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<< Return to SBL Forum Archive Reading Against Jesus: Nineteenth Century African Americans' View of Sabbath Law
It is generally assumed that African Americans have been "Jesu-centric" in our readings of the Bible, focusing on narratives of Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection and recognizing in this progression a parallel to our own existences. Though this assumption has been evidenced time and again by contemporary historians and theologians [1], it is not clear whether the privileging of Jesus extends to his understanding of the Law. For example, do the narratives of Mary Prince, Peter Randolph, and Frederick Douglass employ hermeneutical strategies like those of Jesus in regard to the Sabbath, or do they favor a strict adherence to a day of rest and worship similar to the observance patterns of ancient Israelites [2]? At first glance, these interpretations of Sabbath law appear to be direct reactions to slaveholders who denied those they enslaved a day of rest and an opportunity to worship God as they saw fit. For those who struggled against slavery, time for rest and spiritual renewal was more important than the power to determine how to live out Sabbath. Thus, in this instance, Old Testament law may provide greater relief for those enslaved than did Jesus' theoretically liberating rereading of Sabbath law, wherein he established human beings (typified by the Son of Humanity) as the masters of the day. Further, human authority to determine the nature of Sabbath observance (see Mark 2:28) would have enabled their oppressors to force enslaved Africans to work or deny them the freedom to worship God. So, it follows, they may in effect be reading "against" Jesus' hermeneutic, as initially it was more important for them to have a Sabbath than for them to determine what was legal on the Sabbath.
In antebellum narratives, this pragmatic hermeneutic is expressed in the acceptance-reversal subversive pattern of Sabbath appropriation. [3] From their oppressors, African Americans "accept" the notion of the first day Sabbath, which encompasses rest from labor and worship that includes both liturgical and pedagogical dimensions. But the subversive move (or the "reversal" of the appropriated term's intent) occurs when they employ Sabbath in their discourse liberatively, as a time that God guarantees them one day each week for respite, spiritual and intellectual nurture, and even the opportunity for escape.
It is far too simple, however, to suggest that their pragmatic hermeneutic was a "reading against" Jesus. In fact, we will show that their readings, like Jesus' own, are similarly liberative, using Scripture to achieve their own ends.
Biblical View of Sabbath: First Testament
The contested origins of Sabbath, or shabbat, law are evidenced in two related First Testament passages. Though the relationship is likely one of literary dependence, these two textual units offer distinct reasons for the existence of a hallowed seventh day. The first occurs in the initial declaration of the Ten Words/Commandments (so designated in Ex 34:28; Deut 4:13, 10:4). Exodus 20:8-11 reflects on the Creation narratives found in Genesis 2:1-3, noting that even God rested after six days of toil. As a result, Israel was instructed to shabbat, meaning either to "abstain" or to "cease from their labors." Further, YHWH blessed and sanctified this day, setting it apart from the other six as a day dedicated to rest. In this way, God's activity has become exemplary for humanity and the narrative pedagogical, instructing the Yahwistic community to regard this day as did their God, for it was "a Sabbath to YHWH your God" (Exod 20:10).
Sabbath rest was not viewed solely as the privilege of the land owning male Israelite. All members of the household were required to observe Sabbath; in fact, it was enforced with an apodictic proscription, "you shall not do any work" (v.10). The proscription was coupled with a list that delineated those for whom work was forbidden. Such a list would have been irrelevant, save for the characters mentioned. Except for the presumed householder, deemed simply "you," the members on this list appear to be those at a considerable social disadvantage, including the householder's children, resident aliens, farm animals, and male and female slaves.
Deuteronomy 5:12-15, occurring in the Deuteronomic retelling of the Ten Words, is remarkably similar to Exodus 20:8-11, including a similar list of household members to whom Sabbath Law applies. However, in this instance the reason given for the Sabbath is not because of God's act in Creation, but because God acted to deliver Israel from bondage. Thus, the reason for Sabbath is literally "so that your male and female slaves may rest as well as you" (v.14). The presumption is that the householder will rest on Sabbath, but the goal is to ensure that even the slaves in the house will be granted a time to cease from their labor. At this point the status of the householder is raised as a matter of no small importance: "Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and YHWH your God brought you out...." (v.15).
As such, the Sabbath becomes one of the clearest indications that the people thought of themselves as slaves freed from bondage, for a memorial of divinely sanctioned cessation of labor commemorates God's act of deliverance. Because of the experience of slavery, the Deuteronomic Historian determines, "therefore YHWH your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day" (v. 15).[4]
It is impossible to say which of these texts most influenced early African Americans. Yet, because of the emphasis on biblical narratives and the significance of the accounts of Creation evidenced in James Weldon Johnson's poem, "The Creation," it would not be impossible to surmise that Genesis 2:1-3 supplied the principal elements of Sabbath law, perhaps even in conjunction with the Exodus accounts (Exod 16:23-29, 20:8-11, 31:14-16, and elsewhere). It is unlikely that they were as familiar with Deuteronomy 5:11-13, for the resonance between the situation described in the biblical text and their own contexts would have resounded too loudly to be ignored. Such a text would have all too clearly emphasized that slaveholders were intentionally and deliberately violating the letter and spirit of Sabbath Law and provided an immediate context whereby scriptural authority would mandate social change.
Biblical View of Sabbath: Second Testament
For the Jesus portrayed in the Gospels, the Sabbath was not necessarily a "day of rest." Or, to put it in a different way, the Sabbath, for Jesus, never hindered the doing of good. It does not mean that Jesus never rested in the traditional sense, but human need, as in "plucking grains" if hungry (Mark 2:23-28) or restoring a deformed hand (Mark 3:1-6), outranked religious (legal) stipulations.
It is safe to assume that Jesus did not share the same ideology of "Sabbath rest" as the group of Pharisees who were depicted as attacking him because of his Sabbath activities. (To be sure, by Jesus' day, Sabbath laws were not universally agreed upon.) In fact, Jesus challenged the Pharisees directly with the question: "Who among you would not seek after his own sheep having fallen in a pit?" (Matt 12:11). For Jesus, God made the Sabbath on behalf of humanity—and, not the other way around, which is why he claimed that the "Son of Man" held authority over the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28; cf. Exod 23:12; Deut 5:14-15). Such a hermeneutic is liberating (humanizing), demonstrating Jesus' pragmatic readings of biblical law, emphasizing that law is to benefit humanity.
The View(s) of the Slave Narratives: A Pattern?[5]
Biblical law among African American men and women
It should not surprise us that Sabbath law was an important concern for early enslaved men and women, for they too had their own understanding of God's laws, which, to the best of their abilities, they enacted in their lives. In his 1843 "An Address to the Slaves," Henry Highland Garnet, born enslaved in 1815, [6] discusses what he deems "divine commandments":
The divine commandments you are duty bound to reverence and obey. If you do not obey them, you will surely meet with the displeasure of the Almighty. He requires you to love Him supremely, and your neighbor as yourself, to keep the Sabbath day holy, to search the Scriptures, and bring up your children with respect for His laws, and to worship no other God but Him. But slavery sets all these at nought and hurls defiance in the face of Jehovah. The forlorn condition in which you are placed does not destroy your moral obligation to God. You are not certain of Heaven, because you suffer yourselves to remain in a state of slavery, where you cannot obey the commandments of the Sovereign of the universe. [7]
In this passage, we should recognize the importance of Sabbath legislation by its placement in his list of laws. Sabbath law is second only to loving neighbor as self—that which Jesus deemed most important. A similar arrangement is found in Mary Ann Shadd's work, where again Sabbath law is second only to the law of Love. (LEV, 319-320).
But for some of these authors, it can be argued that the very existence of slavery represented a deliberate nullification of God's laws. As Daniel Payne, in his June 1839 address, "Slavery Brutalizes Man," notes :
But what saith slavery? "they are my property, and shall be brought up to serve." They shall not even learn to read his word, in order that they may be brought up in his nurture and admonition. If any man doubts this, let him read the slave code of Louisiana and see if it is not death to teach slaves. Thus saith the Lord, Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Does not slavery nullify this law, and compel the slave to work on the Sabbath? (LEV, 176; author's italics).
Payne then mentions other laws slavery forces the enslaved to violate like marriage and adultery. The mandates of American slavery made it inevitable that African men and women would live contrary to the laws of God.
The Autobiographical Slave Narrative & the Sabbath
First Attestation: The History of Mary Prince (1831)
We begin with Mary Prince's 1831, The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave. Related by Herself, the first narrative by an African female. [9] She offers two primary, albeit short, passages on the Sabbath. [10]
It is very wrong, I know, to work on Sunday or go to market; but will not God call the Buckra [i.e., "white"] men to answer for this on the great day of judgment—since they will give the slaves no other day? (16).
