Apophthengomai

The Apostle Paul in Athens

2012-01-13T08:40:00.000-06:00

I've recently finished reading a great work of biblical research titled Life and Epistles of St. Paul by Conybeare and Howson. Many great lessons from this wonderful book remain in my mind, led perhaps by this short excerpt describing Paul as he visited Athens.

The thoughts and feelings in the mind of the Christian Apostle, who came to Athens about the middle of that interval of time which separates the visit of Pausanias from that of Cicero, were very different from those of criticism or admiration. Paul burned with zeal for that God whom, "as he went through the city," he saw dishonored on every side. He was melted with pity for those who, notwithstanding their intellectual greatness, were "wholly given to idolatry." His eye was not blinded to the reality of things, by the appearances either of art or philosophy. Forms of earthly beauty and words of human wisdom were valueless in his judgement, and far worse than valueless, if they deified vice and made falsehood attractive.

How beautifully stated, and how true. So often today we err as we continue to deify vice and make falsehood attractive.

Read the record of Paul's visit to Athens in the book of Acts, chapter 17.

Give Me Now Wisdom

2011-04-08T06:45:00.007-05:00

As for God, His way is perfect. The word of the LORD is tried:
He is a buckler to all them that trust in Him.
2 Samuel 22:31

And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like. Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel.
2 Chronicles 1: 8-13

HEAR, O my sons, the admonition of a father, and give ear to learn discernment. Because I give you good doctrine, do not forsake my law. For I was also a son to my father, tender and unique of my mother's sons.

He taught me, and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; take heed to my commandments, and live; and let my law be as the pupil of the eye. Get wisdom, get understanding; and turn not aside from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her [i.e., wisdom (here and throughout this chapter)], and she will preserve you; love her, and she will save you.

"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all your substance get understanding. Love her, and she shall exalt you; embrace her, and she shall honor you. She shall put upon your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory shall she bestow upon you. Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and my sayings shall grow greater through the years of your life. I have taught you the ways of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be unsteady; and when you run, you will not stumble. Take fast hold of my instruction; do not let her go. Keep her, for she is your life.

"Do not walk in the way of lawless men, and do not envy the way of the depraved. The place where they dwell, do not pass by it, turn away from it, for they do not sleep until they have done mischief; their sleep is taken away until their evil devices are carried out. For they eat the bread obtained by wickedness and drink the wine obtained by violence. But the path of the righteous is like the dawning of daylight that advances and brightens unto the noon. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know at what they stumble.

"My son, attend to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to him who finds them, and healing to all his flesh.

"Above all, guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from you a perverse mouth, and deceitful lips put far away from you. Let your eyes look straight forward, and let your eyelids look straight before you. Keep your feet away from evil paths, then all your ways shall be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; but remove your foot from evil."
Proverbs 4
(from Lamsa & Bullinger translations)

The Anchor Around America's Neck

2010-10-19T08:43:00.001-05:00

Read it and weep.

It's official: The Obama administration has now borrowed $3 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

It took from 1776, when the United States became an independent country, until 1990, the year after the Berlin Wall fell signaling victory in the Cold War, for the federal government to accumulate a total of $3 trillion in debt, according to the Treasury Department. It only took from Jan. 20, 2009, the day President Barack Obama was inaugurated, until Oct. 15, 2010, for the Obama administration to add $3 trillion to the federal debt.

The overall debt of the federal government, according to the Treasury Department, is now $13.666 trillion.

The Fruits of Deceit, Writ Large

2010-07-30T07:01:00.004-05:00

"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!"
-Sir Walter Scott

After enduring 18 months of the Obama administration and a Congress whose corruption apparently knows no bounds, this is where the American people find ourselves in the summer of 2010: Our treasury has been ruinously raided; our spoken will against trillion dollar spending bill after trillion dollar spending bill has fallen on deaf ears in Washington, DC; a clear majority of Americans now hold the lowest opinion of our own Federal government that has ever been recorded.

"In the last 18 months, the American people have witnessed an enormous expansion of the federal government, and they’re clearly very negative about the experience. Whereas support for bigger government was at its apex when Obama was elected, it has completely collapsed. Americans continue to believe Uncle Sam has a role in regulating some private activities - that’s no surprise. But clearly the debate over health care, the stimulus, the bailouts, Dodd-Frank, cap and trade, and others, have sown new doubts about the power of Washington to bring positive change."

ACORN workers in 2008 presidential election had voter registration quotas

2009-05-15T10:25:00.005-05:00

This tragedy took place in Pittsburgh, but it is far from an isolated incident involving the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known by its acronym ACORN.

