text:
"that which ye have already hold fast" Revelation 2:25
sad divisions that make us lose the fair scent of the Rose of Sharon
"One day when he [Samuel Rutherford] was preaching in Edinburgh," says Robert Woodrow, "after dwelling for some time on the differences of the day, he broke out with: 'Woe is unto us for these sad divisions that make us lose the fair scent of the Rose of Sharon', and then he went on commending Christ, going over all his precious styles and titles about a quarter of an hour; upon which the laird of Glanderston said, 'Ay, now you are right; hold you there'."
Rutherford mentions the same concern - that sad times and energy in combating divisions and defections may cloud the loveliness of Christ if we are not careful - in the Trial and Triumph of Faith. He says,'the truth is, while we endeavour to gain a grain-weight of truth, it is much if we lose not a talent-weight of goodness and Christian love'. Rutherford was such a resolute defender of the truth, however, out of devotion to Christ as King and Head of the Church. We ought not to run to the other danger of abandoning any contention for the faith and the truth because there is a temptation that we may not keep it in balance with everything else.
Rutherford is very wise in his counsel. He says that we need to keep the glory of Christ in view together with the condition of the times so that we know what we are contending for. It is lack of love for Christ that hinders faithful contending. 'Christ hath too many occasional friends; but the ground of all is this, "I love Jesus Christ, but I have not the gift of burning quick for Christ." Oh, how securely should faith land us out of the gun-shot of the prevailing power of a black hour of darkness! Faith can make us able to be willing, for Christ, to go through a quarter of hell's pain'. We also need to view free grace lest we think of ourselves more highly than we ought and think that we earn something by faithful contending.
Listen to Rutherford's commendation of the Rose of Sharon.
Should Christ, the condition of affairs we are now in, the excellency of free grace, be seen in all their own lustre and dye, we should learn much wisdom from these three. Christ speedeth little in conquering of lovers: because we have not "seen his shape at any time," we look not upon Christ, but upon the accidents that are beside Christ; and therefore, few esteem Christ a rich pennyworth. But there is not a rose out of heaven, but there is a blot and thorn growing out of it, except that one only rose of Sharon, which blossometh out glory. Every leaf of the rose is a heaven, and serveth "for the healing of the nations;" every white and red in it, is incomparable glory; every act of breathing out its smell, from everlasting to everlasting, is spotless and unmixed happiness. Christ is the outset, the master-flower, the uncreated garland of heaven, the love and joy of men and angels. But the fountain-love, the fountain-delight, the fountain-joy of men and angels is more; for out of it floweth all the seas, springs, rivers, and floods of love, delight, and joy. Imagine all the rain and dew, seas, fountains, and floods, since the creation, were in one cloud, and these multiplied in measures, for number to many millions of millions, and then divided in drops of showers to an answerable number of men and angels;—this should be a created shower, and end in a certain period of time; and this huge cloud of so many rivers and drops, should dry up, and rain no more. But we cannot conceive so of Christ: for if we should imagine millions of men and angels to have a coeternal dependent existence with Christ, and they eternally in the act of "receiving grace for grace out of his fullness," the flux and issue of grace should be eternal, as Christ is. For Christ cannot tire or weary from eternity to be Christ; and so, he must not, he cannot but be an infinite and eternal flowing sea, to diffuse and let out streams and floods of boundless grace. Say that the rose were eternal; the sweet smell, the loveliness of greenness and colour must be eternal.
Oh, what a happiness, for a soul to lose its excellency in His transcendent glory! What a blessedness for the creature, to cast in his little all, in Christ's matchless all-sufficiency! Could all the streams retire into the fountain and first spring, they should be kept in a more sweet and firm possession of their being, in the bosom of their first cause, than in their borrowed channels that they now move in. Our neighbourhood, and retiring in, to dwell forever and ever in the fountain-blessedness, Jesus Christ, with our borrowed goodness, is the firm and solid fruition of our eternal happy being. Christ is the sphere, the connatural first spring and element of borrowed drops, and small pieces of created grace. The rose is surest in being, in beauty, on its own stalk and root: let life and sap be eternally in the stalk and root, and the rose keep its first union with the root, and it shall never wither, never cast its blossom nor greenness of beauty. It is violence for a gracious soul to be out of his stalk and root; union here is life and happiness; therefore the Church's last prayer in canonic Scripture is for union, (Rev. 22:20.) "Amen: Even so, come, Lord Jesus." It shall not be well till the Father, and Christ the prime heir, and all the weeping children, be under one roof in the palace royal. It is a sort of mystical lameness, that the head wanteth an arm or a finger; and it is a violent and forced condition, for arm and finger to be separated from the head. The saints are little pieces of mystical Christ, sick of love for union. The wife of youth, that wants her husband some years, and expects he shall return to her from oversea lands, is often on the shore; every ship coming near shore is her new joy; her heart loves the wind that shall bring him home. She asks at every passenger news: "Oh! saw ye my husband? What is he doing? When shall he come? Is he shipped for a return?" Every ship that carrieth not her husband, is the breaking of her heart. What desires hath the Spirit and Bride to hear, when the husband Christ shall say to the mighty angels, "Make you ready for the journey; let us go down and divide the skies, and bow the heaven: I will gather my prisoners of hope unto me; I can want my Rachel and her weeping children no longer. Behold, I come quickly to judge the nations." The bride, the Lamb's wife, blesseth the feet of the messengers that preach such tidings, "Rejoice, O Zion, put on thy beautiful garments; thy King is coming." Yea, she loveth that quarter of the sky, that being rent asunder and cloven, shall yield to her Husband, when he shall put through his glorious hand, and shall come riding on the rainbow and clouds to receive her to himself.
Posted by MAV at 8:41 am Links to this post
Labels: samuel rutherford
schism undoubted in the body of Christ
Although Carl Trueman seems to have a more shrewd insight into what makes the Church of Scotland evangelical tick, several Free Church ministers here, here and here are inviting them over to the Free Church, in some cases with a glimmer of a promise of relaxed distinctives. Some of the comment makes reference to the scandal of schism. Yet it seems strange that only last week the Free Church General Assembly approved the December Commission of Assembly's removal of the suspension of the Free Church (Continuing) Ministers in 2000. We have no affiliation to either but the matter is extremely baffling. What is strange is that it was expressly stated: "strictly on the grounds that the FCC is a denomination distinct from and separate from the FCS as affirmed in the judgment of the Court of Session in the finding referred to above." "Were these men not now a separate and fully-operative church apart from the FCS there would be good reason for regarding their suspensions as still valid and such action as proposed here for the FCS to take would not be called for". The logic is impenetrable. It is strange because it is unclear how ecclesiastical discipline can be lifted purely on the basis that the parties are now in a separate denomination. Does this not give open licence to anyone to become a fugitive from discipline in that simply because they are within a different denomination? Does it not also undermine the church discipline if censures can be lifted without repentance on the behalf of the parties involved? This is acknowledged as a difficulty but said to be only a temporary departure from the principle that evidence of repentance is due from parties under discipline prior to their being restored. Not only this but it is expressly said that it is difficult to see how these suspensions can have any meaningful purpose for the FCS now, although this is not to admit that they were inappropriate when imposed'.
The FCS does not see the fact that the FCC is in direct competition as a censurable offence either. "The fact that the FCC may still claim to be the FCS, and thus the rightful successors to the 1843 Free Church, should not be regarded by the FCS as a barrier to removing the suspensions or undertaking any of the other proposals set out in this report".
All of this, apparently, should demonstrate that "the FCS will show publicly that they value highly the unity of Christ's visible church and the interests of the gospel". Rather than recognise a schism and seek to heal it, they believe the best way to heal it is to recognise the other party as a separate denomination and this apparently removes the schism and restores peace. The fact that they go on to dwell upon resolving property issues shows that this motivation lies behind this action.
