text:
Ted Grimsrud—3/13/11
Published in Brethren Life and Thought 55.1-2 (Winter/Spring 2010), 10-23
[Editor's Note: Ted Grimsrud, teaches theology, peace studies, ethics, and the Bible at Eastern Mennonite University. In this paper he studies ethical questions about the Mennonite "teaching position" on homosexuality, which we include in this issue of Brethren Life and Thought because many of Grimsrud's points are useful in the broader Anabaptist context, including the Church of the Brethren. In the end he struggles with the role the church plays as both the institution that demands ethical behavior and the community that offers grace.]
Numerous times over the past twenty-five years I have entered into conversations concerning issues related to our churches' response to the presence in our midst of gay[i] Christians. These conversations remain as challenging and seemingly irresolvable as ever. But they also remain as interesting as ever. And I keep learning as I engage in such conversations—about my own views and deep-seated values, about the dynamics of the conversation, and about the perspectives of my conversation partners (especially those with whom I disagree).
Certainly the conversations are complex and viewpoints are almost infinitely varied. We all bring a mixture of motivations, ethical resources, political agendas, social locations, levels of education, personal experiences, and so much more. However, as a trained ethicist, my tendencies run toward trying to provide some kind of conceptual order in analyzing these conversations. This leads me to suggest various ordering categories—not (heaven forbid!) as stable slots into which to fit various actors (so I will avoid the word "type" and instead use terms such as "tendency," "way of arguing," and "inclination")—as aids for growing in understanding (the proverbial "heuristic devices" as artificial categories that have educational value but must be held lightly).
The first set of categories I will use is meant to give us reasonably neutral terms for the two sides in the debate, focusing on issues centered in the churches. These terms are "inclusive" and "restrictive." These two terms focus on the specific question of whether a church participant's "gayness" per se should play a role in the level of involvement this participant will be allowed.
The term "inclusive" conveys an approach that would not limit the involvement due to whether the people are gay or not (this view could easily hold that the church should restrict the involvement of all people who are involved in sinful relationships, heterosexual or homosexual—the point being, though, that heterosexual couples and homosexual couples are held to the same standards).
The term "restrictive" conveys an approach that would limit the involvement of people who are presently in intimate same-sex relationships (or perhaps also those who are open to entering into such relationships). The degree of restrictiveness might vary greatly among different churches, but in all cases the basis for restriction is the gayness of the participants.
In the conversations among Christians about the place of gay Christians in the churches, we may discern several different kinds of reasoning occurring, drawing in different ways on different ethical sources. A simply way of beginning to separate out a few of these types of reasoning is to set the types of reasoning in a quadrant. One spectrum (running left to right) would be the restrictive/inclusive spectrum. The other spectrum (running up and down) would be a biblical authority spectrum (that is, a spectrum tracking various views on the centrality of the Bible in the ethical rationales that are put forth).
(R-1) Restrictive; high authority (I-1) Inclusive; high authority
(R-2) Restrictive; low authority (I-2) Inclusive; low authority
R-1: Focus on direct texts.
R-2: Focus on what seems "natural"—physical "fit," tradition, feelings of revulsion.
I-1: Start with Bible's big message, then analyze direct texts.
I-2: Focus on experiences of gay Christian—self-awareness of God's blessing
This simple chart shows us that some on the inclusive side operate with a high view of biblical authority and that some on the restrictive side draw heavily on natural theology more than direct biblical texts. Surely most who are involved in this conversation draw in various ways on both biblical texts and human experience. However, it is appropriate to challenge people to be self-aware of what type of reasoning they are tending to use.
For example, often people on both sides accept the truism that there is a direct correlation between one's view of biblical authority and one's tendency toward an inclusive or a restrictive view. However, this simply is not the case. Some who focus on general biblical themes such as hospitality and argue that the "direct texts" do not speak directly about all types of same-sex sexual intimacy (such as I do) still should be seen as ranking pretty high the "biblical authority" spectrum. On the other hand, many on the restrictive side draw heavily on natural law when they speak about how "unnatural" same-sex sexual intimacy seems or even when they speak about the centrality of the exclusive norm of male/female marriage.[ii]
The "Teaching Position" of the Mennonite Church USA
This term "teaching position" came into prominence with the publication of the "Membership Guidelines for the Formation of the Mennonite Church USA" in 2001. Section III of the Membership Guidelines focused on "issues related to homosexuality and membership," and articulated several "teaching positions"—affirming the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective (1995) and especially its statement, "We believe that God intends marriage to be a covenant between one man and one woman for life" (Article 19); affirming the Saskatoon (1986) and Purdue Statements (1987) that describe "homosexual, extramarital, and premarital sexual activity as sin;" and affirming the call from those two statements "for the church to be in dialogue with those who hold differing views."[iii]
These Membership Guidelines are treated as authoritative directives—certainly being the main basis for affirming that the Mennonite Church USA has an official "teaching position" on homosexuality. Of course, we actually have three "teaching positions" mentioned there: the affirmation of the Mennonite Confession of Faith's statement on marriage, the affirmation of the Saskatoon/Purdue statement's description of "homosexual sexual activity" as sin, and the affirmation of the call for the church "to be in dialogue with those who hold differing views."
Clearly, when Mennonite leaders use the term 'teaching position,' they are thinking of the assertion that "homosexual activity is sin." They also seem to assume that this is a clear and settled conclusion. However, given that the discussion among Mennonites is scarcely over, we would do well to think more carefully about what this "teaching position" might entail, as well as asking more foundational questions about what it's based on and how its logic works.
One of the first elements of this examination that seems obvious is the lack of detail in the stating of this "teaching position" in the formal documents. We have only a few documents that this position is based on. Centrally, we have the afore-mentioned "Membership Guidelines." These Guidelines coin the term "teaching position," but they add no new content to that position, merely citing two earlier documents, the Mennonite Confession of Faith (CofF) and the Purdue/Saskatoon statements (P/S). So we need to turn to the CofF and P/S for the content of the teaching position.
Before turning to those two documents, though, we may note one point of ambiguity in the Guidelines where the language differs from P/S. The Guidelines state, in its third "teaching position," that P/S calls "for the church to be in dialogue with those who hold differing views." The actual statement in P/S reads this way: "We covenant with each other to mutually bear the burden of remaining in loving dialogue with each other in the body of Christ, recognizing that we are all sinners in need of God's grace and that the Holy Spirit may lead us to further truth and repentance. … We covenant with each other to take part in the ongoing search for discernment and for openness to each other."
In P/S, the tone is one of fellow church members in an on-going conversation, seeking with mutual humility to continue to discern the directing of the Holy Spirit. Fifteen years later, with the Membership Guidelines, the language has become "the church" being in dialogue "with those who hold differing views." This latter statement seems to imply that "the church" and "those who hold differing views" are distinct entities, perhaps even implying that "those who hold differing views" are outside the church. At the least, the tone in the Membership Guidelines is that the issue is much more settled than it is presented as being in P/S. However, it appears that the authorization for this "teaching position" of being in dialogue is P/S. No rationale is given for the change in tone.
The first source that is cited in the Membership Guidelines is the 1995 Confession of Faith (CofF). That the CofF would be cited as the basis for the "teaching position" on homosexuality is interesting. This citation, without explanation, gives the impression that the CofF provides clear and direct teaching concerning homosexuality. However, the actual CofF does not in fact even mention homosexuality. So, here again we have an example of theology by citation more than by exposition. It's enough to cite the official doctrinal statement of MC USA with a proof text to establish a "teaching position" that then will be used by leaders to justify closing down discussion.
Let's look at the actual content of the Confession of Faith. Article 19 addresses "Family, Singleness, and Marriage." The first sentence in the third paragraph of this article, the sentence quoted in the Membership Guidelines, reads thus: "We believe that God intends marriage to be a covenant between one man and one woman for life." At the end of this sentence, a footnote reference is given to two biblical texts. The first text is Mark 10:9: "Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." This verse is part of Jesus' teaching on divorce (which here in Mark is totally rejected) and remarriage (which Jesus names as adultery, i.e., "sin" [Mark 10:11-12]). Note that the CofF cites Mark's version of Jesus' teaching, which allows for no exceptions to the forbidding of divorce and characterizing of remarriage as sin; it does not cite the slightly more relaxed account in Matthew 19:9 that does allow for a divorce exception in the case of the infidelity of the partner.
The second text is 1 Corinthians 7:10-11: "To the married I give this command—not I but the Lord—that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife." Note that the CofF ends the citation at verse 11 and hence does not include the "exception" of an unbeliever leaving a believing spouse (1 Cor. 7:15).
Based on this footnote, then, it seems clear that the thrust of the CofF sentence that begins Article 19 is on the permanence of marriage and the sinfulness of divorce and remarriage (that is, emphasizing the "for life" conclusion to the first sentence). So, not only does Article 19 not speak directly of homosexuality, the one place that may be seen indirectly to allude to "homosexual practice" (the definition of marriage as "one man, one woman, for life) clearly has in mind a different issue—divorce and remarriage.
That divorce and remarriage are in mind in the first sentence of Article 19 is made even clearer by the commentary on this Article. The commentary (which is also part of the CofF as officially adopted by the Mennonite Church USA) speaks to the divorce issue and says nothing about homosexuality. "Today's church needs to uphold the permanency of marriage and help couples in conflict move toward reconciliation. At the same time, the church, as a reconciling and forgiving community, offers healing and new beginnings. The church is to bring strength and healing to individuals and families" (emphasis added).
While we need to note that the commentary and scripture citations make it clear that the sentence from Article 19 of the CofF that is quoted in the Membership Guidelines is being misused when it is construed as a basis for an official "teaching position" concerning homosexuality, we should also notice another point the CofF makes.
The commentary softens the strictness of the CofF article and the two New Testament texts cited. "At the same time," the church is a place of welcome and forgiveness. This comment does not spell out a more nuanced approach to divorce and remarriage, but it does seem to open the door for such. One could easily draw from this commentary a basis for accepting divorced and remarried people as full members of Mennonite congregations (which, of course, is in fact increasingly the practice). The point, it would appear, is that the CofF makes a strong statement about the importance of Christian marriage, but implicitly allows for exceptions in the case of divorce and remarriage—exceptions that are not seen, in many contexts, to negate the theological affirmation of the marriage covenant as a life-long commitment. More important, we could say, than absolute fidelity to the ideal is that the church "brings strength and healing to individuals and families"—including even people who are divorced and remarried.
Could such an approach also be applied to people in same-sex covenanted partnerships? The CofF could be read in a way that would imply an affirmative answer to this question—if indeed the churches' priorities should be on bringing "strength and healing." Of course, such a reading and application would stand in tension with the Membership Guidelines' use of the CofF.
Another question we should ask about the Membership Guidelines' use of the CofF arises when we look at the introduction to the CofF, remembering that the introduction was also affirmed by both the General Conference Mennonite Church and Mennonite Church in 1995 when the CofF was officially approved by the denominations. In the introduction, we read of six ways the CofF "serves the church." That is, the CofF itself gives instruction concerning the role it is meant to serve in the Mennonite churches. This is what it says: "How do Mennonite confessions of faith serve the church? First, they provide guidelines for the interpretation of Scripture. At the same time, the confession itself is subject to the authority of the Bible. Second, confessions of faith provide guidance for belief and practice. In this connection, a written statement should support but not replace the lived witness of faith. Third, confessions build a foundation for unity within and among churches. Fourth, confessions offer an outline for instructing new church members and for sharing information with inquirers. Fifth, confessions give an updated interpretation of belief and practice in the midst of changing times. And sixth, confessions help in discussing Mennonite belief and practice with other Christians and people of other faiths."
What's missing? Anything hinting that the CofF is meant to be used as an authoritative basis for a boundary marking "teaching position"—not to mention that the CofF should not be used as the basis for such a "teaching position" on a topic it doesn't even address.
The Purdue and Saskatoon Statements
What we see, then, when we look carefully at the three bases for the "teaching position" of the Mennonite Church USA on homosexuality are the (1) "Membership Guidelines" that name this "teaching position" while providing no additional content beyond (misleadingly) quoting the (2) CofF and summarizing the (3) P/S statements. Consequently, for the content of this "teaching position" we are essentially totally reliant on the P/S statements. What do they say?
First of all, they affirm sexuality as "a good and beautiful gift of God." Thus, they imply that sexual intimacy is a good thing, a valuable element of our humanness. The P/S statements do go on to limit access to this good thing, but they do so with the benefit of doubt that there must be some other wrong that would clearly make this good thing unavailable for faithful Christians. Sex is good, we should embrace it; only if there is some other wrong involved does this good thing become wrong.
The P/S statements then list cases of the presence of wrong that is wrong enough to make the good of sexual intimacy immoral: wife-battering, premarital sex, extra-marital sex, and homosexual sex. The statements do not explain why these are wrong, presumably assuming that the rationale is self-evident. We would have a pretty easy time identifying the wrong in wife-battering, premarital sex, and extramarital sex. But what about "homosexual genital activity" as a single category? What is wrong with this "activity"?
Basically, all the P/S statements offer is a simple statement: "We understand the Bible to teach that genital intercourse is reserved for a man and a woman united in a marriage covenant and that violation even within the relationship (i.e., wife battering) is a sin. It is our understanding that this teaching also precludes premarital, extramarital, and homosexual genital activity. We further understand the Bible to teach the sanctity of the marriage covenant and that any violation of this covenant is sin." (This is the wording of the Purdue Statement, slightly changed from the earlier Saskatoon statement).
Boiled down, the P/S statement says, the Bible teaches that all homosexual genital activity is sinful. This is pretty cryptic. No texts are cited to illustrate this teaching. No clear definition of "homosexual genital activity" is given. No clarity is offered concerning other elements of the physical and emotional elements of intimate partnerships.
This statement seems to reflect the general assumptions of the common "people in the pews" that the Bible clearly is "against homosexuality."[iv] What is not often discussed is what this "against homosexuality" refers to. I will suggest three general responses to this question—all of which would indeed agree that the "Bible is against homosexuality" but draw quite different implications from that statement.
That this is a complicated discussion should be recognized first off from the fact that the term "homosexuality" is itself never used in the Bible, nor does it remotely approach any term used in scripture. The word itself is recent, and is a joining together of Greek and Latin roots. Neither biblical Hebrew nor biblical Greek has any words like this.
The places in the Bible that are generally understood to speak about "homosexuality" all make reference to specific actions, not a broad category of people (such as today's "homosexuals"). In Genesis 18—19, the story refers to men of the city wanting to "know" their male visitors (i.e., presumably have sex with them). In Leviticus 18 and 20, the commands prohibit men "laying with other men as with women." In Romans 1, Paul writes of men consumed with lust for other men. And in 1 Corinthians 6 (echoed in 1 Timothy 1), included in a list of vices, Paul mentions "men laying" (presumably with other men assuming Paul has Leviticus in mind, though the invented word for "men laying" does not specify who the men are laying with).
So, we cannot simply find a proof text where the Bible refers explicitly to "homosexuality." Rather, we have these several references to problematic things some men do. These are three common understandings of what the "Bible is against homosexuality" conclusion might mean:
1. It is believed by some that the "Bible is against homosexuality" conclusion has to do with a general condemnation of the entire spectrum of what we today would have in mind when we use the term "homosexuality," including the same-sex affectional orientation, sexual intimacy between same-sex partners in the context of marriage-like relationships, and sexual acts that are also understood to be sinful when engaged in by heterosexual people.
2. It is believed by others that the "Bible is against homosexuality" conclusionpoints toward the sinfulness of all types of same-sex sexual intimacy but not the affectional orientation. This would appear to be the view reflected in the documents said to form the "teaching position" of the Mennonite Church (USA). The Mennonite "teaching position" presents itself as biblically based and suggests that it is not the orientation but the "practice" that is proscribed by the Bible. This understanding would also be common among many on the inclusive side who would then go on to argue that the Bible being "against homosexuality" is not binding for present-day Christian ethics.
3. And it is believed by others that "the Bible is against homosexuality" conclusion should be linked with the specific kinds of activity referred to in the direct texts. This view would probably prefer language that does not use the broad term "homosexuality" but refers more specific to the actual behaviors that are mentioned—so, the Bible is against inhospitable gang rape that is used to deny hospitality to visitors (Genesis 18–19).[v] The Bible is against sexual acts that are non-procreative when the community's survival is at stake (Leviticus 18, 20). The Bible is against lustful, promiscuous sex that reflects idolatrous practices (Romans 1). The Bible is against unjust sexual practices that are economically driven (1 Corinthians 6). These are practices that are sinful for both heterosexual and same-sex couples. At least some who share this understanding would also believe that sexual intimacy that is acceptable for opposite sex partners would also implicitly be acceptable for same sex partners.
As a consequence of recognizing these three quite distinct understandings of the truthful conclusion "the Bible is against homosexuality," we must recognize that that simple statement does not provide much help for the churches in their discernment concerning the acceptability of gay Christians in the churches.
The discussion of differences regarding understandings of the phrase "the Bible is against homosexuality" may then be expanded to include another significant definitional difference with major implications for how churches negotiate our issue. This is the difference in meaning between using the term "homosexual practice" (singular) versus "homosexual practices" (plural).
The use of the term in the singular is characteristic for many who wrote in support of the restrictive approach, particularly those who were heavily influenced by Robert Gagnon's massive The Bible and Homosexual Practice.[vi] Unfortunately, none of these writers takes the time to explain why precisely they insist on the singular "practice" and what the implications of that usage are for how they address the issues and especially for how they interpret and apply the "direct texts" in the Bible said to be definitive for the churches' approach to our issue.
So, we need briefly to piece together the logic behind and the ramifications of this usage. All of these writers, even if they don't use this language, would agree that there are many "heterosexual practices" when it comes to sexual behavior. Mark Thiessen Nation, for example, writes in Reasoning Together, writes directly about the goodness of morally appropriate sexual intimacy (within the context of opposite-sex marriages). He also writes of morally inappropriate "heterosexual practices" (e.g., a friend who suffered from a sexual addiction). So, we have "heterosexual practices" (that is, occasions for sexual intimacy)—some sinful, some blessed by God as good.