Two former employees of ACORN today said they and other workers were pressed to gather voter registrations and threatened with firing if they failed to meet a quota of 20 to 25 each day.

"We definitely had to reach a quota. If we didn't reach a quota we'd lose our jobs," said Mario Grisom, a Wilkinsburg man who was among seven people charged with a variety of counts, including forgery, last week.

A preliminary hearing into the ACORN charges began this morning in Municipal Court. Mr. Grisom, 28, and five others charged along with him asked for and received postponements because they didn't have lawyers.

In a hallway outside the courtroom, Mr. Grisom and Ashley Clarke blamed ACORN supervisors who they said sometimes completed partially filled applications that they turned in.

"The bosses -- if the date of birth wasn't filled out -- they would find it and fill it out for us," said Ms. Clarke, 21.

That's not reform. That's criminal activity.

UPDATE: News article published on November 26, 2010. ACORN is defunct and 18 of its former workers have been convicted or admitted guilt of voter fraud, so far. Similar voter fraud efforts, however, are now being spearheaded by Community Organizations International (COI). This snake has many heads.

Illuminating the Rot

2009-03-03T05:59:00.004-06:00

The American Thinker published a startling article today that lists a detailed comparison between Democrat Party goals in Washington, DC these days to the goals of the Manifesto of the Communist Party USA.

As the article's author, Randall Hoven, says regarding the comparison:

Just seeing this list should open your eyes. It is exactly what is happening. Much of it is like reading a description of Obama's stimulus package. Name three things on that list that any Democratic Senator would not applaud. But let's go through the list anyway, and see how we're doing.

Silly me. I thought the West had defeated communism in 1989.

.

A Scorned Wife

2008-12-24T09:10:00.012-06:00

My first opera posting features the gifted Italian soprano Cecilia Bartoli singing a beautiful rendition of the Antonio Vivaldi aria 'Sposa Son Disprezzata'. A timeless plea. A breathtakingly beautiful performance.

Sposa son disprezzata.
Fida, son oltraggiata.
Cieli, che feci mai?
E pur egliè il mio cor,
il mio sposo, il mio amor, la mia speranza.

I am a scorned wife.
Faithful, yet insulted.
Heavens, what did I do?
Yet he is my love,
my husband, my beloved, my hope.

The seven administrations in the Bible

2008-10-03T18:57:00.016-05:00

Andy McCarthy at The Corner wrote a cheeky post following the passage of that awful "bailout" bill in Congress today. His post made me laugh, and it jogged my memory a bit. It reminded me that I've been wanting to write about my understanding of the seven ages, or seven administrations, which God has established in his Word. Knowing these seven administrations is so very important to gain an accurate understanding the Bible; without knowing these administrations, great balls of confusion ensue when trying to understand what the Word is saying and to whom it is saying it.

The seven administrations (ages) of God's dealings with mankind:

1. The Original Paradise, or the Edenic state of innocence. Ended very suddenly with the expulsion from Eden. It is described from Genesis 1:1 through Genesis 3:23, and ended in Genesis 3:24. When God drove Adam and Eve out of Eden, the original paradise where God dwelt with mankind came to an abrupt end.

2. The Patriarchal administration, which included Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the patriarchs until the law of Moses. During this time, the law was an unwritten law.

3. The Law administration, initiated under Moses and terminated when Jesus Christ came.

4. The Christ administration. The difference between the Law administration and the Christ administration is the presence of Jesus Christ upon earth. Jesus Christ kept and fulfilled the law. The four Gospels describe and speak to this administration.

5. The Church of Grace administration, which began on the day of Pentecost. We today live in this administration. In the Word, this administration is addressed beginning with the book of Acts. It will end with the "day of the Lord", the return of Christ Jesus upon the earth.

6. The Appearing administration. Will begin with the gathering together of the believers who were born again during the administration of the church of grace.

7. The Paradise administration, which will complement the original paradise (Eden) age. Paradise will once again be on earth, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth where there is no more sickness, no more sorrow, no more death.

The Companion Bible, an invaluable Biblical research work compiled by the 19th century English theologian E. W. Bullinger, contains some of this information. Various writings and teachings of the 20th century American Biblical researcher V. P. Wierwille expound upon this subject in greater detail. These two believers and many other great teachers have made the words contained in II Timothy 2:15 a living reality in my life:

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Iraq to renovate synagogue containing tomb of the prophet Nahum

2008-10-01T09:18:00.012-05:00

The government of Iraq is planning to renovate an ancient synagogue that contains the tomb of the prophet Nahum.

