MikeLigalig.com

well technically not a fish, but i will include it because of its beautiful form. and its found in around Palau.

A dome-like waterfall.

Colorful fish!

Swimming with the jellyfishes in Palau.

A view of Palau Exclesior. To note there are 16 states within Palau.

What a wonderful place..

Among the Berbers,

but there are others who prefer security over anything.

Quote from: islander on June 06, 2011, 07:23:17 PM
to each his own comfort zone in one's faith, so to speak.  my neo friend understood very well that the only two reasons for my resistance against being part of them is that when it comes to the practice of one's faith i abhor comparisons and that i'm not much of a joiner of anything. 

as the revival of faith is the neo's reason for being, so are many other groups saying as much.  there is also this very active group that's going back to the latin mass of pre-vatican 2 vintage that was started by a french bishop.

hi, isles. yes, we have that here in the united states. i'm a member of St. Mary of the Lake Roman Catholic Church here in chicago, il. every sundays at 12:00 noon, we have a tridentine latin mass that is offered. sometimes when i am available i attend their latin mass as it is after their 11:00 am regular mass. it is very beautiful.

much thanks!

Quote from: hofelina on June 06, 2011, 05:36:30 PM
The rationale of the spanish priest Fr Felipe is that, this might the answer to revive our faith since most churches are empty. There are also sceptics on this movement, telling that this might cause a split of the church within a church because of their secrecy within active members of neo.

you have a point, manay. then let us pray for their transition from secret-like to open. thanks for sharing this really interesting thread!

Quote from: ms da binsi on April 03, 2008, 08:52:51 PM
wahahah

tinuod jud na dear, hago oi! pero gamay ra sweldo.

bisan diri sa Merika ang maestro gamay ra sad sweldo...

tinuod ka, ms da binsi, pero lami man ilang benefits pood diba? federal benefits man gud..

because X marks the spot? my guess lang ha..

My beloved father.

i would prefer love over security.

Good posting! Thanks, Fiel.

baby: naka kita ka ana, 'toy?

itoy: di lagi, 'doy...

i think i know who did...

Quote from: Lollapalooza on June 06, 2011, 03:32:30 PM
basta Monday morning, busy gyud ko ana Bran... 7 supervisors baya ng akong i accommodate dungan pa gyud sila sugo nako.. but of course, never na sila nakakita nako nga nakasimangot, I agree with you Bran. Naka smile gyud ko ana permi bisan ug kapoy na, dagko na kaayo akong singot or bisan drain na akong energy... I always show them my smile kay in the end, good reward man pod akong ma receive nila

o my goodness! 7 supervisors diay? Jenneth, you really must have  a great personality to be able to work with so many. I can emapthize with you about the singot, i bet high volume ang work load dinha.

ako galing, ma singot-singot na galing ko when i work under 2 very strict attending MDs. I can't even imagine having to work with 7.

i give you props! more power!

ka cute pood nila duha.

Response: Wa alaikum a-salam!

ang usang itoy na gugma sa usang itoy...

at this rate, it will be 2070 and we might have 2011 generation fighters...

Luoy kaajo ang mga ordinary citizens sa atohang bayan kai ang tax money para sa defense , gi hatag ra sa mga generals, air marshals etc. Pila na ka tuig nga nag 'modernization programs' na ta, pero wa pa man galing ta usang jet fighter.

kulirez! 2011 na and we are still using 1950's air craft for the air force.

cute.

literally.

ma hadlok ang ginoong elepante ani...lol

Suppose a hindu farmer was dealing with sporadic rat infestation. Would he receive godly aid from the elephant god? or would the elephant god run away upon hearing the request?

1. Sai baba was a con artist, a false teacher, a sexual deviant who used religion to fuel his influence

2. Sri Ganesha (the elephant god) is afraid of a simple field mouse

    2a. in addition to fearing field mice, ganesha also enjoys drinking milk and eating oranges and apples

Where is the hypocrisy?

lol

No seriously, now would the elephant god run away?

Quote from: chicogon on May 20, 2011, 03:21:52 AM
Ruel Lituañas on Guitars-Liting on vocals

(See also Sacrificer Band)

Bravo!

I have a conflicting opinion on Hindu mythology. I find it rather comical -- the Hindu relation of Ganesha (the elephant-headed god) who is afraid of a mouse. It coincides with cartoon depictions of how elephants are afraid of mice. My personal opinion.

I find it funny how a 'deity' of wisdom is afraid of a four legged rodent. Particularly how a supposed immortal deity can be afraid of a simple field mouse. lol.

How can one pray to an elephant for protection when that 'god' is afraid of a simple mouse? Suppose a farmer was dealing with sporadic rat infestation. Would he receive godly aid from the elephant god? or would the elephant god run away upon hearing the request?

Matthew 24:5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.

--

I have a conflicting opinion on Hindu mythology. I find it rather comical -- the Hindu relation of Ganesha (the elephant-headed god) who is afraid of a mouse. It coincides with cartoon depictions of how elephants are afraid of mice. My personal opinion.

I find it funny how a 'deity' of wisdom is afraid of a four legged rodent. Particularly how a supposed immortal deity can be afraid of a simple field mouse. lol.

Gorgeous..

This lead to the proliferation of KURU.

Jenneth, asa man diay sila mo travel? You must be terribly busy this week eh? remember to stay calm, and enjoy your cup of coffee...take it easy. My secret to dealing with a busy schedule is: doing things one at a time.

More Power!

Gorgeous view..

A beautiful summer scenery.

Don't defend the wrong side out of stubbornness, just because your opponent happened to get there first and choose the best.

You will go into battle already defeated, and go down in disgrace. Bad is no match for good. It was cunning of your opponent to anticipate the best, and it would be stupid of you to defend the worst. Those obstinate in deeds are in greater danger than those obstinate in words, for there is greater risk in doing than in saying. The vulgar ignorance of stubborn people makes them prefer contradiction to truth and contention to utility. Prudent people are on the side of reason, not passion, whether because they foresaw it from the first, or because they improved their position later. If your opponent is a fool, his foolishness will make him change course, switch sides, and worsen his position. To expel him from the best, embrace it yourself. His foolishness will make him abandon it and his own obstinacy will cast him down.

-Baltasar Gracian

Proverbs 10:18

He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.

Sai Baba, a pedophile and scam artist, was just that. A false 'christ'. There are dozens of criminal charges against this man for sexually molesting the children. Uwagon diay ang ginoo? bu-ang ang tawo mo tuo ana.

The Bible and the Catholic Church warns us about this.



"For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible."

-Matthew 24:24

True Christians spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and denounce those who would forfeit it.

Quote from: hubag bohol on June 06, 2011, 02:20:41 PM
Unwillingness to acknowledge whatever is good in religion foreign to our own has always been a very common trait of human nature; but it seems to me neither generous nor just. --Lydia Maria Child

One should utilize one's abilities to realize crapp from reality. As for the case of Sai Baba , who was a confirmed pedophile and monetary scam artist, who used religion to build his wealth, a man who claims divinity and is clouded in hush-hush criminal charges...one cannot help but deduce and apply reason.

Quote from: chriswise on April 27, 2011, 08:14:16 PM
kuyaw pod ka ni sod kono sa iyang lawas ang GINOO

Ginoo kono, pero gi sinugba man sija. Pwede diay i sinugba ang ginoo?

lol

142. Don't defend the wrong side out of stubbornness, just because your opponent happened to get there first and choose the best.

You will go into battle already defeated, and go down in disgrace. Bad is no match for good. It was cunning of your opponent to anticipate the best, and it would be stupid of you to defend the worst. Those obstinate in deeds are in greater danger than those obstinate in words, for there is greater risk in doing than in saying. The vulgar ignorance of stubborn people makes them prefer contradiction to truth and contention to utility. Prudent people are on the side of reason, not passion, whether because they foresaw it from the first, or because they improved their position later. If your opponent is a fool, his foolishness will make him change course, switch sides, and worsen his position. To expel him from the best, embrace it yourself. His foolishness will make him abandon it and his own obstinacy will cast him down.

-Baltasar Gracian

You will only burden yourself with foolishness and annoyance. Let prudence plot against it. Finding objections to everything can be ingenious, but the stubborn person is almost always a fool. Some turn sweet conversation into a skirmish, and are more of an enemy to their friends and acquaintances than to those with whom they have no dealings. The bone of contention is hardest when the morsel is sweetest, and contradiction often ruins happy moments. They are pernicious fools who add nastiness to beastliness.

-Baltasar Gracian

ot: I believe that Evangelization of the Roman Catholic Church is necessary. It strengthens the adherents / believers to the core principles of the Church and reaffirms the core beliefs that Catholics and Protestants believe in. Forms of worship may differ, but we are , in the end, worshiping the same Jesus Christ. The same Risen Savior.

Quote from: hofelina on June 06, 2011, 01:57:02 PM
Yes, the first time I saw on the blackboard of our church it was a "huh"? I attended the night and I´m starting to surf to know more about this movement, kosog naman kini sa amerika, apan dili tanang diocese/obispo sold ni-aning idea, kon walay aprobar nila dili sab sila makapataka ug hatag ug new cathechism.

I can't help but liken them to the group that I am a member of, The Newman Association. NA (Newman Association) is an Evangelical Wing of the Roman Catholic Church that is spearheaded in college, university settings.

NA puts great emphasis in sacrament observation as well as importance in bible reading.

The Pontifical Council for the Laity's decree officially describes the history of the Neocatechumenal communities (the Neocatechumenal way is a community; it is neither an organization nor a movement) as follows: “The Neocatechumenal Way began in 1964 in the slums of Palomeras Altas, Madrid, through the work of Mr. Francisco (Kiko) Argüello and Ms. Carmen Hernández who, at the request of the poor with whom they were living, began to proclaim to them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As time passed, this kerygma was embodied in a catechetical synthesis, founded on what is called the tripod: "Word of God-Liturgy-Community", that seeks to lead people to fraternal communion and mature faith.

This new catechetical experience, born in the wake of the changes implemented after the Second Vatican Council, attracted the keen interest of Archbishop Casimiro Morcillo, who encouraged the initiators of the Way to spread it to the parishes who asked for it. This experience of evangelization thus spread gradually through the Archdiocese of Madrid and to other Spanish dioceses. In 1968, the initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way arrived in Rome and settled in the Borghetto Latino. With the permission of Cardinal Angelo Dell'Acqua, then Vicar General of His Holiness for the city and district of Rome, the first catechesis began in the parish of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Canadian Martyrs. Since then, the NC Way has continued to spread to dioceses around the world and even to mission countries”

In 1974, thanks to Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, the Congregation for Divine Worship publicized on their official magazine, a brief note Praeclarum exemplar appreciating the works of the Neocatechumenal communities.

During the commemoration of the 30 years of life of the Way on January 24, 1997, Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) expressly urged the drafting of the Statutes as, "a very important step that will open the way to the formal juridical recognition by the Church, and giving you a further guarantee of the authenticity of your charism"



----

my view: NC seems to be a form of new-age evanglization of the Roman Catholic Church. I pray for them.