However, we have only one "homosexual practice," which is always sinful. What might this mean? It would seem that what these writers must be saying is that all the various forms of sexual intimacy that might be practiced by same-sex couples fit into a single category for the purposes of moral discernment. What follows from such an understanding is the practical conclusion that since each type of same-sex sexual intimacy is an example of "homosexual practice" and "homosexual practice" (of whatever variety) is sinful, we do not need to pay much attention to what specific type of behavior is in mind when we conclude that it is wrong.
So, when we turn to the Bible, we do not need to concern ourselves with the specific context or type of behavior our several direct texts speak to. If today's same-sex marriages between two committed Christians fit into this rubric of "homosexual practice," they are wrong, just as all the allusions to "homosexual practice" in the Bible are also wrong.
We may identify two ramifications from this logic. First, since there is just one "homosexual practice," all we need to establish from the Bible is that this "practice" is condemned in order to be certain that every type of behavior that is an example of this one practice is sinful. And, clearly we may establish this condemnation from the direct texts that all are negative about this "practice." Second, we accept that "homosexual" and "heterosexual" sexual behaviors are not morally parallel. We may recognize a variety of "heterosexual practices," each with its own distinct moral status, while also recognizing only one "homosexual practice" with a uniform moral status for all varieties of behavior within this single "practice."
When we consider the other option, seeing a variety of "homosexual practices" analogous to the variety of "heterosexual practices," we can see why so many of the inclusive/restrictive conversations make little progress. This is so, at least in part, because one's understanding of whether we should be thinking in terms of a single homosexual "practice" or a variety of homosexual "practices" will greatly shape one's way of reading and applying the Bible.
Those who are more inclined to think in terms of "homosexual practices" with distinct kinds of moral status for the distinct practices (parallel to how everyone seems to think of "heterosexual practices") will put much more weight on the specific contexts for the direct texts. They may well think that texts, when read in context, actually are proscribing specific practices for men (all the direct texts that clearly link behavior with gender refer to men[vii]) that would be equally sinful for same-sex and opposite-sex couples. If so, they would reason, there is no reason not to assume, based on the Bible itself, that "practices" that are morally approved for opposite-sex couples might not also be acceptable for same-sex couples.
Turning back to the P/S statements, we also have a clause that calls the churches to "confess our fear and repent of our absence of love toward those with a different sexual orientation." This clause leads to several questions. As it stands, it is pretty cryptic. What would such a confession entail? Would the expectation be that the repentance would lead to any efforts at overcoming the problems caused by the "absence of love"? What might those problems be? Might the use of the P/S statements themselves as boundary-marking absolutes about the sinfulness of "homosexual practice" and the main basis for the "teaching position" that in practice is used to shut down the promised on-going process of conversation among fellow-church members about their different views on homosexuality itself be an expression of "absence of love"? Who determines whether the "absence of love" is truly overcome—those who make this confession or those who have borne the brunt of this absence?
A different kind of question emerges in relation to the acknowledgement of "a different sexual orientation" here. As has commonly been expressed as the intent of the P/S statements, the general sense of the statement as a whole is to combine two affirmations: 1) some people are fundamentally affectionally attracted to people of their same sex, and 2) such people are forbidden by the churches to enter into same-sex intimate partnerships (since 1987, when the P/S statements were written, the possibility of actual legal same-sex marriages has become a reality, so calling same-sex partnerships "extramarital" or "pre-marital" by definition is no longer possible in every case). These two points obviously stand in tension with one another. The tension heightens when we add to the mix the earlier part of the P/S statements that make a strong affirmation of the goodness of sexuality (with the implication I have noted that the logic of the statement seems to be that only some clear moral wrong would override the acceptance of the goodness of sexual expression for Christians).
These questions and tensions and the acknowledgment of differences within the churches ("We covenant with each other to mutually bear the burden of remaining in loving dialogue with each other in the body of Christ, recognizing that we are all sinners in need of God's grace and that the Holy Spirit may lead us to further truth and repentance." [Purdue]) leave us in a bit of a quandary. We could reject the possibility of some people having a fundamental attraction toward people of the same sex. We could nuance our understanding of the Bible's teaching on this issue to allow that some same-sex intimate relationships might not be forbidden for Christians. We could decide that the commitment to "remaining in loving dialogue" is not as important as establishing clear boundary lines and moving ahead without continuing debates. We could assume that the P/S statements were only occasional, ad hoc formulations from a past generation that no longer speak for Mennonites. Probably we will have to follow at least one of these possibilities. Many of us already have.
Certainly, though, the P/S statements alone do not provide us with much guidance (in spite of the authoritarian use of them by the Membership Guidelines). They don't give us explanations or rationales or clarity about many of the most important questions. At the heart of their message, especially as inferred in the Membership Guidelines, is a reassertion of the basic unquestioned assumption that characterizes much of the discussion on the homosexuality issue in general: "The Bible teaches …"
However, the P/S statements do not explain what the Bible teaches. They cite no texts—either about sex in heterosexual marriage or about "homosexual practice." They also do not cite any teaching documents that would explain what the Bible teaches except, a bit ironically, the "working document for study and dialogue" commissioned by the Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church, published in 1985 as Human Sexuality in the Christian Life. This citation is ironic because that book, a careful, thoughtful, 166-page treatment of a wide variety of themes (only 16 pages are devoted to homosexuality) does not support the simplistic conclusion of the P/S statements. The Human Sexuality book reflects the genuine differences in the churches on homosexuality and draws no clear conclusions on what "the Bible teaches."
Human Sexuality, a study document prepared by a large committee made up of a wide diversity of Mennonites, asserts after its survey of the "direct texts" of the Bible: "The passages reviewed above focus rather narrowly on specific homosexual acts and by themselves do not help us move toward redemptive actions."[viii] The section on homosexuality concludes with a comment that points in the opposite direction than that taken by the P/S statements: "If the church should err, let it be on the side of caring for and loving a group of people who are much persecuted in our society."[ix]
The "teaching position," as affirmed in the Membership Guidelines, lacks the nuances of the Human Sexuality study, depending solely on the P/S statements and ignoring the one official study document the ancestor denominations of the Mennonite Church USA commissioned. Instead of the careful, if brief, recognition of the complex content of the Bible on sexuality issues presented in Human Sexuality, the "teaching position" relies simply on the P/S statement that "the Bible teaches … homosexual genital activity is sin" without any elaboration.
So, the role the Bible actually plays in the "teaching position" is more as a source of authority for the global condemnation of "homosexual practice." It is the Bible's authority that matters, not careful consideration of its content in all its complexity. And the authority of the Bible here is impossible to reason with since the P/S statements provide no content from the Bible itself.
The logic of the "teaching position"
Interestingly, though, when we consider ways the logic of the position on homosexual practice actually works, we see that the Bible may not actually play as central a role as is generally assumed. Since we don't have any specific biblical content in the "teaching position," we need to extrapolate a bit in relation to other writings on this issue.[x]
But this is how the logic seems to work. The "teaching position," in a nutshell, is that "homosexual practice" is sin. That is, given the use of the singular "practice," that any possible sexually intimate relationship including fidelity in the context of marriage, is sin and hence to be rejected by the church.
Why does the church say this? The presumed answer: because it's what the Bible teaches. Though the documents that the "teaching position" affirmed in the Membership Guidelines rests on (CofF and P/S statements) don't themselves refer to any specific places where the Bible teaches this, we may learn from scholars such as Mark Thiessen Nation and Willard Swartley that texts such as Leviticus 18 and 20, Romans 1, and 1 Corinthians 6 do give us the data we need to know that the Bible condemns "homosexual practice" as sin—and that this condemnation extends to same-sex marriage.
But, in light of my above discussion on the difference between thinking in terms of "homosexual practice" (singular, different than "heterosexual practices") and "homosexual practices" (plural, parallel with "heterosexual practices"), how do we know that the "direct texts" (which everyone agrees actually do not speak directly about same-sex marriage) should be seen as support for condemning all possible homosexual practices (including same-sex marriage)?
It is impossible to say for sure. All we seem to have are assumptions. No one I am aware of who supports the view that the Membership Guidelines' "teaching position" condemns same-sex marriage has addressed the question as I have posed it. However, it does seem that for many, in actuality the basis for knowing that same-sex marriage is condemned is not only biblical authority but also what we could call general revelation (or, "natural law")—and that perhaps this latter plays a more important role than usually acknowledged.[xi] Lurking here is a strong sense that same-sex marriage must be rejected because only opposite sex marriage is "natural"—that is, capable of producing biological offspring, reflecting the way bodies fit together, and seen as normal to most people, whereas opposite-sex coupling is seen over most of history as disgusting.
So, actually, the basis for the "teaching position" may actually not only be "the Bible teaches …" but also "what seems best to fit with human experience." However, there is an important dynamic going on here that should be noticed. Once the locus moves from the direct texts toward general revelation, then much of the rhetorical force of the "teaching position" is lost. Once we are in the realm of human experience many other kinds of questions arise. How objective is general revelation? How well does general revelation work as the basis for specific moral regulations? Don't we then simply end up with a debate about human opinions?
Why should some people's opinions about what is "natural" (the way males and females fit) carry more weight than other people's opinions about what is "natural" (some people are born with both a fundamental attraction toward people of their same sex and an inclination to flourish best with an intimate partner—just like those with a fundamental attraction toward those of the opposite sex)?
The main point of the questions in the previous two paragraphs is to add to the challenge of the debates about proper interpretation of the direct texts. What seems clear in face of all these questions is that the only way through the current struggles in the Mennonite churches (and Brethren churches, and beyond) is the difficult on-going process of open community conversation and discernment.
Recognizing that the content of the "teaching position" is, in the end, as much about general revelation as it is about the direct biblical texts should push us away from any temptation to use authoritative denominational position statements to end the conversation. Rather, critically scrutinizing the Mennonite Church USA's "teaching position," as done in this essay, will hopefully offer support for a renewed commitment to respectful, honest, and safe on-going conversation that recognizes a wide variety of perspectives.
[Ted Grimsrud teachers Bible, ethics, theology, and peace studies at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia. He is the author of a forthcoming book on the moral legacy of World War II and blogs at thinkingpacifism.net. See his collected writings at peacetheology.net.]
[i] Negotiating the language debates seems like an impossible task. We can easily enter into an interminable process of defining terms and never get beyond those debates. However, the vast majority of writing on this topic tends to go to the other extreme and use complicated terms without definition. What I will try to do in this paper is define the terms I will be using without devoting much energy to defending those definitions.
Right away we face the issue of our overall rubric. I am choosing to use the word "gay" as an umbrella term for people whose primary affectional attraction is toward people of their same sex and who affirm that attraction as part of their own identity generally with the additional affirmation of openness toward entering into an intimate relationship with a person of the same sex.
[ii] Admittedly, this last statement will be contested by many on the restrictive side who cite the creation account and Jesus' quoting from that account as biblical bases for this argument. I would submit, though, that the Bible never uses its allusions to creation to make this kind of statement. The connection between creation and what is "natural" in marriage seems to owe much more to natural law than biblical teaching.
[iii] The Mennonite Church USA came into being in 2002 with the merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church. In preparation for the merger, the two merging denominations had jointly created the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, which was adopted in 1995. The Saskatoon Statement was adopted at the General Conference Mennonite Church General Assembly in 1986, and the Purdue Statement was adopted at the Mennonite Church General Assembly in 1987. They had been created cooperatively by the two denominations.
[iv] This assumption is reflected in this comment by Mark Thiessen Nation in the midst of his and my "conversation on homosexuality": "I do believe it is important that we look carefully at [the most immediately relevant passages of Scripture]. But I think one of the reasons I have shied away from offering this sort of detailed discussion of all the passages is because, in some ways, I think it is a diversion. I tend to think we would get farther if we simply stipulated that the Bible says homosexual practice is wrong. Then let's spend our time arguing about whether or not we still agree with that and why" (Ted Grimsrud and Mark Thiessen Nation, Reasoning Together: A Conversation on Homosexuality [Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2008], 207).
[v] See Marti Nissinen, Homoeroticism in the Biblical World: A Historical Perspective (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998).
[vi] See also the document issued in July 1991 by the Mennonite Church General Board, "Summary Statements on Homosexuality": "We support the several ministries in our church for assisting homosexual persons who desire … freedom from same-sex practice." Accessed on Loren John's website: <http://ambs.edu/LJohns/GLBmenu.htm>.
[vii] The one often-cited possible exception is Romans 1:26-27. This passage reads (NRSV): "Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men exchanged shameless acts with men …." We simply cannot say with certainty what the "same way" that links the women's behavior with the men's refers to here—either "consumed with passion" or "for one another." Is Paul's concern the "unnaturalness" of the women being "consumed with passion" and acting lustfully or is it the "unnaturalness" of the women having sex with other women? It could be either. One's conclusion likely follows from one's sense of Paul's overriding concern here—with out of control promiscuous sex or with same-sex sex. Strong arguments can be made either way, at least making clear that this text (the only one remotely hinting at "female homosexuality" in the entire Bible) cannot be used as a basis for the certain assertion that the Bible has in mind a "homosexuality" that equally includes males and females that it is against.
[viii] Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church, Human Sexuality in the Christian Life: A Working Document for Study and Dialogue (1985), 113.
[ix] Human Sexuality, 118. In fact one member of the committee that produced Human Sexuality later published an article where he expressed dismay of how political machinations undermined the careful, consensus-building work of the committee and resulted in a highly problematic "official" statement. See Maynard Shelly, "Compassion for Today's Lepers," Mennonite Weekly Review, 18 April 1996. Shelly wrote about the work of this committee: "We prepared reports for the church not only on homosexuality but also on the broad range of related issues from marriage and singleness to intimacy and abuse. We drew on the teachings of the Bible from Genesis to Jesus. Though we reflected differing points of view, we agreed on a statement that opened a small door for gays and lesbians to feel they belonged to our Christian family. That was our best judgment after six years of prayer and study. But the Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church General Boards rewrote out statements for Saskatoon '86 and Purdue '87. They closed the door to fellowship with our homosexual children. Politics won out over prophecy."
The GCs and MCs undertook one other sustained organized effort to gather together a representative group of congregational representatives to pay sustained attention to discernment concerning homosexuality among Mennonites. The "Joint Listening Committee for Homosexual Concerns" was formed by the two General Boards in 1990 and completed its work in 1992. The Listening Committee understood its mandate to follow from the P/S statements expressing commitment to ongoing "loving dialogue" and focused its energies on soliciting input from various church members, especially those attending the denominations' three General Assemblies that occurred during the course of the committee's life.
The Listening Committee's final report included a strong recommendation that in light of the on-going questions and disagreements they had heard from church members concerning biblical and theological understandings of the issues related to homosexuality, that the denominations "intensify … efforts to help congregations study homosexuality to discern how homosexuals can relate to the church's life and ministry" (quoted in Melanie Zuercher and Ed Stoltfzfus, "The Story of the Listening Committee," in To Continue the Dialogue: Biblical Interpretation and Homosexuality, edited by C. Norman Kraus [Telford, PA: Cascadia Publishing House, 2001], 84).
Both General Boards rejected this recommendation and decided to make the Listening Committee's final report available only to those who requested it (instead of formally releasing it). And the copies made available in this way did not include the committee's concluding sections of recommendations. (The entire report, with recommendations, was published in Kraus, ed., To Continue, 303-322; it is available on-line at: http://www.ambs.edu/LJohns/ChurchDocs.htm.)
The irony of the General Boards' decision not to pursue helping "congregations study homosexuality" in 1992-1993 may be seen when nearly 20 years later, the merged Mennonite Church USA, at its General Assembly, passed a resolution that stated, "We affirm the church's commitment to ongoing dialogue and discernment, and 'agreeing and disagreeing in love.' We confess that we as a church (congregations, conferences, denomination) have rarely found a way to create a healthy, safe environment in which to have this dialogue, one that builds up the Body of Christ, and is respectful and honest about our differences. … And so we call upon the Executive Board of the Mennonite Church USA to work with conferences to provide and encourage the use of resources which assist conferences and congregations to engage in this discernment. Our hope is for a broad range of resources that help us live faithfully, extending hospitality to all of God's people" (The Mennonite, 7 July 2009 [online at http://www.themennonite.org/issues/12-13/articles/A_resolution_on_following_Christ_and_growing_together_as_communities_even_in_conflict; accessed 5/6/10]).
[x] The two most thorough treatments of these issues from an overtly Mennonite perspective that are supportive of the "teaching position," both published by the Mennonite Publishing House and written by Mennonite seminary professors, are Willard M. Swartley, Homosexuality: Biblical Interpretation and Moral Discernment (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2003) and Mark Thiessen Nation's contributions to Grimsrud and Nation, Reasoning Together.
[xi] For an example of an openly natural law argument that closely parallels Swartley's position in his book Homosexuality see Catholic theologian James P. Hanigan, Homosexuality: The Test Case for Christian Sexual Ethics (New York: Paulist Press, 1988): "Homosexual individuals are not called to a two-in-one flesh unity because they cannot become such a unity. They can become a two-in-one-flesh unity neither ritually in the act of sexual intercourse, nor substantially, either in the new shared life in love of unity and difference that is male and female, or in the new life that is flesh of their flesh and bone of their bone" (99).
5 thoughts on "Mennonite Church USA's "Teaching Position" on Homosexuality: A Critique"
Pingback: Why I'm Packing Pink | Spacious Faith
PaulAndrewAnderson September 20, 2013 at 4:04 am
Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Palenque Texcoco January 14, 2017 at 7:50 pm
Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts
Argentina entradas de recitales June 7, 2017 at 8:35 pm
God knoweth your hearts, nice sentence
Deviaje Mexico July 6, 2017 at 12:19 pm
In the new shared life in love of unity and difference that is male and female.
Leave a Reply to Deviaje Mexico Cancel reply