They hire servants in England; and if they don't like them, they send them away: they can't lick them. Let them work ever so hard in England, they are far better off than slaves. If they get a bad master, they give warning and go hire to another. They have their liberty. That's just what we want. We don't mind hard work, if we had proper treatment, and proper wages like English servants, and proper time given in the week to keep us from breaking the Sabbath. But they won't give it: they will have work—work—work, night and day, sick or well, till we are quite done up; and we must not speak up nor look amiss, however much we be abused. And then, when we are quite done up, who cares for us, more than for a lame horse? This is slavery (23; her italics).
The end of her story, which provides the literary context of the second quote, provides the comparison between slavery in the Americas and "servants" in England.
While there is no substantial treatment of the subject or any mention of the concept of "rest," it is understood that the Sabbath law was being abrogated. In fact, Prince's first passage offers a clear sense of what Sabbath breaking is: working and buying/selling on the Sabbath break the law. This is implied in the context of the second passage. [11] Prince also provides the solution to the problem: "proper treatment" and "proper wages," including time during the week to fulfill their requisite chores, would allow folks the ability not to break the Sabbath law.
Though there is no clear evidence of literary dependence, Mary Prince's work is a precursor of later more in depth discussions of the Sabbath in the genre of "slave" narratives. Here, as in the other accounts that will follow, adherence to the Sabbath law assumes first testament discourse; there is no mention of Jesus.
We are not arguing, since at present we have no proof, that African American authors of autobiographical narratives were dependent on Prince's earlier account, especially as it deals with the Sabbath law. We do know that African Americans were reading stories like this whether by means of the book itself or, as in the case of Frederick Douglass, by means of the accounts within the abolitionists' newspapers. [12]
In addition to familiarity with the stories of the formerly enslaved, African American authors would have also been aware of the white abolitionist Theodore Weld's Slavery As It Is, published in 1839, in which Weld advocated for more testimonies from those who had escaped the immoral institution. [13] If so, Weld's specifications for what was needed may have also been influential on the topic of the Sabbath law, since he included in his list—in addition to the kind of food, clothing, and lodging—a need for the description of "hours of labor and rest." [14]
Furthermore, the discourse among free African Americans (e.g., Shadd and Payne), among whom these authors lived when they wrote their abolitionist texts, supported extensively the peaceful nature of the Sabbath day.
The 1840s: Douglass, Bibb, and Pennington
The 1840s was the heyday of the African American autobiographical genre known as the "slave narrative." Frederick Douglass offers the classic example of a narrative of individual freedom, a theme that is significantly modified in his later 1855 narrative over which he exerted greater autonomy. Henry Bibb provides the classic example of a love story among the enslaved, in which he re-enters slavery on several occasions because of a deep longing to be with his wife, Malinda, and daughter. Finally, James Pennington's narrative provides one of the classic portrayals of the necessary role of "deception" in order to gain one's freedom. These individual narratives emphasize many distinctive themes of the genre, including the recurrent religious ideal of the Sabbath day.
Two motifs predominate in these authors' discussions of the Sabbath day. First, on this day, the potential existed for the establishment of Sabbath day schools, which would allow for opportunities for securing literacy and developing community. Both Frederick Douglass (writing about Maryland) and Henry Bibb (writing about Kentucky) include passages in which they discuss the organization of such schools by named white sympathizers. [15] Unfortunately, in both instances, the actual "schools" lasted for a very brief time. In Douglass's case, the "school" was disrupted by "class leaders" in the Methodist church (69-70). In Bibb's case, "the law was opposed to it," so that it was soon disbanded. In both cases, it was viewed by slaveholders as, in Bibb's words, "an incendiary movement" (16).
In addition to this brief description of this initial effort, Douglass also includes an account of a more successful and substantial Sabbath school, one that he himself led. Douglass attributes partial credit for the success of this school to the more lenient Mr. Freeland, whom Douglass considered to be (in his words) "the best master I ever had, till I became my own master" (84-85; his italics). In contradistinction from Douglass's severe critique of professing slaveholders, Mr. Freeland "made no pretensions to, or profession of, religion; and this, in [Douglass's] opinion, was truly a great advantage" (82). This Sabbath school "society of my fellow-slaves," Douglass emphasizes, was a community, men and women, [16] in which "we would have died for each other" (85). In this setting, they were "behaving like intellectual, moral, and accountable beings," yet they had to beware of such positive humanistic activities that were contrary to slaveholding designs (84). Their secret society met in the home of a free, intentionally unnamed, African American, whose action must have placed his status in jeopardy. The success of this mission affected both Douglass and individual members. For Douglass, "it was the delight of my soul," he states, "to be doing something that looked like bettering the condition of my race" (84). For members, several learned to read, and "one, at least, is now free through my agency," Douglass wrote (84). This last statement shows that Douglass was able to maintain contact with at least some members of this gathering after he escaped to the North. (Further, the success of this early flirtation with autonomy may well have served as a foreshadowing of the independent African American church.)
As part of his discussion (although a theme absent from Douglass), Bibb highlights that "the Sabbath is not regarded by a large number of the slaves as a day of rest." This was not due to any fault of the enslaved. For Bibb, as for others, "Sabbath" and "literacy" interrelate extensively (16, 20-21). There was nothing incompatible with rest on the Sabbath and education. Yet, with no schools to attend and no moral or religious instruction, much Sabbath breaking occurred. Those actions that hindered the intellectual and spiritual development of the human being—gambling, fighting, and getting drunk—Bibb considered Sabbath breaking (16).[17] As Bibb notes, many slaveholders actually encouraged these behaviors on the Sabbath (16-17). Later in the narrative, he explains part of their rationale. During "slave auctions" intelligence is a significant offense:
If they are found to be very intelligent, this is pronounced the most objectionable of all other qualities connected with the life of a slave. In fact, it undermines the whole fabric of his chattelhood; it prepares for what slaveholders are pleased to pronounce the unpardonable sin when committed by a slave. It lays the foundation for running away, and going to Canada. They also see in it a love for freedom, patriotism, insurrection, bloodshed, and exterminating war against American slavery (53).
Although Bibb provides only implicit agreement with this "rationale," Douglass recognized the truth of this explanation in the words of his former master Thomas Auld, who in forbidding his wife from teaching him anything, offered the following words:
If you teach that nigger . . . how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy (57).
Ironically, this "special revelation" drove Douglass to learn to read in every possible instance because he believed that what Mr. Auld spoke was true; learning would be his way to freedom. He also found, as mentioned earlier, great comfort in leading "fellow slaves" onto the path of literacy.
The second major motif that emerges is that the Sabbath day was a day for literal escape. James Pennington, in one of the more lucid examples of the view of the Sabbath, writes: "It was the Sabbath: the holy day which God in his infinite wisdom gave for the rest of both man and beast" (119). [18] A few sentences after this statement of confession, Pennington discusses his escape from slavery. The Sabbath day provided enough "free" time to establish distance between himself and his slaveholder. Bibb also discusses plans for the potential escape of Malinda, his wife, an attempt that was scheduled for a Sabbath as well.
Both motifs can be viewed under the larger umbrella of "freedom," spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and literally. For authors of the autobiographical slave narratives, the Sabbath, if practiced correctly, was a symbol for freedom in all of its manifestations. The narratives of the 1840s demonstrate, even more than Prince's 1831 treatise, the significance of a just appropriation of the Sabbath law. It was an attempt by African Americans to persuade their generally white abolitionist audiences that not even this biblical commandment was followed consistently within the slaveholding communities of the South and West Indies. It was an appeal to the first Testament, however, as Jesus' own teaching was never mined for any valuable insight it might have offered to their dehumanizing situation.
Adjustments to the "pattern": the 1850s (Randolph & Douglass)
In the 1850s, described as the most "desperate decade" in African American history, [19] authors of slave narratives maintained a strong emphasis on the significance of the Sabbath day for the enslaved. According to William Andrews, it was during this decade that these authors "would move further outside the margins of propriety in search of greater narrative freedom and more usable truth." [20] We now, turn to two representatives of the genre in the 1850s, Randolph and Douglass.