We can see how very far Scottish Presbyterianism has drifted from the true concern of the Westminster Divines and the Second Reformation, represented by James Durham, Samuel Rutherford and George Gillespie for the unity of the visible Church. Most presbyterian denominations in Scotland with their constant cycle of fraternal niceties seem to think that this constitutes unity and smoors over the fact of schism. The Westminster Divines were of an entirely different view. As James Walker records, when the Independents proposed to the Westminster Assembly a friendly co-existence and occasional communion, it was resolutely declined with the explanation. "That will be no plain and total separation," said the former ; "we shall be working substantially towards the same end." "So,"it was answered, "might the Donatists and Novatians have pled, and indeed almost all the separatists who have figured in the Church's history. Such separation was unknown in the apostles' time, unless it were
used by false teachers : all who professed Christianity then held communion together as one Church. If you can join with us occasionally in acts of worship, you ought to act with us in joint communion, not in separated congregations. God's way of revealing truth to such as are otherwise minded, is not by setting men at a distance from each other. That you should be a distinct Christian organization, taking members from our Churches who may have scruples of conscience, is schism undoubted in the body of Christ."
Posted by MAV at 5:04 pm Links to this post
Labels: The Church
CofS General Assembly requires evangelicals to sin
This is what is behind the accurate Scotsman headline 'Kirk orders ban on gay minister debate'. Evangelicals adhere to what the ordination service in the Church of Scotland outlines: that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the supreme rule of faith and life in the Church of Scotland. They are now being asked not to adhere to the Scriptures and denounce homosexuality as a sin. They have ruled that no members can speak in public on the issue of openly homosexual, non-celibate ministers. Only the Church and Society, HIV/Aids Project and Mission Discipleship committees can speak out on the broader issue of human sexuality. The General Assembly has instructed all authoritative bodies within Scotland's national church to avoid any public comment on the matter -- including press releases, briefings to the media, and blogging -- and to avoid taking any decisions in relation to 'contentious matters of human sexuality, with respect to Ordination and Induction to the Ministry of the Church of Scotland, until 31 May 2011'. They have done this while insisting that the induction of Scott Rennie proceeds.
What we are witnessing is the outworking of the controversial Life and Work editorial which stated. 'The dissenters who have taken ordination vows to preserve the unity and peace of the Church perhaps ought to 'agree to differ' on this and allow the Church of Scotland to remain a broad and inclusive church that can celebrate its diversity while remaining true to the Gospel.' They are being forced to agree to differ. In terms of the ordering of the Assembly's business evangelicals have been ambushed and outflanked and in terms of so-called 'unity', patronised and whitewashed. One evangelical was quoted as recognising this - members were now "effectively prevented from speaking out in public on this". This cannot possibly bind anyone authoritatively, apart from the fact that
two-thirds of the presbyters within the Church had no vote upon it their ordination vows resist it. Evangelicals must protest and speak out or else they are complying with sinful terms. The Lochcarron-Skye overture noted that "a lengthy period of reflection has elapsed without a resolution of the issue". This is now to be extended.
In commending the motion, the Rev Angus Morrison (once a very conservative evangelical) said any split in Church ranks would be a "deeply flawed" solution to the issue. "It is comparatively easy to split a church, but the challenge of healing the divisions is of an entirely different nature," he said. "The notion that these tensions within a church can best be solved by going separate ways is deeply flawed. It is a path rather to the multiplication of problems." The idea is to let things cool down and take the momentum out of separation.
The decision has not gone under the Barrier Act which would make it constitutional as happened with the ordination of women which was passed with the consent of a majority of Presbyteries on 22nd May 1968. This may yet happen. The fact is that it was even before that point for evangelicals to realise that Scripture had been cast aside. This happened constitutionally, when the Confession was modified. It also happened in 1843 when a schism was made by those remaining in the CofS with those who realised that the constitution of the CofS could only be maintained outwith the Establishment.
Posted by MAV at 12:53 pm Links to this post
Labels: Church of Scotland
The CofS and the rejection of the Bible
This is an addition to the previous post commenting on the recent debate.
What we see is that when Scripture is abandoned, all wisdom and reason are set aside any argument will do to defend personal preference, "they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?" (Jer. 8:9)
The Church of Scotland was once known as the fairest daughter of the Reformation on account of the purity and extent of her adherence to Scripture.
In the Scots Confession (1560) the Reformers write, "if any man will note in this our confession any article or sentence repugnant to God's holy word, that it would please him of his gentleness, and for Christian charity's sake, to admonish us of the same in writing; and we, of our honour and fidelity, do promise unto him satisfaction from the mouth of God (that is, from his holy scriptures), or else reformation of that which he shall prove to be amiss".
The Church of Scotland long ago abandoned this position and in doing so abandoned any moral claim to be known as the true heirs of such men. How infinitely far from it they are now. We ought to have the spirit of mourning.
"how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!...Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself. The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation". (Lam 1:1. 9, 10).
The Church of Scotland has set out a clear stall
says Alyson Thomson, head of communications, "it is a modern church for a modern Scotland. The commission is delighted that the Church has, as Scott Rennie requested, taken an honest look at itself over the issue of sexuality and decided that the values of fairness, equality, dignity and respect are of more worth than those of ignorance and intolerance." The tone of this reflects the tone and type of argument adopted by those defending Rennie throughout the public portion of the debate.
The arguments are emotive, sociological and fallacious. The stall is anything but clear in terms of clear thinking and arguing.
First we have the fallacy of appealing to novelty (argumentum ad novitatem). This assumes that what is modern is good, correct or superior simply because it is modern.
This is also seen in the language used by the media to describe evangelical opposition under the label "traditionalists". The assumption is that because what is modern is good - the only reason you oppose it must be because you think that what is old and traditional is good.
It is entirely inflammatory and incorrect to describe the opposition as ignorant and intolerant. It is another fallacy, this time one that employs insultive, compromising or pejorative language to influence the judgement of others. It is also an ad hominem personal attack. Don't listen to the arguments of these people they are intolerant and ignorant. It doesn't matter how well the opposition reason then, they have been characterised as ignorant and shouldn't be listened to.
Then we have George Cowie of the Aberdeen Presbytery saying: "Are we to tell people that because of the way God made you, you must live alone and not have a life's companion?" This is the naturalistic fallacy or appeal to nature, which claims that what is, is what ought to be. Even Richard Dawkins can see the problem with this kind of argument, saying that a society that uses nature as a moral compass would be "a very nasty society in which to live". The point about this kind of argument is that it ignores the reality of sin, especially original sin. It assumes that what is "discovered" in the natural realm takes precedence over clear statements of Scripture. This is natural theology not only gone mad but gone very bad. Cowie goes on to exacerbate things by saying: "It was once considered to be an illness, or a lifestyle choice. Many, many people now consider it part of an individual's make-up."
This is the fallacy of the argumentum ad populum, appeal to majority thinking. This too is logically fallacious. Just because a belief is widely held does not mean it is correct; the more people that believe it doesn't increase its accuracy.
Reverend (sic) Lindsay Biddle of Affirmation Scotland, a group which supports gay and lesbian clergy, said: "Scripture does not address homosexuality, much less condemn it." There is no qualification of this or explanation. It is truly remarkable. It is the kind of argument that one thinks that if you assert it often enough, people will accept it, even though you don't defend it.
Rennie himself was describing his opponents as "those that don't want any change,".
He added: "We don't stone women, we don't stone adulterers, we've moved on from that." This is the idea that the position held by evangelicals is stone age and therefore to be dismissed. What has the mode of civil punishment of certain crimes which are always denounced as sin by Scripture to do with whether or not homosexuality is sinful? The idea is to insinuate that the opposition are like the Taliban.
Rev David Court and Rev Dr William Philip of the Fellowship of Confessing Churches, who opposed Rev Rennie's appointment said: "We deeply regret the decision of the General Assembly, which has brought great shame on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Church by publicly proclaiming as holy what God, the Bible, and orthodox Christianity all down the ages, and all over the world, unambiguously call sin.
"This is about far more than just sexuality. The very nature of the Christian gospel is at stake."
Rev Steven Reid, said:
"I think it deepens the divide. That's an accurate assessment of the situation we are in. There have been issues down the years, issues to do with the scriptures, and this has brought them to a head...For those of us who hold the scriptures to be the supreme rule of faith, the decision seems to fly in the face of that belief." The argument here is based on Scripture, which is an appeal to an authority above men's thinking.
the presbyterian downturn in Scotland
As many wait to see what the Church of Scotland will make of biblical morality at the end of this week there are other indications of a downturn on the ecclesiastical scene in Scotland.