I run regular drawing workshops with Sheffield Libraries with children aged 8+ which take place in various libraries and schools. I've delivered specially tailored workshops to support the Summer Reading Challenge and ASCEL project.
I also work with Doncaster Arts, providing comics/drawing workshops for children and their families (Tuesday Art Club, Big Draw festival, DN Festival).


text:
Home » Sports » Ousmane Dembele: Manchester United in talks with Barcelona over loan deal
Ousmane Dembele: Manchester United in talks with Barcelona over loan deal
by The Haitian Times Sep. 30, 2020 Sep. 30, 2020
Man Utd's £91.3m bid for Jadon Sancho rejected by Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday
United are keen to sign a winger during this transfer window and, while their first choice is Jadon Sancho, Dembele represents a strong alternative.
The 23-year-old was a club-record signing for Barcelona when he arrived from Borussia Dortmund for €105m (£95.75m) in August 2017.
He has won two La Liga titles and the Copa del Rey during his three seasons in Spain, but has been restricted to 75 appearances in all competitions by a series of injuries.
On Tuesday, Manchester United had a bid for Jadon Sancho worth up to £91.3m (€100m) rejected by Borussia Dortmund.
The offer was for an initial £73m, rising to up to £91.3m, which fell short of Dortmund's £108m valuation.
Dortmund set United a deadline of August 10 to agree a deal for Sancho, and have stated on several occasions that the England international will not be leaving now that date has passed. Continue reading
Tagged: FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Ousmane dembele