Source: wikipedia

"The Visit"




This portrait was located inside the Basilica Minor de Santo Nino in Metro Cebu, Cebu Province. I was attracted this picture because it shows the late Pope John Paul seeing the Senor Santo Nino for the first time during his Papal visit to Cebu, Philippines. It touched me because like Pope John Paul II, I , too, was making a homage to the Sacred Image of the child Jesus. Visitors.

Taken in July 2010.

In the medical world there is a dichotomy between:

1. Terminal Care [Hospice Care], otherwise known as End of Life Care

and

2. Assisted Suicide

The British Medical Association, a leading European medical ethical board, voted in 2009 to reaffirm its opposition to Assisted Suicide.

Quote from: Lorenzo on June 06, 2011, 01:46:00 PM
CHICAGO, -- The following statement can be attributed to D. Ted Lewers, MD, Vice-Chair, AMA, Board of Trustees:

"Today's sentencing of Jack Kevorkian to a 10-25 year prison term is a strong deterrent to those who would take the lives of patients prematurely.

"The American Medical Association's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs opinion is that physician-assisted suicide is unethical and in direct opposition to the role of physician as healer.

"The AMA remains committed to assuring patients dignity and adequate relief of pain at the end of their lives.

"The AMA has long supported compassionate, quality care for dying patients. We will continue our efforts to teach physicians everything they should know about providing proper end-of-life care.


Source: American Medical Association

The Voice of the American Medical System, which is followed by most of the Medical Bodies of the World.

CHICAGO, -- The following statement can be attributed to D. Ted Lewers, MD, Vice-Chair, AMA, Board of Trustees:

"Today's sentencing of Jack Kevorkian to a 10-25 year prison term is a strong deterrent to those who would take the lives of patients prematurely.

"The American Medical Association's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs opinion is that physician-assisted suicide is unethical and in direct opposition to the role of physician as healer.

"The AMA remains committed to assuring patients dignity and adequate relief of pain at the end of their lives.

"The AMA has long supported compassionate, quality care for dying patients. We will continue our efforts to teach physicians everything they should know about providing proper end-of-life care.


Source: American Medical Association

Quote from: hubag bohol on June 06, 2011, 01:41:23 PM
Am I a criminal? The world knows I'm not a criminal. What are they trying to put me in jail for? You've lost common sense in this society because of religious fanaticism and dogma. --Jack Kevorkian

Fanaticism obliterates the feelings of humanity. --Edward Gibbon

Not religious fanaticism, but ethical and moral responsibility that maintains the order in society from falling into an abysmal pandorum ruled by the feelings of corrupted men.

Kevorkian murdered patients, even if they were pleading for death, the physician is bound to uphold human life and prolong it as naturally as possible.

I took this in 2010 when I was in Haiti for a volunteer program after the earthquake that rocked that country.

'Shaken but not destroyed'



Photographer's note: What i was trying to capture in this shot was the beauty of how the church was damaged, yet not completely destroyed. This church structure was eventually repaired. Tho the roof of the church was damaged, what really captivated me was the fact that the Crucifix and the Statue of the Crucified Jesus Christ was not damaged. The symbolism of which I leave to others to interpret in their own way.

This thread will be dedicated to your personal photography skills. Rookies, Veterans, Master Photographers, come share some of your work(s).

A sadist.

Now I've heard everything. lol.

Good to know, Ray. If she was close to my aunt, she was probably sent to Bohol's DILG Department.

Quote from: bol-anon nga cebuano on June 05, 2011, 07:36:45 AM
We all know what the little guys are for and who’s responsible for making them, but  the baby makers are packing a lot more than just the half the DNA package to make a new human being.  Here are some surprising facts which are going to make you look at the little fella’s in a completely different light.

10. Fertility at the Speed of Light
Human sperm travels at the staggering rate of up to 4 millimeters per minute, but many are as slow as 1 millimeter per minute.  You have to put this into perspective; human sperm are only 55 millionths of a millimeter or 55 microns in length, so a millimeter is a pretty big deal to the mini-me’s.

The average length of the journey to the fallopian tubes is 175 millimeters, which means the Road Runners of the team can get there in 45 minutes, but in practice the journey takes anything up to 3 days.

9.  A 25% Shot at the Title
Even a fertile couple with no conception issues and practicing unprotected sex with ejaculation in the female have only a 1â€"in-4 chance of conceiving.  If you wear jockey shorts to keep the meat and two veg neatly packaged, instead of those airy boxer shorts, your chances start dwindling rapidly.

Human reproduction is notoriously fickle and very inefficient; in fact, it’s a wonder any of us got here to begin with.

8. Sperm are Like Men â€" No Sense of Direction
One of the reasons for sperm taking so long to find the egg is because they have no sense of direction.  There are chemical signatures released by the egg to act as a “guide” to the sperm, but have you ever known of a man to take directions from a woman?

Only 1 in 5 sperm will start swimming in the right direction after ejaculation, which accounts for that age old bedroom debate about who will be sleeping in the sticky patch after making love.

7. Your Biological Clock is Ticking â€" Not Yours, Girls â€" The Guys!
The biological alarm clock may be ticking for women, but they have a much longer lie in life’s fertility bed than men do; for guys the biological alarm goes off much earlier. Women enter menopause sometime in middle age, but guys start a rapid decline in the quantity and quality of their sperm when they hit the ripe old age of 25!

6. New York vs. Los Angeles
Gangsta rappers may have their West coast/east coast rivalry, but there is one thing there is no dispute over.  For reasons no-one understands, New York men have a 50% increased sperm count than guys from Los Angeles.  Go Giants!

5. Never Get Stuck in Reverse
Sperm can only swim in one direction â€" forwards.

4. Size Does Matter
The sperm of a fruit fly can be as long as the body of the male fly, about 1.1 mm. On the other hand, of the vast number of mammals, humans included, have one of the smallest sperm cells, measuring only 40 microns long. Rats produce one of the largest sperm at 170 microns long.

If there was a prize for biggest sperm in nature, it would go to Drosophila bifurca, a tiny fruit fly whose coiled sperm would measure more than 2 inches long if straightened out. That’s 1,000 times longer than an average human sperm. (Source)

“To put that into perspective, if humans made sperm that long and you took a six-foot man and stood him on the goal line of a football field, his sperm would stretch out to the 40-yard line,” said Adam Bjork, a Ph.D. student at Syracuse University in New York.

3.  Time to Mature
Sperm take 2 ½ months to grow to maturity in the testes.  The question then becomes where are all these little guys hanging out down there?  The sperm nursery and warehouse is the epididymis which found on top of the testes.

2. How Come There is Enough Room for All the Little Guys Down There?
The majority of ejaculate is not sperm; sperm only accounts for around 5% of your population juice, with the rest being made up of fluids which contain a combination of nutrients and protective substrate to help the little guys on their way to the egg.

1. Eat Your Veggies
How healthy a man is has a direct bearing on his fertility.  Eating fresh fruit and vegetables, avoiding junk food and maintaining a healthy weight, lots of fresh air and exercise, taking vitamin supplements, getting plenty early nights and abstaining from tobacco and alcohol, are all guaranteed to give a man a higher sperm count.  Not only will he produce more sperm, but they will be much more energetic and thus more likely to be The One â€" the only issue with this is your offspring are likely to be very boring.

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-sperm.php

In the words of my urology professor, "Sperm lives forever. A man can be 96 years old and can potentially still impregnate a woman."

epic.

Activity is the best medicine, second to laughter. Slothful nature and excessive sleep is a symptom of clinical depression. Which is highly affiliated with congenital diseases, and the advent of suicidal tendencies.

Most of the psych patients I have treated were depressed, and complained of excessive sleepiness, lack of activity. This is in part due to a disrupted circadian rythym, which has affected their REM sleep, then there is also subsequent imbalance in serotonin, and dopamine levels.

Activity as well as behavioral modification and synergistic psychopharmacology is the best course of treatment.

The Kevorkian Case is taught in Medical Ethics in all Medical Schools. His actions were the anithesis of the expectations of an ethical physician.

Requiem In Pacem, Jack.

Quote from: hubag bohol on June 06, 2011, 08:39:48 AM
Franz Kafka's Last Words


Franz Kafka was born in Prague, Bohemia on July 3, 1883 to a German-speaking, Jewish family. He attended Charles Ferdinand University and received a doctorate in Law in 1906.

Kafka is best known for his short story “Metamorphosis” which he finished in 1912.  In 1913 he wrote Meditation and in 1914, he completed Before the Law. By 1917, he had written The Judgement, In the Penal Colony, and A Country Doctor. Also by then, he had been diagnosed with tuberculosis.

1923 found him in Berlin, where he penned A Hunger Artist in 1924, which was a collection of four stories. His future novels included The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika.  

In April of 1924, he entered a sanitorium in Kierling, Austria. He died on June 3, 1924. Franz Kafka last words were made to his doctors. As he was dying from tuberculosis, he begged the doctor to give him an overdose of morphine so he would no longer suffer. He said, “Kill me, or else you are a murderer!”  --from http://www.yourdictionary.com/reference/resources/franz-kafka-last-words.html

He entered a sanitorium prior to his death. Psychosis and deteriorated mental status man diay....

Nowadays, we have what is called hospice care , which is palliative / comfort care for terminal patients.

With the advance of modern medicine, we can now reduce the symptoms of pain until the patient dies naturally.

This man embarrasses the medical profession and the integrity of a physician. The core tenet of the Hippocratic Oath is, "Thou shall do no harm..."

A physician's prime duty is to prolong life. Not to end life.

There is no integrity in a liar.

In data presented at The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, cancer researchers found that the brain tumor vaccine HSPPC-96 for treating recurrent gliobastoma (GBM) has a favorable safety profile and extends survival by two to three times more than the current median survival rate. Patients in the study, conducted at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco and Columbia University, were found to have a median survival of 11 months compared to current three to five month survival.

"The findings are very favorable for patients with this deadly form of brain cancer," said Andrew Sloan, MD, one of the authors of the study presented at ASCO and Director of the Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. "The vaccine is one of the few immune therapies designed specifically for patients who are not newly diagnosed, and these encouraging results make this a promising therapy for a more extensive Phase 3 trial."

HSPPC-96 isolates the heat shock protein, which is part of the immune system. The protein from the patient's tumor is then reinjected into the skin with an adjuvant, or an agent added to a drug to increase its effect.

The vaccine was developed by Andrew Parsa, MD, PhD, principal investigator of the Brain Tumor Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco. He is collaborating with the Lexington, Massachusetts biotech company called Agenus. Columbia University also is part of the ongoing Phase 2 study designed to evaluate overall survival and immunologic response with HSPPC-96 in patients with first or subsequent recurrence of GBM.