Some of the debate turns upon what it means that 'the act of Ordination and Induction the Church of Scotland declares that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the supreme rule of faith and life in the Church of Scotland'. The evangelicals have a tight interpretation of this but the response by the Aberdeen Presbytery notes that this statement 'has its origins in the first of the Articles Declaratory which declares, 'The Church of Scotland adheres to the Scottish Reformation; receives the Word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as its supreme rule of faith and life; and avows the fundamental doctrines of the Catholic
faith founded thereupon.' The presbytery goes on to assert that the word of God is not 'synonymous with the Scriptures', 'but it can, in part, be discerned from the Scriptures through prayer and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit'. This, they believe allows for widely varying interpretations according to individual experience.
It shows that the confessional revision movement has ultimately arrived at the point where no statement can express meaningfully the diversity of views within the Church of Scotland without being so vague as to mean that Scripture is interpreted entirely differently.
The Free Church have found this in their discussions with the CofS which some in the FC General Assembly unsuccessfully attempted to bring to a close. The idea of an associate presbytery had been dropped as unworkable, and there are no overt moves towards integration because the fundamental problem is still the authority of Scripture. The Convener of the Committee said, however, 'we have to take risks some times'. Which is no doubt exactly the objection in the minds of those trying to suspend the discussions. The question was asked as to why the joint report says 'both churches stand in the Reformed tradition'. The Convener responded: 'That is what they claim. It may be a different understanding to us'. A response which shows that they have entangled themselves in the same net as the evangelicals within the Church of Scotland by allowing vague statements to cover contrary positions. It isn't far from here to accepting a vague statement that covers contrary positions on the Scriptures also.
Yet there are problems of contrary positions within the Free Church itself. It's position and constitution couldn't be much clearer on paper. The most obvious is in relation to worship where a special General Assembly is expected to debate in 2010 whether the FC can adopt musical instruments and hymns. The strange thing is that those pushing overtly for the latter are bound by ordination vows which bind them solemnly to assert, maintain and defend the purity of worship in the Church which was clearly explained to them at ordination and induction to exclude hymns and musical instruments. There was a clear encouragement of freedom of expression on this which was contrary to those vows. ID Campbell picked up on the fact that the regulative principle was being skewed in the report by a reference to the primacy of Scripture. He pointed out: 'This report affirms the primacy of Scripture. Primacy is something you start from. Scripture is a finality not a primacy'.
'We have taken serious vows regarding a particular position on worship. We're now being asked to approve a process in this report that begs serious questions. We seem to be asked to reinvent the wheel. It seems to be predetermining the outcome. He did not think he could approve a report that would allow songs of human compositions and instruments.'
Others defended the idea that one could have taken these vows and then challenge the Assembly for Scriptural proof of the position. This is absurd, if someone has taken vows and changed their minds it is not their business break their vows and then to change the Church's mind so that the vows can be changed.
Alex Macdonald raised an interesting point which was that in the period 1900 – 1904 'there was no focus whatsoever on the presence of worship, the practise at the time was to use psalms, hymns and instruments. It was not viewed as a fundamental principle of the Free Church'. This reveals the influence of the spirit of the Declaratory Act on the 1900 men and the fact that they were willing to allow everything to continue without correction to ensure that the property would be secured. This ambiguous position is the root of the current movement.
Some were arguing that it is not a constitutional matter - simply a case of changing legislation as had been done in the 19th Century. The Westminster Confession, however, requires singing of psalms only. Further the vows are part of the constitution and the Animus Imponentis was clear. The fact that the change is to be approved by a plenary Assembly and to go through the Barrier Act will make the change constitutional. Dr Kennedy would have separated from the FC if this step had been taken to constitutionalise impure worship. Why? The Free Church would have departed from its constitution and he could no longer keep his ordination vows by being part of it. The same will be the case for the FC now. Once this legislation goes through the procedure envisaged it can no longer be regarded as having a constitution equivalent to the FC of 1843.
Labels: Free Church of Scotland
The Art of Living Well to God
Apparently it was Aristotle who coined the phrase 'the art of living well'. He said that 'those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, for these gave only life, those the art of living well'. When we consider these matters from a higher perspective we will see that it is God who gives life and he must teach us how we are to live well. The Reformation philosopher Petrus Ramus built upon Aristotle's phrase in his Commentariorum de religione christiana (1576), he defined theology as ars bene vivendi " the art of living well", which he divided into "the need for proper faith" and "the actions of faith, man's observance of God's laws". This showed that it was not a philosophical question but rather a matter that could only come from revealed truth. William Ames, who popilarised the ideas and method of Ramus, improved upon the phrase by defining theology (Marrow, pp.1-3) as the 'art of living well to God'. He, together with William Perkins, was very much a pioneer of the practical theology of the Puritans. Ethics must have a summum bonum - a highest good, God himself is the standard and highest good. The Westminster Divines defined this well in speaking of man's chief end as being to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. The art of living well is summed up in that.
This was very much the concern of the puritans. Hence their commitment to spiritual diaries which allowed them to examine their lives. To the Puritan the art of living was the highest art form, as Owen Watkins indicates, this was the principle that lay behind Puritan autobiographies, 'that the only masterpiece worthy of the name was to be achieved in the most complex and difficult of all forms of creative endeavour: a human life' (Watkins, p.1). This is also why the puritans laid such stress upon sermons full of practical and experimental divinity. It was through authentic experience of the Word of God that the saint would live the life exemplified in Scripture. John Owen shows the progression of the experience of the Word. It begins with divinely assisted understanding, then follows 'a spiritual sense of the goodness, power, and efficacy of the word and the things contained in it, in the conveyance of the grace of God unto our souls...By the one...our minds are refreshed; and by the other, our souls are nourished'. 'To complete the experience intended, there follows hereon a conformity in the whole soul and conversation unto the truth of the word, or the mind of God in it, wrought in us by its power and efficacy'. Puritan sermons were therefore weighted towards application or the 'uses'of the doctrine of Scripture.
The puritan George Swinnock has a book which is rather like Thomas Watson's 'The Godly Man drawn with a scripture pencil'. The book is called 'The Christian Man's Calling' and in it he writes: 'I have drawn the saint's picture, by which thou mayest perceive somewhat of the beauty of his person, and the excellency and loveliness of his life. This indeed is the true life, all other but the shadow of living'. Godliness is a Godlikeness, bearing the image of the One who is entitled 'The Beauty of Holiness' and who clothes his own people in holy beauties from the womb of the morning. It is a likeness to Christ and a conformity to His image. To me to live is Christ. Living must be done in dependence upon the Son of God who loved His people and gave Himself for them. John Willison writes: O that we could learn the heavenly art of living by faith on the Son of God, by continued dependence on him, and making application to him for righteousness and strength; righteousness for removing our guilt, and justifying our persons before God ; and strength for performing duties, conquering lusts, and bearing crosses!'
Where is this found in the New Testament? The people of God are his 'workmanship' (poiema) which means a created thing. They are 'created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them' (Eph 2:10). In Titus 2:10 the saints are to 'adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things' - they are to have an order and arrangement in their lives that corresponds to the truth of Scripture. There is an order in beauty - the best things in the best order, the most attractive things in the most attractive order. They live 'as it becometh the gospel'. The beauty of the gospel in its perfect wisdom and grace, the manifold wisdom and grace of God, is reflected in their lives. Swinnock says that man is made to be the mirror of God's glory: 'Man is made as a glass, to represent the perfections that are in God. A glass can receive the beams of the sun into it, and reflect them back again to the sun. The excellencies of God appear abundantly in His works; man is made to be the glass where these beams of divine glory should be united and received, and also from him reflected back to God again.'Who would not desire this?
The life of faith is available to all. The poorest among us, and the least educated can travel this road to Heaven. The poor may have little opportunity to become wealthy or honourable, but they can live a truly happy life through faith! They can live such a life just as much as the greatest princes and learned educators. Whoever you are, if you desire to lift up your condition and change the few days of your pilgrimage into happier and longer days, faith is the art of living well, and living long! (Samuel Ward)
Labels: Christian Living
How one small nation changed the world
This is the title of a conference to be held later this year: Scotland's Global Impact - How one small nation changed the world! There is nothing of the religious impact upon the world made by Scotland in this conference, however. Unfortunately the Scots have the counter-legacy of the Englightenment to own up to also - as this book demonstrates.