The Old Testament book of Nahum, written around the year 603 B.C., opens with these words of prophecy:

The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.

The Old Testament town of Nineveh is where Mosul stands today. The synagogue and the tomb are in the town of al-Qoush, just a few miles north of Mosul. More information on the tomb and synagogue can be found here.

The government of Iraq is to be congratulated, and thanked, for this effort and for similar renovation efforts in their wonderful country. Someday, I hope to visit Iraq and see this synagogue and tomb with my own eyes and meet some of the people of Iraq.

Photograph of the tomb of the prophet Nahum:

(h/t: Gateway Pundit here and here.)

Metropolitan Opera Live in HD Broadcasts

2008-09-22T05:41:00.003-05:00

Tonight is the opening night gala of the Met's 2008-2009 opera season. The gala will be broadcast as part of the Met's live, high-definition transmissions to movie theaters around the world. The "Live in HD" broadcast schedule, along with a list of participating movie theaters, is here.

The star of tonight's gala will be the American soprano Renee Fleming.

I hope it doesn't suck, because I'm planning to attend.

To the White House! (2008 edition)

2008-09-22T05:13:00.004-05:00

Someone buy Melanie Phillips a drink. She has written and posted a fascinating, well-researched article entitled "The Long March To The White House" describing and documenting some of the background history of Barack Obama. His history ain't pretty, unless you like communists. I do not like communists.

The US presidential campaign for the 2008 election has been the longest-running campaign season yet. Thank heaven for that because, apparently, the gray heads of the Democrat Party didn't vet Obama. At least that gives people like Melanie Phillips and the others cited in her article the time to do it. Or maybe the Democrat Party gray heads did vet him, and were fine with what was discovered. *shudders*

7th Anniversary of 9/11

2008-09-11T12:55:00.006-05:00

Seven years ago today, the American homeland was attacked and thousands of innocent people were murdered. It needs to be pointed out that the attackers have established a pattern in the timing of their attacks. They attacked the American homeland the first time when they bombed the World Trade Center during the early months of the Clinton administration. Then the 9/11 attacks, coming during the first months of the George W. Bush administration.

Regardless who wins our upcoming presidential election, we need to remember the risk of further, more destructive attacks during the new administration's first months.

Apparently the terrorists figured the opening months of a new presidential administration would be an opportune time to attack.

What is an opera?

2008-09-08T10:39:00.007-05:00

I do love opera so! Most Americans today have only a passing knowledge (an an even shallower interest) in opera. I'll be posting video excerpts from some of my favorite operas. Perhaps before hearing and seeing those, the brief description below may help you understand what opera is all about.

The description comes from one of my favorite reference books: The Victrola Book of the Opera, eighth edition, published in 1929, and it is as true today as it was when it was written.

What is an opera? That question may very well be uppermost in everyone's mind the first time they attend the opera. And even the seasoned opera-goer may have difficulty in trying to give a sentence definition in reply to that very simple-seeming question. An easy answer is the mere statement, "An opera is a play set to music." But that is only part of the truth, for an opera requires a special kind of plot -- one that is adaptable to musical accompaniment. Music being, as it is often called, the language of the emotions, then it is to a drama which permits or requires an added emotional appeal that music can be of value. But like every good thing won in life, this gain involves a sacrifice.

For instance, it no doubt seems strange, or even unnatural, the first time we go to the opera, to find all the characters singing their parts instead of speaking them as in a play -- or real life. But that is just one of the necessary customs or conventions of opera. At a play we see people living in rooms that have only three walls, the fourth being open so that we can look in and see what is going on. Yet we accept this revelatory architecture as quite natural because it represents a convention to which we are accustomed. And at the movies we are transported instantly from place to place in a most miraculous manner, still we believe the movies realistic. There again a convention has become such a habit that we forget that it is untrue to life. In the same way then, if we are to add the emotional and aesthetic appeal of music to drama, we have to accept the convention of people singing their thoughts instead of speaking them. And it doesn't take long to become accustomed to it!

Don't be scared.

Boo media

2008-09-06T07:53:00.005-05:00

...and it's not even Halloween.

CEDARBURG, Wisc. -- Hundreds of angry people in this small town outside Milwaukee taunted reporters and TV crews traveling with Sen. John McCain on Friday, chanting "Be fair!" and pointing fingers at a pack of journalists as they booed loudly.

On the first leg of the "McCain Street USA" tour -- which will take the Republican presidential nominee and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, to small towns across the heartland -- the 30 or so reporters and crew were walking back to their buses to join the McCain motorcade when hundreds of townspeople started yelling.

