samaria was also the origin of the traveler known as the "Good Samaritan" in one of Jesus' best-known parables. In the Book of Acts, the city of Samaria was the location of the first successful Christian evangelical effort outside of Jerusalem. It is also traditionally believed to be the burial place of John the Baptist.
In the twentieth century, the remains of Ahab or Omri's palace were discovered by archaeologists as were the later monumental steps of a major temple constructed by Herod the Great in Samaria.
In modern times, the territory of Samaria came under British rule with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. It came under Jordanian control in 1948 but was seized by Israel during the Six Day War of 1967, and is currently under the administration of the Palestinian Authority. Israeli settlements in Samaria also have been established and are the subject of international controversy.
Location and climate
To the north, the territory of Samaria is bounded by the Esdraelon valley; to the east by the Jordan River; to the west by the Carmel Ridge (in the north) and the Sharon plain (in the west); to the south by Judea (the Jerusalem mountains). The Samarian hills are not very high, seldom reaching a height of over 800 meters. Samaria's climate is generally more hospitable than the climate of Judea. In ancient times, this combined with more direct access to Mediterranean trade routes to give the northern kingdom a substantial economic advantage over its southern neighbor.
Capital of ancient Israel
The city of Samaria, the ancient capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel, was built by King Omri in the seventh year of his reign, c. 884 B.C.E., on the mountain he had reportedly bought for two talents of silver from a man called Shemer, after whom the city was named (1 Kings 16:23-24). It was situated six miles from Shechem and was noted both for its strategic location and the fertility of the surrounding lands. Modern excavations reveal human occupation there dating back to the fourth millennium B.C.E. The site was a center of an extensive wine and oil production area.
Omri faced military pressure from the kingdom of Syria (Aram), and was forced for a time to allow Syrian merchants to open markets in the streets of Samaria (1 Kings 29:34). However, it remained the capital of Israel for more than 150 years, constituting most of the northern kingdom's history, until it was captured by the Assyrians in 722-721 B.C.E. The city was strongly fortified and endured several sieges before its downfall. Archaeologists believe the city of Samaria was richer and more developed than any other city in Israel or Judah.
Omri's son, King Ahab, reportedly built an "ivory palace" in the capital (1 Kings 16:39). The remains of an impressive Iron Age building at the site were excavated in the twentieth century, and in recent years, archaeologists may have discovered royal tombs possibly belonging to the Omride dynasty. A valuable collection of ivory carvings was also unearthed.
The city gate of Samaria is mentioned several times in the Books of Kings and Chronicles, and there is also a reference to "the pool of Samaria" in 1 Kings 22:38. Ahab also reportedly constructed a temple to Baal at Samaria, probably at the behest of his Phoenician wife Jezebel, much to the dismay of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. During the time of Ahab, the city successfully endured two sieges by the Syrians under Ben-hadad II. At Samaria's famous gate, Ahab met his ally and son-in-law, Jehoshaphat of Judah, to hear the dramatic words of the prophet Micaiah (1 Kings 22:10). During the reign of Ahab's son Joram, (2 Kings 6-7) the Syrian siege of Samaria was so intense that some residents were reduced to cannibalism, but the city was rescued by God's miraculous intervention.
The prophet Elisha, however, recruited one of the nation's military commanders, Jehu, to seize the throne from Joram and slaughter Ahab's descendants, execute Jezebel, and destroy Samaria's temple of Baal together with all of its priests. Some 70 of Ahab's sons were slain at Samaria on Jehu's orders.
When Jehu's grandson Joash (also called Jehoash—c. 801–786 B.C.E.) warred against Judah and captured Jerusalem, he brought to Samaria the gold, silver, and vessels of the Temple and the king's palace (2 Kings 14:14). Later, King Pekah (c. 737–732) returned victoriously to Samaria with a great number of captives of Judah. However, upon his arrival in the capital, the intervention of the prophet Oded resulted in these captives being released (2 Chron. 27: 8-9, 15). Under Jeroboam II, Samaria was famous both for its prosperity and its corruption.
In the biblical tradition, Samaria was a place of idolatry and corruption, although it is also clear that several of its kings, including even the wicked Ahab, honored Yahweh. The city's moral corruption was denounced by Amos, Isaiah, Micah, and other prophets, who also foretold the downfall of the city as a punishment for its sins.