In his 1855 Sketches of Slave Life or Illustrations of the Peculiar Institution,[21] Peter Randolph describes the nature of life for those who are enslaved. References to the Sabbath occur in several different contexts. His first references to Sabbath emphasize that this was frequently the only time that the enslaved had for themselves. Hence, they engaged in a range of activities, from making traps and capturing possums to supplement their meager food rations (19-20), to visiting friends and family on other plantations (28), to engaging in recreational activities (31), to participating in religious services (30-33).[22]
For Randolph the latter concern, worship, was the most important part of Sabbath and for the enslaved it took place in two distinct contexts. Many enslaved people met secretly, slipping away to the swamps where they were free to worship as they pleased. There Randolph reports activities that resemble contemporary worship in African American congregations, including therapeutic and cathartic interactions of members and singing, climaxing in preaching that leads to an ecstatic experience where "there fall to the ground twenty or thirty men and women," which was punctuated by a passing of the peace. They also have what appears to be a fatalistic surrender, but it can best be described as an apocalyptic hope as expressed in the statement, "Thank God, I shall not live here always." In this regard their focus was on heaven, "where all is joy, happiness and liberty." (30-31)
The other typical context for worship was in buildings on plantations sanctioned by the slaveholders. There the enslaved were subject to a gospel of servitude centered on the text from Ephesians 6, "Servants obey your masters." Ministers employed by the plantation owner would warn the captive congregation, "It is the devil...who tells you to try to be free." Such messages received the sanction of the plantation, but were viewed by the enslaved as attempts to thwart the spread of Christ's Gospel. Recall Randolph's words, "let no one say that the slaves have the Gospel of Jesus preached to them." In effect, the enslaved were denied even on the Sabbath access to the authentic Gospel. Thus, even on the Sabbath, as a rule the enslaved people's access to God was restricted as though such access was dangerous to the interests of their tormentors. Reminiscent of Bibb's words a decade before, Randolph notes, "if the slaves were caught praying to God, they are whipped more than if they had committed a great crime. The slaveholders will allow slaves to dance, but do not want them to pray to God" (32). [23]
Also, in 1855, ten years after his initial attempt, Frederick Douglass again took upon himself the task of developing his autobiography by means of the slave narrative. Several scholars, among whom are William Andrews and Robert Stepto, have offered detailed analyses of the distinctions between these two versions. For this presentation, we wish to draw your attention only to Douglass's alterations to the Sabbath day motif in the 1855 edition.
According to the author of the preface to the 1855 edition, James McCune Smith, a leading African American abolitionist of the day, Douglass's new version appealed to a different kind of audience, one whose ideology understood more clearly (than their white [Wm. Lloyd] Garrisonian counterparts) the interrelationship between the enslaved of the South and the "free" Blacks of the North. Douglass's own intellectual development had moved critically into this circle and away from Garrison. [24] We find evidence of this shift even in the altered descriptions of the stories about the Sabbath schools: mentioning schools for free African American children in the South in an analogy to Nat Turner. [25] The latter reference to Turner highlighted a significant change in Douglass's thinking, since it took him a few years to accept violent slave insurrection, proposed by Henry Highland Garnet and others, as an option if necessary. [26]
Equally striking was Douglass's 1855 expanded explanation of the ideology behind the slaveholders' disruption, which is particularly pertinent to our discussion because it was one that Douglass shared. As he stated it, "if slavery be right, Sabbath schools for teaching slaves to read the bible are wrong" (266; online version). Yet, Douglass rightfully reasoned that this ideology placed the Protestant principle, of every person searching the Scriptures for him/herself, in jeopardy (266). His expanded edition dealt with a number of contradictions both in the slaveholders' religious views and in his own role. [27] One could imagine how these "contradictions" also impacted Northern perceptions of African American society. Despite this more comprehensive view of Douglass's thoughts regarding the significance of the Sabbath for literacy, freedom, and community (a stronger emphasis in the 1855 edition), and Randolph's extensive description of the brush harbor meetings, neither Douglass nor Randolph recalls any idea from the stories of Jesus' reading of the Sabbath for these insights.
The nineteenth century was filled with dynamic discussions and debates surrounding proper observance of the Sabbath day. General reformers in the North, including Lyman Beecher and other ministers, formed the General Union for Promoting the Observance of the Christian Sabbath in 1828. [28] Yet, apparent economic realities (greed?) and political tensions were reasons (excuses?) that slaveholders used to continue to enforce labor on the Sabbath unevenly throughout the Southern states.
From the perspective of the enslaved, the Sabbath functioned as a slaveholders' "tool," by which they deliberately attempted to maintain the status quo. Slaveholders preferred an unorganized, but highly intentional, reprieve instead of opportunities for the development of the enslaved's intellectual, moral, and religious well-being. What was available was either (1) to hear the preaching of the slaveholding gospel or (2) to engage in activities, like "drinking" and "gambling," that did not aid in intellectual development.
Yet, the African American appropriation of Sabbath law derived from a self-affirming hermeneutic. The Sabbath for these persons represented a time for liberation as manifest in the activities of worship, religious education, literacy programs, and even escape. Despite slaveholder intentions to provide structured worship that supported the status quo or encouraged morally questionable activities, enslaved and free Africans interpreted the Sabbath as the moment during the week in which they encountered the liberating God of Jesus who mandated the cessation of business as usual and provided opportunities for escape, whether temporary or permanent, from their circumscribed existences.
We end with a consideration of the work of Mary Ann Shadd, [29] who argued against slavery in a 1858 sermon, "Break Every Yoke and Let the Oppressed God Free." In it, in a creative modification of traditional views of Sabbath, she advocates liberative Sabbath labor, an obedient response to God that is literally the labor of love. [30] She, then, appropriates Jesus' reinterpretation of Sabbath law, advocating a similar hermeneutic:
There is too a fitness of time for any work for the benefit of God's human creatures. We are told to keep Holy the Sabbath day. In what manner? Not by following simply the injunctions of those who bind heavy burdens, to say nothing about the same but as a man is better than a sheep, but combining with God's worship the most active vigilance for the resurrector from degradation violence and sin of his creatures. In these cases particularly is the Sabbath made for man and woman if you please as there may be those who will not accept the term man in a generic sense. Christ has told us as it is lawful to lift a sheep out of the ditch on the Sabbath day, i[f] a man is much better than a sheep. (320)
Granted there are problems with the syntax of the final sentence. However, it is clear that she is utilizing Jesus' liberating re-reading of Sabbath law here, suggesting the necessity of engaging in abolitionist work on the Sabbath.[31]
The sense of "rest" that Jesus had is one that the enslaved would have shared. As Frederick Douglass and Henry Bibb clearly implied, "rest" on the Sabbath was not at all incompatible with the establishment of schools for the purpose of moral and religious instruction. The opposite of "rest," that is, to "break the Sabbath," was in Bibb's words to act in ways opposite to the attainment of literacy and knowledge. Nor is this sense of "rest" incompatible with an opportunity to escape on the Sabbath, as James Pennington so aptly described.Yet, despite this apparent link between Jesus' view and the enslaved's view of the Sabbath, African Americans rarely recalled Jesus' own actions and teaching on the Sabbath. Rather, they re-defined the First Testament concept of "rest" as activity that involves the well-being of the human person. The Sabbath day was, for all intents and purposes, the only potential day for such "liberating" and "communal" activity.Perhaps, the enslaved of the nineteenth century did not follow Jesus' words onSabbath practices, but they at least intuited his pragmatic hermeneutical practice. For just as Jesus reclaims the precursor text in order to express his attempt to co-opt the biblical text for his own use, nineteenth century African Americans chose the biblical ideology that best suited their desires and practices for liberation of the mind and body and thereby sought to secure a sacred moment wherein they could reclaim pieces of their stolen humanity. Whatever else the Sabbath day may have meant to African Americans, it was also intended to be a time for liberation and a time for community. In fact, Sabbath ideology, which facilitates the development of the early Black church and corporate autonomy, may just be the birth of African American independence!
Rodney S. Sadler, Jr., Union Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC, rsadler@union-psce.edu
Emerson B. Powery, Lee University, Cleveland, TN, epowery@leeuniversity.edu
1. The examples of the "Jesu-centric" nature of African American Christianity are manifold. For a compelling discussion of this phenomenon, see Kelly Brown Douglass, The Black Christ (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1994), particularly pp.1-34. Douglas illustrates this well on p. 22, "Essentially, through the cross the slaves'experience and Jesus' experience converged. The suffering of slavery and the suffering of the cross were synonymous. The crucifixion confirmed to slaves that they were one with Jesus, and more importantly, that Jesus was one with them." See also, Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited (Richmond: Friends United Press, 1949); and Howard Thurman, Deep River and the Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death (Richmond: Friends United Press, 1975), 26; also James Cone, The Spirituals and the Blues (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1991), 54.
2. As Wimbush writes, "(M)ore careful attention to the manner in which the images and language of the Bible were used can shed more light on the question of the oppositional character of African American religion. I would argue that study of both the selection of biblical texts/stories and their redaction by these early African Americans can force entirely different and more illuminating categories upon the discussion" (Stony the Road We Trod, 88-89).
3. The notion of the "acceptance-reversal pattern" is an acknowledgment that early African American authors were often forced to appropriate concepts and interpretive schema from their oppressors, depending upon the very hypotheses that were often used to legitimate their oppression. However, far from reifying their subjugation, these authors frequently use these ideas and schema subversively, redeploying the "master's" weaponry to validate their humanity or to strive for their liberation. (The result resembles Lévi-Strauss' concept of "bricolage," though I would suggest that this was a deliberate and intentional effort to subvert the meaning of the dominant party's ideology. Not the work of a "bricoleur," these early African American authors were in fact skilled craftspersons actively seeking to reassess the tenets of their opponents' ideology.)
4. As Jeffrey Tigay notes, "[i]t is as if the entire household is required to rest so that there can be no occasion to make the servants work. This one day a week the servant is treated as the master's equal." (69) (The goal is to create empathy for the servant or to lead the Yahwistic community to offer their slaves temporary relief from their servitude.)