All patients underwent surgery prior to vaccine therapy. However, since the vaccine is made from the patient's own tumor, the surgery had to be performed at one of the participating sites. The vaccine therapy begins within 5 weeks after surgery and consists of four weekly injections, followed by bi-weekly injections for up to 52 weeks.

"The vaccine is made from a patient's own cells, so it takes into account what is unique about the patient's particular tumor - it's the ultimate in 'personalized medicine'," said Dr. Sloan who also is the Peter D. Cristal Chair in Neurosurgery and an Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

In addition to this promising research, UH Case Medical Center's Seidman Cancer Center physician scientists presented a variety of oral and poster presentations at ASCO. Notably, Cynthia Owusu, MD, breast oncologist, is presenting two important abstracts related to the treatment of older women with breast cancer. Importantly, the first study concludes that one in four women, after 6 months, and one in three, after 12 months, display plummeting physical function which shows a clear need to remedy treatment options to help preserve activity of breast cancer patients later in life. UH Case Medical Center abstracts are highlighted below:

Title: Autologous heat shock protein vaccine (HSPPC-96) for patients with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM): Results of a phase II multicenter clinical trial with immunological assessments.

Monday June 6, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

HSPPC-96 is derived from a patient's individual tumor and contains glycoprotein-96 (gp96) polypeptide associated with cancer-specific antigenic peptides. Methods: This ongoing single-arm multicenter Phase 2 trial is designed to evaluate overall survival (primary objective) and immunologic response (secondary objective) with HSPPC-96 in patients with first or subsequent recurrence of GBM. Prior treatment with radiotherapy and temozolomide was required. All patients underwent a >90% resection of the recurrence. Vaccine therapy was to be initiated within 5 weeks post-surgery and consisted of 25 µg HSPPC-96, given ID weekly x 4, followed by bi-weekly injections for up to 52 weeks. Results: A total of 33 patients at first recurrence (M:F = 25: with a median KPS of 80 were entered. A median of 6 injections (range: 1-15) were administered to the ITT population, with a requisite of 4 vaccinations for the evaluable population. The vaccine was well tolerated with no attributed serious adverse events and no related grade 3 or 4 toxicities. Injection site reaction was seen in 12 patients and fatigue was reported in 9 patients. As of Jan. 2011, the median survival (KM estimates) is 324 days for ITT population (37-877) and 333 days for evaluable population (99-877). 11 patients are still alive and being followed, including 4 beyond one year (374d, 419d, 578d, and 877 days, respectively). All patients with immunological endpoints tested to date exhibited a significant innate immune response and all patients demonstrated CD8 T cell IFN gamma production upon restimulation with autologous gp-96; following vaccine administration. Conclusions: HSPPC-96 evokes a specific and innate immune response in patients with recurrent glioma and survival data available to date indicates HSPPC-96 vaccine provides a possible clinical benefit with a favorable safety profile. Collectively these results provide the impetus for Phase 3 testing against currently approved therapies for patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

Cynthia Owusu, MD, MS Title: The trajectory of physical functioning during breast cancer treatment of older women.

Saturday June 4, 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM

We sought to characterize the trajectory of physical functioning during the first 12 months following initial breast cancer diagnosis in older women with stage I-III breast cancer. Methods: Between April 2008 and March 2010 a cohort of women ≥65 years with incident stage I-III breast cancer, were enrolled into a prospective cohort study following primary surgery or prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Participants completed a comprehensive geriatric assessment at study entry, six and 12 months. The primary end-points was mean change in the total Activities of Daily Living/Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (ADL/IADL) scores from baseline to six and 12 months, respectively. A decrease in ADL/IADL scores denoted functional decline. Results: Of sixty-one women enrolled, 48 completed baseline and 12th month CGA, four withdrew from the study, five were lost to follow-up and four have pending 12th month assessment as of 12/31/2010. This report includes the 48 evaluable women. The median age was 73 years, (inter-quartile range 68.5-80 years), 90% had stage I-II disease, 35% had node positive disease, 85% had hormone-receptor positive disease and 35% received adjuvant chemotherapy and/or trastuzumab. The mean change in ADL/IADL scores at six and 12 months was -0.58 [(sd=1.39), p= 0.008] and -0.85 [(sd=2.37), p= 0.02], respectively. The proportion of women who had a decrease, an increase or no change in ADL/IADL scores at six and 12 months from baseline were 24%, 5% and 71%, and 29%, 10% and 61%, respectively. Women with lower than high school education (46% vs. 14%, p=0.03), Karnofsky Performance Status scores ≤80% (67% vs. 17%, p=0.002), any IADL dependency (63% vs. 13%, p=0.0003), Timed-Up-and-Go Test time >14 seconds, (67% vs. 22%, p=0.05) and tumor size ≥ 2cm, (50% vs. 13%, p=0.01) at baseline were more likely to develop functional decline at 12 months. Conclusions: One out of every four older woman with breast cancer developed functional decline within six months of treatment increasing to almost one out of every three older woman by 12 months. Studies to identify biologic, molecular and clinical determinants of functional decline in older women with breast cancer in the adjuvant setting are warranted to inform remediation.

Title: Safety and efficacy of single-agent adjuvant trastzumab in older women with breast cancer.

Monday June 6, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Trastuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the extracellular domain of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) protein. The addition of trastuzumab to adjuvant chemotherapy, either concomitant or sequential, leads to better outcomes for women with HER2-positive breast cancer and in the setting of metastatic disease, single agent trastuzumab is effective and extremely well tolerated. The main adverse effect of trastuzumab is cardiotoxicity, which necessitated discontinuation prior to the planned one year of therapy in 17% of women on adjuvant trials. Since age is a risk factor for the cardiotoxicity of trastuzumab, and women ≥ 65 years were under-represented in trastuzumab clinical trials, determination of the safety and efficacy of trastuzumab in this patient population is lacking. This study is designed to define the risk-benefit profile of adjuvant single-agent trastuzumab in older women. Methods: This open label, single arm, multi-center, phase II study will include 124 women with stage I-III, HER2+ (defined as either 3+ by immunohistochemistry or gene amplified by fluorescent in situ hybridization), breast cancer who undergo primary surgery (mastectomy or lumpectomy) with at least a sentinel lymph node dissection, and are unwilling to undergo or are unable to tolerate adjuvant chemotherapy. Trastuzumab will be given, at 8mg/kg IV loading dose followed by 6mg/kg IV every three weeks, for 52 weeks. Patients will be followed prospectively for five years or until death, whichever comes first. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the three-year cumulative incidence of cardiac events. Secondary objectives include i) the three-year cumulative incidence of asymptomatic decline in Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction; ii) the five-year cumulative incidence of cardiac events; iii) three-year disease-free and overall survival; iv) identification of correlative biomarkers of cardiac events (troponin-I, N-terminal brain natriuretic protein, and pro-inflammatory cytokines); and v) the longitudinal changes in Health-related Quality of Life, functional, cognitive, and mental status. Ten patients have been enrolled thus far.

Note, Dr. Owusu was not a lead author but a participant in the following research:

    * Title: Polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medications, and chemotherapy-related adverse events among older adults with cancer. http://abstract.asco.org/AbstView_102_84637.html
    * Title: Primary dose reduction (PDR) of chemotherapy (chemo) in patients (Pts) older than age 65 with advanced cancer (Ca) and toxicity outcomes. http://abstract.asco.org/AbstView_102_74120.html
    * Title: Predictors of primary dose reduction (PDR) among patients (pts) age 65 and older receiving adjuvant chemotherapy (chemo). http://abstract.asco.org/AbstView_102_79650.html

Jennifer Eads (Hem/Onc fellow) and Neal Meropol, MD, Chief of Hematology and Oncology
Title: Identification of barriers to clinical trials: The impact of education level.

Monday, June 6, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Patient (pt) participation in clinical trials remains low. We previously described psychosocial and practical barriers to enrollment (J NCCN, 2007). During development of an intervention to improve pt preparation for consideration of clinical trials, we conducted a survey to identify pt characteristics associated with knowledge and attitudinal barriers (NIH R01 CA127655). Methods: Eligible pts were adults with a cancer diagnosis scheduled for their first medical oncologist visit. Informed consent was obtained to participate in a survey before the initial consultation. The survey included demographic information and an assessment of potential clinical trials barriers. Items included 19 correct-incorrect knowledge questions and 29 attitudinal barriers that were assessed on a 5-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree; 4-5 scored as "positive"). Cronbach's alphas and factor analysis were used to develop four attitudinal barriers subscales: fears and emotions, knowledge and finances, logistics, and mistrust of the medical system. Multiple linear regression analysis examined the relationship of demographics with barriers. Results: 156 pts enrolled: 40% female, 23% African American (AA), 42% college educated, mean age 58.7 years. Non-AA pts answered more knowledge questions correctly (mean 11.5 vs. 9.1, p=0.002) as did college educated pts (mean 13 vs. 9.5, p<0.001). Race was not associated with attitudinal barriers in the multivariable analysis. College education was associated with fewer attitudinal barriers (fears and emotions, p=0.092; knowledge and finances, p=0.005; logistics, p<0.001; mistrust of the medical system, p=0.049). Females scored higher on the fears and emotions subscale (p=0.015). Most commonly cited attitudinal barriers were fear of side effects on a clinical trial (54% of pts), not knowing where to find a clinical trial (40%) and unwillingness to travel extra distance for a clinical trial (39%). Conclusions: Lower educational level and female gender, but not race, are independently associated with barriers to clinical trials, suggesting a tailored approach to addressing these barriers is warranted. Socioeconomic status rather than race should be a focus of these efforts.

Erica L. Campagnaro, MD
Title: Survival outcomes in elderly patients with plasma cell myeloma: The three-decade Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) experience.

Saturday June 4, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Successful treatment of plasma cell myeloma (PCM) includes cytotoxic chemotherapy, high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), immunomodulatory drugs and proteasome inhibitors. Landmark papers by Kumar et al and Brenner et al in 2008, and Turesson et al in 2010, showed significant gains in median overall survival (OS) of PCM patients but these gains were attributed primarily to age < 65 years. Marginal improvement seen in older patients did not reach significance. We examined outcome for patients treated on frontline ECOG protocols over the past 33 yrs to assess whether there has been survival improvement in elderly patients. Methods: We reviewed 4 phase III study data for previously untreated PCM patients. ASCT regimens were excluded. OS was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and group differences were tested using 2-tailed log-rank test. Cohorts were identified based on date of accrual to clinical trial: A 1988-1993, B 1994-2000, and C 2001-2006. Results: 1,528 patients were treated (Table). 727 (48%) were > 65 yr. 358 pts (23%) were age 70-79 yr and 48 pts (3%) were > 80 yr. For all pts, 5 yr probability of OS was significantly better in cohort C (51%) as compared to cohorts A (31%) and B (29%), respectively (p<0.0001). For pts > 65 yr, this effect on OS still was seen but substantially diminished (39% on C versus 26% on A and B, p=0.012), while in the younger cohort effect is more pronounced (63% on C, 35% on A and 32% on B). Conclusions: OS in elderly PCM pts has improved but OS gains still lag behind younger PCM pts. Increased comorbidity, treatment-related toxicity, physician/patient biases, and differences in disease biology in elderly patients are all possible contributing factors to worse outcomes. In-depth review of these variables may contribute to improved design of future clinical trials for elderly PCM pts.