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


If you enjoy healthcare and enjoy working directly with people, an education in medical assisting will prepare you for this in-demand health care career. Many institutions offer assistance-related programs in direct patient care including dental assisting, nurse assisting, and pharmacy.
While doctors, nurses, and dentists all play a vital role in the care of peoples health, it is important not to overlook the individuals that do much of the "leg-work": The medical assistant.


It's common knowledge that the numbers of women and men working in technology are not equal. The question is how to fix it. Popular Mechanics and Cosmopolitan interviewed about 300 women and 400 men working in the tech industry to find out.


Get the sleep you've been dreaming about with this luxuriously lofty, all down pillow. Give your bedroom a boost of classic style with the dobby stripped, smooth, 400-thread count, 100% Supima cotton zipped cover.
Get the sleep you've been dreaming about with this luxuriously lofty, all down pillow. Give your bedroom a boost of classic style with the dobby stripped, smooth, 400-thread count, 100% Supima cotton zipped cover. The zip cover can be removed for easy cleaning. The pillow itself is made with a 230-thread count cover and has been generously filled with 550-fill power Hyperclean® white duck down. For a classic design feature, this pillow has an all-around white corded trim, keeping your room neat and tidy-looking.
Our Hyperclean® down has been washed up to eight times with biodegradable cleaning agents, making sure that all dust and dirt has been filtered out. Our unique cleaning process ensures the comforter will be fluffy and lofty much longer and is backed by our Allergy Free Warranty®. Our Barrier Weave® fabric is specifically designed to keep the down fill inside your pillow and not all over your room.
Standard/ Queen: 20" x 28"
Care To clean, machine wash in a large capacity, non-central agitator washer with mild soap on the gentle cycle, then rinse and spin twice. Tumble dry on low heat until dry. Dry cleaning is also recommended.


text:
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American pop singer-songwriter. She began performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side in 2003 and enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She soon signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of Akon, who recognized her vocal abilities, and signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution.
Gaga came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which was a commercial success and achieved international popularity with the singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album reached number one on the record charts of six countries, accomplished positions within the top-ten worldwide, and topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart while simultaneously peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. Achieving similar worldwide success, the follow-up EP The Fame Monster (2009), produced a further two global chart-topping singles "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" and allowed her to embark on a second global headlining concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just months after having finished her first, The Fame Ball Tour. Her second studio album, Born This Way, is scheduled for release in 2011
Inspired by glam rock artists like David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop singers such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, Gaga is well-recognized for her outré sense of style as a recording artist, in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements including two Grammy Awards, amongst twelve nominations; two Guinness World Records; and the estimated sale of fifteen million albums and fifty-one million singles worldwide. Billboard named her as the Artist of the Year in 2010 and ranked her as the 73rd Artist of the 2000s decade. Gaga has been included in Time magazine's annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as Forbes' list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world. Forbes also placed her at number seven on their annual list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women


