In the FOUNDATION of knowledge, God's Instruction Book for man, the Creator God reveals much knowledge totally beyond man's ability to discover for himself – including the knowledge and understanding of what man is, why he was made that way, as well as what he is to become.
God created the first man. And He tells us how He made him so there would be no doubt as to what we really are.
1. Out of what did God form man? Gen. 2:7. Was it the whole man – "thou" – that was composed of dust? Gen. 3:19.
COMMENT: Adam was made from and therefore composed of earth – the dust of the ground!
2. After God had formed the man – made all the cells in his body – what did He do to give him physical life? Gen. 2:7.
COMMENT: God blew into the man's lungs through the nostrils air – "the breath of life" – containing oxygen and the man began to live! Notice that the verse does not say God breathed an immortal soul into the man.
3. Does the "breath of life" also pass through the nostrils of animals? Gen. 7:21-22. Is it therefore the breath of life that is cut off when a human being or an animal dies? Verse 23.
COMMENT: The source of physical life in man and all animals is the same. Not once does the "breath of life" even remotely refer to an "immortal soul" or life apart from the physical body. Otherwise animals, birds and even insects – gnats, fleas, mosquitoes – have immortal souls, for they all have the same "breath of life"!
4. After God breathed the breath of life into Adam's nostrils, what did he become? Gen. 2:7, last part.
COMMENT: Man does not have a soul – man IS a "soul"! The original Hebrew word for "soul" is nephesh. Bagster's Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon defines it as "anything that breathes, an animal." It can also refer to a "person," or even "one dead, a dead body." In Genesis 1:21, 24; 2:19; 9:10, 12, 15, 16 and Leviticus 11:46, nephesh is translated "creature" when referring to animals. And nephesh is translated as "dead body" or "the dead" in Leviticus 19:28; 21:1; 22:4; Numbers 5:2; 6:11 and 9:6, 7, 10.
So man is a creature. Man is a SOUL. Animals are creatures or souls, too! The "soul" is merely physical life that is subject to death and decay. The soul of man clearly is material, not spiritual. It is not immortal!
5. Is man plainly said to be "mortal"? Job 4:17. And are we emphatically told that "souls" can die? Ezek. 18:4, 20.
6. Was Adam subject to the penalty of death if he sinned? Gen. 2:17, last part. What would he become after death? Gen. 3:19. Was it the body only that would die, or was it the whole man – "thou" – that would die? Same verse.
7. What one thing befalls both man and beast? Eccl. 3:19. Is this because air ceased to enter their lungs? Same verse.
8. Do all men and animals alike go to the same place at death? Verse 20.
COMMENT: When an animal dies, it is dead. When man dies, he is completely dead, too. Both go to the grave. And all men and animals become dust once again.
9. Now what does Ecclesiastes 3:21 ask?
COMMENT: The Hebrew word ruach, translated "spirit" in this verse, also means air, wind, breath. It is translated 27 times as "breath" in the King James Version. Three examples are Genesis 6:17; 7:15 and Lamentations 4:20. It is also translated 83 times as "wind." Thus we can see that ruach has a very broad meaning, and may be applied to a wide variety of things whose common denominator is invisibility. It may mean "attitude" as well as "spirit," and with the word "holy," it means the Holy Spirit of God.
10. When a person dies – becomes lifeless – does he still have a conscious existence apart from the body because of an "immortal soul" that existed within him? Eccl. 9:5; Ps. 146:4.
11. Are the dead able to praise God? Ps. 115:17. Is there any remembrance of God in death? Ps. 6:5.
12. Is the "soul" something which can be destroyed? Matt. 10:28. Then didn't Jesus plainly show that the soul of man is not immortal? Let's understand exactly what Jesus was talking about.
COMMENT: There are those who use this text to support the common belief of the immortality of the soul. Yet this verse plainly says the soul is something that can be destroyed in hell! Thus, whatever this "soul" is, it could NOT be immortal!
The New Testament Greek word here translated "soul" is psuche. The Greek psuche simply means "life," "existence," just as does the Old Testament Hebrew word nephesh.
In Matthew 10:28, the word soul refers to life that man cannot permanently destroy – but which God can. What kind of life could this be? Obviously life which God RESTORES by a resurrection!
Man cannot permanently destroy a life that God renews by a resurrection. Although men may kill their physical bodies, said Jesus, true Christians know that men cannot take from them eternal life, which God has promised at the resurrection. But GOD can permanently destroy all possibility of eternal life. How? By casting a physically resurrected person into the "lake of fire" to be utterly consumed – never to be resurrected again. This is the ultimate penalty of sin (Rom. 6:23) – eternal death!
This possibility of eternal destruction is a key reason why God made humankind mortal!
Recall from our previous studies that the government of God ceased to be administered on earth after the rebellion of the archangel Lucifer (now called Satan), and one-third of the angels. Later, God created the first human, Adam, with the potential of qualifying to replace Satan as ruler of the earth, and thus restore the government and way of God. But to qualify as successor to Satan, the human successor had to reject Satan's way and come under the government of God.
God and to live God's way of life, finally to be born of God as members of His eternal family!
1. Did the Word volunteer, in advance, to divest Himself temporarily of the supreme power and glory He had possessed from eternity, to be begotten by God, and be born of human flesh for the purpose of death to pay the penalty for the sins of mortal man? John 1:1, 14; 17:5; Heb. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; Rom. 5:6-9; I Peter 1:19-21; Rev. 13:8.
COMMENT: Since God delegated the actual creation of man to the Word (John 1:3), the Word, when physically born as a human being for the purpose of death, would, in that death, be giving a life of greater value than the sum total of all human lives. And, being Divine as well as human – being God as well as man, He, the person of Christ, avoided sinning through the fullness of the Holy Spirit which He possessed. Then He, who never sinned, although tempted in all points just like the rest of humanity (Heb. 4:15), in death could pay in our stead the penalty we have incurred, which is eternal death (Rom. 6:23).
Since God the Father has the power of life and death, He resurrected Christ from death to immortal life – thus making a resurrection to immortal, Spirit-composed life also possible for mankind (Rom. 5:10).
2. Does God therefore command all men to repent? Mark 1:14-15; Acts 17:30; 2:38. What are we in reality choosing when we repent? Deut. 30:19-20.
COMMENT: Repentance is turning from the way of Satan to the government of God. It is accepting God's rule over our lives through His Law of love. It is accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and soon-coming King – the "second Adam" who did qualify (whereas the first Adam failed) to reestablish the government of God on the earth by overcoming Satan. Those who are to reign with Christ must also qualify during this mortal life by turning from and rejecting Satan's way, overcoming that way day by day, and actually living by God's Law of love.
3. Will those who choose life – who repent of sin and obey God – be born of immortal spirit at the first resurrection? I Cor. 15:42-54; John 3:3-8.
4. But what about those who will not repent and accept Christ's sacrifice in payment for their sins – those who refuse to turn from Satan's way and refuse to come under the government of God in their lives – what will ultimately happen to them? Rom. 6:23; Rev. 20:14-15; Mal. 4:1-3.
COMMENT: God wants every human being who has ever lived to have the opportunity to repent and live forever (II Peter 3:9; I Tim. 2:3-4). But God will not force anyone to choose life. For those who refuse to follow God's way to eternal life there will be the "second death" – the fate of all UNrepentant sinners. They will cease to exist forever. They will be as if they had never been!
We can now see that God chose to make man first out of physical matter instead of spirit for an important reason. Prior to the creation of man, He had made angels out of immortal spirit – not mortal flesh and blood subject to death. And one-third of these angels sinned by rebelling against the government of God. But the punishment for sinning angels is not physical death.
Angels are composed of spirit and therefore cannot die. Since one-third of the angels chose the way of sin, their punishment is eternal loss of the glorious opportunity God gave them to accomplish His purpose on earth. And their sins have resulted in eternal hopelessness and frustration, their minds being filled with resentment, bitterness and rebellion. Happiness and joy have left them forever!
God planned in advance that if man, composed of matter, sinned and refused to repent, he would die – he would be as though he had never been.
God will not allow any incorrigible human being to live forever in mental anguish and torment like the fallen angels. This plan reflects the great mercy of God toward mortal man!
When called by God and made to realize that he has sinned, man can REPENT – turn from his sin to God's way. And once his course is changed, with God's help he can pursue a life of obedience to God. He can grow in spiritual knowledge and develop the character of God – overcome wrong habits, weaknesses and faults. (More about this later.) And this is all done through the free will and choice of each human mind. And that brings us to the crux of this lesson!
Only man, of all God's physical creatures, has the seemingly miraculous ability to think, reason, plan, design, and come to conclusions based on acquired knowledge. Animals cannot comprehend the concepts of good and evil. They don't repent.
There is a great uncrossable GULF between animal brain and human mind. The evolutionary theory assumes that humans are animals. But one thing evolution can never explain is the total difference between animal brain, equipped with instinct, and the human mind, with its creative reasoning powers of intellect, devoid of instinct in the strict sense that animals possess it.
Some animals have physical brains as large or larger than man's brain, and with similar cerebral cortex complexity – but none has the powers of intellect, logic, self-consciousness and creativity.
The physical brain of a dolphin, whale or elephant is larger than the human brain, while a chimp's is slightly smaller. Qualitatively the difference between them and the human brain is very little – not enough to remotely account for the vastly superior intelligence and output of the human brain. The gap between animal brain and human mind is incredibly vast!
1. Were animals created in God's image – or was each created after its own kind? Gen. 1:21, 24-25. Who was created in the "image" and "likeness" of God? Gen. 1:26-27. Was man to rule over all other creatures? Verse 26.