5. Most of the texts used in this analysis are nineteenth century autobiographical narratives written by African Americans. The majority of these individuals began their lives in bondage in the American South and gained their freedom after spending the early portion of their lives in bondage. These texts frequently describe the nature of slavery, its effects on the subject, the institutions that governed the lives of those enslaved, and significant events in the subject's life. They are not simply dispassionate rehearsals of these events, however. They are frequently composed as political documents, used to further the Abolitionist movement by demonstrating that slavery was an inhumane institution that robbed human beings of not only their liberty, but even their very lives. For the sake of this paper we will assume that these narratives represent the general sentiments of most African Americans during the antebellum period.
6. Henry Highland Garnett, "An Address to the Slaves of the United States of America," in Philip S. Foner and Robert James Branham, eds. , Lift Every Voice: African American Oratory 1787-1900 (Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1998), 198-204. Hereafter, LEV.
7. Garnett, "An Address" 201.
8. Born free in 1811, he was well educated in the South at a school for free blacks (LEV, 173).
9. The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave. Related by Herself. In Six Women's Slave Narratives, ed. Henry Louis Gates (New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988; orig. London: F. Westley and A. H. Davis, 1831). The editor, William Andrews, includes it in the autobiography section of his work, To Tell a Free Story, although it was not penned by Prince, because it does represent the first such narrative related by an African woman in the Americas (xxix). By this classification, Andrews concludes that it was not significantly altered by the editor (iii). As the editor states in the preface, "No fact of importance has been omitted, and not a single circumstance or sentiment has been added. It is essentially her own, without any material alteration farther than was requisite to exclude redundancies and gross grammatical errors, so as to render it clearly intelligible" (iii).
10. She also mentions briefly the brush harbor meetings, although she does not specifically mention the Sabbath day.
11. Compare Henry Bibb on "breaking" the Sabbath.
12. John Blassingame. "Introduction." The Frederick Douglass Papers. Series Two: Autobiographical Writings. Volume 1: Narrative. Eds. John W. Blassingame, John R. McKivigan, and Peter P. Hinks (New Haven/London: Yale University Press, 1999), xxiii.
13. For Douglass, evidence of this dependence can be found in his speeches from 1841-1845. According to Blassingame, Weld's announcement of the intention of the American Anti-Slavery Society to publish more testimonies and narratives about slavery may have instigated Douglass's own narrative ("Introduction," xxiv-xv). This was not the cause, however, for the production of his second narrative.
14. Weld's list is cited by Blassingame, "Introduction," xxv. If the authors were dependent on Weld's suggestions, would that hinder their more direct dependence on the biblical narrative?
15. The Douglass references stem from the Bedford edition; the Bibb references come from Taylor's edition. Unless stated otherwise, all quotations are derived from these editions.	Mr. Wilson, the white sympathizer in Douglass's story, was a Quaker, who taught in a local school for whites and who represents "some who continued to argue against slavery and for teaching the slaves to read the Scriptures" ("Historical Annotation," The Frederick Douglass Papers, 138).
16. The 1855 edition, My Bondage and My Freedom, omits the more inclusive "and women" of the 1845 edition (265; online edition).
17. Douglass also highlights that "degrading sports" were sponsored by the slaveholders (84).
18. The quote continues, highlighting what normally happens on the Sabbath: "In the state of Maryland, the slaves generally have the Sabbath, except in those districts where the evil weed, tobacco, is cultivated; and then, when it is the season for setting the plant, they are liable to be robbed of this only rest" (119; Taylor edition).
19. Nell Irvin Painter, Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol (New York/London: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996), 132. Painter's description is due to significant events of the period, including the following (several of which Painter does not mention): the Fugitive Slave Law Act of 1850; the regional splits in both the Democratic (1848) and the Whig parties (1854) due to slavery; the abolition of the slave-trade, not slavery, in Washington, D.C.; the appearance of Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852); the Dred Scott case of 1857; and economic shifts, like the rise in cotton production and profits, which increased the demand for more slaves.
20. "(B)y the end of the 1840s, the slave narrative had begun to make its first tentative steps away from its white readership, whose embrace meant suppression as well as success. The most self-conscious black autobiographers were beginning to wonder openly whose truth they were to speak, thus revealing the strains to which the genre's traditional social and moral proprieties subjected them. In the next decade their successors would move further outside the margins of propriety in search of greater narrative freedom and more usable truth" (Andrews, To Tell a Free Story, 166).
21. Full citation (1855).
22. Absolom Jones's "A Thanksgiving Sermon," delivered on January 1, 1808, also addresses the Sabbath as a time when enslaved Africans were able to forage for food, but were denied spiritual nourishment (LEV, 76). Here he notes:"He [God] has seen them return to their smoky huts in the evening, with nothing to satisfy their hunger but a scanty allowance of roots; and these, cultivated for themselves, on that day, which God ordained as a day of rest for man and beast. He has seen the neglect with which their masters have treated their immortal souls; not only in withholding religious instruction from them, but, in some instances, depriving them of access to the means of obtaining it."
23. In Randolph's 1893 edition, From Slave Cabin to the Pulpit. The Autobiography of Rev. Peter Randolph: The Southern Question Illustrated and Sketches of Life, he rehearses much of the account given in his earlier version of the Sketches. One notable exception is the inclusion of a section titled "Religious Instruction," which he provocatively begins, "Many say the Negroes receive religious education—that Sabbath worship is instituted for them as for others, and were it not for slavery, they would die in their sins—that really, the institution of slavery is a benevolent missionary enterprise" (p.196). After this he reproduces reflections similar to those noted above about the hypocritical and self-serving nature of the "slaveholding gospel" that was thrust on enslaved people by the plantation owners. Thus for Randolph, the Sabbath could be viewed as a time of either temporary escape from the rigors of slavery to the beatific secret worship in the swamps or a time of sacralized ideological violence whereby the domination system gave the inhumane conditions under which enslaved people lived God's sanction.
24. Douglass's split with Garrison was permanent by 1851 (Andrews, "My Bondage and My Freedom and the American Literary Renaissance of the 1850s," in Critical Essays on Frederick Douglass, ed. William L. Andrews [Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1991], 138).
25. In the account on the Sabbath school initiated by the white Quaker, Mr. Wilson, Douglass provided additional pertinent information: (1) In Baltimore, there were Sabbath schools for free African American children; (2) Mr. Wilson invited Douglass to assist in the teaching of the Sabbath school; (3) In addition to the New Testament (1845 edition), spelling books were also utilized; (4) Included his former master, Thomas Auld, as one of the "mob" who disrupted and disbanded the "school"; (5) Shared the story that one of the mob compared Douglass to Nat Turner, forewarning him that he would end up like him; and (6) Addressed "the reader" directly, stressing how this disbandment weakened his faith.
26. In the account on the Sabbath school on Mr. Freeland's farm, Douglass also expanded his 1855 version to include the following: (1) Listed Webster's dictionary and the Columbian Orator as additional textbooks to the Bible; (2) Specifically mentioned reading the "word of God" (not the "will of God"); (3) An extended explanation was provided on the ideology behind the slaveholders strategy; (4) Mentioned that more than one slave from this band had secured his freedom; and (5) Addressed the reader directly again to consider the lengths to which the enslaved went to secure this type of minimal educational experience.
27. The disbandment by white slaveholders was one more attempt to stipulate the lives of the enslaved. It was insurrections like Denmark Vesey's and Nat Turner's and the interrelationship between "religion and rebellion" that "probably alerted Southern slaveholders to the need for white control of Afro-American religion" (Mitchell Snay, Gospel of Disunion: Religion and Separatism in the Antebellum South [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993], 90; also 93). And, such "control" was practiced by a number of Southern clerics, whose "mission to the slaves was perhaps most prominent in the plantation region of the lower South" (91).
28. "In 1845 Douglass led his readers to believe that the Sabbath school he opened at Freeland's was the result of pressure from fellow slaves who longed to learn to read. My Bondage and My Freedom brings out Douglass's selfish motives; he 'wanted a Sabbath school, in which to exercise my gifts' as well as to teach his brother slaves their letters. My Bondage and My Freedom also does not neglect to mention Douglass's preference for self-interest over the welfare of those he would have to leave behind in the slave quarters, people he knew were likely to suffer to some extent whether he succeeded or failed in his escape. In sum, the second autobiography deliberately brings to the fore the contradictions in Douglass's role at the turning point of his life that are at most only hinted at in the first autobiography" (Andrews, To Tell a Free Story, 228).
29. A freeborn African American woman, born in 1823 to an affluent African American family, she was an integrationist and the "first black woman newspaper editor" (LEV, 318).
30. "We must then manifest love to God by obedience to his will—we must be cheerful workers in his cause at all times—on the Sabbath and other days. The more readiness we Evince the more we manifest our love, and as our field is directly among those of his creatures made in his own image in acting as themselves who is no respecter of persons we must have failed in our duty until we become decided to waive all prejudices of Education birth nation or training and make the test of our obedience God's Equal command to love neighbor as ourselves" (LEV, 319).