Although Samaria had successfully withstood the Syrians, and sometimes allied with them against Judah, the rise of the Assyrian Empire would eventually spell its doom. In the seventh year of King Hoshea, Samaria was besieged by Shalmaneser. Three years later it was captured by an Assyrian king (2 Kings 17-18), whose name is not mentioned. Josephus ("Ant." ix. 14, § 1) states that it was Shalmaneser, but Assyrian inscriptions show that it was Sargon II, who ascended the throne in 722 B.C.E., and had captured Samaria by the following year.
The city, however, was not destroyed (Jer. 41:5). According to Sargon's inscriptions, two years later it made an alliance with the cities of Hamath, Arpad, and Damascus against the Assyrians. This resistance failed when Sargon overthrew the King of Hamath, which he apparently boasts of in 2 Kings 18:32-35. The elite class of citizens from Samaria and other northern towns were replaced by colonists from different countries, sent there by the Assyrian king.
The new settlers, probably influenced by the remaining local population, came to believe that the "God of the land" had not been properly propitiated, and thus priests of Yahweh were sent back by the Assyrian authorities to teach the settlers to worship the Israelite God (2 Kings 17:24-41). These Assyrian settlers intermarried with native Israelites and, according to Jewish sources, were the founders of the Samaritan religion, as well as being the ancestors of the Samaritans. The Samaritans themselves, however, claim that they worshiped Yahweh from the time of Moses onward, at Mount Gerezim, near Shechem. They denounce the Jewish claim of Jerusalem being the only authorized shrine of Yahweh as a fraud perpetrated by the priest Eli and his successors.
Under Greek and Roman rule
Samaria emerged again into history four centuries after its capture by the Assyrians. By this time Samaria was once again an important city, with its Samaritan Temple at Gerizim rivaling or exceeding the competing Yahwist Temple of Jerusalem, which had been rebuilt after the Jews of Judah to returned from Babylonian exile. The Samaritans, having assassinated the Greek governor of Syria in 332 or 331 B.C.E., were severely punished by Alexander the Great. Alexander sent his own people, the Macedonians, to control the city (Eusebius, "Chronicon"). A few years later, Alexander had Samaria rebuilt. The Samaritans, however, were not easily controlled. In 312, the city was dismantled by Ptolemy, son of Lagus, and 15 years later it was again captured and demolished, by Demetrius Poliorcetes.
Almost two centuries elapsed during which nothing is heard of Samaria, but it is evident that the city was again rebuilt and strongly fortified. At the end of the second century B.C.E., the Jewish ruler John Hyrcanus besieged it for an entire year before he captured and destroyed it, along with the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, probably in or shortly before 107 B.C.E. (Josephus, l.c. xiii. 10). Samaria was later held by Alexander Jannæus ("Ant." xiii. 15, § 4), and was afterward taken by Pompey, who rebuilt it and attached it to the government of Syria (ib. xiv. 4, § 4). The city was further strengthened by Gabinius.
Caesar Augustus entrusted Samaria to Herod the Great, under whom it flourished anew as Sebaste. Herod rebuilt it in 27 B.C.E. on a much larger scale and embellished it with magnificent buildings, including the new Temple of Augustus. In the same year he married the beautiful Samaritan princess Malthace, to whom two of his heirs were born. Under Herod the city became the capital of the Roman administrative district of Samaria, which was one of the subdivisions of the Roman province of Syria Iudaea, the other two being Judea and Galilee.
The New Testament contains several references to Samaria. In Matthew 10:5, Jesus instructs his disciples: "Do not... enter any town of the Samaritans." However, Luke's Gospel displays a different attitude in its famous parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). The district of Samaria is further mentioned in Luke 17:11-20, in the miraculous healing of the ten lepers, which took place on the border of Samaria and Galilee. John 4:1-26 records Jesus' encounter in Samarian territory at Jacob's well with the Samaritan woman of Sychar, in which Jesus declares himself to be the Messiah. In Acts 8:5-14, it is recorded that Philip went to the city of Samaria and preached there, converting many residents, including the famous local miracle-worker Simon, called "Simon Magus" in Christian tradition.