Henry B. Koon, MD
Title: Phase II AIDS Malignancy Consortium trial of imatinib in AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma.

Saturday June 4, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

KS is a disease of multi-focal vascular proliferation that requires infection with KS herpes virus (KSHV/HHV-8). KSHV infected cells demonstate activation of the c-kit and platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors. Partial KS regression in 5/10 patients was observed in a pilot study using the c-kit/PDGF-R inhibitor imatinib (Novartis Pharmaceuticals) suggesting this agent has activity in KS. Methods: The primary objective was to estimate the response rate in AIDS-related KS. Secondary objectives included investigation biomarkers of response and imatinib pharmacokinetics in patients on cART. Plasma concentrations of CCL5, IFNg, IL-6 and FGF-b were measured. Patients were treated with imatinib 400mg/day orally for up to 12 months with the option to dose escalate to 600mg/day at 3 months if disease was stable. Results: Thirty patients were treated at 12 AMC sites. Median CD4 count was 263 (19-819). 79% had undetectable HIV RNA. Ten (33.3%) showed partial response, 6 (20%) had stable disease and 7 (23.3%) showed KS progression. Nine patients completed 52 weeks of imatinib and the median treatment duration was 22.5 weeks (0.3-52.7). Only 5 patients (16.7%) discontinued therapy due to adverse events including grade 3 hypophosphatemia (2) allergic reaction (1), cellulitis (1), depression (1) and grade 4 elevation of CK (1). Pharmacokinetic analysis of the AUC ratios demonstrated that actual imatinib AUC levels were significantly higher than predicted (P=0.036), but there was no difference between actual and predicted AUC for the active metabolite (P=0.441), suggesting the anti-retroviral regimens influenced imatinib metabolism. Levels of CCL5, IFNg, IL-6 and FGF-b correlated with response in a pilot study; however, none of these growth factors predicted response in this larger study. Conclusions: Imatinib has activity in AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. The potential interactions with antiretroviral drugs did not correlate with increased toxicity. Thirty percent of patients showed long-term clinical benefit and remained on imatinib for the entire year. These results suggest this regimen is well tolerated and may be an alternative to cytotoxic chemotherapy for some patients with AIDS-related KS.

Charles Kunos, MD, PhD
Title: Phase II trial of pelvic radiation, weekly cisplatin, and 3-aminopyridine-2-carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (3-AP, NSC #663249) for locally advanced cervical and vaginal cancer.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/227506.php

I thought this was awesome!


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A mutant gene long thought to accelerate tumor growth in thyroid cancer patients actually inhibits the spread of malignant cells, showing promise for novel cancer therapies, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The findings are being presented by Mayo Clinic researcher Honey Reddi, Ph.D., at the Endocrine Society meeting in Boston.

Dr. Reddi's discovery could have widespread implications in cancer research and endocrinology. It could help oncologists sharpen the diagnosis of specific types of thyroid cancers, while leading pharmaceutical researchers toward therapeutics derived from a protein once thought to feed tumor growth.

"It's not an oncogene like everyone thought it was," Dr. Reddi says, referring to a gene with the potential to cause cancer. "We all knew what happened in the cell culture, but we said, 'That's not good enough,' so we asked, 'What would it do in mice?'"

Thyroid cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the world, and 15 to 20 percent of all thyroid cancer cases are follicular, a type that is more aggressive. Dr. Reddi's findings could aid this diagnosis and treatment for thousands of patients.

Distinguishing benign from malignant follicular thyroid cancer poses a unique challenge to oncologists. An accurate diagnosis of malignant follicular cancer cannot be made until after cancerous material is removed. That has led to countless unnecessary surgeries in patients with benign thyroid tumors. Patients who now present with non-papillary cancerous growths on thyroid cells must undergo surgery to remove the tumor - even if the cancer is benign.

Dr. Reddi's research found that the PAX8/PPARγ fusion protein, developed from a mutated fusion gene found in many follicular thyroid carcinomas, functions as a tumor suppressor by upregulating (encourages natural production of) microRNA-122 and PTEN, both naturally occurring anti-tumor agents.

PAX8/PPARγ results from the translocation of genetic material between human chromosomes 2 and 3. Previous in vitro studies of the PAX8/PPARγ protein found rapid acceleration of cell growth, which led researchers to the false interpretation that PAX8/PPARγ functioned as an oncogene, a type of mutated gene that encourages tumor propagation, Dr. Reddi says.

Mayo Clinic's in vivo animal studies show that PAX8/PPARγ upregulates the well-known anti-cancer protein PTEN, as well as microRNA-122, and likely facilitates other cancer-fighting molecules.

PAX8/PPARγ does not boost tumor progression when exposed to cancerous cells, Dr. Reddi says. Rather, its facilitation of other native anti-cancer molecules appears to outweigh the tumor propagation. Tumors grew about four times slower in mice exposed to the PAX8/PPARγ gene than those who were deprived of the protein's cancer-fighting qualities.

Among the team's goals in future research is the identification of other microRNA-like markers, which could identify a benign disease and obviate the need for immediate and unnecessary surgery.

Based on her discussions with clinicians at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Reddi says, "There are many complications from thyroid surgery, and having early detection markers could save thousands of unnecessary surgeries every year. We're just getting started and look towards a rapid translation from bench to bedside."

Notes:

Others on the study team include Bryan McIver, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D.; Norman Eberhardt, Ph.D.; Pranathi Madde; Dragana Milosevic; Alicia Algeciras-Schimnich, Ph.D.; and Stefan Grebe, M.D.; all of Mayo Clinic. Translation of this research to a clinical setting is being done in collaboration with Dr. Grebe. The study was funded by Mayo Clinic, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the National Institutes of Health. The Emslander Career Development Award supported Dr. McIver.

Source:
Robert Nellis
Mayo Clinic

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/227531.php

lol. palamuut man ni , Fr. Roel. Much Thanks!

The truth is always the best.

sometimes, there are just too many things to do in one day. maluuy ang Ginoo, maka human ta tanan sa atong obligasyon.

why sleep so much? when you're dead, you'll have all the time to sleep.

be active!

today i finished 3 lectures on : cardiovascular system, respiratory system and lymphatic system. tomorrow i present on these 3 chapters , then on to hospital duty for a couple of hours. tuesday is going to be interesting because i start my EKG lecture. its not bad instructing other health care providers/ health care students. it really applies one's knowledge on to things.

i have to get ready for wednesday. i'm driving home to nj for a 5 day vacation. namely, to attend my younger brother's high school graduation and to meet up with some good friends.

here's to a great week for all of us!

Think like a man of action, and act like a man of thought.

"There's no hard bread that a hot cup of coffee can't cure."

today was work-filled Sunday.


ah, but i hope the patients' health insurance covered our hospital fees. ayay!

Even otters know when to swim away despite the calm of the river's stream. For it knows that the calm waters ends with a plummeting waterfall.

with no direction, you have no way of knowing if you're going the wrong way, hubag. such an idea is dangerous.

"Every day is a gift, every breath of life is a blessing from God. Make use of yourself in helping others, and give an extra hand to a friend, even a stranger in need...."

Horace's view on the lazy man:




That destructive siren, sloth, is ever to be avoided.  ~Horace

Tomorrow is the only day in the year that appeals to a lazy man.  ~Jimmy Lyons

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.  ~Abraham Lincoln

You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind.  ~Author Unknown

Manay, I have never heard of this movement until you posted this here in Tubag Bohol. With the additional information by Isles.

Goodness Gracious! Splendid...

Albaicin - Spanish Acoustic Guitar - Michael Marc

This is a classic.


EL POROMPOMPERO - ENRICO MACIAS

The word 'Bai' , in Cebuano, means "Brother", "Bro". However, what is rather interesting is that 'Bai' is also used in Hindi to refer to 'brother'.

Indians refer to their good / close friends as 'bai', or their own blood brothers as 'bai'.

For example, I have a good friend who calls his brother, 'Ravender-Bai', or just, 'bai'.

In my case he calls me, "Lorenz Bai"

Its reversed in the comparison to the Cebuano usage of the word.

Where the Indians apply the person's name, then the word 'bai', the Visayans apply the 'bai' first before the name of the individual.

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Hindi Usage:

"Namaste , Yogender-Bai!"

Cebuano Visayan Usage:

"Kamusta, Bai Yogi"

Thanks for the clarification, Vince.

My paternal grandmother , who was a native of Leyte, also used the term "tapuwan" instead of the Binol-anon , "tapulan."

"Arang" i notice is used to imply an extremity of something. Thanks.

It makes sense now when my great-grandmother from Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte, said to me (when she first saw me this past summer 2010), "Dodong, arang pariho man ka sa imong papa!"

Ning ingon pood ko nija, "Lola! Arang dakoa man imong smile!"

Ingon pood baja sija nako, "Ay, kai naka kita ko sa ahong apo sa sungay!"

hahaha. Ay si lola!

(she is the 2nd wife of my great-grandfather, the late Mr. Teodolo Ebuenga, who was the principal of Padre Burgos High School for most of his life)

Put on a strong work ethic. And learn to separate work from home.

by: Thomas J. Oord


The Crisis of Holiness Theology

Few doubt that the theological distinctive of the holiness movement â€" sanctification â€" is misunderstood and underemphasized today. The classical terms of holiness â€" "Christian Perfection," "Entire Sanctification," "The Second Blessing," and "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" â€" no longer seize the imaginations of many people. Both those inside and outside the holiness movement seem to believe that holiness has become an irrelevant or extra dimension to contemporary Christian life.

Many today, from pastors and church leaders to biblical scholars and theologians, are increasingly realizing the need to explain holiness in accessible language. Such an explication would be aimed at a broad audience, build from a sound intellectual base, listen carefully to the life lessons emerging from Christian experience, and follow faithfully the prominent themes of Scripture. The hope is that a recasting of the biblical message of holiness of heart and life in terms, concepts, and language more faithful to Scripture as well as more in tune with modern thinking would return holiness to its rightful place of chief importance.

Michael Lodahl and I have recently made that attempt in Relational Holiness: Responding to the Call of Love (Beacon Hill, 2005). There we argue that the lack of interest in the doctrine of holiness has partly to do with the interplay between theological assumptions and contemporary worldviews. Recent worldview shifts require a fresh proposal for how holiness might best be understood for our time. It is futile simply to recycle holiness sermons and literature from yesteryear hoping that the old-style holiness movement might be revived (see The Holiness Movement: Dead or Alive?).

