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‘Quarantine’ puts brake on traffic related crimes

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, July 4, 2020 (PIA)â€"Not a series of police anti traffic operations and simultaneous roadblocks have produced the same results as that which happened after the scare of the corona virus disease has made people take a second hard look at going out.

Since last year, provincial Peace and Order Council members have been asking police authorities to deal with the ever increasing traffic related incidents, them giving local crime picture a nasty black-eye.

It could be the police checkpoints and the strict no back-riding policy, or the random flagging down of motorists that have discouraged motorists from going out in the streets, as the police reports very drastic decrease in traffic related incidents in the first half of the year.

In a report from Camp Dagohoy and delivered for the Boholano community by Senior Police Officer 4 Francis Briones at the Kapihan sa PIA, he pointed out that traffic related incidents slowed to nearly a crawl in the last three months, as if hitting a series of speed bumps.

Police Executive master Sergeant Briones, representing Police Senior Superintendent Joselito Clarito and the Police Community Affairs Branch of Camp Dagohoy came along with Police Senior Master Sergeant Liezl Diola at the Kapihan to urge stronger community partnerships with the police in crime fighting and health crisis control.

SPO4 Briones pointed out that from January to March, police noted some 892 total vehicular accidents; a figure which soon slowed down to 325 accidents from April to June.

The decrease of about 567 accidents is 63.57% decrease from the first three months, when police presence in the streets was limited.

Of the 892 vehicular accidents in the first three months, 454 came out injured, 413 walked out unharmed but 25 were killed, according to reports.

By April to June, of the 325 vehicular accidents, 147 got injuries, 167 walked out generally unharmed
while 11 involved in the accident died.

Over all, as to physical injuries caused by traffic related incidents, police noted a 68 percent drop in incidents.

As to damage to property caused by traffic related accidents, in the beginning months, from 413 incidents, the figure swooped down to 167 or a drastic 60 percent decrease.

As to traffic related homicide, when 25 people were not as lucky in the beginning months of the year, by April to June, crime blotters only recorded only 11 cases of homicide.

Asked how this happened, Camp Dagohoy’s Colonel Clarito and even SPO4 Briones agreed the presence of the police in the streets, in the road blocks and checkpoints as well as constantly flagging motorists and checking on their proper documents have kept most vehicles off the streets.

In fact, according to Camp Dagohoy, they have apprehended and counseled 892 drivers in violation of the quarantine guidelines issued by the Department of Transportation. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

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‘Anti-Terror Act’ earns sweeping support here
CORTES, Bohol, July 4, 2020 (PIA) â€" Despite furious attempts by progressive groups to trash the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 which President Rodrigo Duterte earlier signified as urgent and signed into law last week, the law earned an overwhelming support by the province’s 47 municipal and city peace and order councils (MPOC/CPOC).
These local peace councils, composed of the mayors and Sangguniang Bayan legislators, sectoral representatives including private, church and youth sector representatives are tasked to craft policies relative to peace and order in their localities.

In his report to the virtual joint meetings of the Provincial Peace and Order Council and the Provincial Anti Drug Abuse Council last week, Bohol police chief Senior Superintendent Joselito Clarito bared the information adding further that this boosts the realization of the president’s directive to end local communist armed conflicts (ELCAC) soon.

During the same meeting, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Bohol Provincial Director Jerome Gonzales shared the presentation on the Anti-Terrorism Law briefer to screens of all members attending the virtual meeting.
Gonzales highlighted on the need for the country to have a law that can effectively curb terrorism, citing that the earlier Human Security Act (HSA) of 2017, remains a dead letter law and is severely underutilized.

With the HAS in existence, the Global Terrorism Index of 2019 places the Philippines as the 9th most negatively affected by terrorism, along with Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, Syria, Pakistan, Somalia, India, Yemen and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
As an example, he said even with the HSA of 2007, it has identified only the Abu Sayaff Group as the only declared terrorist group in the Philippines and with the real and present threat presented by terrorist organizations, groups, and individuals to the Filipino people, it has convicted only one Nur Supian in November 2018 for recruiting participants in the 2017 Marawi siege.
Such is because, in the absence of a law, when terrorists are captured, they are charged with cases for violations of the Revised Penal Code, or illegal possession of firearms or some other special laws than terrorism.

PD Gonzales said even Jolo suicide bombings suspects in 2018 faced multiple murder and frustrated murder charges for the deaths and injuries caused by said bombings, when it was clearly a terroristic act.
The proposed law had critics accusing government of cleverly instituting martial law.

But PD Gonzales insists, “while the measure includes tough provisions against terrorists including foreign ones, even tougher safeguards are in place against abuse.”

The new defines terrorism as an act committed by anyone within or outside the Philippines, regardless of the stage executions, and a terrorist as one who engages in any acts intended to cause death, injury, or endangers a person’s life, acts that cause extensive damage to a government or public facility, public places or private properties, or acts that cause extensive interference, damage or destruction to critical infrastructure.

It also defines a terrorist as one who develops, manufactures, possesses, acquires, transports, supplies or uses weapons and releases explosives or of biological, nuclear, radiological or chemical weapons intended to intimidate the general public, create or spread fear.

It also includes acts to provoke or influence by intimidation, the government or any international organization, or seriously destabilize or destroy the fundamental political, economic, or social structures of the country, or create a public emergency or seriously undermine public safety.
Briefly stated, acts to be considered terroristic, must have intent and purpose taken together and established.

Those found to be guilty, not by any one but by a competent court, shall be guilty of committing terrorism and shall suffer the penalty of life imprisonment without parole and the benefits of Republic Act No. 10592.
While critics allege that the new law curtails freedom of speech, PD Gonzales assures, Freedom of Speech is a right that is constitutionally guaranteed.

As long as the exercise of the rights don not intend to kill or injure a person and endanger his life or jeopardize public safety, then it is still construed as within the exercise of civil and political rights, DILG hinted.
Acts punishable under the Anti-Terrorism Bill include threat to commit terrorism, planning, training, preparing and facilitating to commit an act of terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism, proposal to commit terrorism, inciting to commit terrorism like recruitment and membership in a terrorist organization and providing material support to terrorist, especially when one has a knowledge that the individual, association, or group of persons is committing or planning to commit acts of terrorism. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

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Did you know Brazil borders every country in South America except Chile and Ecuador?

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Did you know tree hugging is forbidden in China?

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ablaut
definition from
Oxford Dictionary of English

ablaut /ˈablaÊŠt  /
â–¸ noun [mass noun] alternation in the vowels of related word forms, especially in Germanic strong verbs (e.g. in sing, sang, sung):
[as modifier] an ablaut series.
â€" ORIGIN mid 19th century : from German, from ab ‘off’ + Laut ‘sound’.

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By Joshua Fullido
Usa ka babaye ang giluba patay sa bana sa iyang ig-agaw, tungod sa kapungot, kagahapong adlawa didto sa lungsod sa Dauis.

Ang biktima nailhan nga si Morena Asadel, 40, dalaga, ug kauban nya sa balay ang iyang ig-agaw na si Jocelyn Casucot, 37, minyo, usa ka dispatcher, nagpoyo sa barangay Totolan, Dauis.

Matud pa ni Jocelyn, ang suspek sa pagluba sa iyang ig-agaw mao ang iyang bana nga si Ginon Casucot, 26, walay trabaho.

Gi-alegar na giluba ni Ginon ang biktima kaunom ka higayon, lima sa atubangan sa lawas ug kausa sa likod na bahin sa lawas. Nahitabo ang insidente mga 4:30 sa hapon kagahapon. Giluba sa suspek ang biktima gigamit ang usa mahait na butang.

Matud sa ig-agaw sa biktima na giluba sa suspek si Asadel tungod sa kapungot. Nagtuo ang suspek na ang biktima ang tigsul sol ni Jocelyn. Si Jocelyn kay adunay laraw na mobiya na sa iyang bana. Matud ni Jocelyn na si Ginon kay walay trabaho ug kapunay nalang duwa ug Mobile Legends, mao naka desidir kini na mubiya.

Nagkagubot ang magtiayon kay wa mosugot si Ginon na dad-on ni Jocelyn sa iyang paglayas ang ilang anak na adunay panuigon na 1 ka tuig ug 7 ka bulan.

Matud ni Jocelyn, wa sya nakasuway ug laban aron mapugnan ang suspek sa pagluba sa biktima, kay kusgan man si Ginon.

Inig human sa insidente, dali dali nga misibat ang suspek ug hangtud gisuwat ning balita, wala pa madakpi sa awtoridad.

Gidala ang biktima sa ospital, apan patay na kini sa paghidangat sa tambalanan, matud sa taho ni Jocelyn.

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Ezra Summary
Introduction to the Book of Ezra
By Arthur Clarke

At the conclusion of 2 Kings, and also of the preceding book, 2 Chronicles, we have seen the state of misery and desolation to which the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were reduced through their unparalleled ingratitude to God, and their innumerable backslidings and rebellions. These at last issued in their captivity; the inhabitants of the former country being carried away by the Assyrians, and those of the latter by the Chaldeans. The former never recovered their ancient territories, and were so disposed of by their enemies that they either became amalgamated with the heathen nations, so as to be utterly undistinguishable, or they were transported to some foreign and recluse place of settlement, that the place of their existence, though repeatedly guessed at, has for more than two thousand years been totally unknown.

In mercy to the less polluted inhabitants of the kingdom of Judah, though delivered up into the hands of their enemies, God had promised by his prophet, that at the expiration of seventy years they should be enlarged, and restored to their own country. This prediction was most literally fulfilled; and the books of Ezra, Esther, and Nehemiah, inform us how the Divine goodness accomplished this most gracious design, and the movers and agents he employed on the occasion. The writer of the following book was undoubtedly the chief agent under God; and his history, as found in the most authentic writings of the Jews, is too nearly connected with this book, and too important in every point of view, to be passed by. No man has written on this subject with such perspicuity as Dean Prideaux; and from his invaluable work, The Connected History of the Old and New Testaments, I shall freely borrow whatever may be best calculated to throw light upon the ensuing history.

"In the beginning of the year 458 before the Christian era, Ezra obtained of King Artaxerxes and his seven counsellors a very ample commission for his return to Jerusalem, with all of his nation that were willing to accompany him thither; giving him full authority there to restore and settle the state, and reform the Church of the Jews, and to regulate and govern both according to their own laws. This extraordinary favor, not being likely to have been obtained but by some more than ordinary means, appears to have been granted by King Artaxerxes to the solicitations of Esther, who, though not at that time advanced to the dignity of his queen, was yet the best beloved of his concubines.

"Ezra was of the descendants of Seraiah, the high priest who was slain by Nebuchadnezzar when he burnt the temple and city of Jerusalem.

"As Ezra was a very holy, so also was he a very learned man, and especially skilled excellently in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures; and therefore he is said to have been a very ready scribe in the law of God, for which he was so eminent that Artaxerxes takes particular notice of it in his commission. He began his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, called Nisan, which might fall about the middle of our March; and having halted at the river of Ahava till the rest of his company was come up to him, he there, in a solemn fast, recommended himself and all that were with him to the Divine protection; and then, on the twelfth day, set forward for Jerusalem, they all having spent four months in their journey from Babylon thither. On his arrival he delivered up to the temple the offerings which had been made to it by the king and his nobles, and the rest of the people of Israel that stayed behind; which amounted to a hundred talents of gold, with twenty basons of gold of the value of a thousand darics, and six hundred and fifty talents of silver, with vessels of silver of the weight of a hundred talents more: and then, having communicated his commission to the king's lieutenants and governors throughout all Syria and Palestine, he betook himself to the executing of the contents of it, whereby he was fully empowered to settle both the Church and the state of the Jews, according to the law of Moses; and to appoint magistrates and judges to punish all such as should be refractory; and that, not only by imprisonment and confiscation of goods, but also with banishment and death, according as their crimes should be found to deserve. And all this power Ezra was invested with, and continued faithfully to execute, for the space of thirteen years, till Nehemiah arrived with a new commission from the Persian court for the same work. Ezra, having found in the second year of his government (Ezr 9:1-15 and 10 (refs2)) that many of the people had taken strange wives, contrary to the law, and that several of the priests and Levites, as well as the chief men of Judah and Benjamin, had transgressed herein, after he had in fasting and prayer deprecated God's wrath for it, caused proclamation to be made for all the people of Israel that had returned from the captivity to gather themselves together at Jerusalem, under the penalty of excommunication, and forfeiture of all their goods. And when they were met, he made them sensible of their sins, and engaged them in promise and covenant before God, to depart from it by putting away their strange wives, and all such as were born of them, that the seed of Israel might not be polluted with such an undue commixture; and thereon commissioners were appointed to inquire into this matter, and cause every man to do according to the law.

"And they sat down the first day of the tenth month to examine into this matter, and made an end by the first day of the first month; so that in three months' time, that is, in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth months of the Jewish years a thorough reformation was made of this transgression: which three months answer to January, February, and March of our year.

"About this time (Est 2:21) Bigthan and Jeush, two eunuchs of the palace, entered into a conspiracy against the life of King Artaxerxes. Most likely they were of those who had attended Queen Vashti; and being now out of their offices by the degrading of their mistress, and the advancing of another in her place, took such a disgust at this as to resolve to revenge themselves on the king for it; of which Mordecai, having got the knowledge, made discovery to Queen Esther, and she in Mordecai's name to the king; whereon inquiry being made into the matter, and the whole treason laid open and discovered, the two traitors were both crucified for it, and the history of the whole matter was entered on the public registers and annals of the kingdom.

"Ezra continued in the government of Judea till the end of the year 446; and by virtue of the commission he had from the king, and the powers granted him thereby, he reformed the whole state of the Jewish Church, according to the law of Moses, in which he was excellently learned, and settled it upon that bottom upon which it afterwards stood till the time of our Savior. The two chief things which he had to do, were to restore the observance of the Jewish law according to the ancient approved usages which had been in practice before the captivity, under the directions of the prophets; and to collect together and set forth a correct edition of the Holy Scriptures; in the performance of both which, the Jews inform us he had the assistance of what they call the Great Synagogue, which they tell us was a convention consisting of one hundred and twenty men, who lived all at the same time under the presidency of Ezra, and assisted him in both of these two works; and among these they name Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

"But the whole conduct of the work, and the glory of accomplishing it, is by the Jews chiefly attributed to him under whose presidency they tell us it was done; and therefore they look upon him as another Moses: for the law, they say, was given by Moses; but it was reviewed and restored by Ezra, after it had in a manner been extinguished and lost in the Babylonish captivity. And therefore they reckon him as the second founder of it: and it is a common opinion among them that he was Malachi the prophet; that he was called Ezra as his proper name, and Malachi, which signifies an angel or messenger, from his office, because he was sent as the angel and messenger of God to restore again the Jewish religion, and establish it in the same manner as it was before the captivity on the foundation of the law and the prophets. And indeed, by virtue of that ample commission which he had from King Artaxerxes, he had an opportunity of doing more herein than any other of his nation; and he executed all the powers thereof to the utmost he was able, for the resettling both of the ecclesiastical and political state of the Jews in the best posture they were then capable of: and from hence his name is in so high esteem and veneration among the Jews, that it is a common saying among their writers, 'that if the law had not been given by Moses, Ezra was worthy, by whom it should have been given.' As to the ancient and approved usages of the Jewish Church which had been in practice before the captivity, they had by Joshua and Zerubbabel, with the chief elders, then contemporaries, and by others that after succeeded them, been gathering together from their first return to Jerusalem, as they could be recovered from the memories of the ancients of their nation who had either seen them practiced themselves before the captivity, or who had been informed concerning them by their parents or others who had lived before them.

"All these, and whatsoever else was pretended to be of the same nature, Ezra brought under review, and, after due examination, allowed such of them as were to be allowed, and settled them by his approbation and authority: they gave birth to what the Jews now call their oral law; for they own a twofold law - the first, the written law, which is recorded in the Holy Scriptures; and the second, the oral law, which they have only by the tradition of their elders. And both these, they say, were given them by Moses from Mount Sinai, of which the former only was committed to writing, and the other delivered down to them from generation to generation by the tradition of the elders; and therefore holding them both to be of the same authority, as having both of them the same Divine original, they think themselves to be bound as much by the latter as the former, or rather much more; for the written law is, they say, in many places, obscure, scanty, and defective, and could be no perfect rule to them without the oral law, which, containing according to them a full, complete, and perfect interpretation of all that is included in the other, supplies all the defects and solves all the difficulties of it; and therefore they observe the written law no otherwise than according as it is explained and expounded by their oral law. And hence it is a common saying among them, 'that the covenant was made with them, not upon the written law, but upon the oral law;' and therefore they do in a manner lay aside the former to make room for the latter, and resolve their whole Religion into their traditions, in the same manner as the Romanists do theirs, having no farther regard to the written word of God than as it agrees with their traditionary explications of it, but always preferring them thereto, though in many particulars they are quite contradictory to it, which is a corruption that had grown to a great height among them even in our Savior's time; for he charges them with it, and tells them that they make the word of God of none effect through their traditions; Mar 7:13. But they have done it much more since, professing a greater regard to the latter than the former; and hence it is that we find it so often said in their writings, 'that the words of the scribes are lovely above the words of the law; that the words of the law are weighty and light, but the words of the scribes are all weighty; that the words of the elders are weightier than the words of the prophets;' where, by the words of the scribes and the words of the elders, they mean their traditions, delivered to them by their scribes and elders. And in other places, 'that the written text is only as water; but the Mishnah and Talmud, in which are contained the traditions, are as wine and hippocras.' And again, 'that the written law is only as salt, but the Mishnah and Talmud as pepper and sweet spices.' And in many other sayings, very common among them, do they express the very high veneration which they bear towards the oral or traditionary law, and the little regard which they have to the written word of God in comparison of it, making nothing of the latter but as expounded by the former; as if the written word were no more than the dead letter, and the traditionary law alone the soul that gives it the whole life and essence.

"And this being what they hold of their traditions, which they call their oral law, the account which they give of its original is as follows: they tell us that 'at the same time when God gave unto Moses the law in Mount Sinai, he gave unto him also the interpretation of it, commanding him to put the former into writing, but to deliver the other only by word of mouth, to be preserved in the memories of men, and to be transmitted down by them from generation to generation by tradition only; and from hence the former is called the written, and the other the oral, law.' And to this day all the determinations and dictates of the latter are termed by the Jews 'Constitutions of Moses from Mount Sinai,' because they do as firmly believe that he received them all from God in his forty days' converse with him in that mount, as that he then received the written text itself. That on his return from this converse he brought both of these laws with him, and delivered them unto the people of Israel in this manner: As soon as he was returned to his tent, he called Aaron thither unto him, and first delivered unto him the text, which was to be the written law, and after that the interpretation of it, which was the oral law, in the same order as he received both from God in the mount. Then Aaron arising and seating himself at the right hand of Moses, Eleazar and Ithamar his sons went next in, and both these being taught laws at the feet of the prophet in the same manner as Aaron had been, they also arose and seated themselves, the one on the left hand of Moses, the other on the right hand of Aaron; and then the seventy elders who constituted the Sanhedrin, or great senate of the nation, went in, and being taught by Moses both these laws in the same manner, they also seated themselves in the tent; and then entered all such of the people as were desirous of knowing the law of God, and were taught in the same manner. After this, Moses withdrawing, Aaron repeated the whole of the law as he had heard it from him, and also withdrew; and then Eleazar and Ithamar repeated the same, and on their withdrawing, the seventy elders made the same repetition to the people then present; so that each of them having heard both these laws repeated to them four times, they all had it thereby fixed in their memories; and that then they dispersed themselves among the whole congregation, and communicated to all the people of Israel what had been thus delivered to them by the prophet of God. That they did put the text into writing, but the interpretation of it they delivered down only by word of mouth to the succeeding generations; that the written text contained the six hundred and thirteen precepts into which they divide the law and the unwritten interpretations, all the manners, ways, and circumstances, that were to be observed in the keeping of them; that after this, towards the end of the fortieth year from their coming up out of the land of Egypt, in the beginning of the eleventh month, (which fell about the beginning of our June), Moses, calling all the people of Israel together, acquainted them of the approaching time of his death, and therefore ordered that if any of them had forgot aught of what he had delivered to them, they should repair to him, and he would repeat to them what had slipped their memories, and farther explain to them every difficulty and doubt which might arise in their minds concerning what he had taught them of the law of their God; and that hereon they applying to him, all the remaining term of his life, that is, from the said beginning of the eleventh month till the sixth day of the twelfth month, was employed in instructing them in the text, which they call the written law, and in the interpretation of it, which they call the oral law; and that on the said sixth day having delivered unto them thirteen copies of the written law, all copied out with his own hand, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Deuteronomy, one to each of the twelve tribes, to be kept by them throughout their generations, and the thirteenth to the Levites, to be laid up by them in the tabernacle before the Lord, and having moreover repeated the oral law to Joshua his successor, he went on the seventh day into Mount Nebo, and there died; that after his death Joshua delivered the same oral law to the elders who after succeeded him, and they delivered it to the prophets, and the prophets transmitted it down to each other till it came to Jeremiah, who delivered it to Baruch, and Baruch to Ezra, by whom it was delivered to the men of the great synagogue, the last of whom was Simon the Just; that by him it was delivered to Antigonus of Socho, and by him to Jose the son of Jochanan, and by him to Jose the son of Joeser, and by him to Nathan the Arbelite and Joshua the son of Berachiah, and by them to Judah the son of Jabhai, and, Simeon the son of Shatah, and by them to Shemaiah and Abitulion, and by them to Hillel and by Hillel to Simeon his son, who is supposed to have been the same who took our Savior into his arms when he was brought to the temple to be there presented to the Lord at the time of his mother's purification; and by Simeon it was delivered to Gamaliel his son, the same at whose feet Paul was brought up, and by him to Simeon his son, by him to Gamaliel his son, and by him to Simeon his son, and by him to Rabbah Judah Hakkadosh his son, who wrote it into the book called the Mishnah. But all this is mere fiction spun out of the fertile invention of the Talmudists, without the least foundation either in Scripture or in any authentic history for it. But since all this has made a part of the Jewish creed, they do as firmly believe their traditions thus to have come from God in the manner I have related, as they do the written word itself; and have now, as it were, wholly resolved their religion into these traditions. There is no understanding what their religion at present is without it, and it is for this reason I have here inserted it.

"But the truth is this: After the death of Simon the Just there arose a sort of men whom they call The Jarmain, or the Mishnical doctors, who made it their business to study and descant upon those traditions which had been received and allowed by Ezra and the men of the great synagogue, and to draw inferences and consequences from them, all of which they ingrafted into the body of these ancient traditions, as if they had been as authentic as the others; which example being followed by those who after succeeded them in this profession, they continually added their own imaginations to what they had received from those who went before them, whereby the traditions, becoming as a snow-ball, the farther they rolled down from one generation to another the more they gathered, and the greater the bulk of them grew. And thus it went on till the middle of the second century after Christ, then Antoninus Pius governed the Roman empire, by which time they found it necessary to put an these traditions into writing; for they were then grown to so great a number, and enlarged to so huge a heap, as to exceed the possibility of being any longer preserved in the memory of men. And besides, in the second destruction which their country had undergone from the Romans a little before, in the reign of Adrian the preceding emperor, most of their learned men having been cut off, and the chiefest of their schools broken up and dissolved, and vast numbers of their people dissipated, and driven out of their land, the usual method of preserving their traditions had then in a great measure failed; and therefore, there being danger that under these disadvantages they might be all forgotten and lost, for the preservation of them it was resolved that they should be all collected together, and put into a book; and Rabbi Judah, the son of Simeon, who from the reputed sanctity of his life was called Hakkadosh, that is, The Holy, and was then rector of the school which they had at Tiberis in Galilee, and president of the Sanhedrin that there sat, undertook the work, and compiled it in six books, each consisting of several tracts, which altogether made up the number of sixty-three; in which, under their proper heads, he methodically digested all that had hitherto been delivered to them, of their law and their religion, by the tradition of their ancestors. And this is the book called The Mishnah, which book was forthwith received by the Jews with great veneration throughout all their dispersions, and has ever since been held in high estimation among them; for their opinion of it is, that all the particulars therein contained were dictated by God himself to Moses from Mount Sinai, as well as the written word itself, and consequently must be of the same Divine authority with it, and ought to be as sacredly observed. And therefore, as soon as it was published, it became the subject of the studies of all their learned men; and the chiefest of them, both in Judea and Babylonia, employed themselves to make comments on it; and these, with the Mishnah, make up both their Talmuds; that is, the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonish Talmud. These comments they call the Gemara, i.e., The Complement, because by them the Mishnah is fully explained, and the whole traditionary doctrines of their law and their religion completed. For the Mishnah is the text, and the Gemara the comment; and both together is what they call the Talmud. That made by the Jews of Judea is called the Jerusalem Talmud, that by the Jews of Babylonia is called the Babylonish Talmud. The former was completed about the year of our Lord 300, and is published in one large folio; the latter was published about two hundred years after, in the beginning of the sixth century, and has had several editions since the invention of printing. The last, published at Amsterdam, is in twelve folios; and in these two Talmuds, the law and the prophets being in a manner quite justled out of them, is contained the whole of the Jewish religion that is now professed among them; but the Babylonish Talmud is that which they chiefly follow; for the other, that is, the Jerusalem Talmud, being obscure, and hard to be understood, is not now much regarded by them. But this and the Mishnah, being the most ancient books which they have, except the Chaldee Paraphrases of Onkelos and Jonathan, and both written in the language and style of the Jews of Judea; our countryman, Dr. Lightfoot, has made very good use of them in explaining several places of the New Testament by parallel phrases and sayings out of them. For the one being composed about the one hundred and fiftieth year of our Lord, and the other about the three hundredth, the idioms, proverbial sayings, and phraseologies, used in our Savior's time, might very well be preserved in them. But the other Talmud being written in the language and style of Babylonia, and not compiled till about the five hundredth year of our Lord, or, as some will have it, much later, this cannot so well serve for this purpose. However, it is now the Alcoran of the Jews, into which they have resolved all their faith, and all their religion, although framed almost with the same imposture as that of Mohammed, out of the doctrines falsely pretended to be brought from heaven. And in this book all that now pretend to any learning among them place their studies; and no one can be a master in their schools, or a teacher in their synagogues, who is not well instructed and versed herein; that is, not only in the text, which is the Mishnah, but also in the comment thereon, which is the Gemara; and this comment they so highly esteem beyond the other, that the name of Gemara is wholly engrossed by it; the Gemara of the Babylonish Talmud being that only which they now usually understand by that word; for this with the Mishnah, to which it is added, they think truly completes and makes up the whole of their religion, as fully and perfectly containing all the doctrines, rules, and rites thereof; and therefore it is, in their opinion, the most deserving of that name, which signifies what completes, fills up, or perfects; for this is the meaning of the word in the Hebrew language.