31. Thus far, Shadd's sermon is the only example of an African American appropriation of Jesus' teaching on the Sabbath that we have found.
Citation: Emerson B. Powery , Rodney S. Sadler, Jr., " Reading Against Jesus: Nineteenth Century African Americans' View of Sabbath Law," SBL Forum , n.p. [cited May 2005]. Online:http://sbl-site.org/Article.aspx?ArticleID=403
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We spent 14 days researching and testing different types of nail fungus treatment and found that effectiveness, ease of application, and length of time to see results were most important. moniNAIL Nail Fungus solution scored high marks in all categories and is our top pick. The proprietary formula is natural, safe and most of all effective.
Nail fungus is frustrating, embarrassing and an all around nuisance for the people who suffer from it. Fortunately, there are things that you can do and products, such as these top rated nail fungus treatments we have reviewed here, that you can use to get rid of that fungus and get back to being comfortable in public.
There are a lot of nail fungus treatments on the market so you need to be careful that you don't fall for the ones that are gimmicky. The treatments featured here are not the cheapest on the market but work and they are customer favorites for that reason. Read below to learn more about each one.
If you are looking for a fast and effective nail fungus treatment, emoniNAIL is at the top of the list. It has a formula that goes to the core of the problem which resides underneath the nail. While it works to heal the affected areas of the nail it kills the fungus at the same time. It uses safe and powerful ingredients that have no known side effects. It contains Undecylenic Acid which is recognized by the FDA as an antifungal.
emoniNAIL has been proven to work on even stubborn cases of nail fungus so even if you have tried other things in the past, you will love the results you get from emoniNAIL . When you start using this nail fungus, the fungus will be killed while the surrounding areas also get healing treatment. It promotes new nail and skin regeneration so your nails get back to normal.
emoniNAIL works on both fingernail and toenails. You will love the results you get from emoniNAIL nail fungus treatment. There is a 100% 60-day money back guarantee if for some reason you don't like the results you get from using this product.
Nail fungus is unpleasant regardless of whether you have it on your fingernails or toenails. That is why you need Omiera Toenail Fungus Treatment to get rid of it. If you leave nail fungus untreated, it can permanently damage the nail bed so it is important to get started on treatment right away.
This product has been formulated and created by a team of pharmacists and physicians that know how to deal with nail fungus so it goes away and stays away.
This product contains the ingredient podiazole, which is known to eliminate nail fungus and the symptoms that go along with it faster than other nail fungus treatments on the market.
The process starts by the ingredient going deep inside, underneath the nail beds and kills the fungus deep inside where the problem starts. After the fungus is dead, the healthy nail begins to grow back. Podiazole also works as a nail whitener as well to continue to improve the appearance of nails that have been previously infected.
This product can be used for fingernails and toenails even though it is called Toenail Fungus Treatment. Directions are easy, just clean the nail thoroughly first and use a nail file to file the nail down. Apply the nail fungus treatment two times a day to the nails that are infected with the fungus and let dry for 305 minutes. Once the fungus is gone, continue to apply once a day. It could take awhile for the new, healthy nails to grow back completely.
For fast treatment of discoloration and dark nails due to nail fungus, try Xenna NonyX Nail Gel. It is recommended by podiatrists for the fast treatment of these embarrassing nail problems that prevent you from feeling confident.
If you do have discoloration and darkening of the nail it can b e caused by the buildup of keratin debris under the nail.
Users will get a 3 month supply of this great product that will have your nails looking fantastic in short order.
Application is easy; just apply one or two drops of Xenna Nonyx Nail Gel twice daily to the surface of the discolored nails. Fir the best results from using this product be sure to apply it after you take a shower or bath or after swimming.
When it comes to finding the best nail fungus treatment, you don't have to look any further than any one of these top rated nail fungus treatments. Dealing with the problem right away is the key to getting rid of it and getting your nails back on the road to healing.
Any one of these top rated nail fungus treatment products will work wonders on your infected finger or toe nails. Read the buyer's guide below to learn even more about what causes nail fungus treatment and the best way to choose the right treatment as well as how to prevent it from returning or infecting other nails.
With the right information, sorting through the nail fungus treatments that are available is much easier. You will be able to make a decision based on knowledge and not guesswork. That will ensure that you get a product that will give you the results you want instead of purchasing one that doesn't help.
What is a Nail Fungus Treatment?
There are many symptoms of nail fungus. You will see things like a white or yellow spot under the tip of your nail that gets bigger as the infection grows. Sometimes the nail will discolor, get very thick and then crumble at the edge of the nail. It doesn't usually affect all the fingernails or toenails at once, but it can affect several at once.
The good news is that nail fungus is treatable. You don't have to live with embarrassing, infected nails that you want to hide. With the right nail fungus treatment, you can take care of the infection and get the nails back on the right path to healing and regeneration.
How do people get fungus infections?
You may be wondering where in the world you got your nail fungus infection. There are many different things that can cause it or leave you open to getting one. We have outlined these potential dangers below so you can be on the lookout for these situations and avoid them.
Nail fungus can come from a fungal skin infection elsewhere on the body. For example, if you have athlete's foot, it csn spread to the toenails if the athlete's foot is not treated fast enough or properly. You can also spread it from toenails to fingernails if you scratch your foot with your fingernails.
Washing your hands too much can definitely be a culprit in causing fingernail infections, surprisingly enough. Although most people would think that washing the hands a lot would kill any fungus, washing hands a lot can weaken and damage the protective skin at the base of the nail, leaving a place for fungi to enter and cause problems. People that have jobs such as cook or cleaner may struggle with this problem.
The thing to remember is no one is really immune from getting a nail infection. You can seemingly do everything "right" and still get one.
What Happens When You Have a Fungus Infection?
There are several things that you will see going on when you get a nail fungus infection. These are the common symptoms that go along with this annoying and frustrating condition. You will notice that the infected nails, whether toenails or fingernails, will become discolored, thick and very brittle.
Thickened nails are sometimes painful to the touch because of the pressure they put on the nail bed underneath. The nail beds of an infected nail can develop ulcers. This is most often seen as someone gets older and pressure increases.
When it is toenail fungus, you may even notice that the toenails that are infected will crumble and separate from the nail bed. This is very painful and can affect your quality of life by making simple things like walking very painful.
YES, nail fungus infections are highly contagious and you can get it or spread it in many different locations like public swimming pools, gyms and fitness centers and community showers. You can even spread it to your family in your own home shower. If you share shoes you can give the infection to the person who is sharing them so that is not something you want to do when you are battling a nail fungus infection.
There are things that you can do to help your nail fungus heal faster, the first thing is to choose the right nail fungus treatment. You have three excellent choices in the top rated nail fungus treatments we have reviewed here. Follow the directions on the bottles and that will also clear up the infection faster.
Here are some steps that you csn follow while you are in the process of treating your nail fungus infection.
Use separate scissors to cut the infected nails to prevent contaminating the clippers/scissors. Don't share them with anyone else and plan on bleaching and sterilizing them after using them.
Avoid injuries and any irritants to your infected nails. Wearing gloves can prevent irritation. Use cotton and vinyl gloves for wet work and cotton for dry, such as gardening. If your toenails are the ones infected, keep your feet cool and dry as often as possible and wear shoes that fit properly with a wide toe box.
There are things you can do to prevent nail fungus infections from re-occurring or from showing up in the first place. Following these things can keep you from having to go through the hassle and pain of dealing with unsightly nail fungus infections.
Since healthy feet depend on good foot hygiene, the more you make the following suggestions a regular part of your routine the better your feet will look and feel. Although these suggestions deal primarily with the feet, you can apply the same principles to the fingernails when it comes to trimming the nails and cleanliness.
Clipping the Nails Correctly – Use a properly sanitized set of clippers and cut the nails correctly. Cut straight across the nail and use a file to file down any sharp edges.
Make Sure Your Shoes Fit – You don't want your shoes to touch your toenails at all. Make sure the shoes fit properly and that they are not cramping your feet or are so big that your feet slide in them.
Choose Footwear that Breathes – The more air that circulates around your feet the better. That will keep your feet dry and make your toenails less susceptible to toenail fungus. Leather or canvas is breathable material that makes good choices.
Don't Wear the Same Shoes Two Days in a Row – If you wear one pair of shoes all day long, let them have a day in between when you wore them and when you wear them again. Allowing them a day to air out before you wear them again will prevent you from wearing damp shoes, thereby increasing your risk for problems. On the day you're not wearing them, be sure to put them in a place that they will be able to dry.
Don't go Barefoot in Public Places – Locker rooms, public pools, showers and other similar areas can be breeding grounds for fungus. Don't go barefoot in these areas. Wear flip-flops, sandals or shower shoes in moist environments.