Yet when President Mbeki of South Africa addressed the Scottish Parliament in 2001, almost all the historical links that he cited between the two countries were related to missionaries. Wherever Presbyterian churches exist throughout the world, Scotland's influence is witnessed, particularly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. David Bogue in 1818 was so bold as to say: 'Scotland has since the Reformation sent more saints to heaven than any country in Europe of the same population.' We wonder if he would have been confirmed in this when he saw the fuller effects of the Scottish missionary movement. I recommend Chapter 8. The Hope and Scotland's Missionaries in Iain Murray's The Puritan Hope for further reading.Scotland's first foreign missionary, Alexander Duff, declared: "Oh, what promises are ours, if we had only faith to grasp them! What a promise is that in the Great Commission – Go and make disciples of all nations, and lo I am with you, even to the end of the world! We go forth amongst the hundreds of millions of the nations; we find gigantic systems of idolatry and superstition consolidated for thousands of years … they tower as high mountains. But what does faith say? Believe and it shall be. And if any Church on earth will realise that faith, to that Church will the honour belong of evangelising the nations, and bringing down the mountains."
It was a clear eschatology that gave rise to this movement. Murray says: "The theological impetus which lay behind the new missionary era came from the Puritan books of the seventeenth century, which must be classified as Calvinistic." In his commentary on Psalm 72 David Dickson cites nineteen benefits that will ensue as the gospel prospers in all nations so that they call Christ blessed.
I wonder if more prayers have been made from Scotland in the past for the conversion of the Jews, an event that will certainly change the world. Iain Murray comments:
The future of the Jews had decisive significance for them because they believed that, though little is clearly revealed of the future purposes of God in history, enough has been given us in Scripture to warrant the expectation that with the calling of the Jews there will come far-reaching blessing for the world. Puritan England and Covenanting Scotland knew much of spiritual blessing and it was the prayerful longing for wider blessing, not a mere interest in unfulfilled prophecy, which led them to give such place to Israel
There is no place for pride, however, Scotland's own darkness is now so profound that it will not be long before she requires missionaries herself.
Labels: scottish church history
Keeping a Spiritual Diary
Keeping a spiritual diary is a practice that has often appeared wherever puritan piety is found. John Coffey and Paul C. H. Lim in the The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism describe the early Puritans in this way: "They prescribed a demanding regime of personal devotions, including godly reading, psalm-singing, prayer, fasting and spiritual meditation. They recommended practices of self-discipline, including keeping a spiritual diary and private covenanting." Isaac Ambrose in his Prima: The First Things in Relation to the Middle and Last Things, published in 1674, emphasised the importance of a spiritual diary and gave an example from his own. Thomas Goodwin found the practice helpful in his seven year struggle for personal assurance - during which time he was "intent on the conviction God had wrought in him, of the heinousness of sin, and of his own sinful and miserable state by nature; of the difference between the workings of natural conscience, though enlightened, and the motions of a holy soul, changed and acted by the Spirit, in an effectual work of peculiar saving grace. And accordingly he kept a constant diary." An excellent post on Puritan Diary keeping is here. I wonder if it is significant that in the past they kept private diaries and today we maintain public weblogs?
It was also a feature of later piety. Jessie Thain's Diary is a good example. John Macdonald of Ferintosh - the apostle of the North - writes as follows.
'Among the many omissions of my past life [he was c.36] which I have to lament, that of not keeping a diary, containing some account of the Lord's dealing with my soul, and of the work of my ministry, is not the least. I was chiefly prevented from this by a false humility, and was not thinking anything done in me or by me worthy of being recorded; and as reckoning myself so far behind those who usually kept such diaries that it would be presumptuous on my part to attempt anything of that kind. I now find, however, that this was a mistake, and I have no doubt that Satan was at the bottom of it; for if the Lord wrought in me and by me in any measure, however unworthy I am -- and none is more so, as He knows, on the face of the earth -- His work deserves to be recorded, and some account of it might be serviceable to myself, useful to others, and conducive in some measure to His glory. I would, therefore, in future endeavour to keep some account of my labours, with anything in my own soul, in providence regarding me, or in my success in the vineyard, which may be deserving of notice. And I begin with this year (1816).'
Labels: Christian Experience
Praying for the Reign of Grace Over All the Earth
The Larger Catechism asks the question
Question 191: What do we pray for in the second petition [of the Lord's prayer]?
Answer: In the second petition (which is, Thy kingdom come), acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan, we pray, that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed, the gospel propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fulness of the Gentiles brought in; the church furnished with all gospel officers and ordinances, purged from corruption, countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrate: that the ordinances of Christ may be purely dispensed, and made effectual to the converting of those that are yet in their sins, and the confirming, comforting, and building up of those that are already converted: that Christ would rule in our hearts here, and hasten the time of his second coming, and our reigning with him forever: and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world, as may best conduce to these ends.
The Southern Presbyterian William Swan Plumer, a good commentator and an attractive experimental writer writes on this subject in 'The rock of our salvation' and provides a prayer that illustrates this spirit.
God's people can pray for the reign of grace over all the earth. Such supplications are agreeable to the will of God. Psa. 122:6. The first three petitions of the Lord's prayer embrace the same subject. There is too little united, hearty calling on God. All the progress hitherto made in bringing men to a saving knowledge of the Redeemer has been in answer to the fervent cries of the children of God. There is nothing more powerful for good than prayer.
There should be a much deeper tone of piety in all the churches. Love is too cold. Faith too often staggers. Repentance -sheds too few tears. Joy has but few feasts. Pity for the perishing too seldom stirs the soul to its depths. Adoring views of God have too little power over men's minds. Hope is too feeble to impart much animation.
Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts ! The whole earth is full of thy glory. Blessed be the Lord for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun,and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth, and the fulness thereof. Still more would we bless thee for the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush, and for thy precious loving-kindness, and for the precious seed of gospel truth, and for the precious promises, and for precious faith to believe thy word, and for the precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, and for the precious death of thy saints, and for the precious name of Jesus, which is as ointment poured forth, and for the precious blood of the Son of God, through whom we have redemption. Look in mercy on this dark world. Remember Zion. Make Joseph a fruitful bough, whose branches run over the wall. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion. Bring back the captivity of thy people, that Jacob may rejoice and Israel be glad. Thou hast set thy Son on thy holy hill of Zion. Righteousness is the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. Hasten the time when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the young .lion and the fat- ling together, and a child shall lead them; and the cow and the bear shall feed, and their young ones lie down together, and the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the nations shall learn war no more, and thy ancient people the Jews and the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in; when the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ; when the Lord shall call them his people which are not now his people; when the angel shall fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.
Lord God of hosts, cut short the work in righteousness. Let the ploughman overtake the reaper, and let a nation be born in a day.
"Pity the nations, O our God;
Constrain the earth to come ;
Send thy victorious word abroad,
And bring the strangers home."
We are indeed asking great things, but we do it at thy command. We ask no more than thou hast promised to thy Son, and no more than he has purchased by his most precious blood, and no more than he himself intercedes for in heaven. Amen.
Labels: eschatology
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The Biblical Doctrine of Election Emphasises Union with Christ
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The Believer's Journey
True Experience - Robert Fleming
The devotional value of the Westminster Confession
Why no spiritual progress?
True self-knowledge
No love, No life
Godly Sorrow
Assurance of Salvation
Heavenly Contemplation
Specific Directions for Mortifying Sin
Sins of omission and the 10 commandments
Overcoming the World
Wandering thoughts in the worship of God
What to pray for
Brief Defence of Experimental Christianity
The Portrait of a Godly Man
The holdfast - sovereign grace
Sidewinds of christian experience
Knowing where you are going: Pilgrim's Progress
Secular Bible for a Secular Church
The Clamour for an Easy Bible
How Modern Versions mislead about Textual Criticism
The Scholarship of the AV translators
John Bois and the AV translation
Communication fallacy in modern bible translation
Street English or Biblical English?
English Standard Version in historical perspective
Translating the AV: John Bois' notes
Cult of the Modern in Contemporary Bible Translation
Emptied himself of all but love? A strange error
Incarnation correctly defined
How considering Christ restrains sin
The Glory of Christ's Sufferings
Durham on Christ's Intercession
Vital Issues
Why are you so strict?
Church Unity and Schism
Gillespie on Uniformity
Unity of Visible Church in Song of Solomon
the Visible Church
Sabbath Public Transport - Historical Opposition
Social Epidemics
Evangelicalism and the love of novelty
The Worldly Christian
Long Hair and Feminity
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Why do ordinary people commit evil deeds?