"They who professed this sort of learning, that is, taught and propagated this traditionary doctrine among them, have been distinguished by several different titles and appellations, according to the different ages in which they lived. From the time of the men of the great synagogue to the publishing of the Mishnah, they were called Jarmain; and they are the Mishnical doctors, out of whose doctrines and traditions the Mishnah was composed. And from the time of the publishing of the Mishnah to the publishing of the Babylonish Talmud, they were called Amoraim; and they are the Gemarical doctors, out of whose doctrines and traditions the Gemara was composed. And for about a hundred years after the publishing of the Talmud, they were called Seburaim, and after that Georim. And these were the several classes in which their learned men have been ranked, according to the several ages in which they lived. But for these later times, the general name of Rabbi is that only whereby their learned men are called, there being no other title whereby they have been distinguished for nearly seven hundred years past.

"For about the year 1040 all their schools in Mesopotamia, where only they enjoyed these high titles, being destroyed, and all their learned men thence expelled and driven out by the Mohammedan princes, who governed in those parts; they have since that, with the greatest number of their people, flocked into the western parts, especially into Spain, France, and England; and from that time all these pompous titles which they affected in the East being dropped, they have retained none other for their learned men from that time but that of Rabbi; excepting only that those of them who minister in their synagogues are called Chacams, i.e., wise men.

"But the great work of Ezra was, his collecting together and setting forth a correct edition of the Holy Scriptures, which he labored much in, and went a great way in the perfecting of it. Of this both Christians and Jews gave him the honor; and many of the ancient fathers attribute more to him in this particular than the Jews themselves; for they hold that all the Scriptures were lost and destroyed in the Babylonish captivity, and that Ezra restored them all again by Divine revelation. Thus says Irenaeus and thus say Tertullian, Clemens Alexandrinus, Basil, and others. But they had no other foundation for it than that fabulous relation which we have of it in the fourteenth chapter of the second Apocryphal book of Esdras, a book too absurd for the Romanists themselves to receive into their canon.

"Indeed, in the time of Josiah, through the impiety of the two preceding reigns of Manasseh and Amon, the book of the law was so destroyed and lost. The copy of it which Hilkiah is said to have found, and the grief which Josiah expressed at the hearing of it read, do plainly show that neither of them had ever seen it before.

"And if the king and the high priest, who were both men of eminent piety, were without this part of the Holy Scripture, it can scarcely be thought that any one else then had it. But so religious a prince as King Josiah could not leave this long unremedied. By his orders copies were written out from this original; and search being made for all the other parts of Holy Scripture, both in the colleges of the sons of the prophets, and all other places where they could be found, care was taken for transcripts to be made out of these also; and thenceforth copies of the whole became multiplied among the people; all those who were desirous of knowing the laws of their God, either writing them out themselves, or procuring others to do it for them; so that within a few years after the holy city and temple were destroyed, and the authentic copy of the law, which was laid up before the Lord, was burnt and consumed with them, yet by this time many copies, both of the law and the prophets, and all the other sacred writings, were got into private hands, who carried them with them into captivity.

"That Daniel had a copy of the Holy Scriptures with him in Babylon is certain, for he quotes the law, and also makes mention of the prophecies of the prophet Jeremiah, which he could not do had he never seen them. And in the sixth chapter of Ezra it is said, that on the finishing of the temple, in the sixth year of Darius, the priests and the Levites were settled in their respective functions, according as it is written in the law of Moses. But how could they do this according to the written law, if they had not copies of the law then among them? And this was nearly sixty years before Ezra came to Jerusalem.

"And farther, in Nehemiah, Neh 8:1, the people called for the law of Moses, to have it read to them, which the Lord had commanded Israel, which plainly shows that the book was then well known to have been extant, and not to need such a miraculous expedient as that of the Divine revelation for its restoration; all that Ezra did in this manner was to get together as many copies of the sacred writings as he could, and out of them all to set forth a correct edition; in the performance of which he took care of the following particulars: First, He corrected all the errors that had crept into these copies, through the negligence or mistakes of transcribers; for, by comparing them one with the other, he found out the true reading, and set all at rights. Whether the keri cethib, or various readings, that are in our present Hebrew Bibles were of these corrections, I dare not say. The generality of the Jewish writers tell us that they were; and others among them hold them as much more ancient, referring them, with absurdity enough, as far back as the times of the first writers of the books in which they are found, as if they themselves had designedly made these various readings for the sake of some mysteries comprised under them. It is most probable that they had their original from the mistakes of the transcribers after the time of Ezra, and the observations and corrections of the Masorites made thereon. If any of them were of those ancient various readings which had been observed by Ezra himself in the comparing of those copies he collated on this occasion, and were by him annexed in the margin as corrections of those errors which he found in the text, it is certain those could not be of that number which are now in those sacred books that were written by himself, or taken into the canon after his time; for there are keri cethib in them as well as in the other books of the Hebrew Scriptures. Secondly, He collected together all the books of which the Holy Scriptures did then consist, and disposed them in their proper order; and settled the canon of Scripture for his time. These books he divided into three parts:

1. The Law.

2. The Prophets.

3. The Cethubim, or Hagiographa; i.e., the Holy Writings: which division our Savior himself takes notice of, Luk 24:44, where he says: 'These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things might be fulfilled which are written in the law, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me.' For there, by the Psalms, he means the whole third part called the Hagiographa; for, that part beginning with the Psalms, the whole was for that reason then commonly called by that name; as usually with the Jews, the particular books are named from the words with which they begin. Thus with them Genesis is called Bereshith, Exodus Shemoth, Leviticus Vaijikra, etc., because they begin with these Hebrew words.

"And Josephus makes mention of this same division; for he says, in his first book against Apion, 'We have only two and twenty books which are to be believed as of Divine authority, of which five are the books of Moses. From the death of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, king of Persia, the prophets, who were the successors of Moses, have written in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God, and documents of life for the use of men:' in which division, according to him, the law contains Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The writings of the prophets, Joshua, Judges, with Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, with his Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, the twelve minor prophets, Job, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther; and the Hagiographa, i.e., the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon, which altogether make two and twenty books. This division was made for the sake of reducing the books to the number of their alphabet, in which were twenty-two letters. But at present they reckon these books to be twenty-four, and dispose of them in this order: First, the Law, which contains Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Secondly, the Writings of the Prophets, which they divide into the former prophets and the latter prophets: the books of the former prophets are, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings; the books of the latter prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; the twelve minor prophets; the Hagiographa, which are the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Song of Solomon, which they call the Song of Songs, Ruth, the Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, and the Chronicles. Under the name of Ezra they comprehend the book of Nehemiah; for the Hebrews, and also the Greeks, anciently reckoned Ezra and Nehemiah but as one book. But this order has not been always observed among the Jews; neither is it so now in all places, for there has been great variety as to this, and that not only among the Jews, but also among the Christians, as well as the Greeks and Latins: but no variation herein is of any moment, for in what order soever the books are placed, they are still the word of God; and no change as to this can make any change as to that Divine authority which is stamped upon them. But all these books were not received into the canon in Ezra's time, for Malachi it is supposed lived after him; and in Nehemiah mention is made of Jaddua as high priest, and of Darius Codomannus as king of Persia; who were at least a hundred years after his time. And in 1 Chronicles 3:1-24 of the first book of Chronicles the genealogy of the sons of Zerubbabel is carried down for so many generations as must necessarily make it reach to the time of Alexander the Great; and therefore the book could not be put into the canon till after his time.

"It is most likely that the two books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, as well as Malachi, were afterwards added in the time of Simon the Just, and that it was not till then that the Jewish canon of the Holy Scriptures was fully completed: and indeed these last books seem very much to want the exactness and skill of Ezra in their publication, they falling far short of the correctness which is in the other parts of the Jewish Scriptures. The five books of the law are divided into fifty-four sections. This division many of the Jews hold to be one of the constitutions of Moses from Mount Sinai; but others, with more likelihood of truth, attribute it to Ezra. It was made for the use of their synagogues, and the better instructing of the people there in the law of God; for every Sabbath day one of these sections was read in their synagogues; and this, we are assured in the Acts of the Apostles, was done among them of old time, which may well be interpreted from the time of Ezra. They ended the last section with the last words of Deuteronomy on the Sabbath of the feast of tabernacles, and then recommenced with the first section from the beginning of Genesis the next Sabbath after; and so went on round in this circle every year. The number of the sections was fifty-four; because in their intercalated years (a month being added) there were fifty-four Sabbaths.

"On other years they reduced them to the number of the Sabbaths which were in those years by joining two short ones several times into one; for they held themselves obliged to have the whole law thus read over to them in their synagogues every year. Until the time of the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes they read only the law; but, being then forbid to read it any more, in the room of the fifty-four sections of the law, they substituted fifty-four sections out of the prophets, the reading of which they ever after continued. So that when the reading of the law was again restored by the Maccabees, the section which was read every Sabbath out of the law served for their first lesson, and the section out of the prophets for the second lesson; and so it was practiced in the time of the apostles. And therefore, when Paul entered into the synagogue at Antioch, in Pisidia, it is said that 'he stood up to preach after the reading of the law and the prophets;' that is, after the reading of the first lesson out of the law, and the second lesson out of the prophets. And in that very sermon which he then preached, he tells them, 'That the prophets were read at Jerusalem every Sabbath day,' that is, in those lessons which were taken out of the prophets.

"These sections were divided into verses, which the Jews call pesukim; they were marked out in the Hebrew Bibles by two great points at the end of them, called from hence soph-pasuk, i.e., the end of the verse. If Ezra himself was not the author of this division, (as most say), it was not long after him that it was introduced, for certainly it is very ancient. It is most likely that it was introduced for the sake of the Targumist or Chaldee interpreters; for after the Hebrew language had ceased to be the mother tongue of the Jews, and the Chaldee grew up into use among them instead of it, (as was the case after their return from the Babylonish captivity), their usage was that, in the public reading of the law to the people, it was read to them, first in the original Hebrew, and after that rendered by an interpreter into the Chaldee language, that so all might fully understand the same; and this was done period by period; and therefore, that these periods might be the better distinguished, and the reader more certainly know how much to read at every interval, and the interpreter know how much to interpret at every interval, there was a necessity that some marks should be invented for their direction herein. The rule given in the ancient books is, that in the law the reader was to read one verse, and then the interpreter was to render the same into Chaldee; but that in the prophets the reader was to read three verses together, and then the interpreter was to render the same three verses into Chaldee, in the same manner; which manifestly proves that the division of the Scriptures into verses must be as ancient as the way of interpreting them into the Chaldee language in their synagogues, which was from the very time that the synagogues were erected, and the Scriptures publicly read in them, after the Babylonish captivity. This was at first done only in the law; for till the time of the Maccabees, the law only was read in their synagogues: but afterwards, in imitation of this, the same was also done in the prophets, and in the Hagiographa especially. After that the prophets also began to be publicly read among them, as well as the law; and from hence the division of the Holy Scriptures into verses, it is most likely, was first made; but without any numerical figures annexed to them.

"The manner whereby they are now distinguished in their common Hebrew Bibles is by the two great points called soph-pasuk above mentioned; but whether this is the ancient way is by some made a question. The objection against it is this: If the distinction of verses was introduced for the sake of the Chaldee interpreters in their synagogues, and must therefore be held as ancient as that way of interpreting the Scriptures in them, it must then have place in their sacred synagogical books; for none others were used, either by their readers or their interpreters, in their public assemblies. But it has been anciently held as a rule among them, that any points or accents written into these sacred books pollute and profane them; and therefore, no copy of either the law or the prophets now used in their synagogues has any points or accents written in it. To this I answer, Whatever be the practice of the modern Jews, this is no rule to let us know what was the ancient practice among them, since in many particulars they have varied from the ancient usages, as they now do from each other, according to the different parts of the world in which they dwell. For mention is made of them in the Mishnah; and that the reason for this division was for the direction of the readers, and the Chaldee interpreters, is also there implied; and therefore, supposing a division for this use, it must necessarily follow, that there must have been some marks to set it out; otherwise it would not have answered the end intended.

"It is most likely that anciently the writing of those books was in long lines, from one side of the parchment to the other, and that the verses in them were distinguished in the same manner as the stichi afterwards were in the Greek Bibles; for the manner of their writing those stichi was, to allow a line to every stichus, and then to end the writing where they ended the stichus, leaving the rest of the line void, in the same manner as a line is left at a break: but this was losing too much of the parchment, and making the book too bulky; for the avoiding of both these inconveniences, the way afterwards was, to put a point at the end of every stichus, and so continue the writing without leaving any part of the line void as before. And in the same manner I conceive the pesukim, or verses of the Hebrew Bibles, were anciently written. At first they allowed a line to every verse, and a line drawn from one end of the parchment to the other, of the length as above mentioned, was sufficient to contain any verse that is now in the Hebrew Bible; but many verses falling short of this length, they found the same inconveniences that the Greeks after did in the first way of writing their stichi; and therefore came to the same remedy, that is, they did put the two points above mentioned (which they call soph-pasuk) at the place where the former verse ended, and continued the writing of the next verse in the same line, without leaving any void space at all in the line. And so their manner has continued ever since, excepting only that between their sections, as well the smaller as the larger, there is some void space left, to make the distinction between them; and I am the more inclined to think this to be the truth of the matter; that is, that anciently the verses of the Hebrew Bible were so many lines, because among the ancients of other nations, about the same time, the lines in the writings of prose authors, as well as the poets, were termed verses; and hence it is that we are told that Zoroaster's works contain two millions of verses, and Aristotle's, four hundred and forty-five thousand two hundred and seventy; though neither of them wrote any thing but in prose; and so also we find the writings of Tully, of Origen, of Lactantius, and others, who were all prose writers, reckoned by the number of verses, which could be no other than so many lines. And why then might not the Bible verses anciently have been of the same nature also? I mean when written in long lines as aforesaid. But the long lines often occasioning, that in reading to the end of one verse, they lost the beginning of the next, and so often did read wrong, either by skipping a line, or beginning the same again; for the avoiding of this they came to the way of writing in columns and in short lines, as above mentioned. But all this I mean of their sacred synagogical books. In their common Bibles they are not tied up to such rules, but write and print them so as they may serve for their instruction and convenience in common use.

"But the division of the Holy Scriptures into chapters, as we now have them, is of a much later date. The Psalms, indeed, were always divided as at present; for St. Paul, in his sermon at Antioch, in Pisidia, quotes the second Psalm: but as to the rest of the Holy Scriptures, the division of them into such chapters as we find at present is a matter of which the ancients knew nothing. Some attribute it to Stephen Langton, who was archbishop of Canterbury in the reigns of King John and King Henry III. his son. But the true author of this invention was Hugo de Sancto Claro, who being from a Dominican monk advanced to the dignity of a cardinal, and the first of that order that was so, is commonly called Hugo Cardinalis.

"The third thing that Ezra did about the Holy Scriptures in his edition of them was: - he added in several places, throughout the books of this edition, what appeared necessary for the illustrating, correcting, or completing of them, wherein he was assisted by the same Spirit by which they were at first written. Of this sort we may reckon the last chapter of Deuteronomy, which, giving an account of the death and burial of Moses, and of the succession of Joshua after him, could not be written by Moses himself, who undoubtedly was the penman of all the rest of that book. It seems most probable that it was added by Ezra at this time: and such also we may reckon the several interpolations which occur in many places of the Holy Scriptures. For that there are such interpolations is undeniable, there being many passages through the whole sacred writers which create difficulties which can never be solved without the allowing of them: as for instance, Gen 12:6, it is remarked on Abraham's coming into the land of Canaan, that the 'Canaanites were then in the land;' which is not likely to have been said till after the time of Moses, when the Canaanites, being extirpated by Joshua, were then no longer in the land: and Gen 22:14, we read, 'As it is said to this day, In the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen.' But Mount Moriah, which is the mount there spoken of, was not called the Mount of the Lord till the temple was built on it many hundred years after; and this being here spoken of as a proverbial saying that obtained among the Israelites in after ages, the whole style of the text manifestly points at a time after Moses, when they were in the possession of the land in which this mountain stood; and, therefore, both these particulars prove the words cited to have been an interpolation. Gen 36:3, it is written, 'And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the land of Israel,' which could not have been said till after there had been a king in Israel; and therefore they cannot be Moses's words, but must have been interpolated afterwards. Exo 16:35, the words of the text are, 'And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, till they came to a land inhabited. They did eat manna till they came into the borders of the land of Canaan.' But Moses was dead before the manna ceased; and, therefore, these cannot be his words, but must have been inserted afterwards. Deu 2:12, it is said, 'The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime, but the children of Esau succeeded them when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead, as Israel did unto the land of his possession which the Lord gave unto them.' Which could not have been written by Moses, Israel having not till after his death entered into the land of his possession, which the Lord gave unto them. Deu 3:11, it is said, 'Only Og, king of Bashan, remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron. Is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon?' The whole style and strain of which text, especially that of the last clause of it, plainly speaks it to have been written a long while after that king was slain; and therefore it could not have been written by Moses, who died within five months after. In the same chapter, Deu 3:14, it is said, 'Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and called them after his own name, Bashan-havoth-jair, unto this day.' Where the phrase unto this day speaks a much greater distance of time after the fact related than those few months in which Moses survived after the conquest; and therefore what is there written must have been inserted by some other hand than that of Moses, and long after his death. And in the book of Proverbs, which was certainly King Solomon's, in the beginning of the twenty-fifth chapter, it is written, 'These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.' Which must certainly have been added many ages after Solomon; for Hezekiah was the twelfth generation in descent from him. "Many more instances of such interpolated passages might be given; for throughout the whole Scriptures they have been frequently cast in by way of parentheses; where they have appeared necessary for the explaining, connecting, or illustrating the text, or supplying what was wanting in it: but those already mentioned are sufficient to prove the thing. Of which interpolations undoubtedly Ezra was the author, in all the books which passed his examination; and Simon the Just in all the rest which were added afterwards; for they all seem to refer to those latter times.

"But these additions do not at all detract from the Divine authority of the whole, because they were all inserted by the direction of the same Holy Spirit which dictated all the rest. This, as to Ezra, is without dispute, he being himself one of the Divine persons of the Holy Scriptures: for he was most certainly the writer of that book in the Old Testament which bears his name; and he is, upon good grounds, supposed to be the author of two more, that is, of the two books of Chronicles, as perchance he was also of the book of Esther. And if the books written by him be of Divine authority, why may not every thing else be so which he has added to any of the rest, since there is reason for us to suppose that he was as much directed by the Holy Spirit of God in the one as in the other? The great importance of the work proves the thing, for as it was necessary for the Church of God that this work should be done; so also it was necessary for the work that the person called thereto should be thus assisted in the completing of it.

"Fourthly, He changed the names of several places that were grown obsolete, putting instead of them the new names by which they were at that time called, that the people might the better understand what was written. Thus, Gen 14:14, Abraham is said to have pursued the kings who carried Lot away captive as far as Dan, whereas the name of that place was Laish till the Danites, long after the death of Moses, possessed themselves of it, and called it, Dan after the name of their father; and, therefore, it could not be called Dan in the original copy of Moses, but that name must have been put in afterwards instead of that of Laish on this review. And so in several places in Genesis, and also in Numbers, we find mention made of Hebron, whereas the name of that city was Kiriath-arba, till Caleb, having the possession of it after the division of the land, called it Hebron after the name of Hebron, one of his sons: and, therefore, that name could not be had in the text, till placed there long after the time of Moses by way of exchange for that of Kiriath-arba, which it is not to be doubted was done at the time of this review.

"And many other like examples of this may be given; whereby it appears that the study of those who governed the Church of God at those times was to render the Scriptures as plain and intelligible to the people as they could; and not to hide and conceal any of it from them.

"Fifthly, He wrote out the whole in the Chaldee character: for that having now grown wholly into use among the people after the Babylonish captivity, he changed the old Hebrew character for it, which hath since that time been retained only by the Samaritans, among whom it is preserved even to this day. This was the old Phoenician character, from which the Greeks borrowed theirs; and the old Ionian alphabet bears some resemblance to it, as Scaliger shows in his notes upon Eusebius's Chronicon. In this Moses and the other prophets recorded the sacred oracles of God; and in this the finger of God himself wrote the ten commandments in the two tables of stone. Eusebius, in his Chronicon, tells us so, and St. Jerome doth the same; and so do also both the Talmuds; and the generality of learned men, as well among the Jews as Christians, hold this opinion.

"Whether Ezra on this review did add the vowel points which are now in the Hebrew Bibles, is a hard question to be decided: it went without contradiction in the affirmative till Elias Levita, a German Jew, wrote against it about the beginning of the Reformation, Buxtorf, the father, endeavored to refute his argument; but Capellus, a Protestant divine of the French Church, and professor of Hebrew in their university at Saumur, hath, in a very elaborate discourse, made a thorough reply to all that can be said on this head, and very strenuously asserted the contrary. Buxtorf, the son, in vindication of his father's opinion, has written an answer to it, but not with that satisfaction to the learned world as to hinder the generality of them from going into the other opinion.

"There is in the church of St. Dominic, in Bononia, a copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, kept with a great deal of care, which they pretend to be the original copy written by Ezra himself, and therefore it is there valued at so high a rate that great sums of money have been borrowed by the Bononians upon the pawn of it, and again repaid for its redemption. It is written in a very fair character upon a sort of leather, and made up in a roll, according to the ancient manner; but it having the vowel points annexed, and the writing being fresh and fair, without any decay, both these particulars prove the novelty of that copy.

"But though Ezra's government over all Judah and Jerusalem expired in this year, 446; yet his labor to serve the Church of God did not end here; for he still went on as a preacher of righteousness, and a skillful scribe in the law of God, to perfect the reformation which he had begun, both in preparing for the people correct editions of the Scriptures, and also in bringing all things in Church and state to be conformed to Scripture rules. And this he continued to do so long as he lived, and in this he was thoroughly assisted and supported by the next governor, who, coming to Jerusalem with the sane intention, and the same zeal for promoting the honor of God, and the welfare of his people in Judah and Jerusalem, as Ezra did, struck in heartily with Ezra in the work, so that Ezra went on still to do the same things by the authority of the new governor, which he before did by his own; and, by their thus joining together in the same holy undertaking, and their mutually assisting each other, it exceedingly prospered in their hands, till at length, notwithstanding all opposition, both from within and without, it was brought to full perfection forty-nine years after it had been begun by Ezra. Whether Ezra lived so long is uncertain; but what he had not time to do was completed by the piety and zeal of his successor."

See the Introduction to the book of Nehemiah; and see Prideaux's Connection, vol. i., edit. 1725.

For all other matters relative to the text, see the notes as they occur.

Ezra 1:1
THE BOOK OF EZRA

Chronological Notes relative to this Book

-Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, whose system of chronology is most generally received, 3468.

-Year before the birth of Christ, 532.

-Year before the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 536.

-Year of the Julian Period, 4178.

-Year since the flood of Noah, according to the English Bible, 1812.

-Year of the Cali Yuga, or Indian era of the Deluge, 2566.

-Year from the vocation of Abram, 1386.