We have proposed expressing the Christian life, and specifically holiness and sanctification, within the framework of relationship with both God and others. We believe that contemporary Christians will find this relational worldview particularly helpful for talking about holiness. Generally people today, including most Christians, can agree wholeheartedly with the view that persons become who they are out of decisions made in response to their environments. Believers argue, however, that the environment includes a Presence not acknowledged by unbelievers. For in God, say Christians, we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28).

According to the relational holiness proposal, God is the most important actor in everyone’s environment. God affects all others and does so in every moment. This is a significant part of what Wesley and others have called "prevenient grace" ("prevenient" describes something that comes first or before). This grace, which is none other than God reaching out first to his creatures and creation, surrounds and sustains every one of us. It is by this relational grace that all things exist.

God is also open to and affected by others, because Creator and creatures enjoy mutual relations. To say that these relations are mutual is to say that God interacts with us and we interact with God (see God’s Foreknowledge, Predestination, and Human Freedom). It is not to say that God and creatures are equal. The wonder of it all is that the God of the universe enjoys give-and-receive relations with everything that exists. Envisioning God and creatures as relational beings resides at the heart of relational holiness.
Contributing Notions of Holiness

Perhaps the key factor that contributes to the inability of holiness to seize contemporary imaginations is that diverse concepts of holiness exist. We have suggested an interpretative framework to order the chaos of meanings and make the heart of holiness understandable. This interpretative framework is grounded primarily in Scripture, but it also incorporates reason, Christian tradition, and contemporary experiences, including science. This interpretive framework suggests that there is a core notion or primary concept of holiness and that there are also contributing notions or related concepts. The core notion incorporates the truths expressed by contributing notions without negating those truths. In other words, rather than competing and sometimes mutually exclusive ideas of what holiness entails, we have proposed expressing holiness as a central concept with various inclusive aspects.

Most Christians believe that the meaning of holiness and sanctification must be found in the Bible if they are to consider these terms central to faith. To many people, the obvious way to search for the biblical meaning of holiness is the word-study approach. This method identifies passages that contain the words "holy," "holiness," "sanctification," and the like.

A study of biblical references pertaining to holiness, sanctification, and related words provide surprising results. The surprise is that the Bible offers a wide array of ideas about holiness and sanctification*. We find passages stating that Christ makes people holy, believers can make themselves holy, believers can make unbelievers holy, and altars can make offerings holy. We find that the Holy Spirit can sanctify, people should sanctify themselves, God sanctifies Jesus, Jesus sanctifies himself, and Jesus asks God to sanctify disciples. We discover that Jesus needed to be sanctified, food can be sanctified, people can be sanctified, unbelievers can be sanctified, and the church is sanctified.

*The problem is compounded in English translations where "holy" and "sanctify/sanctification" are different English terms. In both Hebrew and Greek the terms "holy" and "sanctify" come from the same root word.

This diversity of meanings should make us realize that understanding these terms requires more than looking up verses in the Bible. The word-study approach does not go far enough. Instead, we must make various interpretive decisions in order to identify the main themes of Scripture. Allowing this diversity to stand muddled only fosters a state of confusion. Such a state is one reason the holiness movement is currently in a crisis over its theological identity.

The Christian might respond to plurality in Scripture by claiming that this reveals the rich diversity of biblical meanings of holiness. This response seems justified, however, only if one also suggests a common theme that underlies or ties together this diversity. Otherwise, it becomes difficult to distinguish what the sympathetic reader calls "the Bible’s rich diversity" from what the unsympathetic reader calls confusion and chaos.

Identifying an inclusive understanding of holiness is the key to seeing how the diverse meanings of the Bible share some common theme. This sought-after inclusive understanding of holiness â€" what we have called "the core notion of holiness" â€" offers the interpretive key for recognizing an overarching unity that connects the diversity.

Several understandings of holiness offer themselves as candidates to be considered the core notion of holiness.
1. Holiness as Rules and Regulations

One of the ways of conceptualizing the central meaning of holiness or sanctification is to equate a holy life with keeping rules and regulations given by God. There are biblical reasons for understanding holiness as following rules and regulations. For example, , scholars have often labeled the series of religious rules listed in Leviticus, especially in chapters 17-26, as "the Holiness Code."

However, several problems arise when we regard the core meaning of holiness as following rules and regulations. Many raised in the holiness tradition are keenly aware of these problems. Perhaps chief among them is the tendency toward legalism in which keeping the rules becomes an end in itself. In addition, those who place their primary focus upon the keeping of rules report feeling a lack of deep satisfaction. The keeping of rules does not itself bring meaning to life. Finally, the lists of rules and regulations found in the Bible are long, and following them all would appear tedious and often irrelevant to Christians of even the earliest generations, not to mention those of the present era.
2. Holiness as Purity

The Apostle Paul urges his companions in Corinth to "cleanse [them]selves from every defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1). Other passages in the Old and New Testaments suggest a link between holiness and purity.

A number of problems arise, however, when we consider purity the core notion of holiness. One problem is that understanding holiness primarily in terms of purity leads us back to the problems associated with keeping rules and regulations. That is, the quest for purity can become an end in itself, as well as raises questions of the relevance of a life defined in terms of purity. A second problem is that the emphasis upon remaining pure inclines us to focus solely upon avoiding sin rather than also upon doing good. Instead of engaging our world, those who concentrate on remaining pure tend to withdraw from the world.
3. Holiness as Being Set Apart and Separation

Most people are unaware that the biblical writers use the Hebrew word qodesh ("holy," "to make holy") and the Greek word hagios ("holy;" in verbal forms "to make holy") to talk about "holiness," "sanctification," and being "holy." These words typically mean "separate" or "being set apart." Understanding holiness and sanctification as separation or being set apart is important.

Still, certain problems arise when we promote separation as the core notion of holiness. First, the idea of holiness as being set apart is grounded in the idea that God is holy and that he is different and beyond that which is ordinary (the theological term here is "transcendence"). While it is especially important to consider how God is different from us, holiness as God’s transcendence does not account for why we should value holiness for us. Second, the idea of holiness applied to us suggests that as Christians we should be set apart from the ordinary realm of human existence and be different than "ordinary " people. However, being separate from others can easily foster an exclusionary attitude of "us vs. them." Third, simply being different for difference sake is ultimately unsatisfying. Although an important aspect, holiness as being set apart cannot function well as the core notion of holiness.
4. Holiness as Total Commitment

Yet another way to talk about holiness has to do with consecration, absolute devotion, or total commitment. The idea that we are to commit ourselves totally to God and thereby "have no other gods" is found in various forms throughout Scripture. Holiness leaders have understandably linked holiness â€" especially when connected to the phrase "entire sanctification" â€" to the idea of total commitment.

The problem with understanding holiness primarily in terms of total commitment has chiefly to do with its vagueness. Even if we specify that we are talking about total commitment to God, we need to ask, "Whose view of God do you mean?" Many Muslims, Jews, and Hindus might be considered part of the holiness movement in this broad sense of utter devotion to God. And some dastardly deeds are done by those claiming utter devotion to deity. While being utterly devoted to God is vital, we want some notion of the characteristics of that devotion, what a Christian life so lived would like in practical terms.
5. Holiness as Perfection

Matthew records Jesus as saying, "Be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Mt. 5:48). The holiness movement has become well known in some circles â€" some would say notorious â€" for talking about perfection in this life. Clarifying in what ways one can be called "perfect" has been an ongoing and perhaps often unsuccessful project.

The main problem with equating holiness with perfection has to do with the various meanings of perfection. For instance, some equate perfection with lack of change. If holiness means lack of change, it is ridiculous to think that constantly changing creatures like ourselves could be perfect. Others use perfection in the sense of being fit for a specific purpose (see The English Term Perfect: Biblical and Philosophical Tensions). In this sense, almost anything can be perfect. Atheists can be holy if we define perfection in this way, so long as they fulfill their purpose as atheists. Still others speak of perfection in the sense of never having sinned. Because only God is morally perfect in this sense, it is difficult to see how this sense of perfection can be meaningfully applied to humans. Without important qualifications, perfection cannot serve as the core notion of holiness.
6. Holiness as Christ-likeness

The final notion of holiness to consider before talking about the core notion is not explicitly identified with holiness in the Bible. But one can make a case that Christ-likeness might be the integrative notion that connects the contributory notions of holiness we have considered.

The main problem with considering Christ-likeness the core notion of holiness is that, without clarification, it doesn’t tell us what about Christ ought to be imitated. Does being like Christ mean wearing sandals? Does it mean speaking Aramaic? (Frequent viewings of Mel Gibson’s, The Passion of the Christ, would be helpful if it does!) Does being Christ-like mean turning over the tables in your local church foyer that have money on them? We need something more specific to clarify what it means to be like Jesus.
The Core Notion of Holiness

In Relational Holiness, Michael Lodahl and I propose that love functions well as the core notion of holiness. Love provides the foundation and framework for faith. God’s love for us and our love in return, as well as our love for neighbors and ourselves, resides at the core of Christianity. Love provides holiness with the foundation it needs to flourish as the theological distinctive of the holiness tradition.

The argument that love serves well as the core of holiness does not rely primarily on a set of biblical passages showing an essential relationship between the two. Instead, the argument appeals to the most fundamental themes of the Bible. Only in appealing to these dominant themes can we account for the diverse biblical witness. And only then can we identify an integrative and inclusive notion of holiness.

To find the core themes of Christianity, we begin with the doctrine of God. We believe that the most fundamental claim about who God is â€" the very heart of an adequate doctrine of God â€" derives from this simple three-word sentence: "God is love" (John 4:8, 16, although the concept permeates Scripture). Although God has other attributes, none seem as central to the biblical witness and to Christianity. God’s essence is love, and God acts lovingly out of that essence.

God loves us and all creation, and God calls us to love in response. We are holy as God is holy when we love as God loves. To be holy is to love â€" love God, neighbors, and God’s creation, including ourselves. These are the greatest commandments and our primary focus as Christians. While other notions of holiness contribute something valuable to our general understanding, we contend that the core meaning of holiness is love.

Next to the word "God," the word "love" might be the most abused and multi-meaningful word in the English language. To clarify love as the core notion of holiness, therefore, we define love as acting intentionally, in response to God and others, to promote overall well-being. To love is to respond to the inspiration of others â€" especially God â€" and by that response advance genuine flourishing.

We imitate God’s love when we live in ways that bring abundant life to creation. Some of the most common expressions of love are actions such as forgiving, offering words of encouragement, donating money to the needy, displaying self-control, showing humility, trusting, respecting, showing compassion, telling the truth, being patient, liberating the captive and oppressed, and being kind.

The relations we have with others â€" especially our relation with God â€" largely determine what counts as love in any particular moment. The God who is active in every context desires to bless all creation. The fact that God will love is true in any and every context. How God loves depends upon the individuals and variables in each context.

God responds in just the right way. When we sin, God responds by acting in ways that call us to wholeness. When we love, God responds like a proud parent who enjoys the beauty and worth of what faithful children have done and who they are. And God always acts to deepen and develop an ongoing heritage of enriching friendship.