Sebaste is mentioned in the Mishnah ('Ar. iii. 2), where its orchards are praised. After Herod's death, Sebaste and the province of Samaria came under the administration of his son Archelaus, after whose banishment it passed to the control of Roman procurators. It then came under Herod Agrippa I, and later again came under the procurators ("Ant." xvii. 11, § 4). At the outbreak of the Jewish war in 66 C.E. it was attacked by the Jewish forces ("B. J." ii. 18, § 1). Josephus ("B. J." ii. 3, § 4) also speaks of the Jewish soldiers of Sebaste who had served in Herod's army and later sided with the Romans when the Jews revolted. In the aftermath of the Bar Kochba revolt of the second century C.E., Hadrian consolidated the older political units of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria into the new province of Syria Palaestina (Palestine).
Under Emperor Septimius Severus at the end of the second century, Sebaste became a Roman colony, but with the growth of nearby Nablus it lost its importance. In the fourth century Sebaste was a small town (Eusebius, "Onomasticon," s.v.). Saint Jerome (Commentary on Obadiah) records the tradition that Samaria was the burial-place of Elisha, Obadiah, and John the Baptist.
The history of Samaria in modern times begins when the territory of Samaria, formerly belonging to the Ottoman Empire, came under the administration of the United Kingdom in the aftermath of World War I by mandate of the League of Nations. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the territory came under the control of Jordan.
Samaria was taken from Jordan by Israeli forces during the 1967 Six-Day War. Jordan withdrew its claim to the West Bank, including Samaria, only in 1988, as was later confirmed by the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty of 1993. Jordan now recognizes the Palestinian Authority as sovereign in the territory. In the 1994 Oslo accords, responsibility for the administration over some of the territory of Samaria was transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
Israel has been criticized for the policy of establishing settlements in Samaria. The area's borders are disputed and Israel's position is that the legal status of the land is unclear.
The acropolis of Samaria has been extensively excavated down to the bedrock, the most significant find being the Palace of Omri and/or Ahab. The Omride palace was located on an elevated four meter high rock-cut platform that isolated it from its immediate surroundings. While immediately below the palace, cut into the face of the bedrock platform, there are two rock-cut tomb chambers that have only recently been recognized and attributed to the kings of Israel. West of the palace there are meager remains of other buildings from this period.
The acropolis area was extended in all directions by the addition of a massive perimeter wall built in the casemate style, and the new enlarged rectangular acropolis measured c. 290 ft. (90 m.) from north to south and at least c. 585 ft. (180 m.) from west to east. Massive stone stairs have also been uncovered, believed to have been constructed by Herod the Great as the entry to the temple he dedicated to Augustus at Sebaste.
A large rock-cut pool near the northern casemate wall was initially identified with the biblical "Pool of Samaria." It is now thought to be a grape-treading area that originated before the Omride dynasty but was also used in later years. North of the palace, a rich cache of Phoenician ivory furniture ornamentations were retrieved, which may be related to the supposed "Ivory Palace" that Ahab built (1 Kings 22:39).
- Albright, William F. Archeology of Palestine. Peter Smith Pub. Inc., 2nd edition, 1985. ISBN 0844600032
- Becking, Bob. The Fall of Samaria: An Historical and Archaeological Study. Brill Academic Publishers, 1992. ISBN 9004096337
- Bright, John. A History of Israel. Westminster John Knox Press; 4th edition, 2000. ISBN 0664220681
- Grant, Michael. The History of Ancient Israel. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1984. ISBN 0684180812
- Keller, Werner. The Bible as History. Bantam; 2nd Rev edition, 1983. ISBN 0553279432
- Miller, J. Maxwell. A History of Ancient Israel and Judah. Westminster John Knox Press, 1986. ISBN 066421262X
- Tappy, Ron E. The Archeology of Israelite Samaria, Volume 1: Early Iron Age Through the Ninth Century B.C.E.. Harvard Semitic Studies 44. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992. ISBN 9781555407704
- Samaria in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. 30.1911encyclopedia.org. Retrieved August 27, 2007.
- Samaria in the Jewish Encyclopedia www.jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved August 27, 2007.
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Conditioning Through the Seasons: Fall and Winter
- By Samantha Steelman, PhD
- Nov 03, 2011
Fall can bring a welcome relief from blistering heat, but as winter approaches, with freezing temperatures and shortened daylight hours, riding can become a challenge. In many parts of the country, bitter cold and drifting snow can ruin even the most determined rider’s plan. While you can’t control the weather, with a little knowledge and planning, the colder months can be a safe and productive time for you and your horse.