Penal Substitution and evangelical confusion
relationship not a religion?
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The Bible's testimony against Christmass
Can a Protestant attend Mass?
The Church as Visible and Invisible
Mistaken assumptions about the Church
The tragedy of virtual worship
Why there are difficult passages in the Bible
Hold fast to God's Word
How to get most from reading the Bible
The Sum of Saving Knowledge
James Renwick
What 5 Nov means for Scotland
Historical origins of the cult of saints
Act of Union 1707
Fosaking All - 1893


this is my first map was created a few months back and tested a bunch , should work in mp with the plus mod. this is a trailing map . grab a good rig. spuns 78 bronco does pretty good in this map. this map will test your patience for sure. please enjoy.


Ex-spy watchdog asks: Why isn't CSIS coming clean on tax data breach?
Why does CSIS director Michel Coulombe still have his job and — apparently — the confidence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau?
I'm asking because, last week, the notoriously timid agency tasked with keeping tabs on Canada's spy service, the Security Intelligence Review Committee, revealed that a CSIS office under Coulombe's command repeatedly obtained the legally protected personal tax information of an unknown number of Canadians without a warrant.
You'd think that sort of thing would constitute a firing offence for any government official, let alone the nation's top spy. The fact that Coulombe — who asked SIRC to look into what amounts to the state-sanctioned misappropriation of tax records only after a Federal Court judge started asking questions — still has his job offers yet more evidence that CSIS and its senior officers are immune from any real measure of accountability, under both Liberal and Conservative governments.
Eva Plunkett, the former Inspector-General of CSIS, agrees. In an exclusive interview with iPolitics, the Public Safety minister's widely respected former espionage watchdog said she wants to know if and when anyone at CSIS would be held accountable for this egregious breach of Canadians' privacy by intelligence officers who are supposed to abide by the law.
"I don't know what they're doing to hold (Coulombe) to account in this situation," Plunkett said. "You have the senior job, and with it doesn't only go the title and the salary, it also has the responsibility and the accountability.
Prime Minister Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale ought to remember that CSIS's first director, Ted Finn, abruptly resigned as a matter of principle shortly after taking the job when it transpired that CSIS had used false information to obtain a warrant to wiretap a suspected Sikh terrorist following the 1985 Air India catastrophe.
If lying to obtain a warrant prompted Finn to resign in September 1987, shouldn't Coulombe walk the plank today, given that his operation failed to obtain a warrant to collect confidential personal tax information?
Plunkett also cast serious doubts on the assurances offered up by SIRC, CSIS and other government officials who have tried to explain away this business as the work of one rogue employee at the Canadian Revenue Agency.
"Frankly, I'm not overly surprised," said Plunkett. While she was the IG, Plunkett routinely issued reports warning Ottawa that CSIS officers had a troubling habit of bending — if not breaking — the rules without suffering consequences.
Plunkett said that if she were still the IG, she would launch a "full-scale file review" to determine who was responsible for obtaining the information from the CRA without a warrant and how widespread the practice was — and, if necessary, raise her findings directly with Goodale's office to decide whether the matter should be turned over to the RCMP.
Plunkett said there are still too many unanswered questions. How many Canadians had their tax information breached without a warrant? What was the nature of the information CSIS collected? How was it used? Who authorized the breach? How long did it continue? How many intelligence officers were involved? Why did CSIS keep the information after insisting the documents had been destroyed?
And what disciplinary action, if any, was taken against the CSIS employees who obtained this information?
"(Given) my years of experience, I would take nothing at face value," she said.
Plunkett also dismissed claims by a CRA spokesperson that the department's unauthorized disclosure of tax information to CSIS was the work of one 'rogue' employee who has since left the agency.
Plunkett knows better than most that in the netherworld of spies, the official story is never the real story.
"The part that always troubled me about the job was not what I found, but what I (didn't) know," she said.
We don't know how, why and for what purpose Canada's spies peered into Canadians' confidential tax records without a warrant. The prime minister and Parliament must heed Plunkett's call to nail down the whole story and hold those responsible to account. And they must do it now.


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Amobee's Levkovitz E&Y award finalist in N California
Batya Feldman
Zohar Levkovitz is a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 Northern California Award alongside PayPal's Scott Thompson and LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman.
Zohar Levkovitz, co-founder and CEO of Israeli start up Amobee, has won a signal honor. Today, accounting firm Ernst & Young announced the finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 Northern California Award, and Levkovitz is on the list.
Past winners of the award include the founders of Yahoo!, Google, Oracle, Starbucks, and other household name companies. Levkovitz is the only Israeli on this year's list, and he will compete for the title with LinkedIn founder, CEO and chairman Reid Hoffman, PayPal president Scott Thompson, and others.
Amobee, Motorola launch Chinese mobile advertising
Mobile Internet marketing co Amobee wins Germany deal
Amobee cuts 10 after buying UK co
Amobee wins World Economic Forum honor
"It is a great milestone and a huge honor to be recognized alongside nominees such as PayPal's Scott Thompson and LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman," said Levkovitz. "This achievement is a testament to years of dedication to establishing Amobee as a global leader in mobile advertising, and to the efforts of our amazing team who has worked hard to make our vision a success."
The Ernst & Young program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Levkovitz was selected as a finalist from hundreds of nominations by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on Saturday, June 25 at the Fairmont San Jose.
Amobee was founded in 2005. It develops advertising and campaign management platforms for targeted advertising for SMS and MMS, and via video clips, music, games, and cellular Internet. Amobee was named by "Globes" as the most promising start up of 2008-2009. Levkovitz was named 2010 CEO of the Year by the Israeli Center for Management and as a 2010 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.
Regional winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Award.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 19, 2011
Shiri Habib-Valdhorn
Adi Ben-Israel and Shiri Habib-Valdhorn

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Tag: YDPP
[Special] Personal Favourite Songs from the First Half of 2018
July 11, 2018 Posted in SpecialTagged (G)I-DLE, AOA, BLACKPINK, CLC, DAY6, Lee Hong Ki (FT Island), Lovelyz, NCT, NCT U, ONF, Pentagon, Seventeen, Snuper, Sunmi, YDPP, Yoo Hwe Sung (N.Flying)Leave a comment
With the first 6 months of 2018 officially over, it is time to look back at my personal favourite songs from the first half. Last week, I recapped the top songs from the Weekly KPOP Charts. But some songs that I personally liked didn't really make that list. So here are 15 songs released over the last 6 months that are my personal favourites AND continually listen to (irrespective of the charts and the reviews – as opinions do change).
[Review] Love It Live It – YDPP
April 5, 2018 Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Jung Sewoon, MXM, YDPPLeave a comment
Following the ending of Produce 101 Season 2, we have seen Wanna One and JBJ rise to success with their promotions. YDPP, despite just debuting today, is a group with 4-members who participated in the show. Jeong Sewoon, MXM (Lim Youngmin and Kim Donghyun) and Lee Kwanghyun have joined forces for this collaboration. YDPP stands for Youth, Dream, Passion and Purity and each member brings one of these aspects to the group.
Love It Live It is a funky song. I particularly like the instrumental of the track as it has character and colour, which makes it bright and extremely cheerful. Especially in moments where there were no vocals, there was this distinct sound which I don't know who to describe. But it made me fall in love with it. The vocal work by each member was awesome and the rap sequence was also quite good. The hook wasn't as strong as I hoped it for, so I haven't found the track that catchy (yet). However, as I mentioned previously I keep on coming back for the instrumental. And while you thought the song ended quite quickly (since the final chorus kicked in around the 2:45 mark), there was an extra burst of energy at the very end for the high note and an extension of the song. It gives the song a uniqueness factor and it also manages to change up the song through the instrumental, which for this one time, I thought was cool.
The music video was a CF for Pepsi-Cola, wasn't it? I tend to stay away from commercial based songs, only reviewing one or two of them in the past. This video just didn't seem to be like a CF until the very end when the product placement was extremely strong. But then I went back and found the product placement to be everywhere (from the clothing the actress was wearing to the white and blue outfits the member were wearing). I really liked the colours the set was displaying and thought it matched the colourful nature of the song quite nicely.