-Year from the destruction of Troy, 649. This we collect from three passages in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, (who flourished in the Augustan ages) which state that an interval of four hundred and thirty-two years elapsed from the destruction of Troy to the building of Rome.

-Year from the foundation of Solomon's temple, 475.

-Year since the division of Solomon's monarchy into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, 439.

-Year of the era of Iphitus, who re-established the Olympic games, three hundred and thirty-eight years after their institution by Hercules, or about eight hundred and eighty-four years before the commencement of the Christian era, 349.

-Year since the conquest of Coroebus at Elis, usually styled the first Olympiad, (being the twenty-eighth Olympiad after their re-establishment by Iphitus,) 241.

-First year of the sixty-first Olympiad.

-Year of the Varronian or generally received era of the building of Rome, 218. This is upon the supposition that Rome was built in the last year of the sixth Olympiad.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Cato and the Fasti Consulares, 217. Dionysius of Halicarnassus follows this account; for he says that the metropolis of the Roman work was built in the first year of the sixth Olympiad, which was the first year of Charops, the first decennial archon of the Athenians.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Polybius, 216.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Fabius Pictor, who lived about two hundred and twenty-five years before the Christian era, 212.

-Year of the Nabonassarean era, 212.

-Year since the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 186.

-Year from the destruction of Solomon's temple by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 53.

-Year of Servius Tullius, the sixth king of the Romans, and father-in-law of Tarquin the Proud, 43.

-Year of Ariston, king of Lacedaemon, and of the family of the Proclidae, or Eurypontidae, 29.

-Year of Anaxandrides, king of Lacedaemon, and of the family of the Eurysthenidae, or Agidae, 28.

N. B. The kings of the Lacedaemonians of the families of the Proclidae and the Eurysthenidae sat on the throne together for several hundred years.

-Year of Amyntas, the ninth king of the Macedonians, 12.

-Year of the reign of Cyrus, computing from the year in which he dethroned his grandfather Astyages, the last king of Media, 24. But this was only his first year, if with the Holy Scriptures, as well as Xenophon in the eighth book of his Institutes, we compute the years of his reign from the time in which he was put in possession of the whole Eastern empire. See Ezr 1:1.

-Year of the Babylonish captivity, 70. The years of this captivity are generally reckoned from 606 B.C., when Jehoiakim king of Judah was put in chains to be carried to Babylon; and are supposed to be terminated by the edict of Cyrus to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. But others are of opinion that the seventy years' captivity are to be computed from the total destruction of the Jewish monarchy; and that they reach down to the second year of Darius king of Persia, at which time Zerubbabel and Joshua were encouraged by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to proceed with the rebuilding of the temple.

CHAPTER I

The proclamation of Cyrus for the rebuilding of the temple, 1-4.

The people provide for their return, 5, 6.

Cyrus restores to Sheshbazzar the vessels taken by

Nebuchadnezzar out of the temple of Solomon, 7-11.

In the introduction to this book the reader will find the history of Ezra detailed at considerable length. It is only necessary to say here that he is generally allowed among the Jews to have been of the sacerdotal family, and therefore he is called οιερεÏ...Ï,, the priest by the Septuagint. Among the rabbins he passes for a most extraordinary critic, Divinely authorized to collect and arrange the different portions of the sacred writings, and digest them into a system. How far all they say on this subject is true, we cannot tell; he was, beyond all controversy, a very eminent man; and in all that he did, acted under the immediate direction and inspiration of the Almighty.

This history contains the transactions of about eighty-two years; from the first year of Cyrus in Babylon, according to Archbishop Usher, A.M. 3468, to the nineteenth year of Ardsheer Diraz Dest, or Artaxerxes Longimanus, who sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem, about A.M. 3550. For all other particulars, see the introduction.

NOTES ON CHAP. I

Verse 1. Now in the first year] This is word for word with the two last verses of the preceding book; which stand here in their proper place and connection, but there are entirely destitute of chronological connection and reference.

Cyrus] This prince, so eminent in antiquity, is said to have been the son of Cambyses king of Persia, and Mandane, daughter of Astyages king of the Medes; and was born about six hundred years before Christ. Josephus accounts for his partiality to the Jews from this circumstance; that he was shown the places in Isaiah the prophet where he is mentioned by name, and his exploits and conquests foretold: see Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1 (refs2), c. Finding himself thus distinguished by the God of the Jews, he was anxious to give him proofs of his gratitude in return and so made the decree in favour of the Jews, restored their sacred vessels, gave them liberty to return to their own land, and encouraged them to rebuild the temple of Jehovah, c.

It is very probable that when Cyrus took Babylon he found Daniel there, who had been long famed as one of the wisest ministers of state in all the East and it is most likely that it was this person who pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah, and gave him those farther intimations relative to the Divine will which were revealed to himself. Of his death there are contradictory accounts. Herodotus says, that having turned his arms against the Massagetes, and killed the son of Tomyris their queen, the mother, impatient to avenge the death of her son, sent him a defiance; promised to glut him with blood; and, having attacked him, pretended to be worsted and to fly; and thus she drew him and his army into an ambuscade, where he was routed and slain, and a considerable part of his army destroyed. The enraged queen having found his body, cut off his head, and threw it into a vessel full of human blood, with this most bitter sarcasm: -

ΕÏ... μεν, εμεÏ... ζωσηÏ, Ï,,ε και νικωσηÏ, εÏ, μαχην,

απωλεσαÏ, παιδα Ï,,ον εμον, εÌ"λων δολωÍ...· σε δ' εγω,

καÏ,,απερ ηπειλησα, αιÌ"μαÏ,,οÏ, κορεσω. - HEROD. Clio, c. 214.

"Although living and victorious, thou hast destroyed me in slaying my son, whom thou hast overcome by deceit; but, as I have threatened, I will now slake thy thirst with blood."

Cyrus, thy thirst was blood, now drink thy fill.

By-Jeremiah] This prophet, Jer 25:12; Jer 29:11 (refs2), had foretold that the Babylonish captivity should last only seventy years: these were now ended; Cyrus had given the Jews permission and encouragement to return to Judea, and rebuild the temple of the Lord; and thus the prediction of Jeremiah was fulfilled.



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Ezra 1:2
Verse 2. The Lord God of heaven] It is not unworthy of remark, that in all the books written prior to the captivity, Jehovah is called The Lord of Hosts; but in all the books written after the captivity, as 2 Chronicles, Ezra Nehemiah, and Daniel, he is styled The God of Heaven. The words however have the same meaning.

All the kingdoms of the earth. At this time the empire of the Medo-Persians was very extensive: according to ancient writers, Cyrus, at this time, reigned over the Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Armenians, Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, Phrygians, Lydians Phoenicians, Babylonians, Bactrians, Indians, Saci, Cilicians, Paphlagonians, Moriandrians, and many others. His empire extended on the EAST, to the Red Sea; on the NORTH, to the Euxine Sea; on the WEST, to the island of Cyprus and Egypt; and on the SOUTH, to Ethiopia.



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Press Release
NEXT STOP.  Cabul-an Island in Buenavista is Bohol Gov. Art Yap’s next stop in the ongoing outreach program of the provincial government for island barangays.

The governor met the people of barangays Eastern Cabul-an and Western Cabul-an at noontime today to remind island residents that their location may be far from the capital, but there is no distance that the governor won’t go just to tell the people that they are important.

The OPSWD delivered the food packs, each containing 5 kilos of rice and canned goods, to the island on Tuesday.

This morning, the barangay officials distributed the food packs to 467 households in Western Cabul-an and to 485 households in Eastern Cabul-an.

With the governor were Buenavista Mayor Dave Duallo, Vice-Mayor Christine Torregosa, Municipal Councilor Rey Celocia, OPSWD Head Carmelita Tecson,  and Barangay Captains Alfredo Tagsip of Western Cabul-an and Leonette of Quiñanola Eastern Cabul-an.

The governor also announced that anytime this month, the provincial government will start distributing the rice assistance of the provincial
government to all families in Bohol, that will come with contact tracing cards. Each card has a QR code that will contain the data as to the places where the holder has gone to. The data will only be used to trace who were the individuals present in places at the same time with anyone that would test positive of Covid.

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47 ka MPOC, CPOC sa Bohol mipaluyo sa Anti-Terror Act

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, July 2 (PIA)â€"Minglagda ang mga sakop sa Municipal ug City Peace and Order Councils (MPOC, CPOC) sa Manifesto sa pagsuporta sa Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, matud pa sa Kampo Dagohoy.

Sa iyang taho ngadto sa  Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) nga nagatutok usab sa mandato ni Presidente Rodrigo DUterte nga taposon na ang local nga mga pag-alsa batok sa kagamhanan sa mga komunistang terorista (End Local Communist Armed Conflict-ELCAC), si Police Senior Superintendent Joselito Clarito mibutyag nga lukop na sa Bohol ang suporta sa Anti-Terrorism Act.

Ang Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 naga-usab sa Human Security Act of 2007, samtang nagpalapad usab sa buot ipasabut sa terorismo ug magpa-apil na niini ang mga buhat nga molahus na sa "kamatayon o grabe nga pagka-angol sa ni bisan kinsa," ang "grabe nga kadaut ug pagkaguba sa bisan hain man nga pasilidad sa kagamhanan sa tumong nga pakurogon sa kahadlok ang publiko, o lumpagon ang legal nga kagamhanang politikal, economic ug social nga mga estraktura sa nasud.

Dinhi, kadtong mapamatud-an nga sad-an batok niini, mag-atubang sa pagkabilanggo sa tibuok kinabuhi ug walay posibilidad sa parole.

HUGPANAN SA KALINAW. May panultihon nga ang kalinaw mahimong idlas ngadto sa mga tawo nga dili mangahas sa pag-amoma niini. Dinhi, gilagadaa ni Gov Arthur yap sa Bohol ang kasabutan tali sa Philippine Army sa pagtukog og tunghaan sa mga sundalo nga magbantay sa kahapsay ug kalinaw sa nasud, kurso nga maggahum sa mga sundalo sa mga teyorya sa pagpakig gira alang sa matunhayon nga kalinaw. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol files)
Ang balaodnon nga gitumbok sa Presidente nga urgent, gipasa na sa Ubos Balay Balaoranan human ang bersyon sa Senado napasa na niadtong Pebrero.

Subay sa Anti Terrorism Act, ang mga buhat sa "pagpanghulga, pagplano, pagbansay-bansay, pagpahiluna aron matigayun ang buhat terorismo, "pagsugyot ug pagsugnod aron mahinabo ang kagubot pinaagi sa mga pagpakigpulong, pagpadayag pinaagi sa pangsuwat, pagpabansiwag sa mga bandila ug mga simbolo nga mag-tukmod sa katawhan nga maghimo og tenerorismong kalihukan, makapahimo sa usaka tawo nga terorista.

Ang Municipal Peace and Order Councils (MPOC), hugot nga mingpaluyo sa gipanday nga balaodnon nga Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 aron matubag na ug masumpo ang dugay na nga pag-alsa ug pagkatag sa kagubot sa mga terorista.

Kini, matud pa sa mga mingsuporta niini, naghatag og dako nga suliran diin ang katungod sa katawhan nasalikway na ug nasakripisyo sa tumong nga ang katuyuang terorismo mao’y mipatigbabaw.

Sa mga tigsuporta, ang balaodnon nagtumong nga makab-ot na sa matag Pilipino ang gihandum nga kalinaw sa katilingban.

Sayod ang tanan nga ang hulga sa terorismo mahimong makapatay sa ekonomiya sama sa pagka-wala sa mga turista, mga mamumuhunan ug uban pa.

Kong atong ginhandum ang usa  ka nasud nga maugmaron, kini na ang higayon aron makabaton og epektibo nga pangkontra sa kriminalidad, terorismo, drugas ug pangurakot, segun  sa mga mingsuporta.

Daghan na nga mga kabahin sa kasaysayan sa nasud nga nasinati-an nga ang nahisgutang nga babag sa kaugmaran nagkutlo pa ngani sa kinabuhi sa kabataan ug kababayen-an, matud pa.

Tungod niini, kami nagpadayag sa among kinasingkasing nga pagsuporta sa nasampit nga balaodnon ug isip sakop sa kagamhanan, among aghaton ang matag usa namo ka sakop nga gakson ug paluyohan ang balaod, sanglit kini alang sa kinatibuk-ang Pilipinas ug sa iyang mga umaabut nga henerasyon, saysay sa Manifesto nga gilagdaan sa mga sakop sa MPOC ug CPOC, lakip na ang nga sector nga apil niini. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

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By Rey Chiu
May kaso nga pagpanglugos,
nadakpan nga sakop sa NPA

CORTES, Bohol, July 3 (PIA) â€" Wala’y epekto ang gi-ingon nga balaod sa mga New People’s Army, ngadto sa ilang nagkakunhod nga mga sakop, mao nga bisan pa og criminal, basta magamit sa ilang niluog nga katuyu-an, pwede.

Kini maoy mingtumaw nga kamatuoran dihang didto sa mop-up operations sa kasundalohan sa 47 Infantry Battalion human nila gikabagat sa sinukli-ay sa  bala ang pipila ka armado nga sakop sa NPAs, may nasikop silang  usa ka gikatahapan’g tawo.

Kahinumduman nga gitaho sa mga residente sa Bayawahan ngadto sa mga tinugyanan ang bahan sa mga armado nga tawo nga nanghadlok gamit ang ilang armas ug pagka NPA aron makakuha’g pagkaon.

Niadtong  Hunyo 27, usa  ka adlaw na human ang enkwentro, sa may mga alas 3 sa palis, may usa  ka sibilyan nga wa hiilhi sa lugar ang gikataho nga wala magsul-ob og mask didto duol pa sa lugar nga nahitabo ang sinukliay sa bala.

Una nga nga giduol sa mga tinugyanan ang gikadudahan nga tawo sanglit kini wala magmask, dili taga didto ug nagsul-ob og tshirt sa army.

Giili sa mga tinugyanan ang gikatahapan nga us aka Crisologo Guimaras, alyas Sam, 21-anyos nga residente sa Barangay Bingag, Dauis, Bohol.

Sa dugang pagpakisusi, namatikdan nga ang gikatahapan, may gitago-an nga Improvised Explosive Device (IED) ug usa ka rifle grenade.

Sa tactical investigation sa mga kasundalohan, miangkon si Guimaras nga apil siya sa bahan sa mga NPA nga gikabagat sa mga kasundalohan sa milabay nga adlaw.

Dugang saysay ni Guimaras nga dugay na siya nga regular nga sakop sa NPA ubos sa pagpangulo ni Domingo Compoc alyas Kumander Cobra.

Sa wala pa mosulod sa pagka NPA, si Guimaras diay, may wala itug-an nga tulo ka kaso sa pagpanglugos ubos sa docket case numbers 17654, 17655 ug 17656 niadto pang Hunyo 25, 2015, nga gipagawas ni President Judge Leo Moises Lison, sa Regional Trial Court Branch 3 sa Tagbilaran City.

Matud pa ni Guimaras, milayas siya sa Luzon aron dili matanggong sa bilangguan niadto pang 2015.

Niadtong 2018, miuli sia dinhi ug sa kahadlok sa kasong atubangon, misulod sa kalihukang walhon nga gipalig-on didto sa mga hilit nga dapit sa lungsod sa Inabanga.

Karon nga nadakpan, ipatong sa tulo ka kaso nga pagpanglugos ang lain nga mga kaso: kalapasan sa RA 9516 o ang illegal nga paghupot sa Explosives, samtang gikustodya siya sa Bohol Provincial Police Office.

Segun pa sa mga tigpamaba sa 47IB, kining sitwasyona ni Guimaras, napakita nga nga ang mga bahan sa komunista nga terorista maayo lang mopatuo nga ilang ikapatuman ang hustisya ngadto sa nilupigan, apan ilang gigakos ug gipanalipdan pa ang criminal nga nanglugos.

Ang insidente naga pakita nga ang CTGs dili lamang manglingla sa mga inosente apan mangkuha usab sa mga criminal, nga buot moikyas sa kamut sa balaod.

Ilang giapas, bahalag gipangita sa balaod nga mga criminal, basta daghan lang sila nga tan-awon ug mapalapad ang ilang walhong katuyuan, segun pa ni Lieutenant Elma Remonde-Arbulencia, Civil Military Operations Officer sa 47 IB. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

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Salvation From the Presence of Sin by Arthur W Pink

We now turn to that aspect of our subject which has to do solely with the future. Sin is yet to be completely eradicated from the believer’s being, so that he shall appear before God without any spot or blemish. True, this is his legal status even now, yet it has not become so in his state or experience. As God views the believer in Christ, he appears before Him in all the excellency of his Sponsor; but as God views him as he yet is in himself (and that he does do so is proved by His chastenings), he beholds all the ruin which the Fall has wrought in him. But this will not always be the case: no, blessed be His name, the Lord is reserving the best wine for the last. And even now we have tasted that He is gracious, but the fullness of His grace will only be entered into and enjoyed by us after this world is left behind.

Those Scriptures which present our salvation as a future prospect are all concerned with our final deliverance from the very inbeing of sin. To this Paul referred when he said, "Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Rom_13:11) â€" not our salvation from the pleasure, the penalty, or the power of sin, but from its very presence. "For our citizenship is in heaven: from whence we also look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phi. Rom_3:20). Yes, it is the "Saviour" we await, for it is at His return that the whole election of grace shall enter into their full salvation; as it is written, "Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Heb_9:28). In like manner, when another apostle declares, "We are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time" (1Pe_1:5), he had reference to this grand consummation of the believer’s salvation, when he shall be forever rid of the very presence of sin.

Our salvation from the pleasure of sin is effected by Christ’s taking up His abode in our hearts: "Christ liveth in me" (Gal_2:20). Our salvation from the penalty of sin was secured by Christ’s sufferings on the cross, where He endured the punishment due our iniquities. Our salvation from the power of sin is obtained by the gracious operations of the Spirit which Christ sends to His people â€" therefore is He designated "the Spirit of Christ" (Rom_8:9 and cf. Gal_4:6, Rev_3:1). Our salvation from the presence of sin will be accomplished at Christ’s second advent: "for our citizenship is in Heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself" (Phi. Rom_3:20-21). And again we are told, "We know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1Jo. Rom_3:2). It is all of Christ from beginning to end.

Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God, reflecting the moral perfections of his Maker. But sin came in and he fell from his pristine glory, and by that fall God’s image in him was broken and His likeness marred. But in the redeemed that image is to be restored, yea, they are to be granted a far higher honour than what was bestowed upon the first Adam: they are to be made like the last Adam. It is written, "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren" (Rom_8:29). This blessed purpose of God in our predestination will not be fully realized until the second coming of our Lord: then it will be that His people shall be completely emancipated from the thralldom and corruption of sin. Then shall Christ "present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having any spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph_5:27).

Salvation from the pleasure or love of sin takes place at our regeneration; salvation from the penalty or punishment of sin occurs at our justification; salvation from the power or dominion of sin is accomplished during our practical sanctification; salvation from the presence or inbeing of sin is consummated at our glorification: "Whom lie justified, them He also glorified" (Rom_8:30). Not so much is revealed in Scripture on this fourth aspect of our subject, for God’s Word was not given us to gratify curiosity. Yet sufficient is made known to feed faith, strengthen hope, draw out love, and make us "run with patience the race that is set before us." In our present state we are incapable of forming any real conception of the bliss awaiting us: yet as Israel’s spies brought back the bunch of "the grapes of Eschol" as a sample of the good things to be found in the land of Canaan, so the Christian is granted a foretaste and earnest of his inheritance on High.

"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph_4:13). It is to the image of a glorified Christ that we are predestinated to be conformed. Behold Him on the mount of transfiguration, when a fore-view of His glory was granted the favoured disciples. Such is the dazzling splendour of His person that Saul of Tarsus was temporarily blinded by a glimpse of it, and the beloved John in the isle of Patmos "fell at His feet as dead" (Rev_1:7) when he beheld Him. That which awaits us can best be estimated as it is contemplated in the light of God’s wondrous love. The portion which Christ Himself has received, is the expression of God’s love for Him; and, as the Saviour has assured His people concerning His Father’s love unto them, "and hast loved them as Thou lovest Me" (Joh_17:23), and therefore, as He promised, "where I am, there ye may be also" (Joh_14:3).

But is not the believer forever done with sin at death? Yes, thank God, such is the case; yet that is not his glorification, for his body goes to corruption, and that is the effect of sin. But it is written of the believer’s body, "It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown m dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown m weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body" (1Co_15:42-44). Nevertheless, at death itself the Christian’s soul is entirely freed from the presence of sin. This is clear from "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth, yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them" (Rev_14:13). What is signified by "that they may rest from their labours?" Why, something more blessed than ceasing from earning their daily bread by the sweat of their brows, for that will be true of the unsaved also. Those who die in the Lord rest from their "labours" with sin: their painful conflicts with indwelling corruption, Satan, and the world. The fight which faith now wages is then ended, and full relief from sin is theirs forever.

The fourfold salvation from sin of the Christian was strikingly typified in God’s dealings with the nation of Israel of old. First, we have a vivid portrayal of their deliverance from the pleasure or love of sin: "And the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning" (Exo_2:23-24). What a contrast does that present from what we read of in the closing chapters of Genesis! There we hear the king of Egypt saying to Joseph, "The land of Egypt is before thee: in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen" (Gen_47:6). Accordingly we are told, "And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew and multiplied exceedingly" (Gen_47:27). Now Egypt is the O.T. symbol of the world, as a system opposed to God. And it was there, in the "best pan" of it, the descendants of Abraham had settled. But the Lord had designs of mercy and something far better for them: yet before they could appreciate Canaan they had to be weaned from Egypt. Hence we find them in cruel bondage there, smarting under the lash of the taskmasters. In this way they were made to loathe Egypt and long for deliverance therefrom. The theme of Exodus is redemption: how striking, then, to see that God begins His work of redemption by making His people to groan and cry out under their bondage! The portion Christ bestows is not welcome till we are made sick of this world.

Second, in Exo_12:1-51 we have a picture of God’s people being delivered from the penalty of sin. On the Passover night the angel of death came and slew all the firstborn of the Egyptians. But why spare the firstborn of the Israelites? Not because they were guiltless before God, for all had sinned and come short of His glory. The Israelites, equally with the Egyptians, were guilty in His sight, and deserving of unsparing judgment. It was at this very point that the grace of God came in and met their need. Another was slain in their room and died in their stead. An innocent victim was killed and its blood shed, pointing to the coming of "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." The head of each Israelitish household sprinkled the lamb’s blood on the lintel and posts of his door, and hence the firstborn in it was spared from the avenging angel: God promised, "when I see the blood I will pass over you" (Exo_12:13). Thus, Israel was saved from the penalty of sin by means of the lamb dying in their stead.

Third, Israel’s wilderness journey adumbrated the believer’s salvation from the power of sin. Israel did not enter Canaan immediately upon their exodus from Egypt: they had to face the temptations and trials of the desert where they spent not less than forty years. But what a gracious and full provision did God make for His people! Manna was given them daily from heaven â€" figure of that food which God’s Word now supplies for our spiritual nourishment. Water was given from the smitten rock â€" emblem of the Holy Spirit sent by the smitten Christ to dwell within us: Joh_7:38-39. A cloud and a pillar of fire guided them by day and guarded them by night, reminding us of how God directs our steps and shields us from our foes. Best of all, Moses, their great leader, was with them, counseling, admonishing, and interceding for them â€" figure of the Captain of our salvation: "In I am with you alway."

Fourth, the actual entrance of Israel into the promised land foreshadowed the believer’s glorification, when he enters into the full enjoyment of that possession which Christ has purchased for hint The experiences Israel met with in Canaan have a double typical significance. From one viewpoint they presaged the conflict which faith encounters while the believer is left upon earth, for as the Hebrews had to overcome the original inhabitants of Canaan before they could enjoy their portion, so faith has to surmount many obstacles if it is to "possess its possessions." Nevertheless, that land of milk and honey into which Israel entered after the bondage of Egypt and the hardships of the wilderness were left behind, was manifestly a figure of the Christian’s portion in Heaven after he is forever done with sin in this world.

"Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins" (Mat_1:21). First, save them from the pleasure or love of sin by bestowing a nature which hates it: this is the great miracle of grace. Second, save them from the penalty or punishment of sin, by remitting all its guilt: this is the grand marvel of grace. Third, save them from the power or dominion of sin, by the workings of His Spirit: this reveals the wondrous might of grace. Fourth, save them from the presence or inbeing of sin: this will demonstrate the glorious magnitude of grace. May it please the Lord to bless these elementary but most important articles to many of His little ones, and make their "big" brothers and sisters smaller in their own esteem.
THE END

Salvation From the Power of Sin by Arthur W Pink

This is a present and protracted process, and is as yet incomplete. It is the most difficult part of our subject, and upon it the greatest confusion of thought prevails, especially among young Christians. Many there are who, having learned that the Lord Jesus is the Saviour of sinners, have jumped to the erroneous conclusion that if they but exercise faith in Him, surrender to His Lordship, commit their souls into His keeping, He will remove their corrupt nature and destroy their evil propensities. But after they have really trusted in Him, they discover that evil is still present with them, that their hearts are still deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and that no matter how they strive to resist temptation, pray for overcoming grace, and use the means of God’s appointing, they seem to grow worse and worse instead of better, until they seriously doubt if they are saved at all. They are not being saved.