Disinfect Moist Areas – Scrub your shower and disinfect it with bleach or a bleach-based cleaner to get rid of any potential fungus from the shower. Also spray your shoes with an antibacterial spray, especially if they are shoes you've worn without socks. Wash all your socks in hot water with bleach to kill any fungi that may be present. Wash your feet daily as well and dry thoroughly, especially between the toes where moisture can be a real problem.
Sprinkle Shoes with Powder – There are some good foot powders on the market that are easy to get. Most drug stores and grocery stores have a few selections of foot powders you can purchase. Sprinkle your shoes and inside your socks before you put them on. Not only will it keep your feet drier, it will prevent odor as well.
Follow these tips below once you start using a nail fungus treatment so you can get rid of it right away and prevent it from coming back. Treatments won't do any good if you don't take care of things during treatment and after to prevent re-infecting your nails.
Treat athlete's foot immediately – if you think or know that you have athlete's foot, start treatment right away so you can prevent it from getting worse and potentially spreading to other places like your toenails and fingernails.
Wear shower shoes – If you use public showers or pools, be certain to wear shower shoes to protect your feet from being exposed to any fungi that comes from other people.
Treat Nail Fungus Right Away – If you have nail fungus, start treatment immediately and don't let it sit. The more it spreads and worse it gets the harder it is to treat. Fast treatment with one of the top rated nail fungus treatments and you will be back on track soon.
If a nail salon technician doesn't use clean tools you can easily get a nail fungus infection. Here are some tips and pointers to use when using a nail salon.
When it comes to treating nail fungus infections, the first step is beginning treatment with the right nail fungus treatment. If none of the three choices we have reviewed here will work for you, use the information provided in the buyer's guide to choose the right nail fungus treatment and begin treatment right away.
Once that is started, it's time to make sure you don't get the fungus anymore and also to give the infected nails you do have fungi on have the best chance for healing. Having the right nail fungus treatment means you can take care of the problem and not have to hide your hands or feet anymore.
Although it is a very common problem in the US, it doesn't make it any easier when it's you who is afraid to show off your feet or hands. Get started with the right choice now and you will be back to normal in no time.
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Streaming Spotlight: 'Jack Taylor' Season 4 Is Coming To Acorn TV
Update: "Jack Taylor" Season 4 will not premiere on Acorn TV in 2019. This page will be updated with any further release date news when it becomes available.
It has been a while since a new season of the crime drama, "Jack Taylor" premiered. The third and to-date latest season initially aired back in 2016. Well, a time table has been set for the release date of Season 4! Jack Taylor is coming back via Acorn TV and within the next 9 months according to the streamer in February 2019.
The private eye will return for a fourth season sometime this year on the streaming service, Acorn TV. An exact premiere date (month and day) has not been announced yet, as 2019 is the current projection per Acorn TV. Season 4 will continue following Iain Glen's charismatic character as he battles issues both personal and professional.
The season, like its previous, will be comprised of three (3) feature-length episodes. In other words, three movies! Knowing that Jack Taylor will be back and within the time frame of 2019 is phenomenal news. The series underwent some massive changes in Season 3. While missed, the show managed to not only survive but thrive in spite of them.
For those who may have yet to catch up on the series, a little background information. Jack Taylor stars "Game of Thrones" scene-stealer Iain Glen as the gruff yet loveable eponymous detective. An ex-cop, the story follows Jack as he works in the private sector of Galway, Ireland.
He investigates a different crime in each episode. Jack has been aided in those investigations by two different and equally loveable sidekicks, one in the first two seasons and a new one in Season 3. All the while sharing a complicated relationship with Officer Kate Noonan, his former colleague in the police force (Gardai) who tends to help him out.
Of note are some casting changes that take place with that role. Nora-Jane Noone plays Kate in the first two seasons. Siobhán O'Kelly took over the part in Season 3.
As stated above, episodes of "Jack Taylor" are feature-film length, so they are more like TV movies than a traditional episodic drama that runs from 45 minutes to an hour. As of now, there is the equivalent of nine movies streaming. The series is an adaptation of Ken Bruen's bestselling crime fiction novels.
Iain Glen truly gets a chance to shine front and center as the ornery, complex lead. As he does on "Game of Thrones," Glen has tremendous chemistry with all of his co-stars and the character of Jack Taylor provides him with multiple layers to play.
The way the mysteries are approached adds to the series' quality. While in pursuit of solving them, the show never loses sight of its troubled character. They do tend to trend towards the darker side of things, so keep that in mind. This is a much more intense series than Tom Selleck's also-entertaining "Jesse Stone" series.
As someone who binged the entire series (so far), shortly after Season 3 started streaming, Jack has been sorely missed. To know that he will be back sometime this year is a great comfort. However, nebulous that timeline may be, it is a release window that puts an expectation on things. Cannot wait to have Jack back!
You can currently watch Seasons 1 through 3 of "Jack Taylor" on Acorn TV.
[Featured Image by Acorn TV]
Written by Britt Lawrence
Tags: Acorn TV Streaming Spotlight television
Britt Lawrence
Britt is a freelance writer, and entertainment enthusiast with an "eclectic" taste in "pop" culture. As a freelancer, she is currently a Contributing TV News Writer at CinemaBlend. You can learn more about her by clicking her name.
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Backup metadata contains expected size of each VM. By default if backup contains more data than expected, it is rejected. Use this option to ignore this limit and restore such (broken, or potentially malicious) backup anyway.


Is there a quick-fix, one-size-fits-all solution to achieving optimum health, or can we take a more scientific approach? Beauty and lifestyle journalist Mitra Wicks finds out how to radiate health from the inside out — without all the hot air.
If our gut isn't happy, the rest of our body isn't either — including our mind. We are bombarded daily with the latest fad diet, superfood or innovative workout promising 'fast results in time for summer'. Mitra Wicks explores the issue to find out if there's a new way to approach it.
Perplexed about the best dietary approach? Keeping our beloved gut happy is the long-term key to a happy and healthy life. Nutrition and weight-loss coach Pippa Campbell explains, "What you eat can directly affect your gut bacteria, for better and for worse, and changes in your gut bacteria or microbiome can cause weight gain." The link between weight and gut bacteria is an expanding area of research, and the links with weight are shocking.
We've all heard about the merits of probiotics and prebiotics in helping to improve our gut function, but what exactly are they and how can they help us?
Probiotics are "good" bacteria that help keep the digestive system healthy by controlling the growth of bacteria that cause harm. These can be taken in supplement form or by consuming live yogurt containing lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium bacteria. Prebiotics are food for the probiotics — the more prebiotics we have, the better probiotics can do their job. Foods rich in prebiotics include asparagus, oats, legumes and bananas — a handy, office-friendly snack.
Fitness fads or game changers?
A healthy diet is one piece of the health puzzle, but fitness is just as important. However, with many of us stressed from high workloads and with little time to spare, we want solutions that work. DNA testing is fast becoming one of the most highly sought-after fitness assessments, with start- up companies promising bespoke nutrition and fitness regimes specifically tailored to your body's needs.
Parkhall based Workspace customer Leanne Spencer, Founder at Bodyshot Performance, explains that DNA testing can help remove the guesswork about the type of nutrition plan that suits you and the type of exercise to which your body best responds.
For those desiring a more bespoke, scientific approach to health and fitness, DNA testing may be the way forward, but what does it involve, and what is on offer in terms of solutions? Bodyshot Performance has created a series of products all based on the DNA test by partnering with DNAFit to offer an oral swab test that looks at 50 genes that relate to diet and fitness.
Bodyshot offers the DNA test as a stand- alone product, but it also includes blood testing (to be done at home using a finger- prick test) and wearable technology to track sleep and activity data. DNA testing may be the answer for some of our problems, but other solutions to common problems are more straightforward. Slouching over glaring computer screens and hunching over our smartphones day after day can lead to back problems, poor posture and high stress levels. A fitness routine that can help alleviate such problems is a true godsend.
In today's toxin-bashing, clean-living society, we don't just care about what we put into our body, we're concerned with what we slather all over it too. Dominika Minarovic, Co-founder of natural beauty platform Clean Beauty Co, based at The Record Hall, Workspace's new centre in Farringdon, believes that the rise of health-aware, savvier consumers has led to an increase in "cleaner", natural beauty products. "Consumers are seeking more natural, unprocessed ingredients in their cosmetics, which has given rise to cleaner formulations and more independent brands that aren't held to a commercial bottom line," she says.
Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of skincare products on the environment. is year, the UK banned manufacturers from adding plastic microbeads from everyday personal care products like face scrubs and toothpaste. ese tiny pieces of polyethylene plastic pass through water-treatment processes and make their way into the ocean, harming marine life.
It seems that diet, fitness and skincare fads come and go, but the one factor that remains consistently important is the underlying science. As our understanding of science grows, so too does our approach to achieving optimum health from the inside out.
1 Hazelnut-butter-topped oatcakes drizzled with Hive & Keeper. This is a balanced combination of protein, slow-release carbohydrates and honey — a good prebiotic.