The choreography was quite cool. It just felt like your normal choreography routine well suited for a pop song. I really like the ending, though, with the extra burst of energy at the end. With the kicks towards the middle, I thought that was cool (for some odd reason).
Song – 9/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10


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Hobbyboss' five new kits for February...
Hobbyboss have five new models ready for us in this month - From below to above the seas, from tracks to rail to in the air above in a large scale - They are shown in our preview that includes markings and sprues…
Hobbyboss' new items for February 2018
AV-8B Harrier II
Model #81804
http://www.hobbyboss.com/index.php?g=home&m=product&a=show&id=1394&l=en
The AV-8B Harrier II is a family of second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing or V/STOL ground-attack aircraft of the late 20th century. It is primarily used for light attack or multi-role tasks, typically operated from small aircraft carriers and large amphibious assault ships.
The AV-8B is used by the United States Marine Corps. The British Harrier GR7/GR9 versions are used by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. Versions are also used by NATO countries: Spain, and Italy.
The first AV-8B Harrier IIs produced were commonly known as the "Day Attack" variant, and are no longer in service. Most were upgraded to Night Attack Harrier or Harrier II Plus standards, with the remainder being withdrawn from service.
Model Dimensions: Length: 806mm, Wingspan: 514mm
Metal Parts: screws, spring
The kit consists of over 280 parts with rubber tires
German Sd.Kfz.182 King Tiger "Porsche Turret" w/ Zimmerit
In early October 1942, plans for production of the VK 45.03 were reviewed,Initially two designs were provided, one by Henschel and one by Porsche. Both used a turret design from Krupp; the main differences were in the hull design, transmission and suspension.
The Henschel version used a conventional hull design with sloped armour resembling the layout of the Panther tank. It had a rear mounted engine and used nine overlapping road wheels per side, mounted on transverse torsion bars, in a similar manner to the original Tiger. To simplify maintenance, however, the wheels were overlapping rather than interleaved as in the Tiger
Henschel won the contract, and all Tiger IIs were produced by the firm. Two turret designs were used in production vehicles. The initial design is sometimes misleadingly called the "Porsche turret" due to the belief that it was designed by Porsche for their prototype. In fact, this turret was simply the initial Krupp design for both prototypes. This turret had a rounded front and steeply sloped sides, with a difficult-to-manufacture curved bulge on the turret's left side, to accommodate the commander's cupola. Fifty early turrets were mounted to Henschel's hull and used in action. The more common "production" turret, sometimes called the "Henschel" turret, was simplified with a flat face, no shot trap (created by the curved face of the initial-type turret), less-steeply sloped sides, and no bulge for the commander's cupola.
The track system used on the Tiger II chassis was a unique one, which used alternating "contact shoe" and "connector" links—the contact shoe link had a pair of transverse metal bars that contacted the ground, while the connector links had no contact with the ground.
The Tiger II was developed late in the war and made in relatively small numbers. Like all German tanks, it had a gasoline engine. However, this same engine powered the much lighter Panther and Tiger I tanks. The Tiger II was underpowered, like many other heavy tanks of World War II, and consumed a lot of fuel which was already in short supply.
Model Dimensions: Length: 292.3mm Width: 107.3mm
19 sprues, lower hull and upper hull
The kit consists of over 550 parts
multi-slide moulded lower hull, turret
zimmerit included
photo-etched parts included
USS Hawaii CB-3
1/350th scale
USS Hawaii (CB-3) was the third and final member of the Alaska class cruisers to be launched. Six Alaska class ships were ordered in September 1940 and the first two were laid down in December 1941 and February 1942. Work on the other four was suspended on 20 May 1942 because of a steel shortage. Work on the Hawaii resumed after the suspension was lifted on 23 May 1943, but the other three ships in the class were cancelled on 24 June 1943.
The Hawaii was finally launched on 3 November 1945, by which time there was no need for any more cruisers. Work continued at a slow pace, and by September 1947 she was 84% complete.
Two possible uses were suggested for the Hawaii during her lifetime. The first was to turn her into the US Navy's first guided missile cruiser, armed with the US Navy's version of the German V-2 rocket. This plan failed to get past Congress.
On 9 October 1952, she was redesignated as large command ship 1 (CBC-1). She would have operated alongside the Baltimore class cruiser USS Northampton, which was completed as CLC-1 (light command ship 1), and served as a flagship in the 1950s and as a floating Presidential command post in the 1960s. This plan was also rejected, and she reverted to the CB-3 designation in October 1954. She was finally struck off the Navy List on 9 June 1958 and sold for scrap in 1959.
Model Dimensions: Length: 704mm Beam: 80.4mm
17 sprues, hull, deck and stand
Metal Parts: anchor chain
hull made from multi-directional slide moulds.
Deck wood pattern finely rendered
Contains 2 SC-1 plane
Contains display stand and engraved nameplate
5 Photo-etched frets included
German Molch Midget Submarine
The Molch was based on torpedo technology and carried two G7e torpedoes attached externally on either side of the craft. It was fully electrical and was created for coastal operations, with a range of 64 km (35 nmi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).
The front section of the boat held a large battery. Behind the battery was the operator's position, which sat between two small trimming tanks. Behind the operator sat the electric motor. The complicated system of tanks made it difficult to control during combat operations. The first of 393 boats were delivered on June 12, 1944, and were built by AG Weser in Bremen.
4 sprues
Model Dimensions: Length:310 mm Width: 62mm
The kit consists of over 70 parts
includes photo-etched parts
Soviet MBV-2 Armored Train 85514
Since the invention of the railroad, trains have always played a major role in wars, particularly for troop transport. But even as early as the Civil War, specially armed armoured trains were used in active combat. For about a hundred years, ironclad trains were running the railroads of Europe. To this day, only a few survive.
The Motobronevagon MBV-2. Produced in 1938, this self-propelled vehicle was armed with three 76.2mm guns and ten machine guns, with a crew of fifteen. Only two of these heavy-class armoured trains were built, which saw extensive action in WWII against the Nazis. One of the trains is now on display at The Kubinka Tank Museum.
Model Dimensions: Length: 570mm Width: 94mm
26 sprues, hull and roadbeds
The kit consists of over 420 parts, including 5 section roadbeds
These kits will all be available from Hobbyboss' Distributors this month...


Workspace layouts allow you to load or save a favorite arrangement of windows for different tasks. Enterprise Architect provides a number of layouts out of the box that you might find helpful. These can be customized or create your own. The position and size of the windows on view, and the placement of toolbars are saved. Any previous layout is restored when Enterprise Architect is started.
These layouts work well with the Execution Analyzer activities.


Most of us, when buying a car, do not examine the details of the engine, trusting it is in good shape and functions well. But the engine is, undoubtedly, the most important part of the car. The same for a business. Usually, we focus on what a business does or sells, but there is always the "hidden" work that keeps the business functioning well. These past few weeks have contained more of the 'engine' work to keep BFF running and enabling us to send out web pages to the world. Do I have a treasurer doing my accounts? No. Do I have a secretary helping with administration and bookings? No.
The BFF Annual Business Meeting occurs this Wednesday. Lots more work for me. Fortunately, I have tweaked things so that preparations for such reports and quarterly filings do not take as much time, but it is a distraction. Sometimes it requires extensive mind-boggling interactions with figures. There are upsides too, such as being able to look back and see what God has done, as well as meeting up with the board members and receiving their encouragement and direction.
The BFF engine is one. What is the other one? I have agreed to take on a part-time Interim Pastor position for our congregation while we search for a full-time pastor for the Oakland International Fellowship. I have had to get lots of planning done for the next six months so that we can function properly. Fortunately, the elder from our congregation will be handling much of the management over small groups and discipling, allowing me to focus on the preaching and teaching ministries.
"The LORD is my light and my salvation" (Ps 27:1).
Several people have asked, "How can I handle both?" The fact is that I have, through the years, been doing a good amount of the work at church leading the teaching team, so there is no extra effort there.In fact, we have five great teachers.I will, however, be preaching much more. But even still, God has arranged it so that the efforts I put into preaching and teaching at OIF often have resulted in resources for BFF. To be true, even with the overlap, much more work still has to be done to form web pages or make training videos, but I have in the past been easily able to combine my efforts and expect that ability will continue.
Godly Beginnings for the Family, is all updated and ready for preorder! This was one of our first books and needed a lot of updating. Linda and I use our experiences of raising eight children through the pre-birth, birth and post-birth stages to help new and young parents raise godly children. Start right, end right!