COMMENT: These verses reveal God's great plan – His ultimate purpose for mankind. When God molded Adam out of the dust of the ground, he was made in the "likeness" – the outward form and shape of GOD Himself! God didn't make any of the other creatures to be a clay replica of Himself. This unique form and shape was given to man alone. This is because man was created with the potential to become God!
Each animal was created with a brain suited for its particular animal kind. But animals do not have the potential of MIND and CHARACTER, which God gave only to man. No animal was ever given the gift of mind power – the ability to think, to reason, to make choices and decisions – as was man!
Animals possess what we call instinct. Their brains are "programmed," so to speak, by God with particular instinctive aptitudes to live and perform in a certain way. They follow instinctive habit patterns in their feeding, nesting, migration and reproduction. Thus beavers build dams, birds build nests, etc. These aptitudes are inherited – they are not the result of logical, cognitive or thinking processes.
For example, millions of birds flock south each year as winter approaches in the northern hemisphere. They don't stop to "reason" why, they don't ask themselves whether they should, they don't "plan ahead" an itinerary for the trip. At a given internal signal – like the preset alarm of a clock – they leave their summer feeding grounds in the north and travel hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles south. Scientists don't fully understand how or why – they merely observe the operation of this amazing animal instinct.
Each species or kind of bird builds a different type of nest and feeds on specific kinds of foods. Many migrate at different times to various destinations. But none of these actions is planned in advance by the birds. They merely have the capability and proclivity to do that which Almighty God built into the instinct of each at creation.
But man's mind is vastly different from animal instinct. Man is able to devise various ways to do any one thing or to achieve a predetermined goal. Man can acquire knowledge and reason from it. He can draw conclusions, make decisions, will to act according to a thought-out plan.
Man can design and build different types of houses, using different designs and different building materials. Men also eat different foods, prepared in many different ways. Men may live entirely different lifestyles from one another. And if a man wants to change his way of life – he can! Man is not subject to instinct. He is not governed by a set of predetermined habit patterns as animals are.
Man can choose – he has free moral agency. He can devise codes of conduct and exercise self-discipline. Man can originate ideas and evaluate knowledge because he has a MIND which is patterned after God's own mind! Man can devise, plan, and bring his plans to fruition because he has been given some of the very creative powers of God!
Man alone can wonder, "Why was I born? What is life? What is death? Is there a purpose in human existence?" Man, unlike the animals, not only knows how to do certain things, but he also KNOWS that he knows – that is, he is aware that he has "knowledge." He is conscious of the fact. He is self-conscious, aware of his own existence as a unique being.
These attributes of mind and character make man God's UNIQUE physical creation. God has shared some of His own qualities with man. And God expects man to develop and become conformed to the spiritual "image" of God's perfect mind and holy character (Matt. 5:48) – just as man now is formed in the physical "image" of God.
"Human" Spirit Makes the Difference!
Man was created to have a very special relationship with God that is utterly nonexistent with animals. Man was made in the similitude of the GOD kind. He was made in God's image so that he might one day be born into God's divine family!
What is it then that separates humankind from the animal kingdom? What gives man this God-plane power of intellect?
1. Since man does not have an immortal soul within him which enables him to live on apart from his body after death (remember man is a mortal soul), does the Bible nevertheless speak of a "spirit IN man"? Job 32:8, 18; Zech. 12:1; I Cor. 2:11.
COMMENT: Many passages of Scripture show that there is a "spirit" IN man! This spirit is not the man – it is something that is in the man. Joined with the physical brain of the man, it forms human MIND. It imparts to man's brain his unique powers of intellect and personality – the ability to think rationally and make free will decisions. It imparts the ability to learn mathematics, languages or other types of knowledge such as music, art, carpentry, flying, etc.
2. Is this "spirit in man" clearly distinguished from the Holy Spirit of God? I Cor. 2:11.
COMMENT: The spirit which is in man can be called "human" spirit, for it is in each human, even though it is spirit essence and not matter. It is not a "ghost," spirit being, or the Holy Spirit. It is not the man, but spirit essence IN the man. It is NOT a soul – the physical human is a soul.
The human spirit, given to every human being by God, does not supply human life – the human life is in the physical blood, oxidized by the breath of life (Lev. 17:11). But the spirit in man does impart the power of intellect to the human brain. This nonphysical component in the human brain does not exist in the brains of animals.
The spirit in man is spirit essence, just as in the material world air is a gaseous essence. But this "human" spirit cannot see. The physical brain sees through the eyes. The human spirit in a person cannot hear. The brain hears through the ears. This human spirit cannot think. The brain thinks. The human spirit imparts the power to think far above the level of brute animals' brain function. Without such spirit animals cannot do original thinking.
Whatever knowledge enters the brain through the five senses is instantly stored (memorized) in the "human" spirit within the person, much like a computer stores information. It enables the brain to have instant recall of stored-up knowledge in the spirit, thus enabling the brain to utilize bits of related knowledge in the process of THINKING and REASONING.
Animals also see, hear, smell, taste and feel, but what they perceive through their senses is not stored as in the human spirit. There is no spirit to cause the physical brain to function in the process of thinking, reasoning and acquiring knowledge.
3. Why has the truth about this "human" spirit in man not been understood by the world today? Rev. 12:9.
COMMENT: The marvelous truth about the "spirit in man" is so important that Satan twisted and perverted it long ago. He clouded the minds of men and led them into believing his "big lie" as far back as the time of Adam and Eve.
4. What did Satan tell Eve? Gen. 3:4.
COMMENT: Here was the origin of the "immortality of the soul" teaching so prevalent today! Satan told Eve she would "not surely die" – in other words, she had an "immortal soul" that would live forever. Eve believed this lie. And most of the world today continues to believe some variation of that ancient "big lie"!
Man has the intellectual capacity to design spaceships to take him to the moon and back, to invent the computer and to do other marvelous exploits in the physical, material realm. Yet during man's nearly 6,000 years on earth, he has proved that he cannot solve his problems with fellowmen.
Why has this been so? Because man's real problems are spiritual in nature and the natural man simply cannot solve spiritual problems. In producing the computer or in flying to the moon, he is dealing with physical matter which he can understand because of the human spirit within him. But he cannot solve problems with fellow humans because this involves knowledge and understanding of spiritual principles which he cannot comprehend without the addition of another spiritual element to his mind!
1. What was the apostle Paul inspired to write about man's understanding of the spiritual things of God? I Cor. 2:9-11. What must be added before a man can comprehend spiritually revealed knowledge? Verse 11, last part; verse 14.
COMMENT: Man was made to need another spirit – the Holy Spirit of God! Just as a human could not know the things of human knowledge except by the human spirit within him, so he cannot know the things of God – spiritual knowledge – except by the addition of the Spirit of God.
Just as surely as no animal brain – such as that of a cow, for example – can comprehend or understand human affairs without the human spirit, so no human mind can have comprehension of spiritual truths on the divine plane without the Holy Spirit!
Even the greatest scientific and philosophical minds simply cannot come to know and understand SPIRITUAL truths with their natural minds. God's truth is "foolishness" to them. The natural man with his human spirit is limited to material knowledge.
Spiritual things cannot be seen with the eye, heard with the ear, felt with the hands. The human mind, which can receive knowledge only through the physical senses, can never really comprehend spiritual concepts and principles without the Holy Spirit of God. A man can come to know that which is spiritual only through God's Holy Spirit, which works with the human spirit in his mind. That is the only way the human mind can receive and comprehend the knowledge of and attain God's GREAT PURPOSE for man's existence!
2. Does God reveal there is duality in the creation of man? I Cor. 15:45-49. Must man be born again to enter the Kingdom or Family of God? John 3:3-8.
COMMENT: Mortal man was created incomplete. The complete creation of man is to be accomplished in two stages: 1) the physical phase, which was completed with the first man, Adam; and 2) the spiritual phase, which began with the Second Adam, Jesus Christ. And to accomplish the spiritual phase, man was made to need another Spirit – the Holy Spirit of God.
3. How does one receive the Holy Spirit? Acts 2:38; John 7:37-39.
COMMENT; Through Christ, the Second Adam, we can receive God's gift of His Holy Spirit. Upon repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, whose death paid the penalty for sin in our stead, we may be reconciled to God and receive the Holy Spirit of God, which is added to our human spirit.
COMMENT: The human spirit in man and the Holy Spirit of God join to make a begotten child of God, just as the male sperm cell and the female ovum or egg cell join to make a begotten human, but not yet developed or ready to be born as a human being.
God's Holy Spirit, when it combines with the human spirit in the human mind, does two things: 1) it begets the human with divine, eternal life to be later born into the God family as a divine being, then composed wholly of spirit; 2) it imparts to the mind the ability to comprehend spiritual knowledge – to understand the things of God.
5. Could Adam and Eve have been begotten by God's Holy Spirit? Gen. 2:9, 16-17.
COMMENT: As thoroughly explained in the previous lesson, the first human beings were freely offered this second and much-needed Spirit. Of the two symbolic trees in the garden in Eden, the "tree of life" represented God's Holy Spirit. To have taken the fruit of that tree would have been to receive God's Holy Spirit, which would have joined with their human spirits, impregnating them as spiritually begotten (not yet born) children of God.