If we are to follow Paul’s instructions to "be imitators of God . . . and live in love as Christ loved us" (Eph 5:1-2), our love ought to be like God’s love. Depending on the circumstances, this may mean turning the other cheek, taking pleasure in and enhancing the beauty of creation, or establishing the bonds of community.

God’s prevenient grace sets the context for our responses, because God acts first to offer us abundant life. In terms of relational holiness, we say that God relates to us by acting first in every moment to provide us with opportunities for free action. Those opportunities arise out of God’s own actions, the actions of others, and our own previous actions. The relations we have with God and others set the context for each moment of our lives. God’s moment-by-moment call requires our response. God calls us to love according to the multi-layered relations in which we live. Among possible actions, God encourages us to choose that which promotes well-being.

When we choose the best to which God calls in any particular moment, we act in holiness. In that moment, we are "perfect as [our] Father in heaven is perfect." The ongoing life of loving God, others, and God’s creation, including ourselves, is the life of holiness. And today we need this adventure in holiness â€" understood in terms of relational love â€" more than ever.
Conclusion

After chapters that address issues of love in the Trinity and love in the practices of the Church, we conclude Relational Holiness by showing how the contributory notions of holiness are best understood when love undergirds them. For instance, love fulfills the intent of biblical moral codes and rules. When we love, we act in a morally pure fashion, and purity is a consequence of love. Christians are to be totally commitment to a loving God and to responding appropriately to God’s call of love. Being Christ-like means living lives of love. Being set apart is best understood as having to do with love, because those who choose love distinguish themselves as a community that seeks to promote well-being. And holiness as perfection is understandable when perfection is characterized as living in love. We hope that the holiness movement can identify holiness again as its theological distinctive when love is deemed its core notion.

Relational Holiness provides a framework for affirming various notions of holiness while understanding them as ultimately valuable when grounded in love. We hope that the message of Relational Holiness will inspire us all to love God, others, and all creation, including ourselves. And when we love, we bear witness to our sanctification.


reference

retrieved from: http://www.cresourcei.org/relational.html

By: Dennis Bratcher

With the recent popularity of the Left Behind series of books and films, there has been a lot of renewed speculation about "end times" prophecies and the timing of what is popularly termed "the rapture."   This is the idea that Jesus will return to the earth and secretly take ("rapture") all Christians while leaving the rest of humanity to suffer through a long period of turmoil  in which evil will prevail in the world (called "the Great Tribulation").

But serious students of Scripture have continued to question whether such speculation is warranted from the biblical evidence.  Many have questioned what alternatives there might be to such widespread popular belief in a rapture of the church.

As far as alternative views to the popular concept of the rapture, there aren't many. At least, not many that are credible from the perspective of Scripture. The simple, and biblical, answer to the question of end time events and their sequence is: we do not know. That is not very satisfying for many who need to have something specific to believe about everything or who think that having all the correct beliefs is the only way to be righteous. But I would contend that if we are going to stick to Scripture as closely as we Protestants claim to want to do, we need to admit that we really do not know a lot of things.  We need to come to terms with the fact that there are a great many things that we would like to know for which Scripture does not provide answers. Rather than trying to create our own truth from speculation, "we do not know" is probably the best place to leave it.

The "Agreed Statement of Belief" of the Church of the Nazarene, for example, simply says, "¶ 26.8 That our Lord will return, the dead will be raised, and the final judgment will take place." It is important to note that the concise statement of the "Agreed Statement of Belief" affirms a theology, not a description of events. It affirms the Second Coming, which is a way (like the First Coming) to say that God will not forever leave this world the way it is. It also affirms the resurrection, which is the primary statement of human hope in all of Scripture. And it affirms the judgment, which is a way to affirm the idea of human responsibility and accountability for actions. When all is said and done, what more do we need?

Beyond using the language of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, the entire Article of Faith of the Church of the Nazarene on the "Second Coming" provides no further detail:

    19. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again; that we who are alive at His coming shall not precede them that are asleep in Christ Jesus; but that, if we are abiding in Him, we shall be caught up with the risen saints to meet the Lord in the air, so that we shall ever be with the Lord.

This may imply what is popularly viewed as the "rapture," although it totally avoids the debates about the precise sequence of events that have dominated this topic in the United States since the millennium and Adventist movements of the mid to late 1800s. It could be read equally as a theological statement rather than a precise sequence of events, which is undoubtedly how it was intended. Certainly the biblical references can be read that way. In other words, this is a matter of biblical interpretation, with those who have developed a detailed plan of the rapture making large assumptions about the meaning of certain passages.

There is nothing in the Bible that specifically requires what is popularly called the "rapture." As the heading of this Article of Faith says clearly, it is a statement about the Second Coming, not about the rapture. The Second Coming is different than what is commonly meant by the "rapture" in places like the Left Behind movies. That concept of a "rapture" is usually a so-called "secret" rapture, in which only Christians are taken while non-Christians and apostates are "left behind" to suffer the torments of the tribulation.

The traditional debates surrounding the ends times are whether the final establishment of God's Kingdom will be before (pre-millennialism) or after (post-millennialism) the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth (the millennium, Rev 20:1-10). Pre-millennialism takes two forms that debate whether the Second Coming will come before (pre-tribulation pre-millennialism or dispensationalism) or after (post-tribulation pre-millennialism or historic millennialism) a period of tribulation. Most popular beliefs in evangelical Christianity, such as the Left Behind series, are of the dispensationalist variety (pre-trib pre-mil) in which the Second Coming is divided into two events, a rapture of the saints, often called a "secret rapture" because the saints will be taken instantly without a revelation of Jesus, and a later public revelation of Jesus at the end of the tribulation.

As is clear in the Article of Faith, the Church of the Nazarene takes no position on either the millennium or the rapture in dispensationalist or pre-millennial terms. It does not define the nature of the Second Coming, only that it will occur using the biblical metaphors from 1 Thessalonians. Except for some historical anomalies, this has been the position of the Church almost from its beginning.

However, in a much more general sense and totally apart from the idea of a "secret" rapture (which is nowhere to be found in Scripture), the idea of a "rapture" can be connected with the Second Coming, but only in a very derived way. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Paul describes the Second Coming not only in terms of the resurrection of the dead, but also that those alive will be "caught up" with those resurrected to meet the returned Christ in the air. In early Latin translations (the Vulgate) the Greek word for "caught up" in this verse was translated by the Latin rapiemur, from which we get the term "rapture." But from a single word used in a Latin translation, and the ambiguous concept of "caught up," to extrapolate the detailed sequence of events that are often promoted in movies and by prophecy experts is to force the biblical text to say far more than it doe or can.

It is important to know that the term "rapture", and most of the popular ideas associated with it, arose out of the dispensational and millenarian (Adventist) movements of the mid to latter 19th century. That suggests that the idea of a "rapture," especially the idea of a "secret" rapture, is far more historically and culturally conditioned then it is a biblical or theological truth. The same is true for the entire dispensational and Adventist theology, as well as some of the more unorthodox spin-offs (for example, H. W. Armstrong's original World Wide Church of God). Both the disillusionment of World War I and the Cold War of the 40s-70s, as well as the Vietnam War, allowed the apocalyptic view of history that dominates dispensational and millenarian theology to flourish. It also fit well with some aspects of revivalism (scare 'em into heaven) as well as the rise of fundamentalism in the years following World War I.

The passages given in the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene concerning the Second Coming, which comprise most of what Scripture has to say in any direct way about it, give a wide array of perspectives. A brief survey of those passages will reveal how little information there really is about the event. And most of those passages actually have other issues in mind than even dealing directly with the Second Coming, let alone trying to provide a detailed sequence of events.

Matthew 25:31-46 is an apocalyptic section, a specific genre or kind of literature that uses "end of the world" language. It was a popular type of literature even in the two centuries before Christ as the Jews were under Greek and then Roman occupation. But most scholars understand that this language is poetic and metaphorical (as in Revelation) used to make theological statements, not as a "roadmap" of the end of the world.

John 14:1-3 has nothing of the rapture, but only speaks of the Second Coming. And here it is thoroughly theological with Christ as the "Way."

Acts 1:9-11 gives the account of Jesus' Ascension with a statement of the Second Coming. Most have focused on "in the same way" to prove a rapture. But it is not at all clear from the text that the reference is to a physical and visible descent.

Philippians 3:20-21 is only indirectly about the Second Coming, emphasizing the transformation of human beings. It has nothing about a rapture.

First Thessalonians 4:13-18 is apparently the most graphic description of the Second Coming, and provides most of the imagery associated with the idea of the rapture. But a careful reading of this passage in context will reveal that Paul is answering questions about what would happen to those who have already died at the Second Coming. This comes from a time when most Christians believed that the Second Coming would be shortly after Jesus' Ascension. Paul's whole focus in these verses is not on describing the physical nature of the rapture, but is on the issue of those who have already died and their relationship to the Second Coming. To take all of this as a literal description of the nature of the Second Coming without placing it within that primary contextual concern easily leads to distortion. Paul's whole point here is still an emphasis on the Second Coming. Whether people are dead or alive will make no difference. That is his point.

Titus 2:11-14 is only incidentally about the Second Coming, with no hint of a rapture. Likewise Hebrews 9:26-28 has no hint of a rapture and only incidentally refers to a judgment.

Second Peter 3:3-15 provides another apparently detailed account of the Second Coming. But again, we need to keep in mind that the primary concern in context is the discouragement among the early Christians over the delay of the Second Coming (probably 60 years or so by then). This passage reverts to the rather stereotyped apocalyptic language that serves to emphasize the certainty of the Second Coming in the midst of doubts. The very fact that it picks up the Old Testament concept of the "Day of the Lord" says that the language here is archaic and metaphorical, drawing on ancient concepts to emphasize the stability of God's purposes as well as human accountability (see The Day of the Lord). Again, to assume that this language can only be read as a literal description of a rapture is to misunderstand the nature of the material here.

Finally, both Revelation 1:7-8 and 22:7-20 also provide rather graphic apocalyptic imagery for the Second Coming. However, a careful reading of Revelation will reveal that most of the imagery in the book is intended to make theological statements, not to portray literal scenes or actions. The problem in interpretation is what criteria to use to determine that one passage should be taken literally yet another passage is only imagery. It is not adequate interpretation to assume that fantastic beasts are only symbolic imagery, yet Jesus coming in clouds must be taken as a literal description.

There are other biblical passages that are popularly used to support the idea of a rapture.  For example,  is one most commonly assumed in popular imagination to describe a rapture:

24:37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 24:38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 24:39 and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 24:40 Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 24:41 Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 24:42 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 24:43 But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 24:44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Yet the passage itself is not really about a rapture. Once again the focus is on the Second Coming (Gk, parousia, "coming," vv. 3, 39; also v. 27) without any necessary connection to the idea of a rapture.  The emphasis of the passage using the illustration of Noah is on the preoccupation of people with their own lives and pleasures apart from God. The Noah illustration carries with it overtones of judgment, that the people who are oblivious to their responsibility to God will be caught unaware when God requires accountability.  The passage concludes with an appeal to live faithfully in the present with an eye toward that accountability (24:46 ff).