2 Bol Foods' Japanese Salad Jar is a colourful, nutrient- dense powerhouse that provides two of your minimum five a day. Based at Westbourne Studios, Bol Foods' motto is "Eat plants love life".
3 Batch Organics' Blueberry and Almond Butter Breakfast Bowl. This Workspace customer at Exmouth House has come up with the ultimate grab-n-go breakfast: antioxidant-rich blueberries combined with heart-health-promoting oats and protein-rich almond butter.
4 Gato & Co's Chocolate & Aubergine Fondant. Enjoy this indulgent but healthy sweet treat made with gooey aubergine, spirulina, cacao and a touch of honey.
5 Nix and Kix's Mango and Ginger. Bored of plain water? This Southbank House-based Workspace company has the answer. Try a refreshing concoction of sparkling water, vitamin C-packed mango, cayenne pepper and digestion-aiding ginger.
If your business is looking for a new space, or you want to upgrade to a bigger and better office, Workspace will have just the place. If you'd like to see our list of fabulous London properties, see what we have to offer here. You can call us on 0203 930 4031or use our contact form on our site.


Long before the minimalist trainer trend of the past few years, there were Veja trainers. Simple, with a white base, squash-shoe-style sole, and that iconic V logo on the side, they are now instantly recognisable. And it's the kind of pared-back aesthetic that appeals to us, because we want to be comfortable – but not at the expense of style. Veja is the ultimate (and rare) example of a fashion brand that manages to be sustainable and cool at the same time. There's not a hint of crunchy granola in this slick operation.
All Veja shoes are made from materials ethically sourced from small producers in Brazil. The founders, who had travelled the world together, chose this location because there was a good supply of wild rubber, organic cotton and factories where 80% of workers are unionised and pay is above minimum wage. And while Veja uses vegetable-tanned leather, it offers vegan alternatives too, including uppers made from recycled plastic bottles. To this day, the brand is still aligned with those early values. It doesn't advertise. It still works with the same producers in Brazil. And it only produces what has been ordered, so that no materials are ever wasted.
We love that these chic, minimal trainers work with everything from boyfriend jeans to floral dresses, all while making us feel good about our choice to consume a product that champions ethical values every step of the way.
Best friends since high school, Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion launched Veja in 2004. Their idea was simple, but ambitious. They set out to reinvent one of the most functional items in our wardrobes: the humble trainer. They intended to fuse strong sustainable credentials with stylish design, and that's exactly what they've done.


You might be using the Google Assistant which is really insane at doing some tasks.Till now Google Assistant was only capable of Speaking and understanding English and certain other languages but was not able to understand Hindi.
But now the tech giant Google has silently rolled out a new feature by which Google Assistant on Android devices allows users to communicate with it in Hindi.
Want to enable it on your device? Here is how to do it.
To enable this you just need to change your primary language to "English India".
For this head onto settings>> language and input >> language>> select English (India).
Once you enable this , You can easily communicate with Google Assistant in Hindi by long pressing your home button or whatever gesture you have applied to your device.
However Google Assistant will reply you back in English only ( except few cases). Also, Hindi version currently doesn't support features like making calls, opening apps, or modifying system settings.


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A court security official stands guard outside a court in Shanghai.
Abuse in China''s ''black jails'': rights group
BEIJING - Chinese state agents regularly abduct citizens and detain them for days or months in secret, illegal "black jails", subjecting them to physical and psychological abuses, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
The US-based rights group in a new report called on China to shut the detention facilities, many of which it said were housed in state-owned hotels, nursing homes and psychiatric care units, and bring their managers to justice.
"The existence of black jails in the heart of Beijing makes a mockery of the Chinese government's rhetoric on improving human rights and respecting the rule of law," said Sophie Richardson, the group's Asia advocacy director.
"The government should move swiftly to close these facilities, investigate those running them and provide assistance to those abused in them."
Human Rights Watch said it had compiled the report from research carried out in Beijing and several other Chinese cities in April and May this year, including interviews with 38 people who said they were held in black jails.
The group said many of those imprisoned illegally by government officials, security forces and their agents were petitioners seeking redress from authorities over a variety of problems, from land grabs to police misconduct.
According to witnesses, guards in black jails -- the existence of which has been denied by the government -- routinely subject people to abuses such as physical violence, theft, and deprivation of food, sleep and medical care.
Two-thirds of the former detainees interviewed by the rights group said they had been physically abused, and some said they were threatened with sexual violence. Witnesses said minors were among those held.
Guards told a 42-year-old woman from the southwestern province of Sichuan that if she attempted to escape, they would "take me to the male prison and let (the inmates) take turns raping (me)," the report said.
Local officials set up the jails to ensure that petitioners who have travelled to major cities to air their grievances are detained, punished and sent home, according to the rights group.
In this way, they avoid receiving penalties that are imposed if large numbers of petitioners come from their areas, Human Rights Watch said.
"China has laws that set out how arrests and detentions should take place, but the government is blatantly ignoring those in the cases of black jails and those detained in them," Richardson said.
"A failure to live up to its own legal standards -- let alone international standards -- is not the hallmark of a government aspiring to global respect."


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Data Portal & Tools
Coronavirus Study
Park Usage during Mandated Social Distancing In New York City and Philadelphia
Thank you for your interest in Drexel University's study to better understand the role of park usage in the era of the Coronavirus and social distancing.
As people flock to parks and natural areas for refuge, recreation, and relaxation, the purpose of this research is to determine whether park usage is increasing transmission of Coronavirus. The research objective will be undertaken by employing local residents to fill out a survey over the course of approximately eight weeks. Each resident who is selected to participate in the research will be asked to fill out the survey two times per day, seven days per week (for a total of 14 entries per week). Each entry should take no more than 15 minutes and be based on focused observations made during a 30-minute observation period.
The design of the study was conceptualized as a form of economic stimulus. Participants who are approved for participation will be compensated $10/entry, for a maximum weekly compensation of $140, and amounting to a maximum of $1,120 of gross income over the full eight-week study period.
This study is currently underway with Civic Scientists in Philadelphia and New York City already collecting data. If you would like to apply to be a Civic Scientist and be added to our wait list, you can do so by clicking here.
The maps below show the parks selected for this study.
Parks Selected for New York City
Parks Selected for Philadelphia
Project Name: RAPID: Park Usage During Mandated Social Distancing
Project Funding: National Science Foundation (CBET 2027600) 4/15/20 – 3/31/21
Project PI: Dr. Franco A. Montalto, P.E.
Project Team: Dr. Bita Alizadehtazi, Dr. Seyed Nariman Mostafavi, Ms. Korin Tangtrakul
Contact: swre.research@gmail.com
WHO (World Health Organization) Information Hub about the Coronavirus pandemic: https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
Current COVID-19 situation (data visualization by WHO): https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/685d0ace521648f8a5beeeee1b9125cd
Global COVID-19 viewer: Population Estimates by Age Group and Sex (Columbia University, SEDAC, CIESIN with COVID-19 data from Johns Hopkins University): https://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/mapping/popest/covid-19/
© 2023 Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory


Flash based, instant support chat with multiple clients and multiple helper.
Market-leading online casino providers via the Single-Wallet Gaming Platform.
Cost-effective and reliable betting shop software for your land-based sports betting operations.
Edit a few lines of XML and this file will turn your own company logo into a preloader, filling it with color as it loads.
The classic Conway's Game of Life is a fascinating cellular automaton, which evolves based on simple rules of growth and decay.
Free Flash tutorials for learning introductory through advanced Adobe Flash skills.
A simple application to display quotes from an XML file.
AS3 driven unique countdown timer and clock.
Flip Image Banner/Slider is an unique image banner/slider, easy to use in any of your project.
Flash calendar with unlimited events configurable via XML file.
XML Weather Widget / Meteo Conditions World Wide / Weather Forecast.
Flash AS3 driven Slot machine game.
Facebook XML Image Transition Gallery is perfect for a Facebook Fan Page App Tab.


Modified Lugols Iodine Stomach Saver: Regular Use: Take up to ½ drop per day. Put one drop in a glass of water and drink half of it, or take according to the direction of your healthcare professional. Intensive Use: Take up to 12 drops in ½ glass of water. If food poisoning or discomfort becomes severe consult a physician. Due to regulations this Lugol's solution was modified from 4% to 2% granular iodine. Vitamin C: Each capsule provides 1667% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance. Adults and children 4 or more years of age, take one capsule daily or as directed by a healthcare professional. The capsules will turn yellow within months of manufacturing. The color change is normal and is a result of pure ascorbic acid reacting with the gelatin. Please rest assured that the product is just as good. We go for purity – not looks. Zinc: Persons 12 or more years of age, 1 capsule a day or as directed by a healthcare professional. SelenoCell Natural Selenium: Take 1 capsule daily or as directed by a healthcare professional.