Even when a person has been regenerated and justified, the flesh or corrupt nature remains within him, and ceaselessly harasses him. Yet this ought not to perplex hint To the saints at Rome Paul said, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body" (Rom_6:12), which would be entirely meaningless had sin been eradicated from them. Writing to the Corinthian saints he said, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2Co_7:1): obviously such an exhortation is needless if sin has been purged from our beings. "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time" (1Pe_5:6): what need have Christians for such a word as this, except pride lurks and works within them. But all room for controversy on this point is excluded if we bow to that inspired declaration, "If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1Jo. Rom_1: .
The old carnal nature remains in the believer: he is still a sinner, though a saved one. What, then, is the young Christian to do? Is he powerless? Must he resort to stoicism, and make up his mind there is naught but a life of defeat before him? Certainly not! The first thing for him to do is to learn the humiliating truth that in himself he is "without strength." It was here that Israel failed: when Moses made known to them the Law they boastfully declared "all that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient" (Exo_24:7). AU how little did they realize that "in the flesh there dwelleth no good thing." It was here, too, that Peter failed: he was self-confident and boasted that "though all men be offended because of thee, yet will I not deny thee â€" how little he knew his own heart. This complacent spirit lurks within each of us. While we cherish the belief we can "do better next time" it is evident that we still have confidence in our own powers. Not until we heed the Saviour’s words "without me ye can do nothing" do we take the first step toward victory. Only when we are weak (in ourselves) are we strong.

The believer still has the carnal nature within him, and he has no strength in himself to check its evil propensities, nor to overcome its sinful solicitations. But the believer in Christ also has another nature within him which is received at the new birth: "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (Joh_3:6). The believer, then, has two natures within him: one which is sinful, the other which is spiritual. These two natures being totally different in character, are antagonistic to each other. To this antagonism or conflict the apostle referred when he said, "The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh" (Gal_5:17). Now which of these two natures is to regulate the believer’s life? It is manifest that both cannot, for they are contrary to each other. It is equally evident that the stronger of the two will exert the more controlling power. It is also clear that in the young Christian the carnal nature is the stronger, because he was born with it, and hence it has many years start of the spiritual nature, which he did not receive until he was born again.

Further, it is unnecessary to argue at length that the only way by which we can strengthen and develop the new nature, is by feeding it. In every realm growth is dependent upon food, suitable food, daily food. The nourishment which God has provided for our spiritual nature is found in His own Word, for "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Mat_4:4). It is to this that Peter has reference when he says, "As newborn babes desire the sincere (pure) milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby" (1Pe_2:2). In proportion as we feed upon the heavenly Manna, such will be our spiritual growth. Of course there are other things besides food needful to growth: we must breathe, and in a pure atmosphere. This, translated into spiritual terms, signifies prayer. It is when we approach the throne of grace and meet our Lord face to face that our spiritual lungs are filled with the ozone of Heaven. Exercise is another essential to growth, and this finds its accomplishment in walking with the Lord. If, then, we heed these primary laws of spiritual health, the new nature will flourish.
But not only must the new nature be fed, it is equally necessary for our spiritual well-being that the old nature should be starved. This is what the apostle had in mind when he said, "Make not provision for the flesh, unto the lusts thereof" (Rom_13:14). To starve the old nature, to make not provision for the flesh, means that we abstain from everything that would stimulate our carnality; that we avoid, as we would a plague, all that is calculated to prove injurious to our spiritual welfare. Not only must we deny ourselves the pleasures of sin, shun such things as the saloon, theatre, dance, card-table, etc., but we must separate ourselves from the worldly companions, cease to read worldly literature, abstain from everything upon which we cannot ask God’s blessing. Our affections are to be set upon things above, and not upon things upon the earth (Col_3:2). Does this seem a high standard, and sound impracticable? Holiness in all things is that at which we are to aim, and failure to do so explains the leanness of so many Christians. Let the young believer realize that whatever does not help his spiritual life hinders it.

Here, then, in brief is the answer to our question, What is the young Christian to do in order for deliverance from indwelling sin. It is true that we are still in this world, but we are not "of’ it (Joh_17:14). It is true that we are forced to associate with godless people, but this is ordained of God in order that we may "let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven" (Mat_5:16). There is a wide difference between associating with sinners as we go about our daily tasks, and making them our intimate companions and friends. Only as we feed upon the Word can we "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2Pe_3:18). Only as we starve the old nature can we expect deliverance from its power and pollution. Then let us earnestly heed the exhortation "put ye off concerning the former conversation (behaviour) the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that ye put on the new man, which, after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph_4:22-24).
Above, we have dealt only with the human side of the problem as to how to obtain deliverance from the dominion of sin. Necessarily there is a Divine side too. It is only by God’s grace that we are enabled to use the means which He has provided us, as it is only by the power of His Spirit who dwells within us that we can truly "lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb_12:1). These two aspects (the Divine and the human) are brought together in a number of scriptures. We are bidden to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling" but the apostle immediately added, "for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phi. Rom_2:12-13). Thus, we are to work out that which God has wrought within us; in other words, if we walk in the Spirit we shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Gal_5:16). It has now been shown that salvation from the power of sin is a process which goes on throughout the believer’s life. It is to this Solomon referred when he said, "The path of the just is as a shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Pro_4:18).

As our salvation from the pleasure of sin is the consequence of our regeneration, and as salvation from the penalty of sin respects our justification, so salvation from the power of sin has to do with the practical side of our sanctification. The word sanctification signifies "separation" â€" separation from sin. We need hardly say that the word holiness is strictly synonymous with "sanctification," being an alternative rendering of the same Greek word. As the practical side of sanctification has to do with our separation from sin, we are told, "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2Co_7:1). That practical sanctification or holiness is a process, a progressive experience, is clear from this: "Follow . . . holiness without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb_12:14). The fact that we are to "follow" holiness clearly intimates that we have not yet attained unto the Divine standard which God requires of us. This is further seen in the passage just quoted: "perfecting holiness" or completing it.

The Divine Side of Our Salvation
We must now enter into a little fuller detail of the Divine side of our salvation from the power and pollution of sin. When a sinner truly receives Christ as his Lord and Saviour, God does not then and there take him to Heaven; on the contrary, he is likely to be left down here for many years, and this world is a place of danger, for it lieth in the Wicked one (1Jo. Rom_5:19) and all pertaining to it is opposed to the Father (1Jo. Rom_2:16). Therefore the believer needs daily salvation from this hostile system. Accordingly we read that Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God our Father (Gal_1:4). Not only is the sinner not taken to Heaven when he first savingly believes, but, as we have seen, the evil nature is not taken out of him; nevertheless God does not leave him completely under its dominion, but graciously delivers him from its regal power. He uses a great variety of means to accomplish this.

First, by granting us a clearer view of our inward depravity, so that we are made to abhor ourselves. By nature we are thoroughly in love with ourselves, but as the Divine work of grace is carried forward in our souls we come to loathe ourselves; and that, my reader, is a very distressing experience â€" one which is conveniently shelved by most of our modern preachers. The concept which many young Christians form from preachers is, that the experience of a genuine believer is a smooth, peaceful, and joyous one; but he soon discovers that this is not verified in his personal history, but rather is it completely falsified. And this staggers him: supposing the preacher to know more about such matters than himself, he is now filled with disturbing doubts about his very salvation, and the Devil promptly tells him he is only a hypocrite, and never was saved at all.

Only those who have actually passed through or are passing through this painful experience have any real conception thereof: there is as much difference between an actual acquaintance with it and the mere reading a description of the same, as there is between personally visiting a country and examining it first hand and simply studying a map of it. But how are we to account for one who has been saved from the pleasure and penalty of sin, now being made increasingly conscious not only of its polluting presence but of its tyrannizing power? How explain the fact that the Christian now finds himself growing worse and worse, and the more closely he endeavours to walk with God, the more he finds the flesh bringing forth its horrible works in ways it had not done previously? The answer is because of increased light from God, by which he now discovers filth of which he was previously unaware: the sun shining into a neglected room does not create the dust and cobwebs, but simply reveals them.
Thus it is with the Christian. The more the light of the Spirit is turned upon him inwardly, the more he discovers the horrible plague of his heart (1Ki_8:38), and the more he realizes what a wretched failure he is. The fact is, dear discouraged soul, that the more you are growing out of love with yourself, the more you are being saved from the power of sin. Wherein lies its fearful potency? Why, in its power to deceive us. It lies to us. It did so to Adam and Eve. It gives us false estimates of values so that we mistake the tinsel for real gold. To be saved from the power of sin, is to have our eyes opened so that we see things in God’s light: it is to know the truth about things all around us, and the truth about ourselves. Satan has blinded the minds of them that believe not, but the Holy Spirit hath shined in our hearts "unto the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2Co_4:4-6).

But further: sin not only deceives, it puffs up, causing its infatuated victims to think highly of themselves. As 1Ti_3:6 tells us, to be "lifted up with pride" is to "fall into the condemnation of the devil." Ah, it was insane egotism which caused him to say, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the Most High" (Isa_14:13-14). Is there any wonder then, that those in whom he works are filled with pride and complacency! Sin ever produces self-love and self-righteousness: the most abandoned of characters will tell you, "I know that I am weak, yet I have a good heart." But when God takes us in hand, it is the very opposite: the workings of the Spirit subdues our pride. How? By giving increasing discoveries of self and the exceeding sinfulness of sin, so that each one cries with Job "Behold! I am vile" (Job_40:4): such an one is being saved from the power of sin â€" its power to deceive and to inflate.

Second, by sore chastenings. This is another means which God uses in delivering His people from sin’s dominion. "We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their pleasure: but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness" (Heb_12:9-10). Those chastenings assume varied forms: sometimes they are external, sometimes internal, but whatever be their nature they are painful to flesh and blood. Sometimes these Divine chastisements are of long duration, and then the soul is apt to ask "why standest Thou afar off, O Lord? Why dost Thou hide Thyself in times of trouble?" (Psa_10:1), for it seems as though God has deserted us. Earnest prayer is made for a mitigation of suffering, but no relief is granted; grace is earnestly sought for meekly bowing to the rod, but unbelief, impatience, rebellion, seems to wax stronger and stronger, and the soul is hard put to it to believe in God’s love; but as Heb_12:11 tells us, "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceful (peaceable, AV) fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."

This life is a schooling, and chastenings are one of the chief methods God employs in the training of His children. Sometimes they are sent for the correcting of our faults, and therefore we must pray, "Cause me to understand wherein I have erred" (Job_6:24). Let us steadily bear in mind that it is the "rod" and not the sword which is smiting us, held in the hand of our loving Father and not the avenging Judge. Sometimes they are sent for the prevention of sin, as Paul was given a thorn in the flesh, "lest he should be exalted above measure, through the abundance of the revelations" given him. Sometimes they are sent for our spiritual education, that by them we may be brought to a deeper experimental acquaintance with God: "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Thy statutes" (Psa_119:71). Sometimes they are sent for the testing and strengthening of our graces: "We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope" (Rom_5:3-4); "count it all joy when ye fall into varied trials: knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience" (Jas_1:2-3).

Chastening is God’s sin-purging medicine, sent to wither our fleshly aspirations, to detach our heats from carnal objects. to deliver us from our idols, to wean us more thoroughly from the world. God has bidden us "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers . . . come out from among them, and be ye separate" (2Co_6:14, 2Co_6:17); and we are slow to respond, and therefore does He take measures to drive us out lie has bidden us "love not the world," and if we disobey we must not be surprised if He causes some of our worldly friends to hate and persecute us. God has bidden us "mortify ye therefore your members which are upon the earth" (Col_3:5): if we refuse to comply with this unpleasant task, then we may expect God Himself to use the pruning-knife upon us. God has bidden us "cease ye from man" (Isa_2:22), and if we will trust our fellows, we are made to suffer for it.
"Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him" (Heb_12:5). This is a salutary warning. So far from despising it, we should be grateful for the same: that God cares so much and takes such trouble with us, and that His bitter physic produces such healthful effects. "In their affliction they will seek Me early" (Hos_5:15): while everything is running smoothly for us, we are apt to be self-sufficient; but when trouble comes, we promptly turn unto the Lord. Own, then, with the Psalmist "In faithfulness Thou hast afflicted me" (Psa_119:75). Not only do God’s chastisements, when sanctified to us, subdue the workings of pride and wean us more from the world, but they make the Divine promises more precious to the heart: such an one as this takes on new meaning; "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, . . . when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned" (Isa_43:2). Moreover, they break down selfishness and make us more sympathetic to our fellow-sufferers: "Who comfortest us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble" (2Co_1:4).

Third, by bitter disappointments. God has plainly warned us that "all is vanity and vexation of spirit, and there is no profit under the sun" (Ecc_2:11), and that by one who was permitted to gratify the physical senses as none other ever has been. Yet we do not take this warning to heart, for we do not really believe it. On the contrary, we persuade ourselves that satisfaction is to be found in things under the sun, that the creature can give contentment to our hearts. As well attempt to fill a circle with a square! The heart was made for God, and He alone can meet its needs. But by nature we are idolaters, putting things into His place. Those things we invest with qualities they possess not, and sooner or later our delusions are rudely exposed to us, and we discover that the images in our minds are only dreams, that our golden idol is but clay after all.

God so orders His providences that our earthly nest is destroyed. The winds of adversity compel us to leave the downy bed of carnal ease and luxuriation. Grievous losses are experienced in some form or other. Trusted friends prove fickle, and in the hour of need fail us. The family circle, which had so long sheltered us and where peace and happiness was found, is broken up by the grim hand of death. Health fails and weary nights are our portion. These frying experiences, these bitter disappointments, are another of the means which our gracious God employs to save us from the pleasure and pollution of sin. By them He discovers to us the vanity and vexation of the creature. By them He weans us more completely from the world. By them He teaches us that the objects in which we sought refreshment are but "broken cisterns," and this that we may turn to Christ and draw from Him who is the Well of living water, the One who alone can supply true satisfaction of soul.

It is in this way we are experimentally taught to look off from the present to the future, for our rest is not here. "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" (Rom_8:24). Let it be duly noted that this comes immediately after "we ourselves groan within ourselves." Thus to be "saved by hope" respects our present salvation from the power of sin. Complete salvation is now the Christian’s only in title and expectation. It is not here said that we "shall be saved by hope,’ but we are saved by hope â€" that hope which looks for the fulfilling of God’s promises. Hope has to do with a future good, with something which as yet "is seen not:" we "hope" not for something which is already enjoyed. Herein hope differs from faith. Faith, as it is an assent, is in the mind; but hope is seated in the affections, stirred by the desirability of the things promised.
And, my reader, the bitter disappointments of life are naught but a dark background upon which hope may shine forth the more brightly. Christ does not immediately take to Heaven the one who puts his trust in Him. No, He keeps him here upon earth for a while to be exercised and tried. While he is awaiting his complete blessedness there is such a difference between him and it, and he encounters many difficulties and trials. Not having yet received his inheritance, there is need and occasion of hope, for only by its exercise can things future be sought after. The stronger our hope, the more earnestly shall we be engaged in the pursuit of it. We have to be weaned from present things in order for the heart to be fixed upon a future good.

Fourth, by the gift of the Spirit and His operations within us. God’s great gift of Christ for us is matched by the gift of the Spirit for us, for we owe as much to the One as we do to the Other. The new nature in the Christian is powerless apart from the Spirit’s daily renewing. It is by His gracious operations that we have discovered to us the nature and extent of sin, are made to strive against it, are brought to grieve over it. It is by the Spirit that faith, hope, prayer, is kept alive within the soul. It is by the Spirit we are moved to use the means of grace which God has appointed for our spiritual preservation and growth. It is by the spirit that sin is prevented from having complete dominion over us, for as the result of His indwelling us, there is something else besides sin in the believer’s heart and life, namely, the fruits of holiness and righteousness.

To sum up this aspect of our subject. Salvation from the power of indwelling sin is not the taking of the evil nature out of the believer in this life, nor by effecting any improvement in it: "that which is born of the flesh is flesh" (Joh_3:6) and it remains so, unchanged to the end. Nor is it by the Spirit so subduing indwelling sin that it is rendered less active, for the flesh not merely lusts, but "lusteth (ceaselessly) against the spirit:" it never sleeps, not even when our bodies do, as our dreams evidence. No, and in some form or other, the flesh is constantly producing its evil works. It may not be in external acts, seen by the eyes of our fellows, but certainly so internally, in things seen by God â€" such as covetousness, discontent, pride, unbelief, self-will, ill-will towards others, and a hundred other evils. No, none is saved from sinning in this life.

Present salvation from the power of sin consists in, first, delivering us from the love of it, which though begun at our regeneration is continued throughout out practical sanctification. Second, from its blinding delusiveness, so that it can no more deceive as it once did. Third, from our excusing it: "that which I do, I allow not" (Rom_7:15). This is one of the surest marks of regeneration. In the fullest sense of the word the believer "allows" it not before he sins, for every real Christian when in his right mind desires to be wholly kept from sinning. He "allows" it not fully when doing it, for in the actual committing thereof there is an inward reserve â€" the new nature consents not. He "allows" it not afterwards, as Psa_51:1-19 evidences so plainly of the case of David.

The force of this word "allow" in Rom_7:15 may be seen from "truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they killed them (the prophets) and ye build their sepulchers" (Luk_11:48). So far from those Jews being ashamed of their fathers and abhorring their wicked conduct, they erected a monument to their honour. Thus, to "allow" is the opposite of to be ashamed of and sorrow over: it is to condone and vindicate. Therefore, when it is said that the believer "allows not" the evil of which he is guilty, it means that he seeks not to justify himself or throw the blame on some one else, as both Adam and Eve did. That the Christian allows not sin is evident by his shame over it, his sorrow for it, his confession of it, his loathing himself because of it, his renewed resolution to forsake it.

Salvation From the Penalty of Sin
by Arthur W. Pink

This follows upon our regeneration which is evidenced by evangelical repentance and unfeigned faith. Every soul that truly puts his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ is then and there saved from the penalty â€" the guilt, the wages, the punishment â€" of sin. When the apostle said to the penitent jailor, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved," he signified that all his sins would be remitted by God; just as when the Lord said to the poor woman, "thy faith hath saved thee: go in peace" (Luk_7:50). He meant that all her sins were now forgiven her, for forgiveness has to do with the criminality and punishment of sin. To the same effect when we read "by grace are ye saved through faith" (Eph_2: , it is to be understood the Lord has actually "delivered us from the wrath to come" (1Th_1:10).

This aspect of our salvation is to be contemplated from two separate viewpoints: the Divine and the human. The Divine side of it is found in the mediatorial office and work of Christ, who as the Sponsor and Surety of His people met the requirements of the law on their behalf, working out for them a perfect righteousness and enduring Himself the curse and condemnation which are due them, consummated at the Cross. It was there that He was "wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities" (Isa_53:5). It was there that He, judicially, "his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree" (1Pe_2:24). It was there that He was "smitten of God and afflicted" while He was making atonement for the offenses of His people. Because Christ suffered in my stead, I go free; because He died, I live; because He was forsaken of God, I am reconciled to Him. This is the great marvel of grace, which will evoke ceaseless praise from the redeemed throughout eternity.

The human side of our salvation from the penalty of sin respects our repentance and faith. Though these possess no merits whatever, and though they in no sense purchase our pardon, yet according to the order which God has appointed, they are (instrumentally) essential, for salvation does not become ours experimentally until they are exercised. Repentance is the hand releasing those filthy objects it had previously clung to so tenaciously; faith is extending an empty hand to God to receive His gift of grace. Repentance is a godly sorrow for sin; faith is receiving a sinner s Saviour. Repentance is a revulsion of the filth and pollution of sin; faith is a seeking of cleansing therefrom. Repentance is the sinner covering his mouth and crying, "Unclean, unclean!"; faith is the leper coming to Christ and saying, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean."

So far from repentance and faith being meritorious graces, they are self-emptying ones. The one who truly repents takes his place as a lost sinner before God, confessing himself to be a guilty wretch deserving naught but unsparing judgment at the hands of Divine justice. Faith looks away from corrupt and ruined self, and views the amazing provision which God has made for such a Hell-deserving creature. Faith lays hold of the Son of God’s love, as a drowning man clutches at a passing spar. Faith surrenders to the Lordship of Christ, rests upon the merits and efficacy of His sacrifice, his sins are removed from God’s sight "as far as the east is from the west": he is now eternally saved from the wrath to come.
We cannot do better here than quote these sublime lines of Augustus Toplady:
From whence this fear and unbelief?
Hast Thou, O Father, put to grief
Thy spotless Son for me?
And will the righteous Judge of men
Condemn me for that debt of sin
Which, Lord, was laid on Thee?
If Thou hast my discharge procured,
And freely in my place endured
The whole of wrath Divine;
Payment God cannot twice demand
First at my bleeding Surety’s hand,
And then again at mine.
Complete atonement Thou hast made,
And to the utmost farthing paid,
What e’er Thy people owed;
How then can wrath on me take place,
If sheltered in Thy righteousness,
And sprinkled with Thy blood?
Turn, then, my soul, unto thy rest,
The merits of thy great High Priest
Speak peace and liberty.
Trust in His efficacious blood,
Nor fear thy banishment from God,
Since Jesus died for thee.

While deliverance from the love of sin has to do entirely with the experimental side of our salvation, remission of the penalty of sin concerns the legal aspect only, or in other words, the believer’s justification. Justification is a forensic term and has to do with the law-courts, for it is the decision or verdict of the judge. Justification is the opposite of condemnation. Condemnation means that a man has been charged with a crime, his guilt is established, and accordingly the law pronounces upon him sentence of punishment. On the contrary, justification means that the accused is found to be guiltless, the law has nothing against him, and therefore he is acquitted and exonerated, leaving the court without a stain upon his character. When we read in Scripture that believers are "justified from all things" (Act. 13:39), it signifies that their case has been tried in the high court of Heaven and that God, the Judge of all the earth, has acquitted them: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Rom_8:1).

But to be without condemnation is only the negative side: justification means to declare or pronounce righteous, up to the Law’s requirements. Justification implies that the Law has been fulfilled, obeyed, magnified, for nothing short of this would meet the just demands of God. Hence, as His people, fallen in Adam, were unable to measure up to the Divine standard, God appointed that His own Son should become incarnate, be the Surety of His people, and answer the demands of the Law in their stead. Here, then, is the sufficient answer which may be made to the two objections which unbelief is ready to raise: how can God acquit the guilty? How can He declare righteous one who is devoid of righteousness? Bring in the Lord Jesus Christ and all difficulty disappears. The guilt of our sins was imputed or legally transferred to Him, so that He suffered the full penalty of what was due them; the merits of His obedience are imputed or legally transferred to us, so that we stand before God in all the acceptableness of our Sponsor (Rom_5:18-19; 2Co_5:21, etc.). Not only has the Law nothing against us, but we are entitled to its reward.