In rapture theology, those who are "taken" are assumed to be the Christians while those who are "left behind," presumably to suffer the pains of the tribulation, are the sinners.  Yet this identification is nowhere made in this passage.  In the Noah story those who were "taken" by the flood ("swept . . . away," v. 39), used here symbolically for the judgment of God, were the sinners while the righteous Noah and his family were those who were "left behind." Yet popular rapture theology rather deftly inverts what this passage says in order to fit it with a doctrine pieced together from isolated verses all over the Bible.

Unless we start with the idea of a rapture and use it as a lens through which to read this passage, there is really nothing in this passage to teach a rapture. It remains a strong condemnation of indifference and preoccupation with self-interest in light of the promised Second Coming of Christ that will bring judgment on sinners. But that does not require a rapture.

Along the same line, Jirair Tashjian notes (The Second Coming):

    . . . in Matthew 13:41-43, which is an interpretation of the parable of the Wheat and Weeds, the focus is on the culmination of the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus says, "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father." If there is going to be a rapture, it is the evildoers who are "raptured" and thrown into the furnace of fire!

All this says that the biblical references that are most used to support a rapture do not clearly support the idea at all. They all firmly support a Second Coming (whatever form that might take), a Resurrection, and a Judgment, all without giving any solid details about any of them.

Is it possible that the biblical writers did not know any more about the details than we do? They clearly knew the theological truth about these three elements that also appear in the "Agreed Statement of Belief" to which I referred earlier, and clearly communicated them in various ways and places. But they may not have known the details. Maybe that is why there is no clear picture of the details in Scripture, which is what fuels the debates. For the biblical writers to know all the details would require a particular view of the nature of Scripture and revelation that is far more in line with modern fundamentalism than with a Wesleyan view of plenary inspiration that is primarily "soteriological" (concerning our salvation: "all things necessary to our salvation").

Because of the perversions of most modern end-times speculations, especially that of the dispensationalists in which "rapture" means something very specific, I have found it to be more helpful to stick to the concept of a Second Coming, of which the Manual statement is a good example, and avoid the term "rapture" and the debates about end-time details that this idea necessarily provokes.

I think we would have our hands full if we understood from Scripture how to live today, let alone trying to figure out what will happen in the end times from virtually non-existent evidence. I think Jesus made that point quite well in Matthew 6:33-34: "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness. . . do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."

So, again, the simple, and biblical, answer is, we do not know. We do know "That our Lord will return, the dead will be raised, and the final judgment will take place." I'm perfectly happy with that.


reference

Retrieved from: http://www.cresourcei.org/rapture.html

II. I shall speak to the enjoyment of God for ever, wherein man's chief happiness consists, and which he is to seek as his chief good.

Here I shall show,

   1. The nature of this enjoyment.
   2. The order of it.
   3. That it is man's chief end in point of happiness.

First, I shall shew the nature of this enjoyment. There is twofold enjoyment of God, imperfect and perfect.

First, There is an imperfect enjoyment of God in this life; which consist of two things.

1. In union with him, or special saving interest in him, whereby God is their God by covenant. By this union Christ and believers are so joined, that they are one in spirit, one mystical body. The whole man, soul and body, is united to him,and, through the mediator, unto God. This is the foundation of all saving enjoyment of God.

2. In communion with God, which is a participation of the benefits of that saving relation, whereof the soul makes returns to the Lord in the exercise of it's graces, particularly of faith and love. This is had in the duties of religion, prayer, meditation, in which the Lord privileges his people with manifestations of his grace, favour, and love, bestows on them the influences of the holy Spirit, gives them many tokens of his kindness, and fills them with joy and peace in believing.

Secondly, There is a perfect enjoyment of God in heaven, when this world is no more. This consists in,

(1.) An intimate presence with him in glory Psal.16:11, "In his presence is fulness of joy, and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore." God himself shall be with then, and they shall ever be with the Lord, enjoying his glorious presence, brought near to his throne, and standing before him, where he shews his inconceivable glory.

(2.) In seeing him as he is, 1John3:2. They shall have a full, a satisfying, and never-ending sight of God, and of all his glorious perfections and excellencies, and they shall be ravished with the view thereof for ever.

(3.) In a perfect union with him, Rev.21:3. He will be their God. They were united to God in Christ here by the Spirit and faith, and made partakers of a divine nature, but then only in part; but in heaven they shall perfectly partake of it. There shall be a most close and intimate union between God and them: God shall be in them, and they shall in God, in the way of a glorious and most perfect union, never to be dissolved.

(4.) In an immediate, full, free, and comfortable communion with him, infinitely superior to all communion they ever had with him in this world, and which no mortal can suitably describe.

(5.) Lastly, In full joy and satisfaction resulting from these things for ever, Matt.25:21. The presence and enjoyment of God and the Lamb, shall satisfy them with pleasures for evermore. They shall swim for ever in an ocean of joy, and every object they see shall fill them with the most ecstatic joy, which shall be ever fresh and new to them, through all ages of eternity.

SECONDLY, Let us consider the order of this enjoyment.

1. It is part of man's chief end, and, in conjunction with glorifying of God, makes it up. And these two are put together, because no man can glorify God, but he that takes God for his chief good and supreme happiness.

2. Glorifying of God is put before the enjoying of him, because the way of duty is the way to the enjoyment of God. Holiness on earth must necessarily go before felicity in heaven, Heb.12:14. There is an inseparable connection betwixt the two, as between the end and the means; so that no person who does not glorify God here, shall ever enjoy him hereafter. The connection is instituted by God himself, so that the one can never be attained without the other. Let no person, then, who has no regard for the glory and honour of God in this world, dream that he shall be crowned with glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life, in heavenly mansions. No; the pure in heart, and they who glorify God now, shall alone see God, to their infinite joy in heaven.

THIRDLY, I shall shew, that the enjoyment of God is man's chief end in point of happiness, the thing that he should chiefly seek. For this end,

1. Consider what man is. He is, (1.) A creature that desires happiness, and cannot but desire it. The desire of happiness is woven into his nature, and cannot be eradicated. It is as natural for him to desire it as it is to breathe. (2.) He is not self-sufficient: he is conscious to himself that he wants many things, and therefore he is ever seeking something without himself in order to be happy. (3.) Nothing but an infinite good can fully satisfy the desires of an immortal soul: because, whatever good he finds in the creature, he can still desire more, and will continue to desire it; and where it is not to be found, there his happiness is marred. So that man's happiness is neither to be found in himself nor in any creature, or created good.

2. Consider what God is.

1st. God is the chief good. Some persons, as angels and some things, as grace, glory, are good; but only God is the chief good, for he is the fountain good, and the water that is good is always best in the fountain. All other goodness is but second-hand goodness, derived and dependent; but God is original, underived, and independent goodness, the cause and source of whatever is good in heaven and earth. Now, where the more goodness is, there the more it is to be sought. And therefore, seeing God is the chief good, the enjoyment of him is the chief end which man should aim at in seeking.

2nd, God is all good. (1.) There is nothing in him but what is good; he is entirely without imperfection. (2.) All that is good is in him; so that the soul, finding him commensurate to its desires, needs nothing besides him; and therefore should not, and cannot, fully rest in any person or thing but God, who alone is able to satisfy all its desires, and afford it that happiness which it earnestly pants after.

I shall conclude with a few inferences.

1. O how does reigning sin pervert the spirit of man, turning it quite away from its chief end! How many are there who make themselves their chief end! They are conjured within the circle of self, and out of it they can not move. Like beast they grovel on the ground, seeking themselves, and acting for themselves only or chiefly, pursuing the enjoyment of earthly things; but look not to God, Phil. 3:19. Their own advantage is the chief motive and aim they have in their natural, civil, and religious actions, either their own pleasure, profit, or honor and glory. And they never think of, never propose the glory and honor of the infinite majesty of heaven in anything they do.

2. This may fill the best with shame and blushing. O how much is God dishonored by our hearts, lips, and lives! O what self-seeking mixes itself with our best actions! How eagerly do we pursue created things, and how faintly the enjoyment of God! How absurd is such conduct! And how dishonorable to a holy God! It is a saying upon the matter, that God is not the chief good, that He is not a suitable portion for the soul, and that the creature is better than God. How should we be ashamed of ourselves on this account, and labor earnestly to make God the chief and ultimate end of all our actions, and the enjoyment of Him our chief happiness!

3. Behold the excellency of man above other creatures on earth! He is made for a noble end, to glorify and enjoy God, while other creatures were made for him. How sad it is, that men should thus forget their dignity, and turn slaves to those creatures which were made to serve them! And how deplorable and lamentable is it, that men, in place of making God their ultimate end, and placing their chief happiness in him, should make their belly, their lust and idols, their God, and place their chief felicity in the gratification of sensual and brutish pleasures; as the drunkard does in his bottle, the unclean person in his whore, the miser in his wealth, and the ambitious man in the titles of honor. Alas! Our hearts by nature are set on the earth that we tread upon, and our desires reach up to those things that we should make stepping-stones of. Let us earnestly implore divine grace to cure this disorder of our hearts, and give them a bias to more excellent things, and the enjoyment of that which will survive the grave, and not perish with the wrecks of time, and the dissolution of the world.

4. The soul of man is immortal, seeing to enjoy God forever is its ultimate and supreme happiness. God is immortal, and so must the soul be too, which can never be satisfied but in this never-dying being. The body too must rise again, seeing God is the God and portion of the whole man. Now, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Can that thinking and immaterial substance which eagerly desires happiness, and can find it no where but in the immortal God, perish with the body, and all its thoughts and desires be extinguished in the grave? No; its chief happiness will subsist forever, and so will the soul too. And both soul and body, which were united to God here, shall continue to be united to him forever, after the resurrection. Let us then seek to be united to God here, that we may be happy with and in him forever.

5. When God and the creature come in competition, we must renounce the creature, and cleave to God only, Luke 14:33. God is the chief good, and to glorify and adhere to him at all times, and in all cases, and amidst all trials, is our great duty, a duty absolutely required of us. If we are reduced to the dilemma, that we must either give up with the creature, or any worldly goods or possessions, or even life itself, or give up with and deny God and his cause, we must give up with and abandon the former, and not prefer them to the glory of God, which we ought always to study as our main end, and account our chief happiness and joy.

6. Here is a rule to try doctrines by, and also practices. Whatever doctrine tends to glorify God, and promote his honour in the world, is certainly from God, and is to be embraced. And whatever practices have that same tendency, they are good, and deserve to be imitated. Whereas any doctrine that tends to dishonour God, to rob him of his glory, and set the crown upon the creature's head, to depreciate the free grace of God, exalt the power of nature and of free-will, in opposition to the efficacious and irresistible grace of God, as the doctrines of Pelagians, papists, Arminians, and others do, is not from God. Neither is any doctrine or opinion that robs the Son of God of his essential dignity, supremacy, independency, and equality with the Father, to be received, because it is not of God, who will have all men to honour the Son even as they honour the Father.