"Stop lying! You are all liars! Tell the truth!" one woman yelled from the front of the pack.

The crowd was not menacing or threatening, but was clearly angry.

"You're telling lies! Stop the lies!" one man yelled. Asked why the crowd was so angry, Linda J. Green of Mequon, Wisc., said: "I'm thinking the press is very biased."

Your thinking is correct, madam. All of these people in Cedarburg, Wisconsin are to be congratulated and thanked for speaking out like this.

Bible Study: Where do the Gospels belong?

2008-08-26T08:54:00.005-05:00

Was listening to an old teaching tape this morning, and was reminded again of why the four gospels in the Bible - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John - should rightly be printed as part of the Old Testament and not as part of the New Testament.

The Word says Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, that Jesus Christ was a minister to the circumcision and that Jesus Christ was the end of the law. The end. The end of the law should be with the books of the law, not cut and pasted to the beginning of the books written to the church of grace.

The US Olympians Speak

2008-08-24T07:45:00.003-05:00

The US Olympic athletes have chosen a Georgian-American to carry our flag in the closing ceremonies tonight in Beijing.

Bravo!

Wonderful and remarkable, is it not, that there is an athlete on our team who was born in Georgia.

Oshibka bol'shaya *

2008-08-23T14:12:00.012-05:00

Thousands of Georgians angry at the presence of Russian troops on the outskirts of the strategic Black Sea port of Poti took to the streets Saturday, waving Georgian flags and urging the Russians to leave.

"Russian military: You are not a liberating military, you are an occupying force," one man was heard shouting.

You tell 'em! Say it again! Put it out there, good and loud! The Russian government bit off more than it can chew, so shove some more in its mouth!

* BIG mistake

It was 27 years ago today

2008-08-20T06:21:00.000-05:00

August 20, 1981. That's the day I entered the US Navy to become a Russian linguist. On that day, I flew to Orlando, FL to begin basic training along with dozens of other young, scared, excited (did I mention scared?) kids. After basic training, it was on to Monterey, CA to study the Russian language at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.

Hard to believe it has been 27 years! What a time that was. Russian language training was 47 weeks of constant, daily work that was mentally very demanding but also very rewarding and satisfying. All of our instructors at the school were native Russian speakers and almost all of them were defectors from the former USSR. Only a few were teachers by vocation when they were hired by the school; most were from other walks of life (housewives, scientists, grandmothers, children of defectors). I graduated with honors in October 1982.

The work that came after that was difficult, utterly fascinating, exciting, and very important. The people I served with in my Navy were, quite simply, the most amazing characters I've ever known. So many great people, and so many wonderful memories. I'll lift a glass in their honor later today. So many memories.

Gnossienne No. 1

2008-08-19T10:24:00.001-05:00

Music speaks a language all its own. Sometimes a piece of music keeps speaking long after you have listened to it. This is such a piece.

Gnossienne 1, composed by Erik Satie.

China Confiscates Bibles from American Christians

2008-08-18T08:49:00.000-05:00

Gillian Wong of the Associated Press filed this report from Beijing today:

A group of American Christians who had more than 300 Bibles confiscated by Chinese officials when they arrived in China is refusing to leave the airport until they get the books back, their leader said Monday.

Pat Klein said he and three others from his Vision Beyond Borders group spent Sunday night at the airport in the southwestern city of Kunming after customs officers took the Bibles from their checked luggage.

"I heard that there's freedom of religion in China, so why is there a problem for us to bring Bibles?" said Klein, whose Sheridan, Wyoming-based group distributes Bibles and Christian teaching materials around the world.

The Bibles were printed in Chinese, he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The move comes as China hosts the Olympics in Beijing, where false media reports last year claimed Bibles would be banned from the games. The state-run China Daily reported last month that 10,000 bilingual copies of the Bible would be distributed in the Olympic Village, which houses athletes and media.

This interests me for several reasons. First, the act of confiscation itself, which is an outrage. Also, for the information on false media reports last year on the subject of Chinese confiscation of Bibles. See here and here.

So, what gives? Why did China confiscate those Bibles? Apparently, the Chinese will permit only Bibles that have been produced by their own printers:

In China, Bibles are printed under the supervision of the Communist government. The officially atheistic country allows them to be used only in government-sanctioned churches and in some big hotels catering to foreigners.

So, OK, why is that? My question would be, what exactly is it they are printing? Has the Chinese Communist-approved Bible been altered? Has its meaning been altered? If you have seen one, read it, and can comment, I would be interested to hear about it.