But by taking of the fruit of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil," our first parents rejected God's Spirit, which would have begotten the very life of God in them and would have enabled them to understand revealed spiritual knowledge. Thus they cut themselves and their descendants off from access to God's Spirit and limited themselves and the human race to material knowledge and understanding, except for those whom God would specially call (John 6:44).
6. When will spirit-begotten Christians be born into God's spirit family? I Cor. 15:50-53; I Thess. 4:16-17.
COMMENT: The Spirit-begotten Christian now has, conditionally, the presence of eternal life with in him (or her) through a portion of the Spirit from the Father. But this does not mean he is an immortal spirit being. He is not yet composed of God's Spirit. He is now an "heir" of God (Rom. 8:16-17) – not yet an inheritor or a possessor, not yet "born again." But, if the Holy Spirit dwells in us, God will, at Christ's return to earth as King of kings, give us immortality by His Spirit that dwells in us (Rom. 8:11).
Now just as in human reproduction the impregnated embryo, which later becomes a fetus, is not yet born but must be nourished for a period of time through the human mother; so the begotten Christian is not yet born into the God family. The divine life has merely been begotten. It must now grow!
Included in God's purpose for creating man is the development of righteous, spiritual character within him! Notice again what God said in Genesis 1:26: "Let us make man in our image…." The original Hebrew here indicates far more than merely the form and shape of God – His outward likeness. "Image" also refers to mind and character! God intended for man – to whom He gave the gift of a thinking, reasoning mind – to ultimately have the very mind and character of GOD!
God's purpose in creating man is to reproduce Himself with perfect spiritual character as only God possesses. Man was therefore created in God's own image and likeness – His own form and shape with a mind similar to His – so God could begin to develop the very character of God in him.
1. Are spirit-begotten Christians therefore admonished to grow spiritually? II Peter 3:18; I Peter 2:1-2. Who are we eventually to become like? Matt. 5:48; Eph. 4:15; I John 3:2, 9.
COMMENT: Just as the human body and brain gradually begin to form during the gestation period in human reproduction, the righteous and holy character of God must begin to form and grow once one is begotten by God's Spirit.
Obviously, we cannot become absolutely perfect in character until the resurrection, when God will complete the process by giving each of us a new, perfect spirit body with its perfect – sinless (I John 3:2, 9) – nature that will be like Christ's and the Father's. But in the meantime, God wants us to grow in His spiritual character daily by obeying His commandments and overcoming and rooting sin out of our lives – growing toward that spiritual perfection!
Such perfect, holy character cannot be created by fiat. It must be developed, and that requires time and experience. God gives us time in which to learn that only His way of life brings real peace, happiness, and a joyful, abundant life. We will have learned that sin causes only heartache, misery, suffering and death.
2. What is one important way we are to grow once spiritually begotten of God? Matt. 4:4; II Tim. 3:16-17.
COMMENT: We become spiritual "embryos" when, upon receipt of the Holy Spirit, we are begotten of God. And to grow spiritually, we must take in spiritual nourishment. Just as the embryo in a mother's womb must be nourished with life-giving food through the placenta, so we must be nourished by the Word of God. "…The words that I speak unto you," said Jesus, "they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). Those words are recorded in the Bible – and Jesus said we are to live by every word of God. We drink in these life-giving words from the Bible through reading, studying and meditating (thinking) on what we read.
Spiritual character development requires time and comes largely by experience – by putting the Word of God into practice in our daily lives. One builds the righteous character of God as he comes to discern, through God's revelation in the Holy Bible, right from wrong – the true values from the false – truth from error, then chooses the right and rejects the wrong and, with the help of God's Holy Spirit, resists the wrong and DOES the right! Growing in spiritual knowledge and spiritual character is a gradual process that continues the rest of one's life.
3. Is prayer also essential to our spiritual growth and overcoming? Matt. 6:5-15; Eph. 6:18.
COMMENT: In addition to Bible study, earnest prayer is absolutely necessary. We also absorb spiritual nourishment through personal, daily contact with God. When you study the Bible, God is talking to you. When you pray, you are talking to Him. You really get to know God in this manner, just as you become better acquainted with people by conversation.
4. Is the love we share in Christian fellowship with other spiritually-begotten people in God's Church another important way we grow in God's character? I John 1:3, 7; Heb. 10:25.
5. Exactly what part does God's Church play in the individual Christian's spiritual growth? Gal. 4:26; Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11-15.
COMMENT: God's Church is the spiritual "mother" of all who have been begotten by God's Holy Spirit. God has set His called and chosen ministers in His Church to "feed the flock" so the individual members may grow spiritually. Christ has given His ministers the responsibility to instruct, teach and counsel the members of the Church. So just as a human mother feeds her begotten child within her womb through the placenta and umbilical cord, God's children are nourished with spiritual food within the true Church.
And as the human mother carries her unborn baby in that part of her body where she can best protect it from physical harm, the function of God's Church is to also protect the begotten children of God from spiritual harm -- from the false doctrines of false ministers who appear as Christ's representatives, but actually (whether wittingly or unwittingly) represent Satan and his way (II Cor. 11:13-15).
6. When will we, if we are spirit-begotten Christians, become fully mature, fully grown members of God's divine family? I Thess. 4:16-17; Phil. 3:20-21; I John 3:2.
COMMENT: Finally, when resurrected from the dead or changed from mortal flesh to immortal spirit at Christ's return, the incredible human potential will have blossomed into reality. We will have been BORN into the divine family of God possessing the fullness of the very character of God!
But since the mortal bodies of those to be resurrected will have already returned to the dust of the earth, how will God restore their former appearance and accumulated funds of knowledge? And what about the righteous character God built within them while alive? The answer to these intriguing questions has to do with the "spirit in man"!
There is an old saying, "You can't take it with you when you die." You may drive yourself relentlessly to amass a financial fortune in this life, but you'll leave it all behind when you die.
There is, however, something infinitely more valuable in life that isn't lost when one dies. And that is the righteous, spiritual character that God, the Master Potter (Isa. 64:8), is fashioning in those of us who are His spirit-begotten children. In the resurrection, you not only will look just like you do now (without handicaps or blemishes, of course), you will have the same knowledge you acquired in this life – and the same character!
Such men of God as Abraham, Moses, David and Daniel died thousands of years ago. But they will be brought back to life at Christ's return. Since they were composed of corruptible flesh and blood, their bodies have long since decomposed and returned to dust. So how can they exist again as individual personalities? God had to provide some way to preserve their form, shape, appearance, mind and character.
God can bring a dead individual back to life even though a human body that once lived disintegrates, decomposes, or is cremated and scattered to the four winds. It is the "spirit in man" that preserves our very form, shape, memory and character. The resurrected immortal body in the first resurrection will be precisely like the former, though now composed of spirit.
Recall that God puts in every person a separate "human" spirit. As was emphasized before, this spirit does not impart life, cannot see, hear, feel or think. But it does impart mind power to the brain. And this spirit records every bit of knowledge received through the five senses and it records whatever character has been developed during one's life. The "spirit in man" also records the personality of the individual and the physical makeup of the whole body!
1. But what happens to the spirit in man at death? Eccl. 12:7.
COMMENT: When we die, all consciousness ceases (Eccl. 9:5, Psalm 146:4). The physical brain decays. But the "human" spirit, which is not conscious because it has separated from the human brain which makes consciousness possible, returns to God. It is preserved intact by God until the resurrection! It is the one ingredient that was IN humans which makes it possible for individuals to exist again. Therefore the Bible speaks of the dead as being "asleep" in the meantime (Dan. 12:2).
And so when a person dies, the spirit "recording" returns to God and is "filed" away until the time God will "replay" it to bring about the resurrection of the identical personality to life and consciousness!
To help illustrate how the spirit in man preserves an individual's physical makeup, knowledge, character, personality – actually the whole person – intact until the resurrection, consider how magnetic recording tape is now used to preserve both sound and picture. In sound recording, a voice or the music of an orchestra is electromagnetically recorded. Your naked eye can't see anything that was recorded on the tape, yet it's there. This sound is then reproduced or "resurrected" when played on a tape machine. Until then, however, it makes no sound whatsoever. But when played on the tape machine, the whole sound "comes to life" precisely as it sounded when originally recorded.
In the case of a television tape recording, both video (picture) and audio (sound) are recorded. It comes "back to life" in the form of a vivid full-color picture with sound when replayed!
All of this seems commonplace today. We have come to take these "modern miracles" for granted as part of everyday life. Then should it seem too difficult for the Creator, miracle-working God to preserve the unique individual that we are by means of the "spirit in man"?
2. What type of body will the dead in Christ receive at the resurrection? Phil. 3:20-21; I Cor. 15:42-44, 52.
COMMENT: The resurrected being, now born of God, will be composed of spirit, not of matter as the human model was. He will suddenly come alive with his new body. It will seem like the next second from his loss of consciousness at the time of death. He will discover all his memory intact. He will look as he did when he was a physical human being. The character which was built within him will be there. And he will remain alive forever!
Now we see clearly the great purpose the Creator God had in making man UNIQUE among all His physical creation. Mortal man has within his reach the glorious reality of attaining the resurrection of the dead and receiving immortality – forever being a part of the universe-ruling Family of God!