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Q: How to execute a series of dispatchevents in javascript and wait after each one is completed I'm writing a chrome extension where I need to simulate user clicks on a webpage before pasting information into fields. The page has a listbox with onchange javascript (not mine) attached to it. Depending on the selection of the listbox the page shows different kind of information. So basically I want to execute a series of dispatchEvents.
The issue I have is that I need to wait until the onchange javascript on the listbox is done with it's thing before moving on to the next dispatchEvent in order to refer to new elements created by the onchange javascript. How do I do that?
If I just do one call like this:
elmt = document.getElementById('freightServiceSelect');
elmt.selectedIndex = 24;
elmt.dispatchEvent(new Event("change"));

it works fine. But if I then add the next call immediately after, like this:
elmt = document.getElementsByName("freightServiceAddon")[0];
elmt.checked = true;
elmt.dispatchEvent(new Event("click"));

it gets executed immediately and the element "freightServiceAddon" is at that point undefined.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Paul Howe Shepard, Jr. (June 12, 1925 – July 27, 1996) was an American environmentalist and author best known for introducing the "Pleistocene paradigm" to deep ecology. His works established a normative framework in terms of evolutionary theory and developmental psychology. He offered a critique of sedentism/civilization and advocates modeling human lifestyles on those of nomadic prehistoric humans. He explored the connections between domestication, language, and cognition.

Early life and education
Shepard was born in Kansas City and earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri. He went on to earn a doctorate from Yale, and his 1967 book Man in the Landscape: a Historic View of the Esthetics of Nature was based on his thesis. From 1973 until his retirement in 1994 he taught at Pitzer College and Claremont Graduate University.

Career
He taught biology at Knox College and established the school's Green Oaks Biological Field Station with George Ward.

Legacy
Shepard's books have become landmark texts among ecologists and helped pave the way for the modern primitivist train of thought, the essential elements being that "civilization" itself runs counter to human nature - that human nature is a consciousness shaped by our evolution and our environment. We are, essentially, "beings of the Paleolithic".

Based on his early study of modern ethnographic literature examining contemporary nature-based peoples, Shepard created a developmental model for understanding the role of sustained contact with nature in healthy human psychological development, positing that humans, having spent 99% of their social history in hunting and gathering environments,  are therefore evolutionarily dependent on nature for proper emotional and psychological growth and development.  Drawing from ideas of neoteny, Shepard postulated that many humans in post-agricultural society are often not fully mature, but are trapped in infantilism or an adolescent state.

He died of lung cancer on July 21, 1996 in Salt Lake City.

Some of his most influential books are The Tender Carnivore and the Sacred Game, Nature and Madness, Coming Home to the Pleistocene, Where we Belong, and the Others.

Selected works
Man in the Landscape: An Historic View of the Esthetics of Nature. New York: Knopf, 1967.
The Subversive Science: Essays Toward an Ecology of Man. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1969.
Environ/mental: Essays on the Planet as Home. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971.
The Tender Carnivore and the Sacred Game. New York: Scribners, 1973.
Thinking Animals: Animals and the Development of Human Intelligence. New York: The Viking Press, 1978.
The Sacred Paw: The Bear in Nature, Myth, and Literature New York: The Viking Press, 1985. Coauthored with Barry Sanders
Nature and Madness. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1992. Natura e follia, a cura di Dominique Lestel, traduzione di Francesca Frulla, Edizioni degli animali, Milano 2020 (Italian translation).
The Only World We've Got: A Paul Shepard Reader. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1996.
The Others: How Animals Made Us Human. Washington, D. C.: Island Press/Shearwater Books, 1996.
Traces of an Omnivore. Washington, D. C.: Island Press/Shearwater Books, 1996.
Coming Home to the Pleistocene Florence R. Shepard (Ed.) Washington D.C.: Island Press/Shearwater Books, 1998.
Encounters With Nature: Essays by Paul Shepard. Florence R. Shepard (Ed.) Washington, D.C: Island Press/Shearwater Books, 1999.

References

External links
 Paul Shepard Papers. Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.

1925 births
1996 deaths
American ecologists
American non-fiction environmental writers
Deaths from lung cancer
Human ecologists
Deaths from cancer in Utah

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Lying under the world famous Matterhorn (4478m), Zermatt is an idyllic car-free town, in the German speaking Canton of Valais.
Initially a modest farming village with wooden barns and cobbled streets still seen today, Zermatt offers something for everyone.
It boasts the world highest Glacial Palace ay 3,883m, and delights visitors with its charming cobbled medieval streets lined with fashon boutiques and chocolate shops.
Zermatt is famous for mountain grastronomy, using local, traditional and artisanal produce to create delicious and exclusively Zermatter cuisine.
Ecology too is important, which uses state of the art solar and hydroelectric technology to power its lifts systems and refuges.
Combined with some of the Alps finest skiing and summer hiking, it is no surprise that those in the know return to Zermat year after year.


If you're one of the estimated 4 million American gun and rifle owners, you may be carrying a significant and unnecessary risk. Owning a firearm these days exposes you to far-reaching, individual liability. Gun owners are commonly being held responsible for damages resulting from negligent or willful acts involving the use of their firearms – even if the negligent or willful act takes place after the gun is lost or stolen. As the registered owner of the gun, new laws place ultimate liability on you.
Traditional insurance companies are, now more than ever, avoiding coverage for activities or incidents involving firearms. They define these activities as extreme in nature, allowing them to be excluded from coverage – usually in the fine print.
XINSURANCE policies are designed to address this problem. Think of it as supplemental insurance protection against the gaps, exclusions and limits in your existing coverage. Best of all, since the coverage is generally supplemental, the premiums stay low and affordable – providing all the peace of mind you need to enjoy your right to bear arms. Xinsurance can design a policy for you that will be simple and meet your needs. As a field underwriter with Xinsurance my job is to make sure you have the adequate coverage for you firearm liability. Call Me Now for a free no hassle quote.


This Ramadan will be a Different One!
After breaking the fast, while still on my prayer mat, I was secretly hoping and praying that it wouldn't be the last fast of Ramadan. Somehow I wasn't that thrilled about Eid this time. I was rather withdrawn and passive. Obviously, Eid was not the reason for my distress; instead, it was the fact that Ramadan was ending.
Having understood the virtues and experienced the numerous blessings of Ramadan, I was anxious that I had not gained enough from the blessed month. "But there is always next Ramadan," I reassured myself. "What makes you so sure that you will live that long?" a part of me responded. The growing debate between my conscience and Nafs (lowly base self prone to sin) made me more uncomfortable. The ticking of the clock made me desperate, and I felt like grabbing every second of the passing time.
I started having flashbacks of what little I did the entire month, as opposed to all that I could have done to seek the pleasure of my Rabb: the voluntary deeds I could have performed in addition to the regular rituals. I felt guilty, realizing that the enemy resided within me, and that enemy was my own Nafs.
"Forget it! You don't have what it takes to be pious. If you couldn't take charge of yourself in Ramadan, when Shaitan was chained, then what chance do you have for self-purification after Ramadan?" my Nafs condemned me. Tears of regret and remorse rolled down my cheeks into my hands raised in Dua. I promised myself that if I would be allowed to witness next Ramadan then it would have to be a different one and definitely a better one.
I thought of sharing it with you all, hoping that it will be of benefit to you as well, Insha'Allah.
Make lots of Dua to be able to witness Ramadan with Hidayah (guidance), Hikmah (wisdom) and Aafia (well-being) as well as to be blessed with Barakah in your time, so that you can make the most of each day.
Regulate Your Routine. Try giving up on late nights and late mornings at least two weeks before Ramadan, in order to set your routine for Taraweeh and Qiyam-ul-Layl.
Quran Recitation. Start your Quranic recitation with understanding and contemplation at least ten days before Ramadan, so that by the end of the blessed month you do not feel the urge to rush the completion of the Glorious Quran.
Memorization of Duas. A month before Ramadan, you can try to memorize at least one new Dua every week. This way you will be able to gain more Khair during the month of forgiveness.
Grocery Shopping. Make sure that you have organized and stored all your groceries at least a week before Ramadan.
Ramadan Menu. Pre-planned menus will help you focus on more important tasks. Keep the menu as simple as possible, as it is a Sunnah to do so.
Adequate Eating Habits. Do not consume too much fried food, as it tends to lower your energy level.
Iftar Parties. If you invite people for Iftar, avoid mixed gatherings and extravagance.
Eid Shopping. Ramadan is a golden month for attaining Khair for our Akhirah, not for grabbing the best bargains at shopping malls. Do not lose this opportunity and focus on satisfying your Nafs instead. Complete your shopping before Ramadan.
Daily Checklist. Prepare a daily checklist of 'things to do' for the next day. This way, you will not be preoccupied with thoughts of mundane tasks and will be able to focus on your worship.
Supererogatory Acts. Form the habit of performing voluntary acts (prayers, fasts, charity, etc.) after your obligatory worship, in order to earn extra rewards.
Daily Dhikr. Set your practice of the morning and evening Adhkar two weeks before Ramadan. Try to keep your tongue moist with Dhikr, for example: Astaghfirullah, Subhan Allah, Alhumdulillah, Subhan Allah e Wabihamdihi, while doing routine things like cooking and cleaning. This way your ordinary tasks will turn into acts of worship, Insha'Allah.
Duas before Fajr. A month before Ramadan, try to get up just ten to fifteen minutes before Fajr. This is that part of the night when Allah (swt) descends to the lowest heaven and accepts the Duas of His slaves. How can we miss such an opportunity, such an honour?
Spiritual Boost. Assign a specific time during the day for listening to Quranic recitation or an Iman-boosting lecture to help you stay high-spirited throughout the busy day.
Lessons for Children. Invest at least thirty minutes in sharing Deen-related material with your children. Make the lesson interesting and interactive. For example, read a story from the Quran or stories of the prophets; tell them a Hadeeth and try to act on it with them; switch on a short talk by a scholar, listen to it with them and discuss what you have learned.
Sharing Blessings. Arrange your cupboards a month before Ramadan and separate the items that you have not used for over six to ten months. Neatly sort and stack them in boxes to give away in charity.
A few months before Ramadan, get your children to help you make a little charity box, so that they can learn the importance of Sadaqah and start collecting money in it. When you go for your pre-Ramadan Eid shopping, buy a few gifts for the poor and wrap them nicely to give them out a day or two before Eid. Charity expiates sins and its virtues increase in this blessed month.
Ramadan offers excellent opportunities for reaping the utmost Khair (goodness). Imagine if you were told about a clearance sale at the best mall in town; wouldn't you want to grab every valuable item in your reach? Definitely! Then why should we waste this opportunity to attain the pleasure of the One Who loves us beyond our perception?
May Allah (swt) help us make the most of our life, until we meet Him in Jannat-al-Firdaus, Ameen.