Salvation From the Pleasure of Sin
By Arthur W. Pink


It is here that God begins His actual application of salvation unto His elect. God saves us from the pleasure or love of sin before He delivers us from the penalty or punishment of sin. Necessarily so, for it would be neither an act of holiness nor of righteousness were He to grant full pardon to one who was still a rebel against Him, loving that which He hates. God is a God of order throughout, and nothing ever more evidences the perfections of His works than the orderliness of them. And how does God save His people from the pleasure of sin? The answer is, By imparting to them a nature which hates evil and loves holiness. This takes place when they are born again, so that actual salvation begins with regeneration. Of course it does: where else could it commence? Fallen man can never perceive his desperate need of salvation nor come to Christ for it, till he has been renewed by the Holy Spirit.
"He hath made everything beautiful in his time" (Ecc_3:11), and much of the beauty of God’s spiritual handiwork is lost upon us unless we duly observe their "time." Has not the Spirit Himself emphasized this in the express enumeration He has given us in "For whom he did foreknow, he did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified" (Rom_8:29-30). Rom_8:29 announces the Divine foreordination; Rom_8:30 states the manner of its actualization. It seems passing strange that with this Divinely defined method before them, so many preachers begin with our justification, instead of with that effectual call (from death unto life, our regeneration) which precedes it. Surely it is most obvious that regeneration must first take place in order to lay a foundation for our justification. Justification is by faith (Act. 13:39; Rom_5:1; Gal_3:, and the sinner must be Divinely quickened before he is capable of believing savingly.
Does not the last statement made throw light upon and explain what we have said is so "passing strange"? Preachers today are so thoroughly imbued with free-willism that they have departed almost wholly from that sound evangelism which marked our forefathers. The radical difference between Arminianism and Calvinism is that the system of the former revolves about the creature, whereas the system of the latter has the Creator for its centre of orbit. The Arminian allots to man the first place, the Calvinist gives God that position of honor. Thus the Arminian begins his discussion of salvation with justification, for the sinner must believe before he can be forgiven; further back he will not go, for he is unwilling that man should be made nothing of But the instructed Calvinist begins with election, descends to regeneration, and then shows that being born again (by the sovereign act of God, in which the creature has no part) the sinner is made capable of savingly believing the Gospel.
Saved from the pleasure and love of sin. What multitudes of people would strongly resent being told that they delighted in evil! They would indignantly ask if we supposed them to be moral perverts. No indeed: a person may be thoroughly chaste and yet delight in evil. It may be that some of our own readers repudiate the charge that they have ever taken pleasure in sin, and would claim, on the contrary, that from earliest recollection they have detested wickedness in all its forms. Nor would we dare to call into question their sincerity; instead we point out that it only affords another exemplification of the solemn fact that "the heart is deceitful above all things" (Jer_17:9). But this is a matter that is not open to argument: the plain teaching of God’s Word decides the point once and for all, and beyond its verdict there is no appeal. What, then, say the Scriptures?
So far from God’s Word denying that there is any delight to be found therein, it expressly speaks of "the pleasures of sin," it immediately warns that those pleasures are but "for a season" (Heb_11:25), for the aftermath is painful and not pleasant; yea, unless God intervenes in His sovereign grace, they entail eternal torment. So too the Word refers to those who are "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God" (2Ti_3:4). It is indeed striking to observe how often this discordant note is struck in Scripture. It mentions those who "love vanity" (Psa_4:2); "him that loveth violence" (Psa_11:5); "thou lovest evil more than good" (Psa_52:3); "he loved lies" (Pro_1:22); "they which delight in their abominations" (Isa_66:3); "their abominations were according as they loved" (Hos_9:10); who hated the good and loved the evil" (Mic_3:2); "if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1Jo. Rom_2:15). To love sin is far worse than to commit it, for a man may be suddenly tripped up or commit it through frailty.
The fact is, my reader, that we are not only born into this world with an evil nature, but with hearts that are thoroughly in love with sin. Sin is our native element. We are wedded to our lusts, and of ourselves are no more able to alter the bent of our corrupt nature than the Ethiopian can change his skin or the leopard his spots. But what is impossible with man, is possible with God, and when He takes us in hand this is where He begins â€" by saving us from the pleasure or love of sin. This is the great miracle of grace, for the Almighty stoops down and picks up a loathsome leper from the dunghill and makes him a new creature m Christ, so that the things he once hated he now loves. God commences by saving us from ourselves. He does not save us from the penalty until He has delivered us from the love of sin.
And how is this miracle of grace accomplished, or rather, exactly what does it consist of? Negatively, not by eradicating the evil nature, nor even by refining it. Positively, by communicating a new nature, a holy nature, which loathes that which is evil, and delights in all that is truly good. To be more specific. First, God save His people from the pleasure or love of sin by puffing His holy awe in their hearts, for "the fear of the Lord is to hate evil" (Pro_8:13), and again, "the fear of the Lord is to depart from evil" (Pro_6:16). Second. God saves His people from the pleasure of sin by communicating to them a new and vital principle: ‘the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit" (Rom_5:5), and where the love of God rules the heart, the love of sin is dethroned. Third, God saves His people from the love of sin by the Holy Spirit’s drawing their affections unto things above, thereby taking them off the things which formerly enthralled them.
If on the one hand the unbeliever hotly denies that lit is in love with sin, many a believer is often hard put to persuade himself that he has been saved from the love thereof With an understanding that has in part been enlightened by the Holy Spirit, he is the better able to discern things in their true colors. With a heart that has been made honest by grace, he refuses to call sweet bitter. With a conscience that has been sensitized by the new birth, he the more quickly feels the workings of sin and the hankering of his affections for that which is forbidden. Moreover, the flesh remains in him, unchanged, and as the raven constantly craves carrion, so this corrupt principle in which our mothers conceived us, lusts after and delights in that which is the opposite of holiness. It is these things which occasion and give rise to the disturbing questions that clamour for answer within the genuine believer.
The sincere Christian is often made to seriously doubt if he has been delivered from the love of sin. Such questions as these plainly agitate his mind: Why do I so readily yield to temptation? Why do some of the vanities and pleasures of the world still possess so much attraction for me? Why do I chafe so much against any restraints being placed upon my lusts? Why do I find the work of mortification so difficult and distasteful? Could such things as these be if I were a new creature in Christ? Could such horrible experiences as these happen if God had saved me from taking pleasure in sin? Well do we know that we are here giving expression to the very doubts which exercise the minds of many of our readers, and those who are strangers thereto are to be pitied. But what shall we say in reply? How is this distressing problem to be resolved?
How may one be assured that he has been saved from the love of sin? Let us point out first that the presence of that within us which still lusts after and takes delight in some evil things, is not incompatible with our having been saved from the love of sin, paradoxical as that may sound. It is part of the mystery of the Gospel that those who be saved are yet sinners in themselves. The point we are here dealing with is similar to and parallel with faith. The Divine principle of faith in the heart does not cast out unbelief. Faith and doubts exist side by side within a quickened soul, which is evident from those words, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" (Mar_9:24). In like manner the Christian may exclaim and pray, "Lord, I long after holiness, help Thou my lustings after sin." And why is this? Because of the existence of two separate natures, the one at complete variance with the other within the Christian.
How, then, is the presence of faith to be ascertained? Not by the ceasing of unbelief, but by discovering its own fruit and works. Fruit may grow amid thorns as flowers among weeds, and yet it is fruit nonetheless. Faith exists amid many doubts and fears. Notwithstanding opposing forces within as well as from without us, faith still reaches out after God. Notwithstanding innumerable discouragements and defeats, faith continues to fight. Notwithstanding many refusals from God, it yet clings to Him and says, Except Thou bless me I will not let Thee go. Faith may be fearfully weak and fitful, often eclipsed by the clouds of unbelief, nevertheless the Devil himself cannot persuade its possessor to repudiate God’s Word, despite His Son, or abandon all hope. The presence of faith, then, may be ascertained in that it causes its possessor to come before God as an empty-handed beggar beseeching Him for mercy and blessing.
Now just as the presence of faith may be known amid all the workings of unbelief, so our salvation from the love of sin may be ascertained notwithstanding all the lustings of the flesh after that which is evil. But in what way? How is this initial aspect of salvation to be identified? We have already anticipated this question in an earlier paragraph, wherein we stated that God saved us from delighting in sin by imparting a nature that hates evil and loves holiness, which takes place at the new birth. Consequently, the real question to be settled is, How may the Christian positively determine whether that new and holy nature has been imparted to him? The answer is, By observing its activities, particularly the opposition it makes (under the energizings of the Holy Spirit) unto indwelling sin. Not only does the flesh (that principle of sin) lust against the spirit, but the spirit (the principle of holiness) lusts and wars against the flesh.
First, our salvation from the pleasure or love of sin may be recognized by sin’s becoming a burden to us. This is truly a spiritual experience. Many souls are loaded down with worldly anxieties, who know nothing of what it means to be bowed down with a sense of guilt. But when God takes us in hand, the iniquities and transgressions of our past life are made to lie as an intolerable load upon the conscience. When we are given a sight of ourselves as we appear before the eyes of the thrice holy God, we will exclaim with the Psalmist, "For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me" (Psa_40:12). So far from sin being pleasant, it is now felt as a cruel incubus, a crushing weight, and unendurable load. The soul is "heavy laden" (Mat_11:28) and bowed down. A sense of guilt oppresses and the conscience cannot bear the weight of it. Nor is this experience restricted to our first conviction: it continues with more or less acuteness throughout the Christian’s life.
Second, our salvation from the pleasure of sin may be recognized by sin’s becoming bitter to us. True, there are millions of unregenerate who are filled with remorse over the harvest reaped from their sowing of wild oats. Yet that is not hatred of sin, but dislike of its consequences â€" ruined health, squandered opportunities, financial straitness, or social disgrace. No, what we have reference to is that anguish of heart which ever marks the one the Spirit takes in hand. When the veil of delusion is removed and we see sin in the light of God’s countenance; when we are given a discovery of the depravity of our very nature, then we perceive that we are sunk in carnality and death. When sin is opened to us in all its secret workings, we are made to feel the vileness of our hypocrisy, self-righteousness, unbelief, impatience, and the utter filthiness of our hearts. And when the penitent soul views the sufferings of Christ, he can say with Job, "God maketh my heart soft" (Job_23:16).
Ah, my reader, it is this experience which prepares the heart to go out after Christ: those that are whole need not a physician, but they that are quickened and convicted by the spirit are anxious to be relieved by the great Physician. "The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich; he bringeth low, and lifteth up" (1Sa_2:6-7). It is in this way that God slayeth our self righteousness, maketh poor and bringeth low â€" by making sin to be an intolerable burden and as bitter wormwood to us. There can be no saving faith till the soul is filled with evangelical repentance, and repentance is a godly sorrow for sin, a holy detestation of sin, a sincere purpose to forsake it. The Gospel calls upon men to repent of their sins, forsake their idols, and mortify their lusts, and thus it is utterly impossible for the Gospel to be a message of good tidings to those who are in love with sin and madly determined to perish rather than part with their idols.
Nor is this experience of sin’s becoming bitter to us limited to our first awakening â€" it continues in varying degrees, to the end of our earthly pilgrimage. The Christian suffers under temptations, is pained by Satan’s fiery assaults, and bleeds from the wounds inflicted by the evil he commits. It grieves him deeply that he makes such a wretched return unto God for His goodness, that he requites Christ so evilly for His dying love, that he responds so fitfully to the promptings of the Spirit. The wanderings of his mind when he desires to meditate upon the Word, the dullness of his heart when he seeks to pray, the worldly thoughts which invade his mind on the Holy Sabbath, the coldness of his affections towards the Redeemer, cause him to groan daily; all of which goes to evidence that sin has been made bitter to him. He no longer welcomes those intruding thoughts which take his mind off God: rather does he sorrow over them. But, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted: (Mat_5:4).
Third, our salvation from the pleasure of sin may be recognized by the felt bondage which sin produces. As it is not until a Divine faith is planted in the heart that we become aware of our native and inveterate unbelief, so it is not until God saves us from the love of sin that we are conscious of the fetters it has placed around us. Then it is we discover that we are "without strength," unable to do anything pleasing to God, incapable of running the race set before us. A Divinely drawn picture of the saved soul’s felt bondage is to be found in Rom_7:18 "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do . . . For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, waning against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin" (Rom_7:18-19, Rom_7:22-23). And what is the sequel? this the agonizing cry "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" If that be the sincere lamentation of your heart, then God has saved you from the pleasure of sin.
Let it be pointed out though, that salvation from the love of sin is felt and evidenced in varying degrees by different Christians, and in different periods in the life of the same Christian, according to the measure of grace which God bestows, and according as that grace is active and operative. Some seem to have a more intense hatred of sin in all its forms than do others, yet the principle of hating sin is found in all real Christians. Some Christians, rarely if ever, commit any deliberate and premeditated sins: more often they are tripped up, suddenly tempted (to be angry or tell a lie) and are overcome. But with others the case is quite otherwise: they â€" fearful to say â€" actually plan evil acts. If any one indignantly denies that such a thing is possible in a saint, and insists that such a character is a stranger to saving grace, we would remind him of David: was not the murder of Uriah definitely planned? This second class of Christians find it doubly hard to believe they have been saved from the love of sin.

About Czech University of Life Sciences Prague:
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (czu.cz/en/) is the leading life sciences university in the Czech Republic with more than 20,000 students and 1,800 researchers and teachers. Its robotics department is focused on technology and innovation in the areas of agriculture and landscape protection. The Robotic Department is based at the Faculty of Engineering and utilises multidisciplinary cooperation with other faculty departments. The Robotic team of FE CULS Prague consists of researchers and students and intensively collaborates with the Robotika team.

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News Release
COTABATO CITY --- The Bangsamoro government dispatched Wednesday to Zamboanga City an emergency response team to assist thousands of Filipino deportees expected to arrive soon from Malaysia.

Malaysia is deporting no fewer than 5,000 undocumented Filipinos starting this week, according to reports last week by local newspapers and radio stations in the Zamboanga peninsula.

The team sent to Zamboanga City by the Bangsamoro government shall assist in the mandatory COVID-19 screening of the Filipinos returning from Malaysia via the Philippine southern backdoor.

A big number of the deportees are residents of different towns in the Bangsamoro region that covers the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, local government minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said Wednesday the emergency workers deployed to Zamboanga City also brought with them biohazard protection supplies for anti-coronavirus frontliners in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The group is comprised of employees of the regional government’s Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence, or READI contingent operating under the supervision of Sinarimbo.

Employees of the provincial offices of BARMM’s Ministry of the Interior and Local Government shall also assist in returning deportees to their respective hometowns in coordination with local health authorities in keeping with Malacanang’s anti-COVID-19 regulations.

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November 21, 2000; PIA Bicol
LEGAZPI CITY - Bicol's most popular dish, the pinangat (gabi leaves cooked from thick, fresh coconut milk) could one day be sold in cans in stores and supermarkets, nationwide and overseas.
"This is one of the most interesting areas of investment broached by our kababayans from Hawaii," Director Raul Calleja of the Presidential Commission on Bicol Tourism - Special Development Project (PCST--SDP) said.
The proposal came after 25 members of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii (FCCH) made a 12-hour visit here, where they met with local executives and businessmen to explore possible areas of investments.
During a forum, Ms. Hilda Quindara, general manager of Hawaii Food Products, a leading food processing company in state of Hawaii, brought out the idea of putting up a pinangat canning plant in Albay and in other areas in Bicol.
"The group also expressed their interest to enter into a joint venture in construction, import-export, food processing, waste management and even farming," Calleja added.
The visit dubbed "Balik Bikol" is the 17th Trade Mission of the members of FCCH who will also be visiting Metro Manila, Subic Bay, and Laoag, Ilocos Norte until November 21.
FCCH president Rey Pardo, who hails from Malinao, Albay, said that despite the current situation, the economic fundamentals in the country remain sound. (CTAmoJPIA)

November 21, 2000
PIA Bicol

LEGAZPI CITY - Over 100 New People's Army (NPA) rebels swooped down on the municipal hall of Caramoan town in Camarines Sur on Saturday, killing a policeman, two civilians and wounded seriously two other policemen and two other civilians, the Philippine National Police (PNP) regional command at Camp Gen. Simeon Ola said Sunday.

Killed in a 6-hour NPA raid were PO1 Dante Paulo Olitoquit and two unidentified civilians, one a former CAFGU. The wounded policemen were SPO1 Ronnie Casipit and PO2 Rodel Valencia, according to Police Sup't Eliciar Bron, Bicol PNP spokesperson.

The victims were among the 15 policemen who put up a fight and defended the Caramoan town hall police station against the NPA siege that occured at around 2:45 Saturday and ended at around 7:55 in the evening of the same day.

The NPA guerillas outnumbering the policemen manning the town hall were able to enter the municipal building, ransacked and destroyed some office and communication facilities rendering impossible for the PNP to send immediately SOS radio message to the PNP provincial command and other neighboring police units in the area.

The NPA rebels were able to cut-off the power supply of the town proper and guarded the phone calling stations and identified areas where cellphone transmission could get through.

It took about four hours for police reinforcement to arrive at the scene due to lack of communications system in said place, if not for a few members of an amateur radio club in Caramoan who were able to transmit the emergency call to Virac, Catanduanes parish office.

Members of the municipal council were reportedly having a special meeting at the time of the seige while the Mayor's residence was reportedly also raided but no member of the household was hurt.

Two municipal employees were wounded during the raid - Municipal agriculture officer Francisco Altes and Rizialina Padua of the Municipal Treasurer's Office who were brought to the Mother Seton Hospital in Naga City.

The police provincial command has requested two MG520 helicopters from the Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM) based in Lucena but poor weather prevented the helicopters from taking off, Bron said. "The police regional command was able to dispatch a helicopter Sunday."

Police officials at Camp Ole lamented the lack of communication facilities to and from remote towns posing a serious threat to the security of the area.

Over in Masbate, suspected New People's Army (NPA) hitmen initiated another liquidation activities, killing two policemen in separate raids in the towns of Cataingan and Monreal in Masbate.

NPA rebels gunned down Thursday last week SPOl Ronilo Hermosa, 39, a murder convict detained at the Cataingen municipal jail and former member of the town police while P03 Crisostomo Almoradji, 32, of the Monreal police station was executed on Wednesday near his residence in Barangay MacArthur, Monreal town.

Hermosa was outside the Cataingan town jail premises when four teenaged NPA rebels armed with 45 caliber handguns approached him and at close range fired at the victim killing him instantly. The victim, a former cop was convicted of murder and was temporarily detained at the town jail since his case is under appeal.

Probers said the victim was killed by NPA hitmen as a vendetta, as reports said that Hermosa was tagged responsible for the killing of a relative of an NPA leader, from which he was convicted for murder.

P03 Almoradji, a member of the Monreal police station, reportedly was on his way to report for duty at the Kababayan Center in Sitio Togoron, Barangay MacArthur early Wednesday morning when shot to death by eight NPA rebels armed with M16 rifles.

Earlier this week two Army soldiers, two policemen and an 18-year-old coed were killed in an ambush staged by NPA rebels in the town of Daraga in Albay.

Police records show that at least over 80 people most of them civilians were suspected killed by NPA hitmen during past three quarters of the year.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Bicol in an open statement assailed the senseless killings and atrocities propagated by the NPA. (MSArguelles/CTAmo, PIA)

November 21, 2000
PIA Bicol


LEGAZPI CITY - The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) launched recently the Domestic Shipping Modernization Program Phase II (DSMP II).

DBP asst. vice-president and Legazpi branch manager Gil P. Antonio bared that the DSMP is a policy-based program of the government with DBP as executing agency and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) as funder.

Antonio said the program aims to provide financial assistance to enterprises engaged in domestic shipping and shipping-related industries such as ship repair, shipbuilding, cargo handling, terminal operations and port operations. "This is in support to the modernization of the domestic shipping to make the transport and cargo services more efficient, reliable, safe and affordable."

He said the DBP expanded assistance program will provide the replacement of wooden bancas with modern, safer types; establishment of small shipyards in rural areas; and feeder ports development.

In addition, DSMP II aims to upgrade the facilities and curriculum of maritime schools to meet the international standards for seafarers ensuring continuous employment of capable Filipino maritime workers, Antonio added.

Eligible borrowers are Filipino citizens, local government units (LGUs) or domestic corporations with at least 70 per cent capital owned by Filipino citizens and duly accredited by concerned government agencies (SEC, MARINA, PPA, TESDA, CHED, MTC etc.) to engage in the business of domestic shipping, ship repair/shipbuilding, maritime schools, port cargo handling and related terminal operations.

Interested parties are invited to visit DBP, Legezpi City for more parficulars/information. JNPandes, DBP Legazpi/RIAC)

The Descendants of Lot
by Lambert Dolphin

The life of Abraham's nephew Lot---and the record of Lot's descendants---is a subject especially relevant today. According to Jesus (as recorded in Luke's gospel) world conditions at the close of our present age would come to resemble "the days of Lot." What Jesus meant by that statement requires a little investigation and thought. Probably Jesus had several levels of meaning in mind. The Bible has a lot to say about Abraham's nephew and his place in the ancient world, but it is a profitable study with broad implications for the day in which we live.

First of all, was Lot a believer in Abraham's God? It is not at all obvious from the references in Genesis that Lot believed in and knew the God of Abraham, but the New Testament tells us that Lot was in fact a man made righteous by faith. The Apostle Peter tells us:

"For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned (at the time of the Flood), but cast them into Tartarus and committed them to nether gloom to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven other persons, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority." (2 Peter 2:4-10)
Lot was not only a believer in the true and living God, the Holy Spirit records that he was distressed daily by the decadent, crumbling moral conditions around him.

Christians frequently study the life of Abraham, the man of faith, but pay little attention to the life of Lot. It's common for Christians to want to see themselves better off than they really are---and of course it is a good thing to identify with the heroes of faith rather than with those who are less well-spoken of. But it is clear that many believers today live lifestyles similar to that of Lot: Lot was a heterosexual, married man who sought to become a prominent citizen in Sodom---he was evidently not himself a sexually immoral person---yet he was not able to separate himself from the ungodly, decadent influences of the community he lived in. He wanted to raise a family and to prosper in the prevailing culture. The weakness of many Christians in our day is similar---worldly values and standards have come to govern and their thinking and conduct in many subtle ways. Modern Lots seem unable to grasp why their wives and families suffer so terribly from what was a basic compromise with the world at the start. Abraham and Lot are good illustrations of the two classes of believers, spiritual and carnal---Paul contrasts the two classes in detail in First Corinthians. Though Abraham must have exerted all godly influence he could upon Lot over the many years of their association, Lot finally chose the green pastures of the then lush Southern Jordan valley where Sodom was located.

"Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelt in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, 'Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.'
"And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw that the Jordan valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar; this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley, and Lot journeyed east; thus they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, while Lot dwelt among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD" (Genesis 13:5-13).

Abraham chose to remain on the path of faith (Hebrews 11:8-11), walking as a "stranger and pilgrim in this present world"---with a tent and an altar as his emblems. Lot chose to seek fulfillment in the present world. Apparently he was not willing to believe that "bad company ruins good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33). The appeal of faith is always to invisible, permanent realities made known by God, while the man who walks by sight depends upon emotions, temporal riches, influence and the empty philosophies of the fallen, doomed civilization around him. When one sees the basic difference in walking by faith as opposed to "sight" (basing decisions on earthly goals and circumstances which surround us) it is easy to see that few believers today are actually modeling their lives after Abraham.

Thus in a series of moves after his initially unwise choice Lot finally became a good citizen of Sodom, participating in civic affairs, earning a living and raising a family---oblivious of God's firm intention to destroy the entire city and culture around him.

Lot was not to be dislodged easily from Sodom. After Abraham rescued him from northern marauding kings, who raided Sodom and the surrounding cities, Lot elected to return to Sodom. At this time he must again have had a choice to move to a better place and embark upon a life of faith and separation from the world. But, while Lot readily reestablished his home in Sodom, Abraham refused even to accept any gift or payment for his military action so as to not to be brought under any obligation to Sodom, and so as not to give the King of Sodom any cause to boast of his influence in the matter. Genesis 14 describes the territorial squabbling among certain kings from the East which eventually overflowed into the Canaanite territory of the Jordan Valley resulting in the subjugation of Sodom and environs, placing Lot in jeopardy:

"In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar (Babylon), Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in their Mount Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness; then they turned back and came to Enmishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Haazon-tamar. Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the mountain.
"So the enemy took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way; they also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. Then one who had escaped came, and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner; these were allies of Abram.

"When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his goods, and the women and the people.

"After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem (later, Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, 'Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!' And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, 'Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.' But Abram said to the king of Sodom, 'I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, maker of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal---thong or anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me; let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.'" (Genesis 14)

The record of the actual destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding Canaanite cities is recorded in Genesis 19. The account begins in Chapter 18 at the camp of Abraham in the hills about the Dead Sea near Hebron. God does not undertake the long-delayed judgment of these cities without consulting with his servant Abraham:

"And the LORD [a theophany, God in human form] appeared to him [Abraham] by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men [the LORD plus two angels] stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on---since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said." And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes." And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent." The LORD said, "I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?" The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, and say, `Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son." But Sarah denied, saying, "I did not laugh"; for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."

"Then the men set out from there, and they looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him? No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice; so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him." Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me; and if not, I will know." So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Then Abraham drew near, and said, "Wilt thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Abraham answered, "Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Wilt thou destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there." Again he spoke to him, and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it." Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." He said, "Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it." Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it." And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

For a detailed commentary see Ray C. Stedman on the life of Abraham. The main point in the story of Lot is that fewer than 10 righteous persons (believers) lived in the Cities of the Plain at the time God destroyed them---Lot's influence on the culture had been minimal, even after many years of living there and serving in community leadership and public affairs.

"The two angels came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth, and said, 'My lords, turn aside, I pray you, to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise up early and go on your way.' They said, 'No; we will spend the night in the street.' But he urged them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house; and they called to Lot, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.' Lot went out of the door to the men, shut the door after him, and said, 'I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.' But they said, 'Stand back!' And they said, 'This fellow came to sojourn, and he would play the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.' Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door. But the men put forth their hands and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves groping for the door. Then the men said to Lot, 'Have you any one else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or any one you have in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.'

"So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, 'Up, get out of this place; for the LORD is about to destroy the city.' But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, 'Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.' But he lingered; so the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him forth and set him outside the city. And when they had brought them forth, they said, 'Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley; flee to the hills, lest you be consumed.' And Lot said to them, 'Oh, no, my lords; behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me, and I die. Behold, yonder city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there---is it not a little one?---and my life will be saved!' He said to him, 'Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Make haste, escape there; for I can do nothing till you arrive there.' Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar [Hebrew: little]. The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot's wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD; and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt." (Genesis 19:1-29)

It would appear that life in Sodom was very similar to that of San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, New York, or Houston today. Therefore many Christians live at least near to the equivalent of the "gates of Sodom" these days. Though there was a semblance of family life present in Sodom (so as to guarantee the continuation of these ancient cities beyond one generation), there was widespread homosexual activity and no doubt equally as much heterosexual fornication and adultery. Promiscuity amidst wealth and prosperity abounded. Lot was evidently heterosexual and if he himself committed adultery or was otherwise promiscuous, scripture says nothing about this.