choice of mushrooms or spinach.
Fried cripsy, soft corn or flour tortilla folded and stuffed with ground beef, lettuce and cheese.
Savory pork meat filling, steamed in corn meal casing, topped with beef, cheese and sauce.
Flat tortilla with refried beans, sprinkled with cheese, topped with guacamole salad.
Flour tortilla stuffed with ground beef, topped with cheese and red sauce.
Corn tortilla stuffed with ground beef, topped with cheese and enchilada sauce.
Poblano pepper stuffed with ground beef and cheese, covered with cheese and sauce.
Quesadilla filled with fajita chicken or steak.
Tender shrimp cooked with red spicy sauce.
Tender chicken breaded and deep fried.
Tender steak breaded and deep fried.
Two tacos (beef or chicken), rice and beans 5.99.


Please visit authenticguitars.com for more guitars and pictures!
Authentic Guitars Inc. was established in 1993. Our store front is located in Williamsburg, Va. We offer sales of new, used, and vintage instruments. We also have an extensive lesson program and offer expert repairs.


Specialized's Flash offers all the great features of their adult helmets in a junior size. It has a durable hard shell, ample vents, soft straps, and Specialized's Headset SX retention system for a sweet, customizable fit. There's even a removable visor for comfort and protection.
Sleek styling, a simple and secure magnetic buckle, cool graphics, and child-oriented sizing make the Shuffle Child helmet the perfect choice for your tiny riders. - Headset SX fit system with child-oriented sizing that's designed for an easy and accurate fit. - 4th Dimension Cooling System to optimize ventilation. - In-molded shell improves strength and reduces weight. - Magnetic buckle improves comfort and allows for easy and secure strap attachment. - Tri-Fix web splitter for improved comfort and ease of strap adjustments. - Reflective webbing for increased visibility in low-light conditions. - Stylish, youthful designs complement our bike graphics and colors. - Patented clip-on visor included.
Sleek styling, a simple and secure magnetic buckle, cool graphics, and youth-oriented sizing make the Shuffle Youth helmet the perfect choice for your kids. - Headset SX fit system with youth oriented sizing that's designed for an easy and accurate fit. - 4th Dimension Cooling System to optimize ventilation. - In-molded shell improves strength and reduces weight. - Magnetic buckle improves comfort and allows for easy and secure strap attachment. - Tri-Fix web splitter for improved comfort and ease of strap adjustments. - Reflective webbing for increased visibility in low-light conditions. - Stylish, youthful designs complement our bike graphics and colors. - Patented clip-on visor included.
With cool styling, excellent ventilation, rugged construction and Giro's Acu Dial fit system, Giro's Flume is a great helmet for kids. In fact, it features everything Giro's adult helmets do, even a visor. And, the Flume comes in a handy universal size so your child won't outgrow it anytime soon. It's a helmet that both kids and adults will agree on.
Specialized's Boys Small Fry is a protective, fun and stylish helmet they'll love. It has a durable shell and boasts Specialized's easily adjusted Headset SC retention system for a comfortable and secure fit as they grow. Other fine touches include reflective straps for safety, mesh vent coverings to keep bugs at bay and an oversize brim for sun protection. Plus, the Small Fry can be worn comfortably even in a child carrier. Maybe best of all, your child will actually want to wear this helmet thanks to the eye-catching graphics.
Specialized's Boys Small Fry Toddler is a protective, fun and stylish helmet they'll love. It has a durable shell and boasts Specialized's easily adjusted Headset SC retention system for a comfortable and secure fit as they grow. Other fine touches include reflective straps for safety, mesh vent coverings to keep bugs at bay and an oversize brim for sun protection. Plus, the Small Fry can be worn comfortably even in a child carrier. Maybe best of all, your child will actually want to wear this helmet thanks to the eye-catching graphics.


Recorded: December 19th, 2016: In this live interview with Jay White, you'll discover how writing emails is one of the fastest and easiest ways for a writer to start earning money now.
Recorded: December 8th, 2016: Reality Blogger Candice Lazar sits down with Wealthy Web Writer Rebecca Matter to make some big plans for the New Year. Find out what they are!
Recorded: December 6th, 2016: During this webinar you'll get three great ideas to help you make each month of 2017 better than last. Plus get updated about what's new on the site and what's coming up.
Recorded: November 29th, 2016: Site audits offer a lucrative way to approach and land clients, while lining up new business. In this teleconference, Pam Foster reveals how they work.
Recorded: November 22nd, 2016: Relaunching a business is a situation many, if not most, web writers face sooner or later. In this event, learn the basics steps to prepare for a relaunch.
Recorded: November 10th, 2016: If you've ever faced discouragement, you know how much it can hinder your progress as a writer. Use these tips for beating discouragement going forward.
Recorded: November 3rd, 2016: Join a group of AWAI Copywriting Bootcamp attendees to help us keep the Bootcamp motivation going. You'll get top takeaways and ideas for using them!
Bootcamp 2016 – Live Blog!
October 19th – 22nd: It's that time of year. Bootcamp time! I'll be on the ground in Delray Beach as some of the biggest names in copywriting share their biggest secrets. And I'll be sharing some of those secrets with you.


text:
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Ezra Zelig, who was called Zelig by family and friends, worked in the lumber business in Kozienice, a village by the Kozienice birch forest. He was married and the father of six children. A prominent member of the community, Zelig served on Kozienice's city council, and was also president of the local Zionist organization.
1933-39: In 1937 Zelig tried to obtain visas for his family to immigrate to Palestine [the Yishuv], at that time a British protectorate, but was unsuccessful because of the restrictions placed by the British on immigration into that country. Two years later, Germany invaded Poland. Kozienice's Jewish section was closed off by the Germans as a ghetto.
1940-41: In early 1940 Zelig's Polish friends came to warn him that he was in danger of being taken hostage because of his prominence in the community. Along with a son, a daughter, and their spouses, Zelig fled across the border to Soviet-controlled Poland. They stopped in an area near the city of Lvov, where Zelig worked as a lumber consultant for the Soviet government. In 1941 Germans overran Lvov and sent mobile killing squads [Einsatzgruppen] into the area to assist in murdering the Jewish population.
Zelig and his family were not heard from after 1941.


text:
Davi Walders
Home Women Against Tyranny Other Books About the Author Events/Contact
Born and raised in Texas and Oklahoma, Davi Walders graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. Since then, she has made her home in the Washington, DC area where she received an M.A. in Linguistics from The American University and continued graduate work in Human Development at the University of MD, College Park.
She is a writer and educator whose poetry and prose have appeared in more than 200 publications, including The American Scholar, JAMA, Feminist Studies, Lilith, and Potomac Review. Her work is included in such anthologies as Worlds in Their Words: Contemporary American Women Writers (Prentice Hall); Literature of Spirituality (MMM Publishing), Beyond Lament: Poets of the World Bearing Witness to the Holocaust (Northwestern University Press), Lonely Planet's Tales from Nowhere, and Traveler's Tales: Prague.
Her chapbook, Gifts: Poem Portraits of Gifted Individuals Who Valued Giving, was commissioned by the Milton Murray Foundation for Philanthropy and presented by the Carnegie Corporation to its Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recipients. She received the Greater Washington Hadassah's Myrtle Wreath Award for developing and directing the Vital Signs Poetry Project at the National Institutes of Health and its Children's Inn in Bethesda, MD, which was funded for three years by The Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry. She edited the Project's Using Poetry in Therapeutic Settings: A Resource Manual & Poetry Collection. Her latest book is Women Against Tyranny: Poems of Resistance during the Holocaust (Clemson University Press, 2011).
Her numerous awards include an Artist Grant in Poetry from the Maryland State Arts Council; a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellowship; a Puffin Foundation grant; an Alden B. Dow Creativity Fellowship; a Time Out for Women Grant from the ARIL, the Association for Religion and Intellectual Life; a President's Grant from Montgomery County, MD Arts and Humanities Council; and residencies at Blue Mountain Center, Ragdale Foundation, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her work has been read by Garrison Keillor on Writer's Almanac, performed in New York City and elsewhere, and nominated for Pushcart Prizes.
© 2011 Davi Walders, all rights reserved. Site design © 2011-2017 Valerie Kaplan.


text:
Q: Function for multiple statements I have the following code that I use to uniform the names into a dataframe (tb):
names(tb) = tolower(names(tb))
names(tb) = gsub("\\:", "", names(tb))
names(tb) = gsub("\\.", "_", names(tb))
names(tb) = gsub("\\-", "_", names(tb))
names(tb) = gsub("[[:space:]+]", "_", names(tb))

I need to apply those 5 strings to multiple dataframes, so I'd like to create a function for this. Can you help me please? Thanks!