Lastly, Let this then be your main and chief work, to glorify God, and to seek to enjoy him. And hence see the absolute need of Christ, and faith in him; for there is no glorifying of the Father without the Son, 1 John 2:23. and no enjoying of God, but through him. No sacrifice is or can be accepted, unless offered upon this altar; and there is no coming into the chamber of presence, but as introduced by Christ.

I. I shall speak to the glorifying of God, which is one part of man's chief end.

And here I shall show,

   1. The nature of glorifying God.
   2. In what respect God's glory is man's chief end.
   3. The extent of this glorifying of God.
   4. The reason of it.

First, I shall shew the nature of glorifying God. To glorify, is either to make glorious, or to declare to be glorious. God glorifies, i.e. makes angels or men glorious; but man cannot make God glorious, for he is not capable of any additional glory, being in himself infinitely glorious, Job 35:7. Hence it is plain, that God gets no advantage to himself by the best works of men, the profit of holiness redounding entirely ourselves, Acts 17:25, Psal. 16:2.

God is glorified, then, only declaratively; he is glorified when his glory is declared. This is done two ways. Objectively, by the creatures inanimate and irrational. Thus the heavens declare the glory of God, Psal.19:1. This the creatures do, while they afford matter of praise to God, as a violin is fit to make music, though there must be a hand to play on it ere it can sound. Man declares his glory also actively. And this he ought to do,

1. By his heart, 1Cor.6:20. Glorify God in your spirit. Honouring God with the lips, not with the heart, is but a very lame and unacceptable performance. He ought to be glorified by our understanding, taking him up in the glory which the scripture reveals him in, thinking highly of him, and esteeming him above all other persons or things, Psal. 73:25. So they that know him not, can never glorify him: and they that esteem any person or thing more than, or as much as him, dishonour him. We glorify him by our wills, choosing him as our portion and our chief good, as he really is in himself; by our affections loving him, and rejoicing and delighting in him above every other.

2. By his lips, Psal. 1:23 "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me." Therefore man's tongue is called his glory, Psal.16:9 not only because it serves him for speech, which exalts him above the brutes, but because it is given him as a proper instrument for speaking forth the glory of God. So that it must needs be a strange perverting of the tongue, to set it against the heavens, and let it loose to the dishonour of God, and fetter it as to his glory.

3. By his life, Matt 5:16. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven." A holy life is a life of light; it is a shining light, to let a blind world see the glory of God. Sin darkens the glory of God, draws a veil over it. David's sin made the enemies of God to blaspheme. The study of holiness says, God is holy; mourning for every slip says, God is spotless; walking holily in all manner of conversation, within and without, says,God is omniscient and omnipresent. As when men find a well-ordered family, that tells what a man the master of it is.

SECONDLY, I proceed to show in what respects God's glory is man's chief end.
First, it is man's end,

1. It is the end which God aimed at when he made man, Prov.16:4, "The Lord hath made all things for himself," Rom.11:36, For of him, and through him, and to him are all things." Every rational agent proposes to himself an end in working, and the most perfect the highest end. Now God is the most perfect Being, and his glory the noblest end. God is not actively glorified by all men, and therefore he surely did not design it; but he designed to have glory from them, either by them or on them; and so it will be. Happy they who glorify him by their actings, that they may not glorify him by their eternal sufferings

2. It is the end of man as God's work. Man was made fit for glorifying God, Eccl. 7:29. "God made man upright;" as a well-tuned instrument, or as a house conveniently built, though never inhabited. The very fabric of man's body, whereby he looks upward, while the breast look downward, is palpable evidence of this.

3. It is that which man should aim at, the mark to which he should direct all he does, 1 Cor. 10:31, the text. This is what we should continually have in our eye, the grand design we should be carrying on in the world, Psal. 16:8. "I have set the Lord always before me," says David.

Secondly, It is man's chief end, that which God chiefly aimed at, the chief end of man as God's work, and that which man should chiefly aim at. God made man for other ends, as to govern, use, and dispose of other creatures in the earth, sea, and air, wisely, soberly, and mercifully, Gen. 1:26. Man was fitted for these ends, and a man may propose them lawfully to himself, seeing God has set them before him; but still these are but subordinate ends to his glory.

There are some ends which men propose to themselves, which are simply unlawful, as to satisfy their revenge, their lust, their covetousness. These are not capable of subordination to the glory of God, who hates robbery for burnt-offering. But there are other ends which are indeed in themselves lawful, yet become sinful, if they be not set in their due place, that is, subordinate to the glory of God. Now, God's glory is made our chief end, when these three things concur.

1. When whatever end we have in our actions, the glory of God is still one of our ends in acting. We may eat and drink for the nourishment of our bodies; but this must not jostle out our respect to the glory of God. If the nourishment of our bodies be the only end of our eating and drinking, it is sinful, and out of the due order.

2. It must not only be our end, but it must be our main and principal end, that which we chiefly design. When God's glory is our chief end, all other ends that we propose to ourselves will be down-weighed by this; all other sheaves must bow to that sheaf: as a diligent servant designs to please both the master and his steward, but chiefly the master. But when, on the contrary, a man eats and drinks (for instance) more for the nourishment of his body than for God's glory, it is plain, that God's glory is not the chief end of the man in that action. Hence we read, 2Tim.3:4. of some that are "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God."

3. When it is the ultimate end, the last end, the top and perfection of what we design, beyond which we have no more view, and to which all other ends are made subservient, and as means to that end. Thus we should eat that our bodies may be refreshed; we should desire that our bodies may be refreshed, that we may be the more capable to serve and glorify God in our stations. Thus we are obliged to seek our own salvation, that God may be glorified; and not to seek God's glory only that we may be saved; for that is to make the glory of God a stepping-stone to our own safety.

Thirdly, I come now to show the extent of this duty. Respect to the glory of God is as salt that must be served up with every dish. The great work of our life is to glorify him; it is the end of our first and of our second creation, Isa.43:21. "This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise." We must be for God, Hos.3:3. and live to him. This must be the end.

1. Of our natural actions, 1Cor. 10:31, eating, sleeping, walking. We are under a law as to these things. We may not eat and drink as we please, more than pray as we please, Zech.7:6. All these things must be done in subserviency to the glory of God. These things must be done that we may live, and living may glorify God; and when we can do it without them in heaven, then none of these things shall be done.

2. Of our civil actions, working our work, buying and selling, Eph.6:7, Prov.21:4. It was one of sins of the old world, that they were eating; the word is properly used of beast eating their food: they had no higher end in it than beast; and marrying, a thing in itself lawful, but they had no eye to God in it.

3. Of our moral and religious actions, Zech.7:5. We must pray, hear, for God's glory. This is such a necessary ingredient in our actions, that none of them are truly good and acceptable to God without it, Zech.7:5. Do what we will, it cannot please be service to God, if we do not make him our end; no more than a servant's working to himself is service to his master. God will never be the rewarder of a work, whereof he is not the end; for if a man should build houses to all the country, if he build not one to me, I owe him nothing. Alas! to what purpose serves a generation of good works all killed by a depraved end?

Though it is a duty frequently to have a formal and express intention of the glory of God in our actions, yet to have it in every actions is impossible: neither are we bound to it; for then, for that very intention we should be obliged to have another, another for that, and another for that, in infinitum But we should always habitually and interpretatively design the glory of God. And that is done when,

   1. The course of our lives is directed to the glory of God Psal.1. ult.
   2. When we walk according to the of God's word, taking heed that we swerve not in any thing from it.
   3. When God's will is the reason as well as the rule of our actions; when we believe a truth, because God has said it; and do a duty, because God has commanded it.

If we do not so, God loses his glory, and we lose our labour.

Fourthly, The reason of the point is, because he is the first principle, therefore he must be the last end. He is first and the last, the Alpha, and therefore the Omega. God is the fountain of our being; and therefore seeing we are of him, we should be to him, Rom.11. ult. forecited. Man is a mere relative being; God is our Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor. Our being is but a borrowed being from him, as rays or beams of the sun are borrowed from the sun: therefore I AM is God's name. Whatever perfection we have is from him; hence he is called "the only wise, none good but one, that is God:" he gives us continuance of all these things, and it is on his cost that we live. As when the waters come from the sea unto the earth, and go back again unto it by brooks and rivers; so all we receive and enjoy comes from God, and ought to go back again to him, by being used for his glory. Wherefore to make ourselves our chief end, is to make ourselves a god to ourselves; for a creature to be a center to itself, and that God should be a means to that end, is to blaspheme, John 8:50

by: Thomas Boston

    1 Cor. 10:31...Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

    Psal. 73:25, 26...Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
     

KNOWLEDGE is a necessary foundation of faith and holiness; and where ignorance reigns in the mind, there is confusion in the heart and life. We have the word of truth in our hands, and many methodical systems of divine truths, amongst which the Shorter Catechism, composed by the Reverend Assembly of divines at Westminster, in pursuance of the solemn league and covenant, as a part of the then intended uniformity between the three nations, is deservedly reckon the chief. This I shall endeavour to explain with all possible brevity and perspecuity, that ye may have a view of those divine truths, with the reason of them. And this I have thought it the more necessary to do, in order that your minds may be established in the truth, as our time is like to be a time of trial, wherein ye may be exposed to many snares, and so be in danger of apostasy. In the first of the texts which I have read, ye have, 1. The chief end of human actions, the glory of God: that is the scope of which all we think, or do, should tend; this is the point or common center, in which all should meet. 2. The extent of it. It is not only some of our actions, but all of them, of what kind soever, that must be directed to this end. This, then is man's chief duty.

In the second text we have, The Psalmist's chief desire, and what he points at as his only true happiness; that is, the enjoyment of God. He takes God for and instead of all, that in him alone his soul may rest. 2. The reason of this is taken from (1.) The creature's emptiness, both in body and in spirit, ver. 25 (2.) From God's fulness and sufficiency: and this is amplified by the eternity of it, my portion for ever.

From both texts the following doctrine natively follows. Doct. "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy him for ever. "In handling this doctrine, I shall speak,

      I.
         

      To the glorifying of God, which is one part of man's chief end.

       II.
         

      To the enjoyment of God forever, wherein man's chief happiness consists, and; which he is to seek as his chief good.

F.     You Glorify Him When You Fully Trust Him (34:8 )



1.        None of this “half-hearted” stuff here! Can’t play on any sports team I know of if you are not 100% behind the coach

2.     To trust the God of this Bible is to take Him at His word:



a.     For salvation from sin

b.     For finding His will for your life

c.     For everything you can’t do! Learn to fully trust Him (Pr 3:5)



3.     This is called “tasting” and finding out that He is good - enjoy!