The book on healing is written and is now being edited; the other upcoming book is almost ready for editing.
Praise God for how He has graced Kathryn with lots of jobs so her school bill should paid for this coming semester (though we need to pray for the spring semester too!) Her new job is helping to care for twins (which she loves doing).
Thank the Lord a contractor is lined up to repair some large outside house jobs.
BFF's board gets together this Wednesday, July 20th.
Much has already been accomplished from this summer's intense writing and editing, but there remains another month of active work.
Wisdom to prepare schedules, launch a preachers' training class, and intertwine the two schedules (OIF with BFF) in the upcoming weeks.
Final guidance for my mid-October East Asia BFF training trip.
A pastor from Nigeria wrote saying he desperately needed help as his own pastor had very suddenly died, and he was appointed to take over. He was extremely glad for free BFF resources.


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Home > Partners
CLOSER, the home of longitudinal research, brings together world-leading longitudinal studies with participants born throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. We also work closely with other key partners: the British Library and the UK Data Service. The UCL Social Research Institute is the lead research institute.
For more information on the studies involved explore the studies
1946 MRC National Survey of Health and Development
1958 National Child Development Study
1970 British Cohort Study
Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (Children of the 90s)
Born in Bradford
English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
Generation Scotland
Growing Up in Scotland
Health and Employment After Fifty
Hertfordshire Cohort Study
Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England: Cohort 2 (Our Future Study)
Millennium Cohort Study (Child of the New Century)
Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing
ONS Longitudinal Study
Southampton Women's Survey
Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study
Whitehall II (The Stress and Health Study)
Wirral Child Health and Development Study (The First Steps Study)
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection.
The British Library has been a partner on CLOSER since its inception in 2012. Dr Allan Sudlow (Head of Research Development at the Library) is as a member of CLOSER Executive and Leadership teams and supports the strategic planning, impact and engagement strands of CLOSER.
This role enables the Library to gain insights from, and contribute to, contemporary biosocial research and its evolving approaches to data infrastructure, discovery, access and reuse.
The UK Data Service is is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to meet the data needs of researchers, students and teachers from all sectors, including academia, central and local government, charities and foundations, independent research centres, think tanks, and business consultants and the commercial sector.
The UK Data Service collection includes major UK government-sponsored surveys, cross-national surveys, longitudinal studies, UK census data, international aggregate, business data, and qualitative data.
The UCL Social Research Institute (formerly the Department of Social Science) is one of the leading centres in the UK for multidisciplinary teaching and research in the social sciences. With more than 180 academic, research and professional staff, the Institute works to advance knowledge and to inform policy in areas including gender, families, education, employment, migration, inequalities, health and child/adult wellbeing. Research is a major focus of the Social Research Institute with an annual research income of over £15 million, with research work organised within seven renowned centres.


I became interested in radio at age 10 and got my ticket at age 13 in 1962. My first call was WN9BWY, then WA9BWY and finally W9RE since 1976. I was introduced to contesting in 1963 by happening on to the phone SS contest with short skip on 15 meters and I was sought after (runs). I distinctly remember the 1964 CQWW SSB contest where I operated a single band 15 (only Yagi antenna) and I worked about 50 stations the whole weekend with a few Africans but not a single European in the log.
In 1970, after college, I got serious about contesting. My wife (Ann) and I were married that year and built a house on 9 acres in 1975. I have five towers up now-108', 150', 160', 170' and 200' with a total of 22 Yagis – of which 90% are homebrew. I also installed 2- 8 vertical receiving arrays (W8JI) for 160 and 80.
Since about 1986, N9RV and I have been good friends and for the years that Pat didn't have a station and lived in Indiana he operated at my station. He also encouraged me on to put up more antennas and helped me do that.
Over the past decade I have operated from PJ4R (3), PJ2T, HP1XX, TI5N, HC8N and VP2ME. Since I have worked at home for the last 35 years, I've been able to adjust work schedules and home schedules to fit in with the contests.
Looking forward to the WRTC to renew old acquaintances and meet some contesters that I have not met in person before. The camaraderie of all the participants, referees and organizers is the pinnacle of the contesting fraternity.


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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statistics recently reported a decline in the number of deportations but an increase in immigration arrests this year compared to the same period last year 2016. The DHS reported that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported almost 226,000 from the U.S. for the fiscal year 2017 ending September 30, lower than the year 2016's deportations by 6%. Officials cite the deluge of immigration court cases has increased the backlog of immigration courts and that less and less illegal immigrants are trying to cross the border for fear of being apprehended.
On the other hand, ICE arrested almost 111,000 individuals suspected illegal immigrants during the period of January 20 to September 30, 2017, an increase of 42% from the same period in the year 2016. Officials attribute the increase in immigration arrests to the Trump Administration's aggressive immigration raids and sweeps of suspected illegal immigrants conducted along the borders, in communities, work places, churches, and even hospitals.


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Camilla Grebe was born in 1968 in Alvsjo, Sweden. She holds a degree from the Stockholm School of Economics and was a cofounder of audiobook publisher Storyside. Together with her sister Åsa Träff she has written five celebrated crime novels. The first two books in that series were nominated for Best Swedish Crime Novel of the Year. Grebe has also co-written the popular Moscow Noir trilogy.
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2,2 Azobisisobutyronitrile is in the form of a white powder and is completely soluble in common organic solvents like alcohol but is insoluble in water. Carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen are used to formulate this chemical compound. Also, it is used to prepare medicines for curing certain diseases and mental disorders.
Tetra Butyl Ammonium Bromide is preferably used as a phase transfer catalyst. It is a form of quaternary ammonium salt having a bromide counterion. Bromide is allowed to react with carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen atoms to formulate this chemical. In addition to it, this chemical is used to prepare certain other tetrabutylammonium salts by carrying out salt metathesis reactions.


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> Man Kills 4 Minor Girls To 'Cure' Wife's Illness As Per Tantrik's 'Advice'
Jul 31, 2015 at 10:08
Man Kills 4 Minor Girls To 'Cure' Wife's Illness As Per Tantrik's 'Advice'
Sreeraj TK
In what can be termed as a lethal combination of superstition and casteism plaguing the society, Uttar Pradesh police have arrested a man who has been accused of raping and killing four girls in order to 'cure' his wife of mental illness.
The man, named as Sonu from Mathura, has revealed that he had raped four minor girls before killing them on the advice of a tantrik who had told him that to cure his wife he needed to kill seven minor girls in all.
Source: Newkidz
"A girl, about 14 years old, was raped and murdered on November 23, 2010. She had arrived in the village for a wedding but never returned to the venue after wandering out. The second was a child, just four years old. She was killed in 2012. Her body, with the head smashed in with a large stone, was recovered in the village. He (Sonu) said the third girl was a nine-year-old. He did not recall the date of that murder," Sub-Inspector Omkar Sharma of Farah police station, Mathura, told Times Of India .
A man named Lalua Balmiki, who was lynched by a mob of about 100 men on Tuesday, July 28, for raping and killing a 12-year-old girl is believed to be the key accomplice of Sonu in all his crimes. Even Sonu himself was attacked that day but was saved with only injuries due to police intervention. This girl was the fourth victim.
Source: Down To Earth
Rakesh Singh, SSP Mathura, has confirmed that in all the three earlier incidents, cases were registered at the local police station. However, villagers have alleged that the duo have been involved in several other cases of murder as well.
Sonu, who is recuperating at the SN Medical College in Agra, denied his involvement in any crime. "I never killed anyone. I have never raped anyone. When I told Lalua of what the tantrik had said, he told me he would finish off the girls for me," he Times of India . However, police are brushing off his claims.
Equally shocking is the fact that the whole incident also has a caste angle attached to it. The deceased 12-year-old girl was from the Thakur caste while Sonu and Lalua are Dalits. The mob which attacked them consisted of men who were predominantly of Thakur caste. Sonu's parents have alleged that the upper caste group had also set their home on fire which has forced them to flee the village.
While respecting the anger of the members of the family over the death of their daughters, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Achindra Paras, who met Sonu in hospital, said , "It is a serious matter that Dalits were lynched and their houses burnt. We will take up the matter with higher authorities."