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Dodgers advance to playoffs for the ninth time in a row by beating Arizona DBacks
The Dodgers are trying to catch up with the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. They matched their rivals at something huge by becoming the second team in the majors to secure their postseason berth.
Max Muncy, Trea Turner and Will Smith hit home runs in an 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks Tuesday night, the fifth in a row for the Dodgers.
San Francisco sealed its ticket to the playoffs the night before. The Dodgers certified their ninth consecutive postseason presence after earning their eighth straight win at home, aided by losses from Cincinnati and San Diego. The reigning World Series champions have swept home, where their 51-23 record sets the tone in the majors.
"It's something we can't take for granted," third baseman Justin Turner said. "At the same time, we have to focus on what is ours and what follows. Maybe that's why I had no idea that we could qualify tonight. "
The Giants threw a party after advancing to the postseason for the first time in five years. The Dodgers preferred to be discreet.
"We had a little champagne toast, a few words and there was recognition of the fact that it is a great achievement," said pilot Dave Roberts, wearing a T-shirt with the phrase "Assembled for October".
"We have a lot of work ahead of us and this is just the beginning," he added.
The Dodgers finally have all their cards from the starting rotation – led by Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer and Mexico's Julio Urías – after multiple injuries. All three are Cy Young candidates.
"You win on starting pitching and I think we have the best pitchers in all of baseball," Roberts said. "I am delighted with our situation."
Tony Gonsolin (3-1) allowed two hits in five scoreless innings, struck out six and walked two. Luke Weaver (3-5) took the loss. (AP)
You can also read: Mets acquire Francisco Lindor in mega trade with Cleveland Indians
IBF orders Derevyanchenko-Golovkin fight for vacant title
Bucks overtake Suns to one NBA title win


For caravanners visiting Port Macquarie, it really doesn't get much better than Sundowner Breakwall Tourist Park. Situated adjacent to the Port Macquarie Breakwall, there's activities for the whole family in every direction. If you're with the kids, don't expect to see them very often as they'll be too busy making friends with other caravanning kids at the nearby beach, skate bowl or playground. With the little ones amused, this'll give you the chance to head for a swim in the resort style pool, walk to the CBD or do nothing but relax in the comfort of your camping chair. Choose between powered, unpowered and pet-friendly sites at this versatile tourist park.
Just a 20 minute drive down the majestic Port Macquarie coastline is the peaceful and hospitable BIG4 Bonny Hills Holiday Park. Resting on the edge of Rainbow Beach, park your caravan at this holiday park for unparalleled beach views as far as the eye can see. It doesn't matter whether you're escaping to Port Macquarie to relax or be adventurous, at BIG4 Bonny Hills Holiday Park you can do as little or as much as you'd like. There's a range of activities for kids like a jumping pillow, playground, outdoor pool and nearby beach. You can join in on the fun with them or chill out by the caravan and catch up on some 'me time' listening to sound of the waves roll in.
Bigger holiday parks can sometimes get a bit congested, choc-a-block with caravans and kids running a muck. If you'd rather stay somewhere a little smaller and a bit more secluded, book a site at Flynn's Beach Caravan Park. This family owned and operated caravan park has been a favourite among holidaymakers for over 25 years. Don't feel like eating out? Set up camp at your site nestled among the native bushland and spend the night bonding as a family in the campers kitchen – fit with a sink, gas barbeque and plenty of seating. With such raw natural surroundings, you'll find it hard to believe you're only a short walk to the beach and five minutes from the CBD.
The Lighthouse Beach Holiday Village has everything you could ever ask for when it comes to caravan accommodation. A pool, camp kitchen, park, cafe, playground, and picnic area means you'll never be short of something to do. Do you like to dabble in a bit of golf? With a location adjacent to the Port Macquarie Golf Club you can play until your heart's content or take your loved one for some fine dining at the restaurant inside. There's also a range of other nearby activities and natural attractions, just ask one of the friendly staff and they'll point you in the right direction. After a few days of relaxing and making friends with other holidaymakers, you won't ever want to leave the Lighthouse Beach Holiday Village.
Have you stayed at a Port Macquarie caravan park before? Share your experience below.


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Q: Where $ax + b$ prime infinitely often, is $ax + b - 2$ semiprime at least once? I'm trying to figure out a way to prove this:
Given arithmetic progression $ax + b$ where $a$, $b$ coprime and $ax + b$ is prime infinitely often, it is the case at least once that $ax + b - 2$ is semiprime when $ax + b$ is prime.
I'm looking for a way either to prove it, or whether an existing theorem is already known from which this would follow.
Stated another way, given arithmetic progression $ax + b$ where $a, b$ coprime and $ax + b$ is prime infinitely often, it is at least once the case that $ax + b$ produces a $cd$ + 2 prime, where c, d are prime.  The list of $cd$ + 2 primes is A063638 on OEIS.
What we know: A Chen prime is a prime $p$ such that $p + 2$ is either prime or semiprime. Chen proved in 1966 there are infinitely many of these.
There are also infinitely many primes $p$ such that $p - 2$ is specifically semiprime (not just prime-or-semiprime). Friedlander and Iwaniec proved this in their 2010 book.
Note that I'm not asking whether $ax + b - 2$ is semiprime infinitely often.  I just need it to happen once, that $ax + b$ is prime while $ax + b - 2$ is semiprime.
A more specific version of the problem is this:
Given arithmetic progression $P(P + 2)x + (P + 4)$ where $P$, $P + 2$ are twin primes, it is the case at least once that $P(P + 2)x + (P + 2)$, i.e., $(Px + 1)(P + 2)$ is semiprime when $P(P + 2)x + (P + 4)$ is prime.
The deeper problem I'm trying to show is that it is the case at least once that $Px + 1$ is prime when $P(P + 2)x + (P + 4)$ [or, said another way, $(Px + 1)(P + 2) + 2$] is also prime.  I'm trying to use Chen's theorem as a strategy to show this--- in other words, to show that $(Px + 1)(P + 2)$ must be semiprime at least once (and so, ergo, $Px + 1$ must be prime at least once) when $P(P + 2)x + (P + 4)$ is prime.  All my efforts to prove one just leads to a tautology where I must assume the other first.
Any thoughts, suggestions or help would be appreciated.

A: 2 and 105 are coprime, so there are infinitely many primes of the form $105x+2$, but there are no semiprimes of the form $105x+2-2$ since $105=3\cdot5\cdot7.$
For your more specific problem, given some prime $P$ with $P+2$ also prime, you're looking for some $x$ with $Px+1$ and $P(P+2)x+(P+4)$ both prime. These are both linear, so this is a special case of Dickson's conjecture. I don't believe any special cases are known.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Ahh.. I'm awake again with a keener insight. I've felt far away for some time... I was heads down for about 2.5 years working with a consulting firm and learning many things about app development, systems thinking, team development, production and much more.. there's a great shift in corporate culture taking place behind closed doors. The largest corporations in the world are attempting to move toward a more human centric focus and it was nice to contribute to that new future on some level. My time in the corporate world—working in that capacity has come to an end.
My muse has been whispering in my ear again—life's mission continues—visions, sounds and new ideas pound in my head. I dove in on a new oil painting that has me very excited, along with new illustrations, stories and performance art concepts.
I have released an official manifesto for NPIC-Art which has been a long time in the making. I did research on past art movements and how it all relates and connects. I'd attribute this new understanding to "system thinking" — and my eyes having been opened to new things.


Yes, again with the carrots. Don't you like beta carotene and vitamin A? I do. And, because raw carrots make my mouth itch, I look for ways to use carrots in their fine cooked state.
This soup came out of the need to use up the same Costco maxi-bag of mini-carrots that inspired the carrot cake I wrote about last week. I've often made carrot soup using my basic vegetable soup method, but the last few times it tasted tired, and the kids rejected it, no matter how many croutons I let them pour in. This time I was determined to do something different.
By the way, I love love LOVE the Thai spice pastes available in many Asian grocery stores. They're hot, so you have to use them carefully and sparingly. The one I used looked something like this and tastes very gingery and lemongrassy.
Melt the butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute, stirring often, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and Tom Kha paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock and potato, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer, covered, until all the vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.
Puree the soup in the pot with a hand-held immersion blender. What, you don't own one of these? Run right out and get one. It is an indispensable tool. Borrow one from your neighbor and forget to give it back, if you must.
If you really can't get your hands on one (and trust me, they're not that hard to find, so stop making excuses), ladle the soup into a blender and make a mess - it's up to you.
This saves me the trouble of going out to a Thai restaurant, and it sounds delicious, too. Thanks.
My family loved this soup and my little guy commented that "this orange stuff tastes really yummy mummy!" Love your superfood crusade and am in the midst of one also, and suprisingly my family is totally loving it!! As always thankyou for your practical,delicious recipes!!
Preethi, thank you so much for letting me know that your family liked the soup - it is one of my personal favorites. I love that there are other families that like to eat the way mine likes to eat!