Horses are fairly well-equipped to handle the cold. Problems can arise, though, when we ask our horses to perform strenuous activities under these circumstances. In the following sections we’ll discuss how cold weather riding conditions affect your horse’s body and what you can do to keep him healthy and performing at his best all season long.
- Could Horses' Neck Postures Indicate Back Pain?
- Diagnosing Equine Neck Conditions
- Horses' Physiologic Responses to Exercise
- Muscle Problems Can Cause Poor Equine Performance
- Electrolyte Use in Performance Horses
- Horse Gaits: Sound Doesn't Equal Symmetrical
- Equine Electrolyte Use and Gastric Emptying (AAEP 2011)
- Rollkur: Facts, Fiction, and Horse Health Implications
- Repairing Jaw Fractures in the Field (AAEP 2011)
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Using a cell phone while driving can virtually turn drivers into a virtual zombie. At least, that's the message the N.C. Department of Transportation is trying to get across a new public service announcement during April which is is national Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
In a press release, the agency cited a study by Carnegie Mellon University that found that using a cell phone while driving reduces the brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.
"With more than one-third of the driver’s brain not focused on the road, it virtually turns them into a zombie," stated the press release.
“These accidents are preventable,” said NCDOT Secretary Tony Tata. “We strongly urge drivers to stop multi-tasking and pay attention to the road. The simple act of putting down the phone when you get into the car could save your life or the life of someone you love.”
The press release stated that last year, 904 crashes occurred in the state in which officers found an electronic device such as a cell phone contributed to the accidents. Those crashes included two fatalities and 276 injuries. | <urn:uuid:39f4cabe-5598-45a3-afa0-6a5d87c9e388> | {
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The International School for Holocaust Studies
Dividing Hearts – The Removal of Jewish Children from Gentile Families in Poland in the Immediate Post-Holocaust Years
Reviewed by Kathryn Berman
Yad Vashem Publications, 2009
Towards the end of the Second World War, and in the wake of the Nazi retreat, the allies began liberating occupied Europe. Thousands of Jewish children had been in hiding for years in convents, placed with gentile families, or simply wandered from place to place unattended and fending for themselves. Many of these children no longer had parents or siblings. Some were found by chance by the liberating armies; others had to be found by organizations set up especially for that purpose.
Emunah Nachmany-Gafny researches into the postwar search for hidden Jewish children in Poland and their removal from gentile families. Many questions arise from this complicated subject, but one wonders why so many organizations were set up to find the children, and why they seemingly could not work together for the betterment of the children. Many different issues seemed to delay the task of finding the children, redeeming them from their rescuers, and repatriating the children to their families, or to children’s homes. Various issues were debated and argued about, including which countries the children should be sent to and whether they should be sent to religious or secular children’s homes. Finances were seemingly a major issue also. Other questions addressed include: How did the Polish courts deal with the issue? What was the stance of the Church vis-à-vis returning the children to their families or to Jewish organizations?
Throughout the book are very moving personal stories from some of the children, which most certainly give the reader an understanding of the trauma the hidden children encountered upon liberation, and no less their rescue from families they had grown to love and didn’t want to leave.
Young children could not be in command of their own destiny, whereas the dilemmas of older children might be deciding whether or not to leave the family they felt secure with, leave for the unknown, or perhaps leave siblings behind. Dafny goes into this most difficult question in Chapter 6 entitled “The Attitude of the Rescued Children.” This chapter gives a simpler understanding of the dilemmas of the children, their rescuers, and those relatives trying to give the children a new start to their shattered lives. One thing is abundantly clear: there were no winners.
Research into this topic raises many questions: How did the children react to the transition? Simply removing the child from their former rescuers and planting them in a new environment was not always the answer.
The subject of “Righteous Among the Nations” and other issues in the book may be used in the classroom as educational activities. | <urn:uuid:6d97afa2-54fc-47c8-9332-d74df8bddfc0> | {
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Researchers Pursuing Novel Methods to Diagnose Autism
A handful of recent studies are delving into new methods of screening children and adults for autism. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1 in 88 children has this disorder, which affects communication, behavior, and socialization.
In one study, researchers suggest that "micromovements" some people with autism make when asked to point to a dot on a screen may be indicative of the disorder. These results have been published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience. (The journal Medical Daily offers a less-dense synopsis of the research.)