Source: The Times of India
Tension prevails across the village post the gruesome incidents of murders and lynching. Both the communities have been protesting against each other's actions. Police have lodged an FIR against 100 unnamed men for lynching Lalua . Four policemen have also been suspended for laxity at work.
It is highly appalling that people are still blinded by redundant superstitious beliefs which make them commit heinous crimes often resulting in rapes and murders. In a state where casteism is deeply ingrained in the mindsets of both the political class and the public, such incidents do not get the required attention leading it to move away from logical conclusions. Blame it on the lack of awareness, education or law and order, it is the society which stands to lose everything.


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Landscapes of the Dark: History, Trauma, Psychoanalysis
Author(s) : Jonathan Sklar
Publisher : Karnac Books
Also by Jonathan Sklar
Dark Times: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Politics,...
Balint Matters: Psychosomatics and the Art of Assessment
In stock, despatched within 24 hours
In this important new collection of essays, Jonathan Sklar argues that the founding tension between Freud's commitment to interpretation and Ferenczi's extra parameter of 'being in the experience' has a central place/key role to play in contemporary psychoanalytic debate, and that this tension can best be understood by returning to the place of trauma in psychoanalysis. Taking this debate into the heart of the clinical setting, a set of extensive, penetrating and often disturbing case studies examine the evocation of the real as early trauma for many patients and its subsequent mental development - a case of schizophrenia, a man with a severe tic (spasmodic Torticollis), and a neurotic with a somatic resistance to ending a long analysis.
Reviews & Endorsements
Reviews and Endorsements
With an introduction by Christopher Bollas and contributions by Michael Parsons.
'In this marvellous work, Jonathan Sklar achieves the rare feat of integrating a highly sophisticated and scholarly treatment of key concepts of clinical psychoanalytic theory, as argued by many contributors to the field including Freud, Ferenczi, and Sklar himself, with the most elegant clinical vignettes, demonstrating the arduous work of everyday clinical practice. Many of the theoretical arguments are based on the work of European (primarily British) thinkers, and analysts not as familiar with them will find a superb synthesis of their positions. It is hard to imagine, however, that every psychoanalyst - from the most seasoned to the beginner - would not benefit from the study of this book. Beautifully written and richly textured, I would advise savouring a few pages at a time, not only for the sheer pleasure of enjoying the material, but also in order to be able to assimilate the wealth of insights contained in each paragraph. This is a book to come back to over and over again.'
- Edward Nersessian, MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Weil-Cornell Medical College, Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst, The New York Psychoanalytic Institute
'Landscapes of the Dark is a meditation on the meanings and practice of psychoanalysis which reaffirms free association and history in the clinical encounter and beyond. Jonathan Sklar's concern is trauma in the individual as it makes itself felt in psychotic moments or "enactments", in "flitting thoughts" or silence; manifestations of the transfer of thought from unconscious to unconscious in the consulting room, which shape and determine the patient's movement through daily life and which stem from the tension between real event and trauma in the mind of the analysand. The analyst listens, pays patient attention to several temporal dimensions at once, and his capacity to bear the powerful emotion which fills the room - like a symphony, a poem, or sometimes a dark, cold, landscape - are his contribution to the arduous work of analysis. Here are insights to cherish: who can forget the woman who left the scarlet handkerchief pinched between two doors; the child alone downstairs in the lounge while her mother continually "took to her bed"; or, indeed, the analyst enduring despair? Sklar reflects on real events that scar modern history. His work in the European Psychoanalytic Federation (which now includes the Middle East, parts of Africa and more) demonstrates the ways in which inner and outer worlds are indissoluably linked. Everyone interested in how the mind works should read Landscapes of the Dark; Sklar breathes new life into its tensions, faultlines, and sources of creativity.'
- Sally Alexander, Emeritus Professor of Modern History, Goldsmiths, University of London
Jonathan Sklar, MBBS, FRCPsych, is a training analyst and fellow of the British Psychoanalytic Society. Originally trained in psychiatry at Friern and the Royal Free Hospitals, he worked for four years in psychotherapy at the Tavistock Clinic in London. For many years he was consultant psychotherapist and head of the psychotherapy department at Addenbrookes and Fulbourn hospital in Cambridge. He now works in full time analytic practice in London. He teaches and supervises at the Institute of Psychoanalysis; teaches an MSc course on 'Ferenczi and Contemporary Psychoanalysis' at University College London; and teaches in Chicago. For the past five years, he has convened a psychoanalytic conference outside Cape Town and, for thirty years, has convened Balint groups working with general practitioners and psychiatrists. He has lectured widely throughout Europe as well as in South America. His psychoanalytic papers have been published in Italian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. From 2007-2011 he was Vice President of the European Psychoanalytic Federation.
More titles by Jonathan Sklar
Jonathan Sklar
Dark Times: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Politics, History, and Mourning
Psychoanalysis and Other Matters: Where Are We Now?
Judith Edwards


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Emma Donoghue's Frog Music is an 1870s Crossdressing Murder Mystery Joy
Emma Donoghue. You sphinx of the book world, how can we tell what you're going to write about next?
Her last book was Astray, a history-inspired set of short stories; before that was Room, a novel told from the perspective of a child who's grown up in a single room due to his mother being held there by a kidnapping psychopath. Before THAT, she's had books about the 18th, 19th, and current centuries, some lesbian and some heterosexual, three non-fiction works, and YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHAT'S COMING. It's all very exciting.
Donoghue's newest book, out this week, is Frog Music. The good people at Little, Brown sent me a copy of it, presumably because they read this and realized I would storm their castle gates until it was rendered up.
Frog Music is based on the real life murder of an 1870s San Francisco cross-dresser named Jenny Bonnet. Donoghue loves taking obscure historical events and expanding them into a whole story, and I love her history nerd mind for doing it. The novel is told from the perspective of the woman who is with Jenny when she dies, Blanche Beunon. Blanche dances for the gentlemen of San Francisco, if you know what I mean.
I went into this not knowing what to expect. Then I decided it was about Blanche. Then I decided it was about Jenny. What I was NOT expecting was it being about Blanche and her baby, Petit. Very surprising.
It's very hard for me to LIKE books about babies. It seems weirdly cliched or like the author finally had a kid and wants to tell you how unique their perspective is on this event that happens to most of the planet. Emma Donoghue takes the mother/child bond and doesn't idealize it. She talks about getting peed on and vomited on and being so frustrated you feel you're going to go insane and can this baby just give you five — FIVE — minutes so you can regroup -- no? -- why, tiny baby, why. But there is this bond. And it keeps you going.
He's frozen for a moment. Massive dark eyes fixed on hers. Then he shrieks even harder, and his hands shoot out. Such an unfamiliar gesture that at first she flinches away from the thickened wrists, thinking he's trying to throttle her. And then she understands. This is what breaks Blanche's heart, that even as P'tit's sobbing with fright, he's reaching out for her in a way he's never done before, a way she didn't know he could. How could the tiny boy want a hug from her right now, with the tears she's caused by shrieking obscenities at him still dancing on his red cheeks?
The book starts with Jenny's murder in a little town outside San Francisco and moves you backwards and forwards from that point, which is my favorite sort of device because I get BORED, people. Linear time is for suckahs. You see Blanche and Jenny's first meeting and the entirety of their short acquaintance, Blanche's relationship with her longtime "maque" (Blanche is French and a lot of slang is used, but is completely understandable -- her maque here is essentially her kept man), and her relationship with her son.
Because Emma Donoghue is a history nerd, 1870s San Francisco is made clear to the reader, right down to the smell of the air and color of the mud. So many authors who set their stories in the past rely on famous figures popping up ("Why, President Lincoln! Think of seeing you here! Off to the theatre tonight, sir?" wink wink) and when you instead are able to show through your obvious research that went beyond Celebrities of the 1560s what it was like to be alive and walking through the streets of that time, then I tip my period-appropriate hat to you.
Apparently any one of these would do, but
what they all need is MORE BIRDS AND FLOWERS
The shifting timeline kept me interested, the historical detail kept me interested, and of course the mystery of Who Killed Jenny Bonnet kept me interested. Donoghue excels at historical writing, and it's obviously where her passion lies. She finds the most obscure historical event and crafts a 300+ page novel about it, making you meet the people involved and feel for them. I'm so happy she wrote Frog Music. Add more to this genre, Donoghue!
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