A: Pretty simple, just pass your dataframe to the function, change the names and then return the changed dataframe.
name_change <- function(tb) {

names(tb) = tolower(names(tb))
names(tb) = gsub("\\:", "", names(tb))
names(tb) = gsub("\\.", "_", names(tb))
names(tb) = gsub("\\-", "_", names(tb))
names(tb) = gsub("[[:space:]+]", "_", names(tb))
return tb

}

A: It can be simplified in a function with
f1 <- function(v1) {
     gsub("[. -]+", "_", gsub(":", "", tolower(v1)))
  }

or using chartr
f2 <- function(v1) {
    chartr(". -", "___", gsub(":", "", tolower(v1)))
 }

f1(str1)
#[1] "hellos1_s2_s3_s4"

f2(str1)
#[1] "hellos1_s2_s3_s4"

data
str1 <- "hello:s1.s2-s3 s4"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The Disability Discrimination Act imposes an obligation on employers and service providers to ensure that disabled access to their premises is adequate, including making provision for assistive hearing / listening. If a public place does not have the correct provisions for people requiring support, or the assistive hearing system is faulty or not working correctly, a company and/or organisation could be seen as not complying with this legal obligation.
Audio Frequency Induction Loops (AFILs) - 'Induction loop' systems are used to assist the hearing impaired by transmitting sound from a sound system, microphone, television or other source, directly to a hearing aid equipped with a telecoil or 'T' position. Induction loops may be portable or permanently installed (eg. ticket offices, counters, banks, auditoriums, museums).
Alternative assistive hearing and listening products use infra-red light with transmitters and receivers. A receiver is often in the form of a neck loop which is inserted into the ears or creates a small personal induction loop for the wearer, operating the telecoil within the hearing aid.
The underpinning technology of Audio Frequency Induction Loop Systems (AFILS) is based on a simple 'loop' of cabling that is installed around a room or building area. This loop cable is connected to an AFILS amplifier that generates a magnetic field, which is picked up by the user's hearing aid.
AFILS Typical Installations: AFILS installations can be found everywhere - public and government offices, transport and ticketing offices, museums, auditoriums, places for worship, even in taxis and the home.
AFILS Issues and Challenges: There are a number of issues and challenges to catch the unwary designer or installer, costs can escalate without detailed knowledge and effective planning. Magnetic and electrical interference from power supplies, equipment and cabling can make for a difficult and often hostile environment for hearing-aid users. Building and room construction, metallic surfaces can all adversely affect the AFILS signal strength and quality.
Provides assistive hearing and listening using infrared transmitters and receivers.
Using direct 'line of sight' operation, infrared light technology is used to carry sound and spoken audio directly to user headset and ear pieces.
- Can be used by persons without hearing impairment (eg. language translations).
- Simple installation, no 'loop'. Use where AFILS loop not possible or impractical.
- Less interference. 'Line of sight' reduces possible magnetic / electrical interference. Also reduces 'spill over' with multiple system use (eg. neighbouring rooms in a conference facility).
- Beneficial for persons with mild or moderate hearing loss / impairment.
- Some receiver headsets create a mini-afils loop, affording hearing aid use.
There are portable and mobile assistive hearing (AFILS) solutions for applications such as small environment rooms and spaces. Ideal for reception counters and small one-2-one meetings. Typically used within Dentist, Doctors, Hotel Receptions, Reception Counters, Shops etc.


text:
Hollywood's representation issue needs fixing
Melody Mulugeta, Staff Writer • October 15, 2021
Minority representation is a bone that actors, directors and viewers have picked for decades. Although our society has definitely evolved from once having an aggressively racist film industry, many...
Hollywood Hypocrisy: Oscars are still so white
Ronnie Gogoi, Co News Editor • February 7, 2020
The student population at Cal High is extremely diverse, with a variety of different races from all over the globe. Pulling the best and brightest from our school would result in a wide net of people from...
Theater 4 goes Hollywood
Sierra Randel, Staff Writer • October 16, 2018
Lights, camera, action! With the addition of a Theater Arts 4 class at Cal High, students passionate about drama can now pursue a more advanced level of acting and receive the opportunity to take...
Books versus movies: the great debate
Adam Jackson, A&E Editor • March 19, 2013
Hollywood has run out of ideas for original movies and has now moved on to a new media to feed on: books. Many popular books have successfully been turned into movies in the past. Prime examples are...


No, I couldn't imagine her slowing down. I couldn't even imagine her sitting down.
I should've known better than to think that she was going to "take a breather" or devote her summer to, say, working out the kinks in her backhand. Before June was over she had signed up for a vegan baking class at ICE and started talking about opening up a gluten-free, dairy-free bakery. By July she had transformed her oven into her home office, churning out lemony pound cakes, sugar-topped raspberry muffins, fudgey brownies, gooey chocolate chip cookies, orange-almond cakes, coconut macaroons, vanilla and chocolate cupcakes (the girls' favorite) then dropping them at our house for a taste-test with the command: "Be brutal! I can take it!" By September, I could barely walk the dog without seeing one of my other neighbors shuffling up the block cradling some delicious cellophane-wrapped, raffia-tied baked good. ("Good morning Eileen! Coconut Layer Cake today?") By February, Helene had perfected her recipes, designed an awesome logo, signed a lease on her storefront, and by May, i.e. last weekend, she opened the doors to By The Way Bakery. As in, "This is delicious! Oh, and by the way, it's also gluten-free and dairy-free." You'd really never know the difference.
On opening day, she was working harder and moving faster than ever, but this time she was flanked by her two sons, who were manning the register and taking orders. A lot of orders. If you're local, please stop by and see what the fuss is about. If for some criminal reason you do not walk out of there with a bag of chocolate-dipped macaroons (my favorite), I guarantee you'll walk out of there with some inspiration.
And here's a treat for those of you who aren't local — a recipe for her popular orange-almond cake.
Recipe by Helene Godin from By The Way Bakery. Makes one 8-inch cake.
-Place whole orange in a pot of water with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 2 hours.
-Remove orange from the pan and allow to cool. Slice the peel off each end of the orange and cut into quarters, leaving the rest of the peel intact. Inspect for seeds, discard, and allow to cool. In a food processor, pulse the orange quarters until it's smooth but still pulpy. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. (You should have approximately 1 1/4 cups).
-Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray an 8" springform pan with cooking spray and line with a circular liner.
-Whisk together almond flour, baking powder, remaining salt, cardamom and cinnamon.
-In another bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until light in color.
-Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
-Bake about 1 hour. Test for doneness with a wooden skewer inserted in the center.
-Allow to cool completely in the pan for 25 minutes. Score around the edge before releasing the ring from the cake. Dust with powdered sugar.
And this is her Very Lemony Lemon Cake. Would you look at that beautiful rosette of candied lemon slices? Does that not say it all?
Wow, so inspiring. Best wishes to Helene. I hope she is already writing the "By the Way" cookbook!
I also quit my job to do my own thing! Not as yummy as this though. But then again I don't need to get up as early 🙂 Thanks for making me so hungry–I want to reach in and gobble up that cake! Good luck Helene!
I am so jealous. She is living the dream! Good for her for taking a risk. I hope her bakery succeeds.
Thanks for sharing. I love inspiring stories (and women) like this. Meanwhile, here I sit (or rather run) in this rat race 🙂 Wish I were local so I could come by her bakery!
Oh, yummy yum yum! I'll be sure to stop by!
Nancy – She should totally have her own cookbook. The recipes are pretty awesome — and you can see from this one above, very doable.
What an inspiring story! Because just yesterday I was thinking to myself how much I hate my job and how jealous I am of those who get to be there to pick their kids up everyday at the end of school, not the end of aftercare where the parents look like exhausted zombies after an all nighter. I hope I can do something like this sometime (is there a job out there for cupcake taster and candy wrapper – that'd be my new job). And thank you for sharing the recipe. Nothing worse than a bakery that won't share at least one recipe (I'm talking to you, Specialities).
What a wonderful story – I love her drive and her food. Thanks for sharing.
Can I just say that I love you people?? As soon as you said gluten-free/milk-free I popped over to the site and said to myself "goodness does that orange-almond cake just sound divine!" and when I came back you had the recipe! I nearly wept.
Okay, maybe not, but I sure am happy about it!!
This recipe looks lovely and that story is inspiring. What a lot of courage it takes to turn your life upside down like that!
I love this story so much. I might walk in to work tomorrow and quit myself.
The cake sounds amazing but I think there may be a typo in the ingredients list — it says "3 tablespoons cup sliced almonfs" — not a measurement I'm familiar with! Can you clarify the amount? Thanks!
So sorry Becca! It's definitely tablespoons and it's all fixed now. Thanks for pointing that out — hope that means you are planning to make it.
Made this cake on Sat. for a midmorning brunch/snack. It was a big hit and no one noticed the "free" part. It was very moist. I did mention to some of my food friends, especially those with dietary needs.
I love this story, so inspiring. It is so nice to be reminded that there may just be another work life out there that we can live. I have been racking my brain lately trying to figure out what that might be, so it's wonderful to see someone else who has done it. All the best to Helene and thanks for sharing the recipe. Going to try it out this weekend!
Thanks so much for this divine *free* recipe. We are vacationing soon with a group that includes both dairy, wheat and soy allergies. I am certainly taking this cake with me. I always learn so much here!
P.S. Your newsletter sent me. Do I win the apron?
I can't wait to try this recipe. It's sounds so good!
My recently gluten-free mother-in-law doesn't know much about gluten-free baking. I just did a test-run of this recipe to see if it will make a good birthday cake for her. The cake is moist and scrumptious and I can hardly wait for MIL's birthday to make one for her. I think it will open her eyes to all the gluten-free possibilities out there.