Lot's lack of real witness and credibility in Sodom is evidenced by the fact that he and his wife and daughters had to be forcibly removed from the city by the two angels. His management of his household was one of spiritual compromise when it came to acting---or rather not acting---on behalf of his wife and daughters. None of Lot's neighbors who could have also been saved had they been willing to seek refuge in Lot's house, (19:12). Lot's daughters' husbands elected to stay behind as well. Rather than finally finding safe refuge in the same kind of faith of Abraham demonstrated year after year, Lot chose another small city, Zoar, to live in. Lot s wife, apparently not a believer, looked back and was encrusted with salt. Only Lot and his two daughters survived. One would have thought that a loving father and husband would have seen to the safety and welfare of his wife and daughters first before himself leaving Sodom, but Lot looked after only himself as all four of them fled from the fiery destruction. Abraham had hoped ten righteous persons would be found in Sodom and the surrounding four cities. Evidently in the final analysis there was only one---Lot.

Though Abraham had interceded for these cities, as far as we know only Lot was found to be righteous. Because he was pronounced righteous by his faith Lot will be found in heaven in the company of the redeemed, but with little to show for his life and his many missed opportunities. Lot can not take credit for sufficient faith to have enabled his escape from Sodom, he was rescued in spite of himself because of Abraham's faith (Gen. 19:29).

"Now Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar; so he dwelt in a cave with his two daughters. And the first-born said to the younger, 'Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring through our father.' So they made their father drink wine that night; and the first-born went in, and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. And on the next day, the first-born said to the younger, 'Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring through our father.' So they made their father drink wine that night also; and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. The first-born bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son, and called his name Benammi; he is the father of the Ammonites to this day" (Genesis 19:30-38).

Where did Lot's daughters get their understanding of sexuality? Evidently they brought with them from Sodom the values of that culture rather than the morals of Abraham's family where incest would have been unthinkable. There is no need to dwell on this tragic story ending in drunkenness and incest and total degradation in Lot's masculine identity. Though Lot himself was saved, "yet as through fire," his sons grew up to dispossess the Rephaim, or Emim, a race of giants living in Jordan east of the Promised Land, (Deut. 2:10). Much subsequent human tragedy can be traced back to the children of Lot. They caused the people of Israel many troubles in their subsequent interrelationships.

Two demonic invasions into the human race are recorded in scripture (Gen. 6:4). The second of these invasions entered into the line of Canaan, son of Ham, after the flood of Noah, resulting in the thoroughly degraded pagan idolatry of the Canaanites as well producing certain genetic defects leading to a second group of giants who lived in and around the land granted by God to Abraham the Shemite.

The descendants of Esau, known as Edomites, were another group of people dwelling in southern Jordan in strength by the time of Moses. A third group was the Amorites, an ancient paganized group who were Shemites (the Canaanites were Hamites) living in the land of Bashan which is the present day Golan Heights region of Israel. By the time of Moses the Amorites had partially dispossessed the Moabites living to the south of them. Also to be found in the area were Midianites, who were descendants of Abraham by his wife Keturah. [God told Moses to leave both the Ammonites and the Moabites alone, as well as the Midianites, on their journey up the Eastern side of Jordan prior to the crossing into the Promised Land near Jericho].

The Ammonites added to the pagan Baal worship of the Canaanites service to the demon Molech, or Milcom, [from the root, M*L*K*M, 1 Kings 11:7]. The Moabites served Chemosh. The service of these terrible demons involved human sacrifice, (2 Kings 3:27). The counterpart today of this kind of idolatry is to be found in widespread abortion in the western world and the human and animal sacrifices practiced by Satanist cults in America, Europe and elsewhere. Of course many modern parents have found socially acceptable ways to deliver their children into the hands of Molech, or through ignorance of God have prevented their sons and daughters from knowing wholeness of life in Christ the Lord. Tolerance and even endorsement of sexual immorality among young people by community and schools alike is but one example.

The ancient languages of Ammon and Moab were similar to Hebrew so it seems possible that these peoples might have preserved a tradition concerning Yahweh which figures into the account of the meeting of the Israelites with Balak, King of Moab described in Numbers 21-25. It is in this account that we meet the false prophet Balaam, a man of such lasting evil influence that he is mentioned three times in the New Testament. In 2 Peter 2:15-16 he is associated with false teachers in the church,

"Accursed children! Forsaking the right way they have gone astray; they have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a dumb donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness."
In Jude, verse 11, false teachers are described as walking in the way of Cain and "abandoning themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam s error, and as perishing in Korah s rebellion." The letter to the Church of Thyatira, Revelation 2:4, contains a reference to members of that congregation who held to the "teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality." Balaam is a central figure in the line of apostasy beginning with the Babylonian Mystery Religion and ending with the last state of apostate Christianity which will prevail on earth at the time of Christ's second coming.

Balaam's teaching and prophecies appear eloquent and full of truth in the account given in Numbers, but what Scripture criticizes most about this man's life was his lifestyle, or walk, which was said to be "perverse before the Lord." Balaam lived to the east of Ammon near the Euphrates and may have known Yahweh in a personal way. However he supplemented his prayer life with divination---with the result that he was largely self-deceived until God finally opened his eyes. Balaam was a prophet available for hire, so he "fell into a snare of the devil" in serving Balak. Though it is hard to find fault in what Balaam said publicly, Revelation 2:4 records that he privately gave Balak what the latter needed to ensnare the people of Israel. The end result was that Israel then came under the power of Baal-Peor through Balak with loss of 24,000 persons in a plague arising from sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab.

It is likely that this plague came in the form of a virulent venereal disease endemic among the Moabites because of their decadent, promiscuous life styles.

"While Israel dwelt in Shittim the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate, and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel; and the LORD said to Moses, 'Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel. 'And Moses said to the judges of Israel, 'Every one of you slay his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.' And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting.


"When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation, and took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the inner room, and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman, through her body. Thus the plague was stayed from the people of Israel. Nevertheless those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. And the LORD said to Moses, 'Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy.' Therefore say, 'Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace; and it shall be to him, and to his descendants after him, the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the people of Israel.'

"The name of the slain man of Israel, who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, head of a fathers' house belonging to the Simeonites. And the name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the head of the people of a fathers' house in Midian." (Numbers 25:1-15).

The New Testament admonition to Christians found in 1 Corinthians 10:7 is based on this tragic incident in the national life of Israel: "Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, 'The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to dance.' We must not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day."

One does not have to look far today for the teaching of Balaam in the professing Christian church which has resulted in the widespread toleration of rape, child abuse, molestation, homosexuality, abortion on demand, adultery and unrestrained premarital sexual activity. This terrible scourge of AIDS in our day reflects one aspect of our fallen world's heritage from the children of Lot. False teachers often speak the truth but live a lie which makes them harder to detect, and all the more dangerous. It is interesting that the name "Balak" means "devastator," or one who lays waste. "Balaam" means "devourer," and his father was "Beor," which means "destroyer!"

Part of Balaam's prophecy concerns the coming of Israel's Messiah and the accompanying judgment of Moab and is found in Numbers 24:17,

"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it (he) shall crush the forehead of Moab..."
This prophecy reflects the promise given by the LORD in the garden of Eden that the Messiah, the seed of the woman, would bruise the head of the serpent. Balak was a direct conduit for evil in his day, the instrument of the serpent seeking to destroy the people of God and to stop the birth of the Messiah. The fact that Balaam, a professing man of God, fell into Balak's power and was in fact an instrument of evil after speaking truth is where his judgment lies. The fact that he spoke the truth at all was a result of God's overriding his original intention and Balak's bribes. Balaam's violent end is recorded in Numbers 31:8. (See also Joshua 24:9).

In the time of the Judges following the death of Joshua, the people of Israel, now dwelling in the land, came under a number of oppressions sent by God. The oppression of Moab under King Eglon in league with the Ammonites lasted 18 years until the people of Israel cried out to God at which time the LORD delivered them by the brave and courageous action of a man named Ehud (Judges 3:12-30). The result was that "the land had rest for eighty years." In the time of Jephthah the people were also found to be following not only the Baals but also Molech and Chemosh (Judges 10:6). This resulted in a war with the Ammonites as a consequence, (Judges 11) which Jephthah fought successfully for Israel.

A little later in history the remarkable story which comprises the book of Ruth occurred. During a famine, Elimelech and his wife Naomi of Bethlehem moved to Moab with their sons Mahlon and Chilion. There the boys married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. After about ten years the three males had all died leaving Naomi, Orpah and Ruth. Orpah elected to remain in Moab, but Naomi and Ruth came back to the people of Israel where Ruth became the wife of Boaz, a direct ancestress of Jesus the Messiah.

Thus the tragic, usual immorality of the children of Lot was interrupted by the wonderful grace of God resulting in the redemption of Ruth the Moabitess. Here we can see an example of how God has graciously made provision for outsiders (gentiles) to be grafted in to the true olive tree of believing Israel. No matter one's background or previous idolatry the Holy One of Israel is able to make sinners into new persons, and to give high honor to those who were once outside the household of faith if they will but embrace Israel's true Messiah and take Abraham's God as their God. During the reign of Saul, Israel's first king, Nahash the Ammonite attacked and intimidated Israel, however Saul hastily mobilized an army and bravely cut down the Ammonites though outnumbered ten to one, (I Samuel 11).

David's terrible double sin of adultery and murder occurred during a war against the Ammonites (2 Samuel 10-11). At the very time David should have been on the front lines fighting the idolatrous enemies of Israel, he was defeated at home by the very same spiritual powers that the children of Ammon served.

Solomon's compromise with various pagan gods, including Chemosh and Molech is recorded in 1 Kings 11. Through this carelessness of their king the terrible root evils of the children of Lot were introduced into the national life of Israel.

The spread of evil into Judah through Solomon's son Rehoboam may be attributed to the latter's mother, Naamah, the Ammonitess (I Kings 14:21-24). [Note: Another parallel stream of evil entering Israel sprang from Jezebel and the ancient Phoenician Baal worship system].

At the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against the northern tribes under Ahab's son Jehoram, to whom they had been forced to pay tribute. In league with Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, who teamed up with the King of Edom, and aided by the prophet Elisha, Israel defeated Moab, (2 Kings 3), but only by the grace of God, (See 2 Chronicles 20).

The sad end of King Joash of Judah is recorded in 2 Chronicles 24. The record concludes with a few details such as, "Those who conspired against him were Zabad the son of Shieath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess" (v26)---these men were servants in his own household.

It was the Ammonites who were responsible for the murder of the appointed governor of Israel, Gedaliah, (2 Kings 25:22-26, Jeremiah 40:14).

Following the Babylonian captivity the rebuilding of Jerusalem was greatly hindered by a determined Ammonite, Tobiah, (Nehemiah 2:10, 19; 4:3, 13:1-9), in league with Sanballat a Moabite. Tobiah's entrenchment in a temple chamber illustrates the clever, treacherous nature of our fleshly enemies who hide themselves in the temple of God, that is, our bodies, where they are often only discovered and dislodged with difficulty.

Amos (2:1-20), and Zephaniah (2:8-9) address the judgments of God on Moab and Ammon. Isaiah 15-16 is devoted to a description of God's judgment on Moab. Jeremiah deals at length with Moab (Jer. 48) and Ammon (Jer. 49). (See also Jer. 9:26, 25:21). Ezekiel addresses the end of the historic nations of Ammon and Edom in Ezek. 21:28-32 and 25:1-11. Though God many times used nations more evil and corrupt than Israel to chasten Israel, it is always true that once the desired purpose of the LORD has been accomplished the ungodly nations employed thus were themselves brought into judgment. As historic peoples the blood descendants of Lot have largely disappeared from history, though their influences have not.

Deuteronomy 23:3-6 contains this warning to Israel,

"No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation none belonging to them shall enter the assembly of the LORD for ever; because they did not meet you with bread and water on the way, when you came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor in Mesopotamia, to curse you. Nevertheless the LORD your God would not hearken to Balaam; but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you. You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days for ever."

One would think that Sodom and Gomorrah were the lowest of the low, the scum of all mankind, but in Ezekiel Chapter 16 God describes the spiritual harlotry of Jerusalem at the time of the Babylonian captivity as worse than that of "her sister Sodom..." Paradoxically the passage closes with a promise for the final restoration of Jerusalem and her "less lewd sisters" as well---at the end of the age we live in now:

"Again the word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite. And as for your birth, on the day you were born your navel string was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor swathed with bands. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you; but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born. "And when I passed by you, and saw you weltering in your blood, I said to you in your blood, `Live, and grow up like a plant of the field.' And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full maidenhood; your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.

"When I passed by you again and looked upon you, behold, you were at the age for love; and I spread my skirt over you, and covered your nakedness: yea, I plighted my troth to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord GOD, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with leather, I swathed you in fine linen and covered you with silk. And I decked you with ornaments, and put bracelets on your arms, and a chain on your neck. And I put a ring on your nose, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head. Thus you were decked with gold and silver; and your raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth; you ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful, and came to regal estate. And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor which I had bestowed upon you, says the Lord GOD.

"But you trusted in your beauty, and played the harlot because of your renown, and lavished your harlotries on any passer-by. You took some of your garments, and made for yourself gaily decked shrines, and on them played the harlot; the like has never been, nor ever shall be. You also took your fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the harlot; and you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. Also my bread which I gave you --I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey --you set before them for a pleasing odor, says the Lord GOD. And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? And in all your abominations and your harlotries you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, weltering in your blood.

"And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! says the Lord GOD), you built yourself a vaulted chamber, and made yourself a lofty place in every square; at the head of every street you built your lofty place and prostituted your beauty, offering yourself to any passer-by, and multiplying your harlotry. You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your harlotry, to provoke me to anger. Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you, and diminished your allotted portion, and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. You played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; yea, you played the harlot with them, and still you were not satisfied. You multiplied your harlotry also with the trading land of Chaldea; and even with this you were not satisfied. "How lovesick is your heart, says the Lord GOD, seeing you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot; building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square.

"Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned hire. Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! Men give gifts to all harlots; but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side for your harlotries. So you were different from other women in your harlotries: none solicited you to play the harlot; and you gave hire, while no hire was given to you; therefore you were different. "Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Because your shame was laid bare and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotries with your lovers, and because of all your idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers, with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you loathed; I will gather them against you from every side, and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. And I will judge you as women who break wedlock and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. And I will give you into the hand of your lovers, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places; they shall strip you of your clothes and take your fair jewels, and leave you naked and bare. They shall bring up a host against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women; I will make you stop playing the harlot, and you shall also give hire no more. So will I satisfy my fury on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you; I will be calm, and will no more be angry. Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things; therefore, behold, I will requite your deeds upon your head, says the Lord GOD. "Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

"Behold, every one who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you, `Like mother, like daughter.' You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. Yet you were not content to walk in their ways, or do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. As I live, says the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them, when I saw it. Samara has not committed half your sins; you have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations which you have committed. Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have made judgment favorable to your sisters; because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

"I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in the midst of them, that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and you and your daughters shall return to your former estate. Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become like her an object of reproach for the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those round about who despise you. You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, says the LORD. "Yea, thus says the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways, and be ashamed when I take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I forgive you all that you have done, says the Lord GOD."

The children of Lot are associated in ancient times and in modern with incest, abortion, bestiality and all kinds of sexual perversions. As with all deep rooted idolatries, senseless violence, brutality, murder are also to be found among them. It is through the line of Lot's children that Sodom and Gomorrah have been recreated in our century, not this time as isolated cities in a small area at the Southern end of the Jordan River Valley of Israel. The decadent thoroughly-pagan moral values that characterized these ancient Canaanite cities are now widespread and universal in all the great cities of the world as our age draws to a close.

So it was that Jesus warned his followers:

"...as it was in the days of Lot---they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, but on the day when Lot went from Sodom fire and brimstone rained from heaven and destroyed them all---so will it be on the day when the Son of man is revealed. On that day, let him who is on the rooftop, with his goods in his house, not come down to take them away; and likewise let him who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife..." (Luke 17:28-32).

Notes and References
1. The sites of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities of the plain have been excavated in modern days. Looking down from the fortress of Masada to the East, the Cities of the Plain were located immediately along he edge of the mountains of Jordan adjacent to the shallow Southern end of the Dead Sea. Associates for Biblical Research has an excellent video tape and reports available on this work. The area of interest falls exactly along the Dead Sea Rift zone, one of the deepest earthquake fault areas on earth. Oil and gas bubble up in the area (Gen. 14:10), chunks of floating asphalt were found in the Dead Sea itself not too many decades ago. Natural salt deposits in huge quantities also occur in this area---enhancing the saltiness of the Dead Sea (which is approximately 25% salt). It has been suggested that the firestorm which destroyed these cities was caused by an earthquake releasing methane gas and sulfur which then ignited. This not to deny that God was the direct cause of the disaster. Associates for Biblical Research

Phinehas: Justified by his Faith
The Meaning of Sodom
Jehoshapthat Defeats the Porn Kings
Nehemiah and the Ammonites and Moabites
Ezekiel and the Destruction of Jerusalem
Jerusalem: An Adultress Woman
Notes on Idolatry
Jesus and the Homosexual
Masturbation and the Bible
Cold Turkey or the Gradual Way? By Alan Medinger
Grateful Heart: An Antidote to Lust. By Alan Medinger
The War Within: An Anatomy of Lust
The Wasted Years: Lot in Sodom
The Great Harlot
Aberrant Sexuality in the Bible
Our Collapsing Civilization
God and Sex, by Helen Fryman Setterfield
Sex and Wholeness by Ray Stedman
Pornography and the Church
Life in Gay San Francisco

Copyright belongs to: Lambert Dolphin
lambert@ldolphin.org
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Quote from: hubag bohol on April 22, 2020, 12:15:40 AM

Winning mask ni. heheh

By Pieter Verster
Department of Missiology, Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, South Africa
Correspondence
ABSTRACT
The serious challenges posed by poverty in Africa call for a new approach. A Christological approach to these issues inspires hope. A Christology from above, or 'high' Christology, has much to offer regarding God's looking after humanity. Christ as the one for others humbled himself to give a life of fullness to the poorest and most ill, thereby bringing hope both for this life and for eternity. The approach followed should not lead to the exclusion of people, but rather to an endeavour to meet the challenge of brokenness. In societies where there is no hope left, the Christ of the wounded leads the way to new healing. Christ, verily God and verily human brings us before him in our totality, to be involved in all the needs of the community. The church should be the hands, feet and eyes of Christ for the needy.