Also, Google Ventures has provided funding to SynapDx Corp., which is in trials to predict the risk of autism though blood testing. The blood tests examine the ribonucleic acids, or RNA, that becomes visible when white blood cells in a blood sample are dissolved. The behavior of RNA can be linked to autism risk, the company says. The test could be used for children as young as two years old; the average age of diagnosis of autism is 4.5 years.
SynapDx has raised more than $30 million and plans to conduct tests at 20 sites around the country, including several children's hospitals.
On Special Education is on Twitter! Follow @OnSpecEd. | <urn:uuid:35bf0ddf-37b9-4b98-be37-64f156c7252f> | {
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Dear EarthTalk: Has the recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatened the populations of lowland gorillas? How many are left?
— Glenn Hammond, San Francisco, Calif.
The short answer is yes, dramatically. Not to be confused with Western Lowland Gorillas, which are thriving in significant numbers in neighboring Congo (a recent census counted 125,000), today fewer than 5,000 Eastern Lowland Gorillas are estimated to remain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire. Some 17,000 inhabited the region as recently as 1994, but today habitat loss, hunting, and war and violence are combining to push them over the edge.
Following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, an influx of refugees, along with bloodthirsty militias, moved across the border into the neighboring DRC. These militias set up training grounds in the very forests the gorillas call home, making conservation work impractical to say the least. Park rangers, game wardens and wildlife researchers either fled their wooded beats or were removed at gunpoint.
In the wake of this, civilian populations in the affected areas still had to make ends meet somehow. So hunting for so-called “bushmeat,” and cutting down the forest for firewood, charcoal and space for agricultural plots became the means for day-to-day survival, and continue to this day. Some 91 percent of the human population in the region practice subsistence agriculture. This means that large swaths of gorilla habitat throughout the region have been converted to farms. At the same time, 96 percent of the locals rely on firewood as their main supply of energy for warmth and cooking. “Forested parks are for many of them the last remaining source of fuel,” reports the Year of the Gorilla website.
Because the violence has been so persistent and the research areas so vulnerable, scientists don’t really know how badly Eastern Lowland Gorilla populations have been affected. The Year of the Gorilla Project, in conjunction with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other groups, is working to reinstate regular monitoring and effective surveillance of the remaining Eastern Lowland Gorilla population throughout Kahuzi-Biega National Park, where armed factions have proliferated.
“The last reliable data on population size and distribution were recorded in 1995, and it is suspected that the population has shrunk dramatically since,” reports the Year of the Gorilla Web site. “New, precise information will be one outcome of this project, enabling intelligent and effective approaches to the conservation of this rare species.”
Biologists, environmentalists and wildlife fans the world over are certainly hoping for the best, and will no doubt continue to watch what happens as the fate of some of our closest relatives on the planet hangs in the balance.
Want to get down to earth? Submit questions to [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:5855d056-c395-4337-9394-09600e7c85de> | {
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sciencehabit writes The D-Wave computer, marketed as a groundbreaking quantum machine that runs circles around conventional computers, solves problems no faster than an ordinary rival, a new test shows. Some researchers call the test of the controversial device, described in Science, the fairest comparison yet. "...to test D-Wave’s machine, Matthias Troyer, a physicist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, and colleagues didn't just race it against an ordinary computer. Instead, they measured how the time needed to solve a problem increases with the problem's size. That's key because the whole idea behind quantum computing is that the time will grow much more slowly for a quantum computer than for an ordinary one. In particular, a full-fledged 'universal' quantum computer should be able to factor huge numbers ever faster than an ordinary computer as the size of the numbers grow." D-Wave argues that the computations used in the study were too easy to show what its novel chips can do. | <urn:uuid:a3319120-5b1c-4dac-bec3-67bb8f89eedd> | {
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1. noise - noun
· sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound); "he enjoyed the street noises"; "they heard indistinct noises of people talking"; "during the firework display that ended the gala the noise reached 98 decibels"
2. noise - noun
· the auditory experience of sound that lacks musical quality; sound that is a disagreeable auditory experience; "modern music is just noise to me"
3. noise - noun
· electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication
4. noise - noun
· a loud outcry of protest or complaint; "the announcement of the election recount caused a lot of noise"; "whatever it was he didn't like it and he was going to let them know by making as loud a noise as he could"
5. noise - noun
· incomprehensibility resulting from irrelevant information or meaningless facts or remarks; "all the noise in his speech concealed the fact that he didn't have anything to say"
6. noise - noun
· the quality of lacking any predictable order or plan
7. noise - verb
· emit a noise
The only site you need for word puzzles, home work, anagrams and scrabble games. The best site for two word anagram solutions.