Career winners of the popular competition is rising.
it was a real hit.
20 July 2017 in all cinemas "Luxor".
Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine, Estonia and South Ossetia to declare itself.


text:
/*
 * Written by Doug Lea with assistance from members of JCP JSR-166
 * Expert Group and released to the public domain, as explained at
 * http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
 */

package jsr166y;

/**
 * A recursive result-bearing {@link ForkJoinTask}.
 *
 *
For a classic example, here is a task computing Fibonacci numbers:
 *
 *
 {@code
 * class Fibonacci extends RecursiveTask<Integer> {
 *   final int n;
 *   Fibonacci(int n) { this.n = n; }
 *   protected Integer compute() {
 *     if (n <= 1)
 *       return n;
 *     Fibonacci f1 = new Fibonacci(n - 1);
 *     f1.fork();
 *     Fibonacci f2 = new Fibonacci(n - 2);
 *     return f2.compute() + f1.join();
 *   }
 * }}

 *
 * However, besides being a dumb way to compute Fibonacci functions
 * (there is a simple fast linear algorithm that you'd use in
 * practice), this is likely to perform poorly because the smallest
 * subtasks are too small to be worthwhile splitting up. Instead, as
 * is the case for nearly all fork/join applications, you'd pick some
 * minimum granularity size (for example 10 here) for which you always
 * sequentially solve rather than subdividing.
 *
 * @since 1.7
 * @author Doug Lea
 */
public abstract class RecursiveTask<V> extends ForkJoinTask<V> {
    private static final long serialVersionUID = 5232453952276485270L;

    /**
     * The result of the computation.
     */
    V result;

    /**
     * The main computation performed by this task.
     */
    protected abstract V compute();

    public final V getRawResult() {
        return result;
    }

    protected final void setRawResult(V value) {
        result = value;
    }

    /**
     * Implements execution conventions for RecursiveTask.
     */
    protected final boolean exec() {
        result = compute();
        return true;
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


ECO SOLUTIONS — SAVING RESOURCES, CREATING VALUE.
Due to rising energy prices and stringent environmental regulations, energy efficiency, resource saving and climate protection are becoming more important than ever. Primetals Technologies ECO Solutions offers a wide range of services and technologies to increase energy efficiency, reduce the environmental impact of steel production and to ensure efficient water and by-product management.
Primetals Technologies ECO Solutions provides processes and solutions along the entire iron and steel production chains, which meet the strictest emission regulations and also help producers achieve substantial cost savings. Further, in response to these ecological and economic challenges, Primetals Technologies offers energy-efficient solutions and services along the entire process chain, with a clear objective: saving resources, creating value. The optimized consumption of energy and raw materials, the application of advanced technological processes and the maximum degree of recycling lead to major energy savings, reduced emissions, improved water and by-product management.
For every metric ton of steel produced, 10 to 25 kilograms of dust accumulate. There is no question that modern dedusting systems are crucial, but the cost and outlay of their operation should be no higher than absolutely necessary. The most important goals are high reliability, strict compliance with prescribed threshold values and reasonable energy consumption.
Primetals Technologies ECO Solutions offers the entire spectrum of dedusting technology from a single source, always in close collaboration with your company's steel production plant specialists. This is our approach for creating perfectly coordinated, economically viable solutions.
Achieve higher output with less input. With energy–efficient equipment, the production of steam can be used for district heating and the recovery of combustible gas for producing electricity. Move up to a higher energy level – with support from Primetals Technologies!
The key to the future is producing more with less. As one of the world's leading life-cycle partners for the metallurgical industry, Primetals Technologies ECO Solutions supports producers with solutions that reduce the energy-related costs to a minimum.
Saving resources by appropriate waste management is an efficient way to optimize production. Through our by-product recycling solutions, profitable by-products take the place of waste.
The generation, the handling and the disposal of waste materials such as dust, fines and mill scale presents a general problem in the steel industry. Furthermore governments around the world are setting ambitious targets for reduction of carbon emissions from industrial installations such as the steel industry. Primetals Technologies ECO Solutions offers comprehensive solutions for the recycling of waste materials for the iron and steel industry. Waste from direct reduction plants, blast furnaces, BOF converters, electric arc furnaces and rolling mills is treated to profitable by-products. The by-products can be utilized e.g. in the primary processes without loss of efficiency.