IntroductionThe serious challenges posed by poverty in Africa call for a new approach. It is very clear that no solution has as yet been found for these challenges. Positive developments are often hampered by serious negative factors that prevent these developments from materialising in practice. Can a Christological approach inspire hope? Christology always played a pivotal role in the discussion on poverty alleviation and eradication in the Christian theology. The view was and is often taken that a Christology from below, emphasising Christ's humanity, is the best way of approaching poverty. As a human condition, poverty should be challenged radically. No stone should be left unturned to deal with the crisis. However, a theology from above, emphasising Christ's Divinity, gives essential help in dealing with poverty, exactly because it puts emphasis on the glory of God. Christ's Divinity is so glorious but also so full of implications for the life of humans that it cannot be disregarded. Is it not essential to also deal with poverty from the perspective of Christology from above to deal with far reaching implications of God's involvement in the human predicament? From a Reformed perspective the essence of God's involvement in the human reality is always seen from Christ's Divine Sonship.The methodology used entails the evaluation of the challenges facing Africa concerning poverty. A background study of these challenges is described and explained. The views of theologians reflecting their different opinions on Christology from above and below are then evaluated. The views from African theologians in this regard are also important. Exegetical and theological implications of Christology regarding the addressing of poverty are then put forward. Thereafter possible solutions with a view to meeting the challenges are discussed in the light of these implications.Can a Christology from above offer a solution with a view to dealing with and resolving the absolute challenges of poverty? On the basis of this central question, the following related questions can be asked: how can the church, in following the wounded Christ of God, become the healer of the needy?; and how can new relations be formed from the perspective of the Christ as God of the Cross and Resurrection?The situation in AfricaThe well-known Africa Progress Report monitors the situation in Africa in an excellent and highly relevant way. Africa Progress Report 2010 refers to many issues in respect of which Africa still needs to be developed in order to arrive at a better situation. On the economic level, debt, unemployment, poor infrastructure, and corruption still pose serious challenges. Africa has to deal with the inhibitory effect of these factors. The Africa Progress Report (2010:15) points out that the crisis intensified in that year. The collapse in trade and financial flows resulted in that, for the first time since 1994, the real GDP growth rate in sub-Saharan Africa was not sufficient to match the population growth (2.5%), resulting in a fall in per capita income. The Africa Progress Report (2011:11) refers to the then present situation: 'Africa's current economic growth is not all positive. It is generally not accompanied by much needed structural transformation and diversification, and often does not translate into equitable human development and public services.'Reference is made to the fact that sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly one third of the world's poor, and that their absolute numbers have increased from 268 million to 306 million over the last decade. It is estimated that the number of poor Africans may even be as high as 458 million (Africa Progress Report [2011:27]). The Africa Progress Report (2012: and The Africa Progress Report (2013:11) observe that much progress in Africa has been made but that the situation is still grave and, although economic development is present, poverty remains on extremely high levels. The Africa Progress Report (2013: states: 'It is a matter of grave concern that Africa is not on course for achieving the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)', but also states that with good governance and economics the future may be much more positive.The HIV and AIDS epidemic on the continent shows no signs of abating¹ and the number of deaths resulting from this is still very high. The issue of how these challenges should be approached is still of cardinal importance.The causes of poverty in Africa, as highlighted by Chibuye, include the following:• Inequitable distribution of resources.• Misplaced priorities: this refers to the fact that the basic problem in Africa is not a lack of resources, but rather the misguided identification of priorities.• The debt trap: it is pointed out that foreign debt has been suffocating many African countries for a long time.• The trade trap: it is an incontrovertible fact that trade can contribute to poverty eradication, if rightfully practised.• The conflict maze: this refers to the fact that impoverishment is often the result of a region's proneness to conflict (Chibuye 2009:253ff.).For these reasons, Chibuye (2009:253ff.) emphasises that impoverishment is beyond politics and economics - it is, in fact, a moral issue (see also Majawa 1998:258). Ayedze (2009:194) writes: 'The truth is that colonialism, postcolonialism, and the international financial institutions, as well as African leaders and intellectuals, share various degrees of responsibility for this gloomy situation of Africa.'Van der Walt (2003:11ff.) refers to post-colonial economic development in Africa. He points out that certain issues have been addressed, but that very often, no positive indications have emerged.Mombo (2009:224) explains that Africa is marginalised tremendously by the burgeoning technological advancements and profound geopolitical realignments. Africa lacks technological power and political muscle to be a major role-player in the global forums: 'It appears then that Africa has no choice other than to use all available opportunities to transform herself while resisting the pressure and influence of the very powerful neighbours with whom she shares the planet.'Christianity also did not always inspire entrepreneurship. It was as if the soul was all important and not the present reality.² Although much was carried out to help poor people, Africa did not benefit as it should have because of the lack of comprehensive education in financial issues and entrepreneurship. The challenges are enormous and although real progress has been made, Africa still faces serious issues with regard to poverty. These challenges have to be met.Reaching the poorO'Connor (1991:1) writes: 'To think of Africa is to think of poverty.' Certainly, this premise is changing - and must be changed. Poor people need to be approached in a holistic manner, in terms of which all aspects of their lives are addressed. Poverty is an extremely difficult human condition to define. Usually, definitions explicitly refer to the lack of adequate food, housing, infrastructure and health care. The $1-a-day-per-person median is sometimes used to define the minimum level of poverty. There are other authors, however, who emphasise that poverty should be regarded as a human condition encompassing far more than just the economic aspects. Factors such as social, cultural, religious and judicial relations should also be taken into account. 'Vulnerability' is regarded by some as a more appropriate word for describing the poverty of people in Africa. Cilliers and Wepener define poverty as 'a state of affairs where the absence of material resources, the denied space for trust and identity forming, as well as the loss of civil skills impact negatively on one another, in a seemingly unstoppable and negatively escalating spiral' (Cilliers & Wepener 2007:44, in Wepener et al. 2010:64). Poverty may also include aspects such as being deprived of opportunities to learn in order to obtain better employment in order to escape poverty and to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens (Das 2009:vii).Conditions that are not conducive to human dignity can also be emphasised as aspects linked to poverty. These aspects include varying degrees of disempowerment at various levels, and the psychological stress occasioned by these conditions (Chibuye 2009:244).The evaluation of poverty should, however, make provision for the possibility of progressive and ultimately transformative social change, according to Jones (2005:999). This means that the evaluation of poverty must not stop at identifying causes to which the problem can be attributed, but that a new and radical approach is necessary. The Christian approach to poverty is thus very important; and the acknowledgement of the human dignity of people in terms of such an approach is paramount (Myers 1999:58).A Christological approachIn a Christological approach, the essence of Christ, truly God and truly human, the one for others, should be established. Christological perspectives are important in order to ascertain the implications of God's relationship to the poor. The Divinity of Christ should be proclaimed because this is the way in which he changes the human condition. Therefore, a section on such perspectives is necessary.Perspectives on ChristologyThe Reformed perspectiveThe perspective of this article is from a Reformed view where the emphasis falls on Christ as truly God and truly human and the encompassing role he plays in regenerating the world. In this tradition the emphasis is on God, his glory and his involvement in this world. Calvin (1960:482ff.), however, clearly distinguished between the Divinity of Christ and his earthly existence.³ He did, however, adhere to a high Christology. From this perspective, Calvin (1960:526ff., 684ff.) emphasised the radical governance of God in the lives of all. This includes life lived in poverty. The poor are not accorded preferential treatment, but should be approached in terms of the full implications of God's presence as Creator and Saviour. However, in Christ, God also calls for responsibility and justice.⁴ This life on earth has limited importance, because the future life with God is secured. Calvin writes (1960:499): 'Thus it is that we may patiently pass through this life with its misery, hunger, cold, contempt, reproaches, and other troubles - content with one thing: that our King will never leave us destitute, but will provide for our needs until our warfare ended, we are called to triumph.' Misery because of sin, however, also has implications for poverty, although poverty cannot only be only attributed to sin. For Calvin (1960:498) this earthly life passes by and the real happiness belongs to the heavenly life. However, this does not mean that this life is unimportant, but rather that everything is subordinate to heavenly life. Did Calvin (1960:699) consider the full consequences of his Christology in his views on poverty? For him, to live with God is the essence of life. This means that God in Christ expects the human being, whether rich or poor, to be responsible to God.Karl BarthAlthough Barth adhered to the Reformed tradition, and although, in his Christology, he emphasised God's looking after human beings, some present-day researchers of Barthian theology are of the opinion that Barth's view of God is largely inferred on the basis of his radical politics. His views on materiality are therefore regarded as being based on a radical socialistic way of thinking. However, this interpretation can be challenged. Barth (1980:5ff.) emphasised that the incarnation of Christ in this world as the Son of God demonstrated that God had said 'yes' to the world. God drew near to the world (see Waldrop 1984:167). God is the one who, in his Son Jesus Christ, reached out to the world in the midst of its problems and challenges.Barth's understanding of the incarnation should be examined more closely.⁵ The issue is that Christ yielded himself for the sake of mankind. 'God with us' also means that 'we with God' is enclosed in faith. Faith, hope and love can only be through God. 'Our faith, love and hope - live only by that we cannot create, posit, awaken or deserve' (Barth 1980:15). God in his majesty in Jesus Christ, his Son, opens up the possibility of total wretched beings to become new in faith. Entering into the lives of humans God totally changes the possibilities of humans. God makes it new. In the most challenging situation of extreme poverty it is God as God who reaches out to humans.Barth's radical politics may have led to a totalitarian view of politics. His view on the incarnation should, however, be interpreted in terms of the implication of God's radical upliftment of the poor in giving them new hope and initiative.⁶ The misery of humans is the misery of the person in sin. However, in Jesus Christ the human becomes a new person. Poverty is not regarded as sin but it is an aspect of misery. Barth (1978:493) comments: 'The liberation of man from his misery has taken place and is a fact only in the royal freedom in which the man Jesus has accomplished it by giving up Himself, His life as very God and very man, to death for us in obedience to God and as our Lord and Head and Representative.' This is only possible through an acceptance of humanity. The implication is, however, that it must still be recognised that God remains the 'ganz Andere'; and only in accepting this can human beings experience life.Liberation theologyLiberation theology places a predominant emphasis on materiality. Jesus' historical existence on earth is proclaimed, and is put forward as a radical explanation and motivation for the outreach to the poor and despised. In this regard, Sobrino's Christology is of importance. Sobrino (1978:370-374) works with the notion of the 'radical' Christ of the revolution. He refers to the fact that Jesus had zealots in his group of disciples. Radical influences pertaining to poverty, as well as a total change in the situation of poverty, remain essential elements of liberation theology. Sobrino (1978:201) writes: 'In historical terms God is to be found in the crosses of the oppressed rather than in beauty, power or wisdom.' This Christology emphasises the freedom and initiative of the poor, who become material beings of hope. However, it discards the eschatological future with the eternal Christ. Sobrino (1994:30) argues that in the church of the poor, Christ becomes present, and that this church is his body in history. This has the implication that it is not his body automatically, but only in so far as it offers Christ as the liberating hope and action, and that in suffering, it can make him present as risen and as crucified.The question to be asked is whether this approach does not emphasise humanity as the answer to its own problems without taking into account that the serious situation calls for radical Divine intervention. Sobrino (1994:248), however, links the essential meaning of the cross to God being also small and lesser; God's transcendence must be radically redefined: 'God does not show himself in a positive challenge, but in silence.' Sobrino (1994:248) continues: 'The cross reveals, not power, but impotence. God does not triumph on the cross over the power of evil, but succumbs to it.' This should be challenged from the perspective of Christ's Divinity.African theologiansThere are different ways in which African theologians explain Christology. Mugambi (1992:143) states that contemporary Africa calls for new implications with regard to the Christological emphasis on the future. The ultimate question of destiny remains all-important. Stinton (2004:19) refers to African Christological texts from theologians such as Bujo, Ela, Mugambi, Wasike, Oduyoye and Pobee. Manus (1993) also emphasises Christology from an African perspective. The notion of Christ as the African king is suggested by him. The concept of Jesus as life giver is proposed by Bujo and Pobee (Stinton 2004:54ff., 57ff.) The traditional African concept of life is regarded as highly relevant for understanding that Jesus is the one that gives this fullness of life. Oduyoye is yearning for the wholeness of life and healing. Ela also find the aspect of healing important for Christology as Jesus is the healer (Stinton 2004:62). Although the notion of Jesus as traditional healer is also present it is not mentioned by the theologians listed by Stinton (2004:80). Jesus as mediator is clearly linked to the ancestors and theologians such as Bujo and Oduyoye find in Jesus the companion on life's journey from the perspective of the ancestors (Stinton 2004:109). Other concepts used are Jesus as loved one, for example brother or even mother (Stinton 2004:143ff) and Jesus as leader (Stinton 2004:177). Manus is of the opinion that Christ as the African king represents Christology the best in the African context. He writes:From the insights of the African traditional kingship cultures and the NT history, I offer a horizon in which Jesus of Nazareth relates to Africans as the Christ and Lord of history. This understanding of the biblical Christ in the light of a specific African cultural paradigm has far-reaching implications in the church and society. It points up the historical and cosmic relevance of the kingship of Christ for the life and praxis of Christians in today's Africa. (Manus 1993:239)The importance of Christology in dealing with the challenges of Africa must not be underestimated. New Testament Christologies also used concepts of the known environment such as logos. The regeneration of the concepts should however enhance the full realisation of the glory of Christ. Caution must be called for not to mistake Christ for an African ancestor or king without taking into consideration that he is, as Divine and human, also vastly different from any human form.Mugambi (1992:145) spells out the implications of African Christologies. The followers of Jesus proclaimed the new era in human history (Mugambi 1992:145). This means that it should be understood that in the new Africa, the concept of salvation needs to be reinterpreted. Mugambi (1992:141) views the Christian approach to history as one approach amongst many, which should not be presented as the only one. He writes (1992:89): 'Here and now, the kingdom of God is within the reach of all those who individually and collectively live according to the ideal demands of the kingdom of God.' These views should be challenges for the essence of Christ as the only one that is truly God and truly human.ImplicationsThese theologians emphasise different aspects of Christology in dealing with poverty alleviation. They are good examples of the approach of Christology from above (Calvin and Barth) but also from below (Sobrino). Lastly, the implications of Christology for the African experience are also relevant (Manus, Mugambi and others). It is important to realise that these theologians show how essential a Christological approach to the alleviation of poverty is. The questions asked by these approaches should be evaluated by turning to an exegetical and hermeneutical study of biblical texts. A biblical Christology will be developed to come to helpful conclusions on the aspect of the implications of Christology for the crises of poverty in Africa.The incarnation: A biblical perspectiveThere is a general view that Christology from below is the best approach in terms of its implications for the deliverance of people in need. Christology from above, however, offers significant potential for a change in communities brought about by the living God. Christ's Divinity establishes the possibility of a new perspective on poverty, because God himself is involved. It is God who becomes the new life for human beings. In Christ God is present. In Christ he is the one for others.Christ as the one for others humbled himself to give a life of fullness to the poorest and most ill. Life in its fullness means a personal relationship with God, with hope in this world, but also - especially - with hope for the future world, entailing a life lived with God. Life in its fullness bears the implication of a healed existence, in which the person experiences the nearness of God in the midst of the needs of life.In Philippians 2, Paul emphasises that Christ was the image of God and took on the life of a human being in order to draw near to people. This passage of scripture can be regarded as an early hymn (Homer 1980:122). Christ humbled himself to become human for the sake of people. In his pre-incarnate status, he existed in the form of God (Homer 1980:123).⁷ He humbled himself to the point of death on the cross. In this regard Hawthorne (1983) writes:But contrary to what one might expect, the true nature of God is not to grasp or get or selfishly to hold on to things for personal advantage, but to give them up for the enrichment of all. This is demonstrated by Christ, who, because he shared the nature of God, did not hold firm to the high position that was his by right, but rather stepped down from it. That is to say, he deliberately placed himself in the humblest of positions: he who was in the form of God became a man, a fully human being, a slave even, so that he might serve others. (p. 95)The use of the word morphe (Phlp 2:6) to explain Christ's relation to God emphasises that the outward manifestation corresponds to the essence, whereas the term schema would only imply that the outward appearance is temporary (Homer 1980:123).Three aspects are usually referred to concerning harpagmon, (Phlp 2:6) pertaining to the notion that Christ did not need to grasp equality:• The pre-incarnate Christ already possessed equality with God the Father and resolved not to cling to it.• Christ had no need to grasp at equality with God, because he already possessed it.• Christ did not need to reach for his crowning prematurely, as Adam did, but was willing to wait until his suffering had been accomplished (Homer 1980:123).However, Scott and Wicks ([1955] 1990:48) emphasise that Christ did not wish to steal what belongs to God.Homer also points out that the mode of existence of Christ as co-equal with God was hardly something that pertained only to the future. When Christ became man, he did not lay aside his Divine attributes, but only the insignia of the Divine image (Homer 1980:123-124).In Philippians, however, Paul already laid the foundation for the high Christology. Craddock (1985:40) writes: 'Because in Jesus of Nazareth they experienced God, the Christians used pre-existence as one way of saying that in the very human, crucified Nazarene they had encountered reality beyond all contingencies of time, place and history.'A high Christology, or Christology from above, emphasises the radical aspects of the incarnation. Coming from God, Christ is God with us. Kysar (1978:354) emphasises the fullness of the humanity of Christ in the incarnation as glory: 'The incarnation is real, but so is the glory perceptible in the incarnate one. The implications of the suggestion that the humanity of Christ is not a humiliation but a continued exaltation do not challenge the authenticity of the humanization of the logos.' Cullman (1963:276) explained this aspect more fully at an earlier stage by pointing out that, being the Son of God, Jesus appears not only as a miracle-worker and saviour like many others, but as radically and uniquely distinct from other men, as he knows that he has been sent to others to fulfil his task in complete unity with the FatherKärkkäinen (2013:154) discusses the full implications of the Divinity of Jesus Christ. He emphasises the incarnation as something new entering into the Divine life: 'This of course is not to speak of the change in God in a way that would compromise God's deity, but rather to speak of God's own choice from eternity to be united with humanity, created in his own image.'However, this also links up with the far-reaching implications of the incarnation for the person in need. In Christ, God is involved in the human condition. He, as God, in the incarnation in Christ radically changes the views of humans. He is God for the humans.Acknowledging the validity of a high Christology, Imasogie (1983:24), however, also explains that it should be presented to Africans in terms of a perspective that fits in with their world view. He writes: 'This is what we mean by insisting that Christ, the Eternal Word, must once again, as it were, become incarnate in the culture and thought patterns of the people if he is not to be seen as a foreign god who is unacquainted with the local metaphysical problems of the African.'The life of ChristIt is therefore also important to consider the life of Christ. It is important at the outset to emphasise that only the Divine Christ can show true compassion towards those in need because he in his Divinity reaches out to humans in need. To accomplish this he yielded himself to become human. In Matthew 4:23-25, by healing people, Christ showed that people in the most desperate situations were important to him. People who were blind, those who were lame, lepers, all of those on the fringes of the community, were in the sight of Christ. His attentive gaze fell upon those with the greatest needs; and he empowered them with the fullness of life through his salvation. Jesus' ministry included preaching, teaching and healing, which encapsulated his whole ministry (Hagner 1993:81).Freyne (2009:297) is of the view that Jesus began his reinterpretation of the idea of messiahship in Galilee, where, according to the Synoptic Gospels, he formulated his understanding of the kingdom of God and his role in its arrival. Malbon (1999:129) refers to the implications of the narrative, and points out the need to appreciate a more complicated narrative arrangement in terms of which the protagonist, Jesus, presents a unique point of view about himself in relation to God (which is, precisely, a central concept of 'Christology'). It is 'a point of view enacted in his words and deeds.'From an African perspective theologians refer to the benevolent role of the king in an African context. Manus (1993:96) explains the African king has an encompassing role to play. They provide protection, are the rulers of law, and are the persons to provide spiritual and physical benevolence. Accepting that Christ indeed provides benevolence it may be possible to relate to him from this perspective. Caution should however be taken that the African king is not the true Divine revelation of God as he is in Christ.Christ's power in brokennessFrom the perspective of Christ's power in brokenness, it is clear that he also placed special emphasis on people living on the fringes of society, namely women, lepers, tax collectors, as well as others who were very poor and vulnerable. The glory of Christ is especially relevant in that he in his Divinity, exactly as Son of God, identified with humans in the greatest need. Schreiner (2008:764) points out how the theme of concern for those in need pervades Luke. In following Christ, the church had to look after those in poverty.In Luke 10:21-24, the language used by Luke shows Jesus as the mysterious Son of Man, announcing his suffering, rejection and death, but also his resurrection on the third day. Jesus is portrayed as the Christ, but is also depicted in his suffering (Nolland 1993a:467). Luke 14:7-14 refers to the blessing that arises from the inability of those benefited by one's hospitality to provide any kind of return (Nolland 1993a:751). Jesus' love for those on the fringes of the community is demonstrated in his call for compassion.Here the difference from African kings and the ancestors should be regarded as important. The kings and ancestors are not wounded and despised for the benefit of the community. Christ the wounded one reveals God in his compassion for others. The implication is that these Christological aspects have essential consequences for the practical life and work of the church. This must not be underestimated.The church following in the footsteps of JesusFollowing the wounded Christ to see the wounded peopleThe problem is that often the church does not perceive its role in terms of the regenerating and salvific manner in which Christ as God became human and saved the world. Salvation must be regarded as total and radical, encompassing the future and the present. Christ looked at people in their humanity.⁸ Acknowledging the fullness of God in Christ, we should also acknowledge the radical salvation in him. The wounded Christ is the Christ of the people alongside the road; he is the Christ of those who have no abode. In Luke 23:26-43, Jesus, as the wounded one, faces his death (Nolland 1993b:1139). Maimela (1994:28) states that God alone is self- sufficient, and that he calls us to life in interdependence with others, in order to be truly human.It is necessary to explain that the incarnation of God in Christ is the aspect in terms of which we must consider God's looking after human beings; and this seeking after humanity is also the radical acceptance of the redeeming of the poor and marginalised by God. All this concerns the redemption of human beings by God in all aspects of humanity. But it is - precisely - Christ, as the Son of God, who fulfils the full salvation of body and spirit (see also Pinn 2009:242). The full implications of this seeking after human beings by God, in the person of Christ, are also applicable to the most needy. This is the implications of the Divine Son becoming human.Orobator explains how the incarnation is essential for understanding this:[T]he incarnation is here proposed as an essential theological principle necessary for understanding the function, meaning and theology of the church in situations of HIV/AIDS, refugees and poverty. God does not stand apart from the complexity and vicissitudes characteristic of these conditions (Orobator 2005:242).Christology and the poorIn the light of the foregoing, Christology is very important. A Christology from above that has far-reaching implications for people's ordinary lives needs to be argued and implemented in the church's presence and work - a Christology that acknowledges Christ as the one from God but also Jesus as the wounded Christ for those who desire to become part of his community. But he is also - precisely - God, dwelling amongst human beings in order to lead them to God.Christ of the peopleChrist is the one amongst others, in the sense that he is the one who was wounded for all the others, enabling them to reach out towards him and become part of his community.They are invited to become part of the community of faith and to share in the goodness of the resurrected Christ - the one who heals, and who is there in his humanity to help them and to fill them with his presence.Craddock (1968:166) states that the poverty of Christ consists in the identification of him with the human situation, an identification without reservation. Therefore, the church, by also becoming 'wounded' in this community, can share in the 'brokenness' of Christ, so that its members can become healers in the community. Being wounded and broken themselves, the members of the church can experience the healing of the Christ whom they are following; and as followers of Christ, they can also experience the healing of the resurrected Christ. Therefore, they should also be those who heal others in the community, and in doing so, they should bring about new hope in a seemingly hopeless situation. The eradication of poverty must remain the most essential goal.We cannot emphasise the redemption of human beings without referring to Christ as God who became human. In him, the poor receive a new status as human beings before God. The full redemption, however, is both spiritual and material. Harrison (1994:153) explains that Christ saves through the incarnation, by uniting the whole of the human composite and all aspects of human experience with himself as God. Through his Divine presence, he purifies what is sinful and sanctifies what is good. Johnson (1996:20) refers to the parable of the pearl of great price and explains that poor people, although they might not receive justice, may sometimes experience the fullness of God's intervention at the very time when they are left with no recourse except to trust in God. Njoronge (2009) explains:Hence, the task of political, cultural, spiritual, material, and psychological transformation and renewal demands that religious scholars create biblical, theological, and ethical resources that will help people to cultivate and nurture their faith in God, in themselves, and with one another, so as to acquire meaningful living and fully participate in society. (p. 180)Bosch (1991:387) points out the important distinction in terms of which a church should always be the church with others (the poor). The true emphasis of the church is to be always next to the one in need.It is interesting that there are churches in Africa reaching out to the poor in a uniquely African way. These churches often have limited means, but are present in a profound way amongst the poor. As pointed out by Oduro et al. (2008):The AIC pastors do not preach about difficult, abstract concepts to the poor or the uneducated. They relate the Gospel to the needs, and they show God's power at work in ways that all people can understand. The AIC church buildings are usually simple places, not that different from the homes where poor people live. The poor feel like they are in their own church, and not in someone else's fancy church. (p. 209)The African Independent Churches (AICs) also listen to the problems of people (Oduro et al. 2008: 84): 'Many people come to the AICs after they have been to medical doctors, nurses, diviners or herbalists for help. What they find is people willing to take time to listen to their problems, take their worldview and beliefs seriously, care for a person as an individual.'Ezigbo (2008:69) points out that, essentially, '... a Christian Christology that hopes to be relevant and meaningful to the peoples of Africa should allow for a dialectical or a mutual interaction between the biblical representations of Jesus Christ and the histories and experiences of Africans.' Bujo (1992:91) calls for the whole of African life to be built on Jesus Christ for a truly dynamic Christianity, conceived in specifically African categories. An African Christocentric ethic should be established.However, does a Christology from above also open the way for authentic involvement in African issues? In Africa, the full acknowledgement of God as involved in the totality of life is all-important.The future perspectiveThe future perspective is therefore also important. In Christology, it is necessary to keep sight of the fact that Christ, who is the wounded Christ, is also the healed Christ, and therefore points towards a new future; an eschatological future in which healing and peace are possible. The community of Christ, following Christ, must therefore also direct people to the new life and the new future; and for the poor in Africa, this has significant implications. Their vulnerability may still be with them; but they look towards the future, and this new future, offering the prospect of a life lived in Christ, makes it possible for them to look forward to the new situation. In this sense, it is also a positive aspect of living with Christ - and abiding with him, with a view towards the future. Especially in Africa this future aspect should be emphasised. The Son of God leads to the future. He makes a new future possible.ConclusionThere are many challenges in Africa and the possibilities of alleviating poverty on the continent still leave much to be desired. This article engages the crises in Africa as well as the serious problems in dealing with these crises. Secondly the implications of Christology were discussed and the profound glory of Christ's Divinity and the radical change which that can bring about were explained. Exactly God in Christ's involvement in the human condition can bring about change. There should be a shift from our own efforts to the realisation in the church of the full implications of God's involvement in humans' predicament. Only when the church accepts the radical involvement from God can a new situation be accomplished.AcknowledgementsThis article is based upon research supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author: the NRF shall not be subject to any liability in respect thereof. The research was also supported by the University of the Free State (UFS) cluster, 'New frontiers in poverty reduction and sustainable development'.Competing interestsThe author declares that he has no financial or personal relationship(s) that may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.ReferencesAfrica Progress Report, 2010, From agenda to action: Turning resources into results for people, UN, Geneva, viewed June 2010, from http://www.africaprogresspanel.org.         [ Links ]Africa Progress Report, 2011, The transformative power of partnerships, UN, Geneva, viewed May 2011, from http://www.africaprogresspanel.org.         [ Links ]Africa Progress Report, 2012, Jobs, justice and equity: Seizing opportunities in times of global change, UN, Geneva, viewed July 2013, from http://www.africaprogresspanel.org.         [ Links ]Africa Progress Report, 2013, Equity in extractives: Stewarding Africa's natural resources for all, UN, Geneva, viewed July 2013 from http://www.africaprogresspanel.org.         [ Links ]Ayedze, T., 2009, Poverty among African people and the ambiguous role of Christian thought, in P.J. 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MaintenX International is a fully licensed, facilities repair company. As one of the largest national self-performing facility maintenance and repair companies in the U.S., MaintenX has created a wide network of knowledgeable and professional technicians throughout the country. With their team of well-trained technicians, MaintenX self-performs and manages facility maintenance for their clients. In the event there is not a MaintenX technician in an area, the company has established a network of preferred vendor partners throughout the country for continued superior service for their clients. For more than 40 years, MaintenX has been expertly serving multi-location retail stores, restaurant chains and Fortune 500 companies nationwide.

ABOUT MOFO
We are Morrison & Foerster â€" a global firm of exceptional credentials. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, investment banks, Fortune 100, and technology and life sciences companies. The Financial Times has named the firm to its lists of most innovative law firms in Northern America every year that it has published its Innovative Lawyers Reports in the region. In the past few years, Chambers USA has honored MoFo’s Privacy and Data Security, Bankruptcy, and IP teams with Firm of the Year awards, the Corporate/M&A team with a client service award, and the firm as a whole as Global USA Firm of the Year. Our lawyers are committed to achieving innovative and business-minded results for our clients, while preserving the differences that make us stronger. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education for poor children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, winning asylum for the persecuted, and safeguarding the environment.

About Inside Real Estate:
Inside Real Estate is a fast growing, independently-owned real estate software firm that serves as a trusted technology partner to over 200,000 top brokerages, agents and teams. Their flagship product, kvCORE Platform, is the most modern and comprehensive solution in the industry known for delivering profitable growth at every level of a brokerage organization. Built on a modern, scalable and flexible architecture, kvCORE enables every brokerage to create their own unique technology ecosystem through custom branding, robust integrations and high-quality add-on solutions. With an accomplished leadership team and over 175 employees, Inside Real Estate brings the resources, scale and vision to deliver ongoing innovation and success to their growing customer base.

About BombBomb:
BombBomb makes it easy to record, send, and track video messages, allowing you to be “in person” with those who matter most to your business at any given time. More than 50 thousand business professionals in all kinds of industries have used BombBomb Video to rehumanize their communication. For more information, visit www.BombBomb.com.