Enter the letters to get anagrams for the word
Definitions, synonyms, antonyms and related words
Enter the word below with '?' to indicate missing letters
Enter the word to find the rhymes
Enter the letters of the beginning, middle or end of the word. | <urn:uuid:cec841e5-1854-4418-ba5f-ddcd5ef8786f> | {
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G. Polya, How to Solve It
Summary taken from G. Polya, "How to Solve It", 2nd
ed., Princeton University Press, 1957, ISBN 0-691-08097-6.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
First. You have to understand
What is the unknown? What are the data? What
is the condition?
Is it possible to satisfy the condition? Is the
condition sufficient to determine the unknown?
Or is it insufficient? Or redundant? Or
Draw a figure. Introduce suitable notation.
Separate the various parts of the condition. Can
you write them down?
DEVISING A PLAN
Second. Find the connection between the
data and the unknown. You may be obliged to
consider auxiliary problems if an immediate
connection cannot be found. You should obtain
eventually a plan of the solution.
Have you seen it before? Or have you seen the
same problem in a slightly different form?
Do you know a related problem? Do you
know a theorem that could be useful?
Look at the unknown! And try to think
of a familiar problem having the same or a
Here is a problem related to yours and
solved before. Could you use it? Could you
use its result? Could you use its method?
Should you introduce some auxiliary element in
order to make its use possible?
Could you restate the problem? Could you
restate it still differently? Go back to
If you cannot solve the proposed problem try to
solve first some related problem. Could you
imagine a more accessible related problem? A
more general problem? A more special problem?
An analogous problem? Could you solve a part of
the problem? Keep only a part of the condition,
drop the other part; how far is the unknown then
determined, how can it vary? Could you derive
something useful from the data? Could you think
of other data appropriate to determine the
unknown? Could you change the unknown or data,
or both if necessary, so that the new unknown
and the new data are nearer to each other?
Did you use all the data? Did you use the whole
condition? Have you taken into account all
essential notions involved in the problem?
CARRYING OUT THE PLAN
Third. Carry out your plan.
Carrying out your plan of the solution,
check each step. Can you see clearly that
the step is correct? Can you prove that it is
Fourth. Examine the solution
Can you check the result? Can you
check the argument?
Can you derive the solution differently? Can
you see it at a glance?
Can you use the result, or the method, for some
This page in Belorussian | <urn:uuid:eb322a26-f9e5-4383-8ba4-418f7dccc5d4> | {
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Erythema toxicum is a common harmless rash that appears in at least half of all infants who are carried to term.
The condition is also sometimes called erythema toxicum neonatorum (ETN) or toxic erythema of the newborn. The rash usually appears within 1 to 2 days after birth, and often goes away on its own within about a week.
No one knows the cause of ETN — no bacteria or viruses are found in the rash area. Even the pus-like fluid that is sometimes found in the rash contains only harmless blood cells. It is not contagious, does not require any medical treatment, and goes away on its own.
Erythema toxicum is a rash that consists of tiny bumps that are firm, yellowish or white, and surrounded by a ring of redness. Sometimes these bumps are filled with a fluid that looks like (but isn't) pus. Sometimes there are no bumps at all — only a splotchy redness.
The rash usually appears on the baby's face, chest, arms, and legs. It may be concentrated on only one area of the body or it may cover much of the child's skin, although it usually does not affect the palms or soles of the feet.
ETN is not associated with any other health problems, and a child with the rash feels completely well. Again, because it is harmless, ETN doesn't require medical treatment. Follow your doctor's guidelines for your baby's normal skin care.
Reviewed by: Jennifer A. Tioseco, MD
Date reviewed: August 2012
© 1995-2014 KidsHealth® All rights reserved. Images provided by iStock, Getty Images, Corbis, Veer, Science Photo Library, Science Source Images, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com | <urn:uuid:b0521f60-7022-4df8-817d-2303de73b00a> | {
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