text:
Nearly 5,000 people, including some in Halloween costumes, watched the Jacksonville Armada battle to a 1-1 draw against North Carolina FC PHOTO: Neal Bennett/First Coast News
ARMADA-FC
Armada FC battles to draw in front of biggest home crowd of season
A big crowd of nearly 5,000 helped propel the Jacksonville Armada to a 1-1 draw with North Carolina F.C.
Author: Neal Bennett , WTLV
Published: 10:32 PM EDT October 13, 2017
Updated: 7:52 AM EDT October 14, 2017
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- The biggest home crowd of the season including several dressed as ghosts and goblins dressed for an early Halloween witnessed the Jacksonville Armada score a 1-1 draw against North Carolina F.C., moving the home squad temporarily into a playoff position in the NASL standings.
On a night that featured a post-match fireworks show, it was the Armada that provided early fireworks. The home team opened up the scoring in the 22nd minute, when Tony Taylor hit Zach Steinberger on a perfect cross, which Steinberger easily volleyed into the back of the net.
However, the lead did not last long as North Carolina's Renan Gorne beat Armada goalie Caleb Patterson-Sewell for the equalizer in the 36th minute, The Armada and home fans thought the goal scorer was offsides but the arguments fell on deaf ears.
Both teams had opportunities in the second half but neither team could find the back of the net.
The match drew a Hodges Stadium Armada record of 4,967.
.@JaxArmadaFC takes a 1-0 lead on a Zach Steinberger goal off a Tony Taylor cross in the 22nd minute #TeamSideline pic.twitter.com/EhgfzaNBhL
— Neal Bennett (@nbace) October 14, 2017
Jacksonville returns to action Wednesday night October 18 for a home match with F.C. Edmonton. The Armada sits in fourth place in the NASL standings, a position that would qualify them for their first playoff spot in team history. However, they are only one point ahead of the New York Cosmos, who play Saturday against Edmonton in Brooklyn, NY.


text:
import ldap
LDAP_HOST = '10.10.10.10'
USER = 'cn=admin,dc=gccmx,dc=cn'
PASSWORD = 'yourpass'
BASE_DN = 'dc=gccmx,dc=cn'

class LDAPTool:

    def __init__(self,ldap_host=None,base_dn=None,user=None,password=None):
        if not ldap_host:
            ldap_host = LDAP_HOST
        if not base_dn:
            self.base_dn = BASE_DN
        if not user:
            user = USER
        if not password:
            password = PASSWORD
        try:
            self.ldapconn = ldap.open(ldap_host)
            self.ldapconn.simple_bind(user,password)
        except ldap.LDAPError,e:
            print e

#根据表单提交的用户名,检索该用户的dn,一条dn就相当于数据库里的一条记录。
#在ldap里类似cn=username,ou=users,dc=gccmx,dc=cn,验证用户密码,必须先检索出该DN
    def ldap_search_dn(self,uid=None):
        obj = self.ldapconn
        obj.protocal_version = ldap.VERSION3
        searchScope = ldap.SCOPE_SUBTREE
        retrieveAttributes = None
        searchFilter = "cn=" + uid

        try:
            ldap_result_id = obj.search(self.base_dn, searchScope, searchFilter, retrieveAttributes)
            result_type, result_data = obj.result(ldap_result_id, 0)
#返回数据格式
#('cn=django,ou=users,dc=gccmx,dc=cn',
#    {  'objectClass': ['inetOrgPerson', 'top'],
#        'userPassword': ['{MD5}lueSGJZetyySpUndWjMBEg=='],
#        'cn': ['django'], 'sn': ['django']  }  )
#
            if result_type == ldap.RES_SEARCH_ENTRY:
                #dn = result[0][0]
                return result_data[0][0]
            else:
                return None
        except ldap.LDAPError, e:
            print e

#查询用户记录,返回需要的信息
    def ldap_get_user(self,uid=None):
        obj = self.ldapconn
        obj.protocal_version = ldap.VERSION3
        searchScope = ldap.SCOPE_SUBTREE
        retrieveAttributes = None
        searchFilter = "cn=" + uid
        try:
            ldap_result_id = obj.search(self.base_dn, searchScope, searchFilter, retrieveAttributes)
            result_type, result_data = obj.result(ldap_result_id, 0)
            if result_type == ldap.RES_SEARCH_ENTRY:
                username = result_data[0][1]['cn'][0]
                email = result_data[0][1]['mail'][0]
                nick = result_data[0][1]['sn'][0]
                result = {'username':username,'email':email,'nick':nick}
                return result
            else:
                return None
        except ldap.LDAPError, e:
            print e

#用户验证,根据传递来的用户名和密码,搜索LDAP,返回boolean值
    def ldap_get_vaild(self,uid=None,passwd=None):
        obj = self.ldapconn
        target_cn = self.ldap_search_dn(uid)
        try:
            if obj.simple_bind_s(target_cn,passwd):
                return True
            else:
                return False
        except ldap.LDAPError,e:
            print e

#修改用户密码
    def ldap_update_pass(self,uid=None,oldpass=None,newpass=None):
        modify_entry = [(ldap.MOD_REPLACE,'userpassword',newpass)]
        obj = self.ldapconn
        target_cn = self.ldap_search_dn(uid)
        try:
            obj.simple_bind_s(target_cn,oldpass)
            obj.passwd_s(target_cn,oldpass,newpass)
            return True
        except ldap.LDAPError,e:
            return False

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Thomas T. Boundas & Associates - La Grange, Illinois Attorneys. Family Law, Construction, Real Estate, Bankruptcy and More.
At Thomas T. Boundas & Associates in La Grange, Illinois we can help you deal with legal issues involving family law, construction, real estate, bankruptcy and more. Our staff takes pride in responding to your needs in a prompt manner. Our attorneys have 83 years of combined experience and provide knowledgeable representation. We serve clients throughout Cook, DuPage, Will, Kane, Kendall, and Kankakee Counties.
We understand how important it is that someone fights for your rights during divorce proceedings. Our attorneys will aggressively pursue your goals in the courtroom. At Thomas T. Boundas & Associates, we have the skills to successfully litigate on your behalf. We have experience litigating contested child custody cases and cases involving large and complex valuation of assets. Contact our office to find out how we can help. In addition to extensive divorce litigation experience, Attorney Thomas T. Boundas recently procured a $1,750,000.00 settlement in a civil matter.
In previous construction cases, Attorney Thomas T. Boundas has been involved in the litigation and appeals of cases involving multi-million dollar projects in Chicago and the surrounding counties. Our firm also focuses on commercial and residential real estate and we have closed several properties with values exceeding $1,000,000.00.
For more information on how our firm can help you accomplish your goals through please call our office at 708-352-4400 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.


The website Chinanews.com has reported that forty three fossilized dinosaur eggs were found in the Heyuan city in Guangdong province of South China. The eggs were found by the construction workers during road repair work. Heyuan has discovered dinosaur bones, footprints and eggs in its region. The city calls itself the "Home of Dinosaurs", and has also won a Guinness World Record for the world's largest collection of dinosaur eggs at its museum in 2004. These 43 eggs are now added as a new batch to its impressive collection.
It is likely that the eggs will be somewhere between 65 and 230 million-years-old, dating back to the Mesozoic Era when tyrannosaurus rex and co roamed the Earth. It is the first time the fossils have been discovered in the bustling center of the city, said Zhiqing, deputy director of the Heyuan Museum.
The experts and researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences will continue their examination of the eggs to find the species of dinosaurs they belong to. The fossils were first found in 1996 by children playing at a construction site on a river bank. After that around 17,000 dinosaur eggs have been found in the city. The eggs found in the city date from the late Cretaceous period, 89-65 million years ago.
Du said that it was possible that many other dinosaur remains would be found in sandstone beds around the city and that construction projects should be halted if fossils were found. The residents are requested to report to the authorities in case they find anything related to dinosaurs.
In 2004 a farmer in Heyuan was caught by the police. The farmer had found 557 fossilized eggs at his home and he did not report it to the authorities.


text:
Watch Cats & Dogs
Cats & Dogs is a movie that takes the viewer into the secret world of the common pets. It shows the struggle between dogs and cats as they deceive their owners into believing they cannot talk or truly understand them. In this film, cats are really evil and want humans to bow down to them while dogs are humans most trusty and loyal companions. The film revolves around the Brody family who is trying to find the cure to all types of dog allergies. The cats do not want this to happen and will try whatever it takes to stop it.
In one scene, a specially trained and deadly kitten is taken into the home of the Brody family to steal the formula for the cure, but Lou, the Brody's beagle puppy is watching the feline. The small puppy was brought into this secret war between cats and dogs by accident and now it is up to him to protect that formula at all costs, but during this scene, the clever kitty has the dog put outside.
Cats & Dogs is an Comedy, Kids & Family movie that was released in 2009 and has a run time of 1 hr 27 min. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.1 and a MetaScore of 47.
Where do I stream Cats & Dogs online? Cats & Dogs is available to watch free on IMDb TV and stream, download, buy on demand at Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, iTunes, YouTube VOD online. Some platforms allow you to rent Cats & Dogs for a limited time or purchase the movie and download it to your device.
Comedy, Kids & Family
Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins, Alexander Pollock, Miriam Margolyes
Lawrence Guterman
Ed Jones, Christopher de Faria, Andrew Lazar, Craig Perry, Warren Zide
More Like Cats & Dogs
The Road to El Dorado
Hoodwinked!
Hotel for Dogs
Also starring Jeff Goldblum
Spinning Boris
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Adam Resurrected
Transylvania 6-5000
Shooting Elizabeth
The Tall Guy
One of the Hollywood Ten
Also starring Elizabeth Perkins
Moonlight and Valentino