text:
A maintenance worker at solar farm in Zacoalco de Torres, Mexico. ULISES RUIZ/AFP via Getty Images
Deep Decarbonization: A Realistic Way Forward on Climate Change
Global emissions have soared by two-thirds in the three decades since international climate talks began. To make the reductions required, what's needed is a new approach that creates incentives for leading countries and industries to spark transformative technological revolutions.
By David G. Victor • January 28, 2020
In 1969, in the middle of the spiraling U.S.-Soviet arms race, international relations expert McGeorge Bundy wrote a prescient article in Foreign Affairs about how to "cap the volcano" of armaments. Success in arms control, he explained, required a laser-like focus on the strategic incentives for both sides to change behavior and stick with their agreements. Awareness of the dangers of arms racing, by itself, wasn't enough.
Today, the same kind of laser focus is needed on climate change. The problem is a lot more complicated than strategic arms control, of course — there are many more relevant countries, not just two dueling superpowers, and the problem of heat-trapping emissions is deeply embedded in the modern industrial economy. Cutting emissions to nearly zero isn't merely an activity, like redirecting the purchase of armaments, that governments can control directly. But the point remains: Success requires less moralizing and more strategizing.
Moralizing about climate has led to bold goals, like limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels — a stretch target written into the Paris Agreement on climate change. The problem is that such goals apply to everyone collectively and therefore have no strategic bite on individual countries and companies. Moralizing has inspired shaming and agitating and striking — all useful in drawing attention to the problem of climate change, just as public protests helped focus minds on the need to control nuclear weapons.
But attention on climate change is already pretty high and rising. The real challenge is taking action that delivers major cuts in greenhouse gases, and that means rewiring the incentives for key governments and corporations to change behavior and start decarbonizing the global economy.
The need for a realistic blueprint to wean our economies off carbon emissions has never been more urgent.
The lack of much incentive for deep decarbonization explains why global emissions have increased by nearly two-thirds since 1990, when the United Nations General Assembly formally launched talks that led to the Framework Convention on Climate Change. Emissions are now rising at about 1 to 2 percent annually, even though a new UN study shows they must tumble nearly 8 percent per year to be consistent with holding warming to 1.5 degrees C. No major economy has ever cut emissions of warming gases that quickly; it's not practical to make such cuts globally on the time frame of industrial and agricultural systems that usually don't change quickly. The planet will blow through the 1.5 degrees C goal and through 2 degrees C as well. Even with a big effort, we may be on track for 3 degrees C or more — levels of warming that scientists say will have ruinous consequences. Yet even as the most ambitious global goals are slipping away, the need for a realistic blueprint to steadily wean our economies off carbon emissions has never been more urgent.
For Bundy, strategic thinking led to diplomacy — arms control agreements with precise commitments that the superpowers, already motivated to cap the volcano, could put into practice. For climate change, strategic thinking runs the opposite direction. Climate change is a global problem, but making global progress requires that progressive countries and companies lead the way by demonstrating practical, scalable ways to achieve deep decarbonization. Only then can diplomacy and global agreements follow by codifying and directing progress once key countries already know what they are willing and able to do.
While the Paris Agreement is an encouraging framework, it seems unlikely that today's diplomacy will be the handmaiden of strategic thinking for climate change. Nearly 200 countries are involved, each with different interests. Agreements require consensus, which creates a strong incentive for holdouts. The gridlock most recently on display at UN climate talks in Madrid — where essentially nothing was agreed — is just the latest evidence that global diplomacy and global agreements will operate too slowly and too cautiously to address the climate crisis. Global agreements have a role to play, but they will largely be followers rather than leaders.
Wind turbine blades ready to be shipped from a storage facility in Aalborg, Denmark. Timothy Fadek/Corbis via Getty Images
Making more rapid progress requires changing the facts on the ground — new methods of industrial production and agriculture with radically lower emissions — so that key countries will be willing to do more and powerful groups and companies can mobilize around systemic decarbonization.
In Madrid, a team of us released a new study that offers this new view for accelerating deep decarbonization. Our core argument is that getting serious about decarbonization requires a new approach to industrial policy — one that is organized sector-by-sector and coordinated internationally to create progressively larger markets and stronger incentives for decarbonized industries.
Decarbonization requires a string of technological revolutions in each of the major emitting sectors. We count 10 sectors that matter most, including electricity generation, cars, buildings, shipping, agriculture, aviation, and steel. These 10 sectors account for about 80 percent of world emissions.
Creating technological revolutions will require different actions in different sectors. In agriculture, one of the most promising options would be to reorient crops so they pull even more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store that carbon underground — something that doesn't happen when a field gets re-plowed every season. Some experiments show how this can be done with existing crops, but the real opportunity lies with crop engineering — breeding plants to store more carbon in their roots and then growing them with no-till methods that leave carbon undisturbed.
In nearly every sector, the world isn't far along in the technological revolutions needed for decarbonization.
ALSO ON YALE E360
As subsidies wane, market forces drive the growth of renewables. Read more.
In electricity, much of the action must focus on expanding the use of solar and wind so that costs keep coming down. Lower costs mean that every dollar invested goes farther; total investment has stayed roughly flat, but the installed capacity of wind and solar are soaring. It is vital that government policy also look beyond just renewables — for example, to flexible gas-fired power plants that capture carbon pollution before it is released into the atmosphere, and to advanced nuclear plants with zero emissions. Such plants can help keep grids reliable as they shift to lots of renewable power — operating when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing.
In cars, policies aimed at boosting sales and lowering costs of electric vehicles — such as subsidies that decline as technology improves, as well as investments in charging infrastructure — can play a role, as they already have in China, California, and some European countries. Even more experimentation is needed, however, in realms such as charging, so that EVs become a viable business and move beyond niche applications.
In buildings, it has become clear that there are two very distinct problems. One concerns new buildings — where, for example, advanced heat pump technology can allow for electrification of heating systems. The other, much bigger problem is how to cut emissions from existing buildings, which will account for most emissions from this sector. Here the actions are a blend of technology (e.g., easier to retrofit efficient heating and air conditioning systems) and regulation, since in most countries the big barriers to changing buildings aren't just cost but also building codes.
A driver charges his electric vehicle at a service station in Hangzhou in China's eastern Zhejiang province. STR/AFP via Getty Images
With the help of the non-profit Energy Transitions Commission, we have outlined the actions needed in every sector. What's striking is that in nearly every sector the world isn't far along in the technological revolutions that will be needed for deep decarbonization. In policy circles it is often said that the world has the technology it needs for deep cuts. Our report suggests that message is wrong and misleading. Sure, there's a lot of technology. But what's needed for deep decarbonization in the real world is a combination of technology and business models — real companies with an incentive to deploy at scale. On that front, the decarbonization revolution is still at its early stages in most sectors, although there are tangible signs of progress.
Frank Geels, one of the world's leading experts on technological revolutions, has broken down the process of massive technological change into three major phases — emergence of a new technological system, diffusion into widespread service as the system gains market share and improves performance, and then broad reconfiguration of whole markets around the new system.
New technologies are emerging, which gives cause for optimism over the long haul. But fundamental change tends to happen slowly, which means that between the inertia of today's existing technological systems, investment commitments to high-emitting infrastructure, and the inertia of the climate system there's a lot of warming in the pipeline.
The organization of each of the emitting industries is different, as are the political forces that must be managed and the technological opportunities in each sector. This is one reason why economy-wide policies, such as emission trading and carbon taxes, haven't had much impact on boosting profound innovation. Those policies, when they work at all, encourage companies to adopt known technologies. But what's needed in most sectors is a more dynamic approach through which policies target the direction of innovation. In California, the northeastern U.S., and Europe some of the proceeds from cap-and-trade programs are now directed to innovation and deployment of new technologies. Many national governments have created strategic innovation programs, as well, and one of the most important things to emerge from the Paris climate conference in 2015 was Mission Innovation, a program to boost and coordinate these kinds of investments.
The penetration of low-carbon technologies into markets follows a familiar S-shaped curve, with the emergence of a new technological system, its diffusion into widespread use, and then reconfiguration of whole markets around the new system. The decarbonization of 10 key economic sectors, shown here, is still in the early phases of this transition. Courtesy of Frank Geels
Today, only a subset of political jurisdictions — mainly in Europe and parts of the United States, and in a few other countries — have demonstrated that they are highly motivated to act. The silver lining in this disturbing fact is that these leaders can get a lot done — if they have the right strategy. Much of what is needed to improve technologies and markets in the initial phase can happen in small groups of countries where incentives for change are strongest.
Take steel, for example, a polluting industry that is the least far along in the decarbonization revolution. Unless the world finds a replacement for steel — which so far, for most applications, seems unlikely — then decarbonization of raw steel production must take place. Cutting emissions requires finding new sources of carbon-free heat; rather than burning natural gas or coal in steel plants, alternatives such as electricity, hydrogen, or carbon-capture technologies must be explored. It also requires methods for chemically reducing molten iron ore into steel — a process that today uses coal and causes emissions. Several alternative methods exist in theory, but all of them seem likely to raise costs a lot — perhaps doubling the price of bulk steel from today's levels.
Because steel is a globally traded commodity, no company will make this shift on its own. Active industrial policy is required, which means direct subsidies for companies that are testing green steel production methods, as is happening in Sweden, Austria, and a few other countries. Beyond subsidies, government policy can link new supplies of green steel with users who are most willing to pay higher initial costs — including governments, which can create guaranteed markets through their purchasing policies.
The engineering of decarbonized systems may prove relatively easy once enough companies, governments, and consumers focus on the need.
With this industrial policy approach, a new green steel industry is slowly emerging. Initial pilot plants are beginning operations now and over the next few years, and industrial-scale pilot plants are slated for the late 2020s/early 2030s. Those projects are concentrated in the European Union and Japan because governments in those markets have offered reliable industrial policies. The problem is that this rate of innovation and testing is much too slow and indecisive. Governments and companies must test a wider array of green steel techniques and build a larger market faster for green steel.
While the details vary across every sector, the pictures are similar. Leaders need to channel political energy from the growing public concern about climate change into policies aimed at changing the incentives to test and deploy new technologies.
As the process gains steam, the political strategies must shift away from small groups of highly motivated leaders and toward broader diffusion. This kind of shift in policy strategy is most evident in the electric power sector, which is farthest along in the process of decarbonization. Success with renewables has focused governments on the next frontier: integration of renewables while keeping grid power reliable and affordable.
Molten iron being poured at a steel plant in Surat, India. Dinodia Photos / Alamy
In wind generation and integration, for example, Denmark has become a leader — in part because it sees commercial advantage for Danish turbine makers and mainly because the Danish population is highly committed to action on climate change. Less noticed, but more important, is how Denmark is passing on what it has learned about how to operate an electric grid with variable wind power to China's grid operators, which face a similar challenge. When tiny Denmark uses more wind, the impact on global emissions is minuscule; when China does, the effect can be enormous.
The New Climate Math: The numbers keep getting more frightening. Read more.
Channeling a lot more McGeorge Bundy into the strategy of deep decarbonization is long overdue. And with success in creating new facts on the ground, the political and economic strategies must shift — from the leaders to the rest of the planet. The physical engineering of decarbonized industrial and agricultural systems may prove relatively easy once enough companies, governments, and consumers focus on the need. The missing link isn't engineering capabilities but the strategic approach to creating the incentives and markets required for sparking new technology and businesses.
David Victor is a professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California at San Diego and chairman of the Global Agenda Council on Governance for Sustainability at the World Economic Forum. He is also co-chair of the Brookings Initiative on Energy & Climate. Victor is author of Global Warming Gridlock and numerous essays on climate cooperation. More about David G. Victor →
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Welcome to the World of ESCO – all about Dutch design and Quercus Robur European made.
We are the leading European manufacturer of high-quality solid and engineered oak flooring. Our products are ecologically friendly produced and bring positive natural energy into your life and your comfort zone. We create your dream floor by the natural materials in the combination with the respect for nature and environment and old fashion handcraft work. The inspired and dedicted team controls and guides the production process from ESCO OAK SAWMILL till the final product. Together with our worldwide partners we offer our flooring emotion under the brand Esco and Dutch Design QR made!


Patnaconsultant provides HALAL Certification in Patna Bihar, Online HALAL registration in Patna, Bihar. HALAL certification is type of permitted food certification. We will give you all information about HALAL certification in this article in brief.
HALAL is basic term from Quran, which means lawful or permitted by Quran. HALAL is Arabic word. HALAL certificate is issue by HALAL certification of India. HALAL words are used in only food products, food ingredients. HALAL Certification is used in relation to food and other consumable products by Muslims. HALAL certification is based on Muslim law which is called Shariah. HALAL promotes clean, hygienic products that not harm their health. HALAL certification ensures that products are safe for consumption of Muslims. Business entities involve in food and restaurants businesses have to get HALAL certification. Certified HALAL food products accepted by worldwide Muslim consumers. In some countries Non HALAL products are not permitted to sale. HALAL certification is new benchmark of quality of food products.
All other Food Certificates if any.
Based on nature of business various types of HALAL Certification are available. HALAL Certificates is obtained for business like hotels, restaurants etc.
Catering, Foods, and beverage Scheme.
Improve the quality of food into global Standards.
Enhance marketability of food products in Muslim countries.
Provides Image building in market.
Opportunity to tap global market of Halal food Products.
Online filing of HALAL certification.
HALAL certification is fully based on online filing, but most important part of this certification is audit. Auditors check all documents, machinery, sanitation systems, cleanliness of products/ premises, storage, packing and labeling etc. So it is good for food industry. You no need to visit our office. Send us all self attested documents and we will do you work. You can pay our fees online.


Durable, Easy to Use, and SMART!
Tactical Mosquito Control is a proud dealer of the Mistaway mosquito misting system; the leading manufacturer of misting systems for controlling mosquitoes and other annoying insects. We offer a variety of mosquito misting systems so you are sure to get the perfect solution for your home of business. The real value in owning a mosquito misting system is being able to enjoy an evening cookout in your beautiful backyard, or send your kids out to play after dinner without even thinking about mosquitoes. . . or your mosquito misting control system.
Our Misting systems are so simple to use and still very effective. You can even control your system from your smartphone!
Choose from one of our popular models!
This system is the tankless version that Mistaway offers. It allows much more adjustments than other systems and has a very small footprint. This system can support extremely large yards or very small ones; it's the most versatile system on the market today. It doses the proper amount of concentrated product in its own batch tank during each spray cycle to assure the active ingredient is fresh during each spray.
This system is the workhorse of the industry! It offers similar functionality to the GEN 3+ system yet it siphons out of the tank and must be refilled more frequently than the tankless version. It can also service large and small yards but does have some limitations due to the placement of the tank and quantity of nozzles it can support.
Both of these amazing systems come with the iMistaway app. This app allows you to control your system all while keeping Tactical Mosquito Control in the loop. You can learn more about this handy system in the video below.
We service all major brands of mosquito misting units. If you currently have a misting system and would like Tactical Mosquito Control to service your unit, please contact us for an evaluation today!


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Q: C++ Excel Automation Copy Parameter I'm trying to copy a range of Excel cells between two different sheets using Excel automation via C++. I am using excel8.cpp to interface with Excel.
I want to call the Range.Copy method but I'm not sure how exactly to pass the destination parameter. I think this is the correct way:
    //ranges already defined
    //XL::Range range1, range2;

    COleVariant myVar;
    VariantInit(myVar);
    myVar.vt = VT_DISPATCH;
    myVar.pdispVal = (LPDISPATCH)range2;
    range1.Copy(myVar);

However when I try this, I get the message "Copy method of Range class failed".
Also, I don't want to pass an optional Variant into the copy function because there is a bug I have come across with the clipboard causing Copy and Paste to fail randomly.


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Nigeria launches Africa's first digital currency
Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, has launched the continent's first digital currency, the e-Naira. The launch also ranks Nigeria among very few nations in the world to adopt the electronic money system which leaders hope will help boost the country's GDP and fight inflation.
The official launch of the Central Bank of Nigeria Digital Currency, CBDC, took place at the state house in Abuja on Monday, with top government officials attending. Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the e-Naira and said it could potentially boost Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product by up to $29 billion over the next decade. Blockchain technology expert, Jadel Chidi welcomes the launch. "Digital currency helps to foster faster payments, it also [is] supposedly less expensive than the regular payment systems you have already. You make your transactions person to person; you don't need an intermediary," said Chidi. The e-Naira app went live and became available for citizens to download, immediately after the launch.
https://www.voanews.com/a/nigeria-launches-africa-s-first-digital-currency/6286460.html


Una Storia Italiana (An Italian Story) is a series of photographs commissioned for an exhibition at the Si Fest #20 Festival (September 2011) which explored the region of Savignano sul Rubicone, Italy. The work aims to interrogate interactions between geography, urban landscapes and explore the ways in which our environments are shaped by shifting economic dynamics. These preoccupations have long been vital in Roberts' practice, together with a deep-rooted interest in identity, both on an individual and national scale.
This set of photographs is a meditation on Savignano, exploring the region's shifting economic landscape. The work also aims to function as a microcosm of contemporary Italian society, reflecting some of the wider social, political and economic challenges facing the country at large during this period of austerity. The images chart a progression through the region, following the flow of the Rubicone river from the historical town centre of Savignano where many traditional shops are closing and the economic impact of the mall is being felt, through the hinterland region where new homes are being built and road networks extended, and ending at the commercial mall, located in a farming area near the coastline.
The title of the series, Una Storia Italiana, is borrowed from Silvio Berlusconi's propaganda booklet, which was mailed to millions of homes in the run-up to the 2001 Italian General Election. The photographs map the slow but unavoidable changes that are occurring throughout this territory, creating a narrative that highlights contrasting aspects of the landscape and their multi-layered significance for the diverse population that inhabits it.


The Safco Wood Stackable Sorter is a versatile document, file, and book organizer that can be used in three different ways for maximum storage. It may be used horizontally for literature, vertically for books, or upright as a tub-file for file folders. It has four removable hardboard dividers that adjust in one-inch increments and can create up to five letter-sized compartments. Also included are soft rubber pads that help prevent desk surfaces from scratching. This desktop organizer is made of solid wood while its shelves or dividers are made of hardboard. It can be stacked up to three units high to add more storage when needed.
The Safco Wood Stackable Sorter is available in two colors. Please select your preference from the drop-down menu above.


Pianist David Greilsammer addressed an intimate Harlem crowd last night with the utmost seriousness. He took care to explain that he typically never introduces the music on the bill since he wants it to speak for itself.
But this was an unusual program. He pondered the viability of playing organ or harpsichord works on the piano. He addressed the need to reaffirm classical music's relevance, to be true to how historically radical and transgressive much of it is. Perhaps most importantly, he asserted, a performer ought to put his or her heart and soul into the music rather than maintaining a chilly distance.
That close emotional attunement came into vivid focus with the uneasy, insistent poignancy and emphatic/lingering contrasts of Janacek's suite On the Overgrown Path, which Greilsammer interpolated within segments of works by Froberger, Mozart, C.P.E. Bach, Jean-Fery Rebel and a moodily dynamic world premiere by Ofer Pelz. Greilsammer averred that he'd been inspired to do this by a nightmare where he found himself stuck in a labyrinth.
Was this shtick? He considered that question too. As he saw it, that's a judgment call. Mashing up segments of various composers' works isn't a new concept, but it is a minefield. An ensemble at a major New York concert space took a stab at a similar program last year and failed, epically. By the audience reaction – a standing ovation in the rich, reverberating sonics of the crypt at the Church of the Intercession – Greilsammer earned a hard victory.
Just the idea of trying to wrangle less-than-awkward segues between the baroque and the modern sends up a big red flag. But Greilsammer pulled it off! At about the midpoint of Janacek's surreal, disorienting nightmare gallery walk, there's a wrathful, exasperated low-lefthand storm, and Greilsammer didn't hold back. Likewise, Froberger's notes to the performer are to deliver the stately grace of his Tombstone suite with as much rubato as possible, and the pianist did exactly that, with a similar if vastly more subtle wallop.
That piece bridged the gap to thoughtful, purposeful, considered takes of the unfolding layers of Mozart's Fantasy in C Minor and C.P.E. Bach's Fantasy in F Sharp Minor. The Pelz premiere made an ominously lustrous centerpiece. It was only at the end, where each coda took its turn, that the feel of dominoes falling away crept in: maybe next time, one coda would be enough, considering how decisively each of these pieces ends. Thematically, it all made sense, pulling bits and pieces of one's life together on a long, tortuous path that finally reached a triumphant clearing.
The concert's organizers' url is http://www.deathofclassical.com (they're held in a church crypt, get it?). There's also food and wine, a very generous supply, at these shows, conceived to dovetail with the music. A firecracker 2014 Galil Mountain Viognier, from Galilee, with its sparkle on the tongue and lingering scorched-butter burn at the end, was the highlight. An impressively diverse date-night crowd seemed as content with it as they were with the music.
Classical guitarist Jon Mendle's new album L'Infidele is one of the most singularly enjoyable and interesting releases to come over the transom here this year. Playing solo on 11-string archguitar – a relatively recent invention devised to enable guitarists to play Renaissance lute repertoire – Mendle resurrects two obscure eighteenth-century compositions and gives a third a welcome reinterpretation. He plays with stately precision and fluidity – while the occasional torrents of notes can be hypnotic, the incisive melodies here are strong and memorable, transcending the centuries between composition and performance here. In particular, the first two pieces have a striking plaintiveness, and Mendle embraces it vividly.
The first composition is German baroque lutenist Adam Falckenhagen's Sonata IV, Op. 1, dating from 1740. The opening largo section is wary and deliberate, enhanced by Mendle's careful pacing – he doesn't rubato it, which might not seem like the compliment that it is, but that's a plus, considering how many players have decided to warp the era's steady tempos to make them "postmodern" or something like that. Here, the additional low bass notes of the archguitar give the arrangement a piano-like tone. Mendle attacks the second, fugal movement with both smoothness and bite and spins off the rolling ripples of the finale with a deliberateness that stops a step ahead of carefree – this is a dark work.