The four Ghostkiller Guildsmen climb the steps of the ostentatious Town Hall. The building was gilded and heightened during the Pirate Conquest to resemble a Pirate palace. After recapturing the town, the Wizards' architects could not bring themselves to undo the splendid renovation. Giant doors open into an impressive pillared court.
An unimpressive halfling clerk is seated at a desk in a corner of this space. He asks the Adventurers to sit down as he checks over their Guild documents.
"Ghostkillers. A dangerous line, even for Guild Adventurers. Hm, quite new I see. But at least you are a complete team. Even a Sparks, good, good. But, I hope you don't take too many risks... "
He outlines the mission. In return for a certificate waiving taxes on any loot taken from the District for the next month, they are to travel to the village of Thirdangel and meet the priest at the local temple. The villagers are pestered by skeletons and ghouls . The priest will ask them to clear the place of the undead threat. A stipulation of the quest is that they agree to lodge at the temple, and keep a good distance from villagers except for essential services.
"If you agree to this task-remember you do not have to, and you can return at any time- sign here. Any reasonable services-simple food and drink, blacksmithing, tailoring, fletching-will be covered by our Town Hall. Anything fancy should come out of your own pocket. "
Any questions you want to ask the clerk? The halfling seems a bit hesitant about the team taking on the mission. Halflings are softhearted, so perhaps he is just worried about your newb status.
As always remember to roll when you post (diplomacy, sense motive, bluff, notice, etc.) if you want to achieve something tangible. I can always ignore a roll if it doesn't fit.
Jaer gives the halfling a small, wry smile while he examines the papers. "You worry too much-" he looks at the small plaque with the man's name on the desk, "-Arry. We appreciate it, of course, but you'll go grey soon if you keep it up, eh?"
The name is signed with a flourish, the scripture fancy and flowing, a remnant of his mother's writing lessons. She had always wanted Jaer to remember his ancestry, and Elves like to write 'all fancy-like and stuff'.
"Say," he passes the documents to one of his companions with a distracted movement, his elbows on the desk, "should we be worried about the number of dead people walking? Or maybe the quality? Something we should need to know?"
Jaer's eyes scan Arry's face in a lazy pattern, speaking more of curiosity than calculation. Is this halfling sending them to their death? Is he hiding something from them? Jaer wouldn't care if the mission ends up more exiting than expected --a plus on his books, really-- but mother pounded the need to be suspicious of worried strangers on his rather thick head since he was old enough to talk. Never was too much good at it, though.
OOC: Hope you don't mind if I name the halfling? Also, how do you do the blue box thingy? Looks super neat.
Thanks for essaying a sense motive roll; 9 not quite enough but along the right lines in terms of play style.
But -this is how I have foxed the editor here- instead of round parentheses ( and ) use square brackets [ and ] for both tags.
Yuck slouches before the table, his great knobby club perched on his shoulder. A few flies buzz around his head, but he appears not to notice.
"Cor!", he exclaims. "No taxes AN' free chow? 'At's a sweet deal!" He snorts loudly, hawks, tilts his head a bit as though in thought, nods, and swallows. He takes up the pen, and scrawls his name on the paperwork.
That's when the smell hits Arry.
Malkin flips over the documents, and a friendly smile shows on his face, but there is a slight tightness around his eyes and cheeks that just might suggest a hint of nerves. As Yuck lets out his outburst, his smile perks up more at the edges and a twinkle shows in his eyes.
He looks warmly at Arry and asks, "Why the need to keep away from the villagers? Anything not in that paperwork that you've heard?"
The clerk blinks at the gamey stench of the Tusk Opener. Anxious to be quit of his desk he leads the two more "respectable" Adventurers, Malkin and Jaer, to a quiet booth. He speaks quietly, careful not to be overheard.
"I remember the letter. The priest explained that last winter a band of Adventurers known as the "Jovials" stole from the village. The locals are wary now of Guild parties so he wishes to restrict visiting Adventurers to the temple. It seems plausible. The Jovials are a rough bunch. But I must share something. This is his third letter this year requesting Guild Adventurers. The first made the same request for undead clearance. The second complained about an owlbear menacing the place."
"I am worried about two things! Firstly, the previous parties, the Jovials and the Last Men Standing, were seasoned. They should have cleared the place of perils. Secondly-neither party checked in here on the way back. Guild parties usually do in case I issue a bonus for good work."
"I'd like to ask you to go to the village and find out what happened. If you discover they didn't make it out, pen me a note. I'll send an agent with you to bring the message home. I reveal this to you because I can sense you are persons of taste and discretion..."
It is still dark when they are greeted by a ragged beggar who offers to accompany the party to Thirdangel. He leads them into the gloom of the wintry forest.
Make a Fort Save DC15 to see if you manage a fast hustle to the village. If any one roll fails (quite likely) you'll have to camp out for one night (alternatively, walk in the dark).
If you have any useful foresty skills (notice , survival, say) you can use them to add a bit of flavour to the journey.
Malkin arranges his gear carefully as the group starts their trek, slinging his shield over his back and letting his crossbow hang from his side for easy access. He holds his spear like a walking stick as they move, the miles flowing as he strides smoothly ahead.
He looks over at their ragged guide and asks, "Have you made this journey recently? I haven't made this trip before, anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated?"
Jaer adjust his wide-brimmed hat, and his eyes move all around them. The lighting is rather poor, but he doesn't mind. His eyes are sensitive enough to light that he has no problems seeing. Useful, even if he'll have to shield them from the glare of the sun later on.
His boots crunch silently with every step he makes, the backpack sits heavy on his back and he just knows he'll have blisters on his feet the next day. It's all worth it, in his opinion, if only for the adventure ahead of him.
There's a smile on his face, wide and happy and excited, and he's watching the plants of the forest with wide, cheerful eyes.
*reads promise of extra rolls for good roleplaying* *flexes writer muscles* Like this, boss?
Despite his bulk, Yuck appears to be no stranger to forced marches. He churns along the trail, the white plumes of his breath steady but not hurried. Stray flakes of snow from the white canopy above them settle on his frayed and mismatched gear: a dented breastplate, a worn backpack, a dagger whose leather-wrapped handle is coming loose.
He looks along the side of the trail. "Deer, rabbit", he says. "Dere's some good eatin' 'ere". His prodigious stomach rumbles in the affirmative.
Three luck points awarded. One peril point assigned. I'm awarding one luck point to each of the three players for role-playing and making the forced march rolls. I'll keep a record of these, as a pool that anyone can use to re-roll any roll. For every three points I award to you I'll mark up a peril point that monsters can use in the same way.
They have made it! All day, with only the briefest of breaks, they have shuffled along wending forest trails . Sometimes the path has been covered with snow. Here in the deeper, warmer part of the woods there is no snow underfoot. Only leafless trees and a slate grey sky. The peddlar-guide smiles approvingly. By arriving at the village before dusk they have dodged the need for a dangerous night under bivouac.
OOC: Recycling Yuck's survival roll.
As they near the village clearing, Yuck notices fresh tracks-the distinctive split-toed boots worn by hunting Tusks. He follows them to spy four of the creatures crouching in the nettles at the forest edge, overlooking the village. They are flicking arrows onto the roofs, frightening the folk within.
OOC: Deepforest Tusks are always hostile to humans and especially elves. So I'll assume an attack here.
Yuck can return stealthily to the party and whisper what he has seen. Everyone roll stealth DC15 to get close enough to the Tusks to charge , shoot or use a spell with surprise. Again lowest roll counts for the purposes of their detection.
Also roll an attack (shoot, charge or fire spell) versus the Tusks, who are AC 16, 14 if surprised and flat-footed. hp 17 (1d10+7) . We can refer to them as T#1, T#2, T#3 and T#4.
I'll roll party initiative for the two sides now. Adventurers on +6 based on a hand-waved calculation that uses fastest character bonuses. Looks like Adventurers will go first with or without surprise.


text:
Cambodia's tourism earns 3.4 bln dollars in 2016: PM
PHNOM PENH, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Monday that the kingdom's tourism sector earned gross revenue of 3.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2016.
The Southeast Asian nation attracted 5 million international visitors last year, a 5-percent rise year-on-year, according to a tourism data. Among them were 830,000 Chinese, accounting for 16.6 percent of the foreign tourists to Cambodia last year.
"We predict that Cambodia will welcome 5.4 million foreigners in 2017 and up to 7 million in 2020 with estimated revenue of 5 billion U.S. dollars," the prime minister said during the National Clean City Day.
He said that tourism industry currently provides some 620,000 direct jobs and the number of jobs will reach 1 million in 2020.
Meanwhile, Hun Sen said that the country's peace and political stability were the prerequisites for the attraction of tourists.
"Tourists will not risk their lives to visit dangerous or war zones..., so maintaining peace and political stability and preventing terrorism from happening in Cambodia are very important," he said, vowing to maintain the country's peace "at any cost".
Cambodia is famous for the 12th century Angkor Archeological Park in northwestern Siem Reap province. Besides, it has a 450-km pristine coastline stretching across four provinces in the country's southwestern part.
Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting the economy. The three other pillars are garment export, real estate and construction, and agriculture.
Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
[Editor: huaxia]


text:
  param(
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [string]$OfficeDeploymentPath,

	[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
	[String]$ConfigFileName = $NULL,

    [Parameter()]
    [bool]$WaitForInstallToFinish = $true,

    [Parameter()]
    [bool]$InstallProofingTools = $false,

    [Parameter()]
    [bool]$InstallLanguagePack = $false
  )

Begin {
    Set-Location $OfficeDeploymentPath
}

Process {
    $scriptPath = "."

      #Importing all required functions
    . $scriptPath\Edit-OfficeConfigurationFile.ps1
    . $scriptPath\Install-OfficeClickToRun.ps1
    . $scriptPath\SharedFunctions.ps1

    $officeProducts = Get-OfficeVersion -ShowAllInstalledProducts | Select *
    $Office2016C2RExists = $officeProducts | Where {$_.ClickToRun -eq $true -and $_.Version -like '16.*' }

    if(!$Office2016C2RExists){
        [string]$configFilePath = "$scriptPath\$ConfigFileName"
        [string]$targetFilePath = "$env:temp\configuration.xml"

        if (!(Test-Path -Path $configFilePath)) {
            throw "Cannot find Configuration Xml File: $ConfigFileName"
        }

        Copy-Item -Path $configFilePath -Destination $targetFilePath -Force

        [string]$UpdateSource = (Get-ODTAdd -TargetFilePath $targetFilePath | select SourcePath).SourcePath
        [string]$Bitness = (Get-ODTAdd -TargetFilePath $targetFilePath | select OfficeClientEdition).OfficeClientEdition
        [string]$Channel = (Get-ODTAdd -TargetFilePath $targetFilePath | select Channel).Channel

        if($UpdateSource) {
            if ($UpdateSource.StartsWith(".\")) {
               $UpdateSource = $UpdateSource -replace "^\.", "$scriptPath"
            }
        }

        $UpdateURLPath = $NULL
        if ($UpdateSource) {
          if (Test-ItemPathUNC -Path "$UpdateSource") {
             $UpdateURLPath = "$UpdateURLPath\$SourceFileFolder"
          }
        }

        $languages = Get-XMLLanguages -Path $targetFilePath

        if ($UpdateSource) {
            $ValidUpdateSource = Test-UpdateSource -UpdateSource $UpdateSource -OfficeLanguages $languages -Bitness $Bitness
            if ($ValidUpdateSource) {
               if ($InstallLanguagePack) {
                   Set-ODTAdd -TargetFilePath $targetFilePath -SourcePath $UpdateSource -Channel $Channel | Out-Null
               } else {
                   Set-ODTAdd -TargetFilePath $targetFilePath -SourcePath $UpdateSource -Channel $Channel | Set-ODTUpdates -Channel $Channel -UpdatePath $UpdateURLPath | Out-Null
               }
            } else {
               throw "Invalid Update Source: $UpdateSource"
            }
        }

        Install-OfficeClickToRun -TargetFilePath $targetFilePath -WaitForInstallToFinish $WaitForInstallToFinish -InstallProofingTools $InstallProofingTools
    }
}


For travelers who stay on Bali and want the visit to Gili islands, this day tour is highly recommended. Once you go will see why it's recommended! This a great day trip to experience Northcoast Lombok Gili islands in 2 days. We go to the north by boat visit Gili Trawangan island a good place to start your snorkeling trip and visit 3 spot snorkeling. Along the way, you will see beaches and hill view with awesome sight.
You will get breakfast, then free activity or rest and have lunch and do preparation or packing. A cross over to Bali island by fast boat and drive to your hotel in Bali. The tour ends.
Bring a change of clothes for use after activities, swimsuit, and Towel, Hat, sunglasses, sunblock, money for extra drinks.


Hello My beautiful people! Its your favorite life coach, Life Coach Sherry and I am a survivor of domestic abuse and a co-dependent coach. I was in a relationship with a sociopath Narcissist for 7 years and I was raised by a sociopath Narcissist. It is my mission to bring awareness to Narcissistic abuse but more importantly assist avail other women to gain unbreakable healings. For so many women life is just beginning. After we leave, we need to know whats next and how to trust ourselves now. I am here to Coach you into construction for your new life and perspective of yourself. as my model said Healing is priority so firstly I will take you on a healing retreat with in yourself from childhood to adult and then we will structure a new life and purpose. exciting right? it wont be easy but you will find a boundless fire with in your new freedom.


For a huge screen like this, getting a pixel density of 312 ppi is really good.
Anonymous, 05 Jan 2019 For the exact same price, i can buy either Htc A9 or Htc M8.
The ME is typically HTC: excellent build quality, minute attention to detail and a superb feel in the hand.The HTC One E9 dual sim adapts the iconic look of the award-winning HTC One series with new metallic accents and a chamfered edge.
Compare HTC One M9 Plus prices in India, See HTC One M9 Plus Specifications, Reviews, Offers and Deals and Buy online across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.
As of publication, I have had the HTC One M8 (Sprint edition) for about four weeks, which I consider a decent amount of time to do a review.
The device incorporates a 32GB internal storage that saves tons of digital data.
The HTC One X was one of the most talked about announcements that came out of MWC back in February.
Following a number of leaks which occurred during the months prior, the second-generation One was officially unveiled in a press conference on March 25, 2014, and released the same day by Verizon Wireless. For HTC, 2011 was sometimes considered a write-off: what looked to be a promising year with an early 4G lead saw the company overwhelmed by Apple and Samsung, and even by its own at times confusing lineup with problematic phones like the Thunderbolt. Unlike the all-aluminum designs that HTC has used for its high-end phones since 2013, the U Ultra has a new glass-and.
Jen Edwards brings us a review of this Android OS-based smartphone. Its refined mirrored polish creates an unrivalled look all your own.
The HTC One M9 is to the One M8 what the iPhone 5S is to the iPhone 5.Best price for HTC One is Rs. 45,500 as on 15th January 2019.The HTC Sense experience has now extended from the device to the Web.I had an Asus zenbook laptop as well and they went together well.The HTC One A9s mobile unlocks with a finger touch, performs actions with simple gestures with high speed and smoothness.
You can always increase this available space by adding a microSD card of 128GB in the provided slot.To start with a positive, the U Ultra is an eye-catching, attractive device. Review and Buy HTC ONE - 32GB, 4G LTE, Black at the best price and offers in Dubai - UAE at Souq.com. Shop Mobile Phones Online From HTC.
The camera on the HTC One M8 has plenty of settings that you can tweak depending on the type of pictures, lighting, or any other variable that.BoomSound debuted with the HTC One M7, way back in 2013, and is still present today, although the meaning has changed a bit.
Display HTC One X 4G comes with a huge 4.7 inch screen that has a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels.
You can read the opinion of each user and how they rate the phone in 11 categories.Fueling this incredible performance are MediaTek Helio P10 processor, with Boost Plus feature of its powerful 2300mAh battery.
Thin, light, premium: the HTC One E9 dual sim is built to stand out while fitting in.The HTC EVO 4G is a powerhouse of a phone, packed with high-end features like a 4.3-inch touchscreen, 1 GHz processor, 8 MPx camera, and the 4G wireless standard WiMAX.


text:
It takes a (global) village to raise a blockchain. The live network and the community of open source developers contribute significantly to this effort. They continuously refine and harden the Ethereum platform, helping it get faster at responding to industry demands for the value propositions it offers. These investments of time and resources speak to their faith in Ethereum governance and the value that businesses and developers see in its capabilities. – Joseph Lubin, CEO of Consensys
The first decentralized cryptocurrency, bitcoin, was created in 2009 by pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto. It used SHA-256, a cryptographic hash function, as its proof-of-work scheme.[14][15] In April 2011, Namecoin was created as an attempt at forming a decentralized DNS, which would make internet censorship very difficult. Soon after, in October 2011, Litecoin was released. It was the first successful cryptocurrency to use scrypt as its hash function instead of SHA-256. Another notable cryptocurrency, Peercoin was the first to use a proof-of-work/proof-of-stake hybrid.[16]
Markets are dirty. But this doesn't change the fact that cryptocurrencies are here to stay – and here to change the world. This is already happening. People all over the world buy Bitcoin to protect themselves against the devaluation of their national currency. Mostly in Asia, a vivid market for Bitcoin remittance has emerged, and the Bitcoin using darknets of cybercrime are flourishing. More and more companies discover the power of Smart Contracts or token on Ethereum, the first real-world application of blockchain technologies emerge.
^ Jump up to: a b c d "Statement of Jennifer Shasky Calvery, Director Financial Crimes Enforcement Network United States Department of the Treasury Before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance Subcommittee on Economic Policy" (PDF). fincen.gov. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. 19 November 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, four of the 10 biggest proposed initial coin offerings have used Switzerland as a base, where they are frequently registered as non-profit foundations. The Swiss regulatory agency FINMA stated that it would take a "balanced approach" to ICO projects and would allow "legitimate innovators to navigate the regulatory landscape and so launch their projects in a way consistent with national laws protecting investors and the integrity of the financial system." In response to numerous requests by industry representatives, a legislative ICO working group began to issue legal guidelines in 2018, which are intended to remove uncertainty from cryptocurrency offerings and to establish sustainable business practices.[50]
After much debate, the Ethereum community voted and decided to retrieve the stolen funds by executing what's known as a hard fork or a change in code. The hard fork moved the stolen funds to a new smart contract designed to let the original owners withdraw their tokens. But this is where things get complicated. The implications of this decision are controversial and the topic of intense debate.
Until relatively recently, building blockchain applications has required a complex background in coding, cryptography, mathematics as well as significant resources. But times have changed. Previously unimagined applications, from electronic voting & digitally recorded property assets to regulatory compliance & trading are now actively being developed and deployed faster than ever before. By providing developers with the tools to build decentralized applications, Ethereum is making all of this possible.


Our Executive Rooms are beautifully finished with contemporary touches and elegant artwork that pays homage to the building's Art Deco past. Presented in majestic 1920s décor, each Executive Room has a king-sized bed and features integrated room controls with an assortment of luxury amenities for your comfort and convenience. The Executive Room en-suite bathroom is finished in Arabescato Corchia marble from the Cararra region of Italy and features a walk-in shower with Hermès Eau d'Orange Verte toiletries for complete home-from-home comfort.