About Beemac Logistics: Founded in 1984, Beemac Logistics (a Beemac Inc. Company) serves more than 14,000 customers across a range of industries including industrial manufacturing, automotive, oil and gas, consumer products, food, and agriculture. The company handles thousands of loads per month across all major freight modes including flatbed, van, refrigerated, rail, barge, ocean and air. Beemac provides cost effective solutions to transportation and logistics challenges throughout North America by partnering with more than 25,000 carrier partners. For more information visit us at http://www.beemaclogistics.com

About Trucker Tools: Trucker Tools, based in Reston, Va., is the leading provider of trip planning, shipment visibility, predictive freight matching and automated booking solutions for the transportation industry. Its ground-breaking Smart Capacity platform uses accurate, real-time data and powerful algorithms to optimally match freight by predicting when and where capacity will become available, days in advance. The company’s popular driver smartphone app has been downloaded by some 900,000 owner operators and small-carrier fleets to access information and services conveniently while on the road. Included in the smartphone app is Book it Now®, the industry’s first digital load booking app that automates and streamlines the load search and booking process for drivers and brokers, saving time and money. Trucker Tools load tracking solution is a robust feature in the app that connects drivers with carriers and freight brokers, automating the provision and collection of real-time shipment tracking and eliminating manual check calls. Visit Trucker Tools at http://www.truckertools.com or contact us directly at: sales@truckertools.com.

About Forcura:
Forcura, a leading healthcare technology company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, facilitates continuity of care via technology, analytics and a deep commitment to enabling better patient care. The Forcura suite of tools is powered by Forcura Connect, a proprietary framework for standardizing interoperability and integration among post-acute health care organizations, physicians, electronic health records (EHRs) and other supporting technology vendors. Through our technology and analytics solutions, we are a step closer every day to elevating the opportunities of post-acute care. The company has received awards for Fastest Growing Company for the fourth consecutive year, Best UI/UX Design in SaaS, and Best Places to Work by Inc. Magazine. For more information visit http://www.forcura.com.

About the City of Jacksonville:
The City of Jacksonville is the largest city by land mass in the continental United States, serving approximately 850,000 residents. Located in Duval County, City of Jacksonville leadership includes the mayor and a 19-member City Council. To learn more about the City of Jacksonville, visit www.COJ.net.

About DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences
DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences applies expert science to advance market-driven, healthy and sustainable solutions for the food, beverage, dietary supplement and pharmaceutical industries. We also use cutting-edge biotechnology across a range of markets to advance bio-based solutions to meet the needs of a growing population, while protecting our environment for future generations. We are innovative solvers who help our customers turn challenges into high-value business opportunities. For more information: biosciences.dupont.com or dupontnutritionandbiosciences.com

About DuPont
DuPont (NYSE: DD) is a global innovation leader with technology-based materials, ingredients and solutions that help transform industries and everyday life. Our employees apply diverse science and expertise to help customers advance their best ideas and deliver essential innovations in key markets including electronics, transportation, construction, water, health and wellness, food, and worker safety. More information can be found at http://www.dupont.com/.

5/28/2020
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VII
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. While the Tobins love Maggie and the Holowitzes love Dennis, both adolescents have some difficulties with their families. What are the difficulties each character faces, and how are Maggie's and Dennis's difficulties similar?
2. How do Liz's problems with her mother and stepfather influence her relationship with Sean?
3. Describe Sean's relationship with his father. How does it influence his relationship with Liz?
4. What choices do Liz's pregnancy and her decision to have an abortion force upon Maggie? Do you think Maggie chooses correctly?
5. What makes Sean abandon Liz during her pregnancy? How does this decision affect him?
6. What happens to Maggie and Dennis at the novel's end? How do they feel about their relationship? How do they feel about themselves?
VIII      IDEAS FOR REPORTS AND PAPERS
1. Unwanted pregnancies remain a major problem in the United States, despite several means of birth control. Why is this the case? Why are Sean and Liz faced with this problem?
2. Discuss the shifting narrative vision of My Darling, My Hamburger, considering the first-person documents and the third-person narration colored by the consciousnesses of the four major characters. How successful is this narrative approach in conveying Zindel's meaning?
3. Write an essay describing what Maggie has learned from her experiences with Liz, Sean, and Dennis.
4. Liz's stepfather is an unsympathetic character who contributes much to Liz's pain. What are the problems that stepchildren and stepparents often experience?
5. Zindel juxtaposes the text of the documentary Primitive Love with Maggie's and Dennis's monologues to emphasize the awkwardness of their relationship. Identify and discuss other instances of such juxtaposition in the novel. Is this an effective device?


IX RELATED TITLES
Several of Zindel's novels resemble My Darling, My Hamburger. In terms of narrative technique, most of Zindel's novels show sophistication in point of view and symbolic development. The two first-person narrators in The Pigman serve similar functions to the narrative voices in My Darling, My Hamburger. Zindel's biases and values are consistent from novel to novel; for the most part, he is hostile to adults and caricatures them without mercy, although his characterizations of women are more sympathetic than those of men.

Available at https://www.abebooks.co.uk/

Synopsis:
Good bread needs more than just flour and water, milk, or eggs. It requires nurturing and care.


In this twenty-fifth anniversary edition of the international best-seller that started a generation of Americans baking, Ed Brown shows how to makeâ€"and enjoyâ€"breads, pastries, muffins, and desserts for today's sophisticated palates. And in a new afterword, he reflects on the widespread influence of the book and offers five new recipes.


Review:
"A baking Zen priest after [our] own heart!""-O, The Oprah Magazine"
"This was the first cookbook I ever bought for myself, back when it was first published. To this day, I consider "The Tassajara Bread Book "to have been a major influence not just on my cooking and baking, but on my attitude and philosophy about food in general. Thank you, Ed Brown, for this lasting gift."-Mollie Katzen, author of "The Moosewood Cookbook "
"I feel a special fondness for this book, which helped launch me on my way to baking bread. Edward Brown's warmth shines through on every page, the recipes remain wonderfully unusual (I love the three-layer corn bread, which I've never seen elsewhere), and the overall experience is one of brilliant simplicity."-Mark Bittman, author of "How to Cook Everything"


“A baking Zen priest after [our] own heart!”â€""O, The Oprah Magazine"
“This was the first cookbook I ever bought for myself back when it was first published. To this day, I consider "The Tassajara Bread Book" to have been a major influence not just on my cooking and baking, but on my attitude and philosophy about food in general. Thank you, Ed Brown, for this lasting gift.”â€"Mollie Katzen, author of "Moosewood Cookbook "
“I feel a special fondness for this book, which helped launch me on my way to baking bread. Edward Brown’s warmth shines through on every page, the recipes remain wonderfully unusual (I love the three-layer corn bread, which I’ve never seen elsewhere), and the overall experience is one of brilliant simplicity.”â€"Mark Bittman, author of "How to Cook Everything"
“Like thousands of cooks of my generation, I have in my kitchen an ancient volume of "The Tassajara Bread Book," its cover gritty w


"A baking Zen priest after [our] own heart!"--"O, The Oprah Magazine"
"This was the first cookbook I ever bought for myself back when it was first published. To this day, I consider "The Tassajara Bread Book" to have been a major influence not just on my cooking and baking, but on my attitude and philosophy about food in general. Thank you, Ed Brown, for this lasting gift."--Mollie Katzen, author of "Moosewood Cookbook "
"I feel a special fondness for this book, which helped launch me on my way to baking bread. Edward Brown's warmth shines through on every page, the recipes remain wonderfully unusual (I love the three-layer corn bread, which I've never seen elsewhere), and the overall experience is one of brilliant simplicity."--Mark Bittman, author of "How to Cook Everything"
"Like thousands of cooks of my generation, I have in my kitchen an ancient volume of @l


"The bible for bread baking."--"The Washington Post"


"A baking Zen priest after [our] own heart!"--"O, The Oprah Magazine"
"This was the first cookbook I ever bought for myself back when it was first published. To this day, I consider "The Tassajara Bread Book" to have been a major influence not just on my cooking and baking, but on my attitude and philosophy about food in general. Thank you, Ed Brown, for this lasting gift."--Mollie Katzen, author of "Moosewood Cookbook "
"I feel a special fondness for this book, which helped launch me on my way to baking bread. Edward Brown's warmth shines through on every page, the recipes remain wonderfully unusual (I love the three-layer corn bread, which I've never seen elsewhere), and the overall experience is one of brilliant simplicity."--Mark Bittman, author of "How to Cook Everything"
"Like thousands of cooks of my generation, I have in my kitchen an ancient volume of "The Tassajara Bread Book," its cover gritty with flour, its spine cracked from use, its pages stained with molasses, and dog-eared with decades of perusal. It is the book that taught me how to make bread and its simple wisdom has been present in every loaf I have baked. I will recommend it with enthusiasm to a new generation of cooks."--Steve Raichlen, author of "The Barbeque Bible"


The bible for bread baking. "The Washington Post"


A baking Zen priest after [our] own heart! "O, The Oprah Magazine"
This was the first cookbook I ever bought for myself back when it was first published. To this day, I consider "The Tassajara Bread Book" to have been a major influence not just on my cooking and baking, but on my attitude and philosophy about food in general. Thank you, Ed Brown, for this lasting gift. Mollie Katzen, author of "Moosewood Cookbook "
I feel a special fondness for this book, which helped launch me on my way to baking bread. Edward Brown s warmth shines through on every page, the recipes remain wonderfully unusual (I love the three-layer corn bread, which I ve never seen elsewhere), and the overall experience is one of brilliant simplicity. Mark Bittman, author of "How to Cook Everything"
Like thousands of cooks of my generation, I have in my kitchen an ancient volume of "The Tassajara Bread Book," its cover gritty with flour, its spine cracked from use, its pages stained with molasses, and dog-eared with decades of perusal. It is the book that taught me how to make bread and its simple wisdom has been present in every loaf I have baked. I will recommend it with enthusiasm to a new generation of cooks. Steve Raichlen, author of "The Barbeque Bible""
This book is available at https://www.abebooks.co.uk/

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Pollan, Michael

Author of How to Change Your Mind and the #1 New York Times Bestsellers In Defense of Food and Food Rules
What should we have for dinner? Ten years ago, Michael Pollan confronted us with this seemingly simple question and, with The Omnivore's Dilemma, his brilliant and eye-opening exploration of our food choices, demonstrated that how we answer it today may determine not only our health but our survival as a species. In the years since, Pollan's revolutionary examination has changed the way Americans think about food. Bringing wide attention to the little-known but vitally important dimensions of food and agriculture in America, Pollan launched a national conversation about what we eat and the profound consequences that even the simplest everyday food choices have on both ourselves and the natural world. Ten years later, The Omnivore's Dilemma continues to transform the way Americans think about the politics, perils, and pleasures of eating.
Review:
"'When you can eat just about anything nature has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety, ' Pollan writes in this supple and probing book. He gracefully navigates within these anxieties as he traces the origins of four meals--from a fast-food dinner to a "hunter-gatherer" feast--and makes us see, with remarkable clarity, exactly how what we eat affects both our bodies and the planet. Pollan is the perfect tour guide: his prose is incisive and alive, and pointed without being tendentious. In an uncommonly good year for American food writing, this is a book that stands out." --from The New York Times Book Review's "10 Best Books of 2006"
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Title: THE DWELLING HOUSES OF CHARLES TON South

Publisher: J. B. Lippincott Company
Publication Date: 1917
Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Very Good
Signed: Dedicated and Signed By Authors
Edition: 1st Edition.Where to buy it: https://www.abebooks.co.uk/

Dedicated and Signed By Authors Type: Book Dedicated and Signed By Authors Type: Limited Edition 387 pp. ,stone grey cloth bdg with dark moss green and cadmium red-stamped front board & spine, tog, fore & bottom edges deckled. Dedicated and signed by both authors on front end paper. Illustrated with 128 drawings, phototypes & architectural drawings on plates, including tissue-guarded frontispice, some diagrams and drawings in text. Front gutter frayed but tight. light shelf wear, spine lightly soiled, edges of paper slightly yellowed, tight and clean copy. Please contact us directly for a full description. Photo scan available upon request. Photo scan available upon request. Books sold to the USA are shipped USPS out of Champlain NY. - https://www.abebooks.co.uk/

Definition
Anthrax, also called malignant pustule or woolsorters disease, acute, infectious, febrile disease of animals and humans caused by Bacillus anthracis, a bacterium that under certain conditions forms highly resistant spores capable of persisting and retaining their virulence for many years. Although it is most commonly affects grazing animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and mules, humans can develop the disease by eating the meat or handling the wool, hair, hides, bones, or carcasses of affected animals.

Anthrax lesion
When anthrax its name derived from the Greek word for coal attacks a person’s skin, a sore with a coal-black center develops. Anthrax spores can also be produced inexpensively and converted into either a powder or a liquid, allowing anthrax to be used in a variety of weapons systems. Its potential use as a biological weapon has made anthrax a prime concern of countries seeking to control the spread of terrorism.

Epidemiology
It is uncommon in Western Europe, but the disease is not uncommon in the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In 1958, approximately 100,000 cases of anthrax occurred worldwide. Exact figures do not exist because of reporting difficulties in Africa. It is endemic in Africa and Asia despite vaccination programs.

Sporadic outbreaks have occurred as a result of both agricultural and military disruptions. During the 1978 Rhodesian civil war, failure of veterinary vaccination programs led to a human epidemic, causing 6500 cases and 100 fatalities. A mishap at a military microbiology facility in Sverdlovsk in the former Soviet Union in 1979 resulted in at least 66 deaths. Human anthrax often is associated with agricultural or industrial workers who come in contact with infected animal tissue.

Race, sex, and age-related differences in incidence

There is no racial, sexual, or age predilection for anthrax. However, because anthrax is often related to industrial exposure and farming, the disease most often affects young and middle-aged adults. Persons of any age can, of course, be affected if anthrax is used as a bioterrorist weapon.

Types 
It can target various body parts, including:

Cutaneous anthrax- Skin is the most commonly affected body part, occurring in about 95 percent of cases. The bacteria enter the body via a cut or graze. The skin becomes itchy then develops a sore that turns into a blister. The blister (vesicle) may break and bleed. Within two to seven days, the broken blister becomes a sunken, dark-colored or black scab which is usually painless. Without treatment, the infection can spread to the lymph nodes or blood (septicemia). Death is rare with the right antibiotic treatment. The mortality rate from untreated cutaneous anthrax is 5â€"20 percent.

Cutaneous Anthrax
Pulmonary (inhalation) anthrax- A rare lung infection that can occur when bacterial spores are inhaled. At first, the infection seems like a mild upper respiratory tract infection, such as a cold or flu. The person’s health rapidly deteriorates over the next few days with severe breathing problems and shock. Without treatment, the mortality rate is 70 to 80 percent. In many cases, pulmonary anthrax is fatal even when treated.

Intestinal anthrax- Very rare in developed countries. It occurs if a person eats the undercooked meat of an infected animal, usually one that has died in the field. Early symptoms include nausea, vomiting, vomiting blood, diarrhea, and high temperature. If the infection spreads to the blood (septicemia), the death rate is between 25 and 60 percent.

Anthrax risk factors
To contract anthrax, you must come in direct contact with anthrax spores. This is more likely if you:

Are in the military and deployed to an area with a high risk of exposure to anthrax
Work with anthrax in a laboratory setting
Handle animal skins, furs or wool from areas with a high incidence of anthrax
Work in veterinary medicine, especially if you deal with livestock
Handle or dress game animals in the United States, seasonal outbreaks of anthrax are common among livestock and game animals, such as deer
Inject illegal drugs, such as heroin
Causes of Anthrax
It is caused by Bacillus anthracis bacteria. There are three types of infection:

Cutaneous (skin) anthrax: This can occur when spores enter your body through a break in the skin. Half of the cases in the 2001 U.S. terrorist attacks were this type. In Canada, the more recent occurrence of anthrax in people was a case of cutaneous anthrax that was found in a Saskatchewan man in July 2006. Many livestock animals were also infected in the same area during that time.footnote.

Inhalational (lung) anthrax: This can occur when you breathe in spores. It is the most serious type of infection. Half of the cases in the 2001 attacks were this type.

Gastrointestinal (digestive) anthrax: This can occur when you eat food contaminated with anthrax spores. This has occurred in developing regions of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, but not in North America.

The illness does not seem to spread from person to person. People who come in contact with someone who has anthrax don’t need to be immunized or treated unless they were exposed to the same source of infection.

Anthrax symptoms
Symptoms of anthrax differ depending on the type of anthrax.

Symptoms of cutaneous anthrax start 1 to 7 days after exposure:

An itchy sore develops that is similar to an insect bite. This sore may blister and form a black ulcer (sore or eschar).
The sore is usually painless, but it is often surrounded by swelling.
A scab often forms, and then dries and falls off within 2 weeks. Complete healing can take longer.
Symptoms of inhalation anthrax:

Begins with fever, malaise, headache, cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain
Fever and shock may occur later
Symptoms of gastrointestinal anthrax usually occur within 1 week and may include:

Abdominal pain
Bloody diarrhea
Diarrhea
Fever
Mouth sores
Nausea and vomiting (the vomit may contain blood)
Symptoms of injection anthrax are similar to those of cutaneous anthrax. In addition, the skin or muscle beneath the injection site may get infected.

Complications
The most serious complication of anthrax is inflammation of the membranes and fluid covering the brain and spinal cord, leading to massive bleeding (hemorrhagic meningitis) and death.

Diagnosis and test
Tests to detect and diagnose anthrax include:

A skin biopsy where a small tissue sample is extracted from the lump in your skin to check for microscopic evidence of cutaneous anthrax
Sputum testing that involves adding respiratory secretions to culture to test for the presence of anthrax bacteria
Blood tests to check for the presence of anthrax bacteria
Chest X-rays or computerized tomography (CT) scans may be conducted to help diagnose inhalation anthrax, which often has a very characteristic appearance on the chest X-ray image
Endoscopy and stool samples can be used to diagnose intestinal anthrax. Stool samples can be tested for the presence of anthrax bacteria
Treatment and medications
Antibiotics

All types of anthrax infection can be treated with antibiotics. The antibiotics selected for treatment are based on the type of infection and the patients’ medical history. It is pivotal to get medical care as soon as possible for the best chance of a full recovery.

Antitoxin

Antitoxins can be used to treat anthrax because antitoxins target anthrax toxins in the body. Antitoxins can also be used in conjunction with other treatment options.

Sometimes other drugs

The longer anthrax treatment is delayed, the greater the risk of death. Thus, treatment is usually started as soon as doctors suspect that people have anthrax:

Skin anthrax is treated with ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, or doxycycline given by mouth for 7 to 10 days.
Inhalation, gastrointestinal, or severe skin anthrax is treated with a combination of two or three antibiotics, including intravenous ciprofloxacin or doxycycline plus another antibiotic, such as ampicillin, clindamycin, rifampin, or others.
Inhalation anthrax can also be treated with a combination of antibiotics and injections of raxibacumab or obiltoxaximab (monoclonal antibodies that bind anthrax toxins in the person’s system) or with a combination of antibiotics and intravenous anthrax immune globulin.
If the brain and meninges are affected or if the fluid has accumulated around the lungs, corticosteroids may help.
Other treatments may include mechanical ventilation to help with breathing and fluids and drugs to increase blood pressure.

Prevention 
Anthrax spores can survive for over 20 years in dry pasture and soil. Precautionary measures people can take include:

Wearing long sleeves and protective gloves if handling infected animals.
Isolating infected cattle and vaccinating herds against anthrax.
Human vaccination is available for those at significant risk of developing the disease.
For people who have been exposed to anthrax but don’t have symptoms, prophylactic treatment with an antibiotic should be given to reduce the risk of infection. A 60-day oral course of penicillin, tetracycline or quinolone is recommended.
Source: Disease Dictionary

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Description â€" Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that can increase your risk of strokes, heart failure, and other heart-related complications.

During atrial fibrillation, the heart’s two upper chambers (the atria) beat chaotically and irregularly â€" out of coordination with the two lower chambers (the ventricles) of the heart. Atrial fibrillation symptoms often include heart palpitations, shortness of breath and weakness.

Episodes of atrial fibrillation may come and go, or you may develop atrial fibrillation that doesn’t go away and may require treatment. Although atrial fibrillation itself usually isn’t life-threatening, it is a serious medical condition that sometimes requires emergency treatment.

A major concern with atrial fibrillation is the potential to develop blood clots within the upper chambers of the heart. These blood clots forming in the heart may circulate to other organs and lead to blocked blood flow (ischemia).

Pathophysiology
The pathogenesis of AF can be broadly divided into the categories of triggers, substrate, and sustaining mechanisms. Since the late 1990s, it has been recognized that the initiation of AF can occur because of premature atrial contractions triggered by beats that arise from the pulmonary veins (PVs), usually from muscular tissue sleeves near the junction with the left atrium. These triggers may also fire repetitively and contribute to the maintenance of AF, essentially becoming drivers of AF. Focal triggers outside the PV including posterior left atrial, ligament of Marshall, coronary sinus, venae cavae, septum, and left atrial appendage to contribute to the disease process. Focal triggers, especially the PVs, are felt to be very important early in the disease process and, in particular, among patients with paroxysmal AF.

Over time, myocardial fibrosis develops within the atrial tissue in association with AF to support its maintenance by shortening affected tissue refractory periods. Myocardial fibrosis of the atrium seems to be the common feature of the progression of AF disease state. This has led to the adage that AF begets AF. Once AF is initiated by focal triggers, several theories have been postulated to explain the maintenance of AF. They include the multiple wavelet model, AF rotors and the role of the autonomic nervous system. The multiple wavelet model has suggested that AF is sustained by multiple simultaneous wavelets meandering throughout the atria. Atrial tissue with abnormal electrical propagation recorded by mapping catheters has been referred to as complex fractionated electrograms. Expression of specific connecting protein channels at the cellular level is also felt to be an important contributor to the disease substrate and sustaining mechanisms. Contemporary understanding of the AF substrate and sustaining mechanisms now also includes the role of the autonomic nervous system and, more recently, the discovery and evaluation of the concept of AF rotors.

What causes atrial fibrillation?
It’s not known exactly what causes AF, but it’s more common in people with other heart conditions or risk factors like:

It can also be associated with other health conditions including:

Asthma
Lung cancer
Pulmonary embolism.
Many people won’t have any pre-existing conditions or risk factors but will still develop AF.

When no cause can be identified, it’s known as lone atrial fibrillation.

Some people with atrial fibrillation also have an atrial flutter. If this is the case, you may experience periods of atrial flutter followed by periods of atrial fibrillation.

What are the risk factors for AFib?
The risk for AFib increases with age. High blood pressure, the risk for which also increases with advancing age, accounts for about 1 in 5 cases of AFib.

Risk factors for AFib include

Advancing age
High blood pressure
Obesity
European ancestry
Diabetes
Heart failure
Ischemic heart disease
Hyperthyroidism
Chronic kidney disease
Moderate to heavy alcohol use
Smoking
Enlargement of the chambers on the left side of the heart

Atrial fibrillation symptoms
You might not experience any symptoms if you have atrial fibrillation.

Those who do experience symptoms may notice:

Heart palpitations (feeling like your heart is skipping a beat, beating too fast or hard, or fluttering)

Chest pain
Fatigue
Shortness of breath
Weakness
Lightheadedness
Dizziness
Fainting
Confusion
Intolerance to exercise
These symptoms can come and go based on the severity of your condition.

For example, paroxysmal AFib is a type of atrial fibrillation that resolves on its own without medical intervention. But you may need to take medication to prevent future episodes and potential complications.

Overall, you might experience symptoms of AFib for several minutes or hours at a time. Symptoms that continue over several days could indicate chronic AFib.

Complications
A-fib can cause potentially life-threatening health issues.

Blood clots
Blood can pool in the atria if the heart is not beating regularly. Blood clots can form in the pools.
A segment of a clot, called an embolus, might break off and travel to different parts of the body through the bloodstream and cause blockages.
An embolus can restrict blood flow to the kidneys, intestine, spleen, brain, or lungs. A blood clot can be fatal.
Stroke
A stroke occurs when an embolus blocks an artery in the brain and reduces or stops blood flow to part of the brain.

The symptoms of a stroke vary depending on the part of the brain in which it occurs. They can include weakness on one side of the body, confusion, and vision problems, as well as speech and movement difficulties.

Stroke is a key cause of disability in the U.S. and the fifth most common cause of death, according to the CDC.

Heart failure
A-fib can lead to heart failure, especially when the heart rate is high. When the heart rate is irregular, the amount of blood flowing from the atria to the ventricles varies for each heartbeat.

The ventricles may therefore not fill up before a heartbeat. The heart fails to pump enough blood to the body, and the amount of blood waiting to circulate the body instead builds up in the lungs and other areas.

A-fib can also worsen the symptoms of any underlying heart failure.

Cognitive problems
A study in the Journal of the American Heart Association showed people with A-fib have a higher long-term risk of cognitive difficulties and dementia that have no link to reduced blood flow in the brain.

How is atrial fibrillation diagnosed?
Atrial fibrillation can be chronic and sustained, or brief and intermittent (paroxysmal). Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation refers to intermittent episodes of AF lasting, for example, minutes to hours. The rate reverts to normal between episodes. In chronic, sustained atrial fibrillation, the atria fibrillate all of the time. Chronic, sustained atrial fibrillation is not difficult to diagnose. Doctors can hear the rapid and irregular heartbeats using a stethoscope. Abnormal heartbeats also can be felt by taking a patient’s pulse and by a doctor’s diagnosis.

Tests to diagnose atrial fibrillation
EKG (electrocardiogram): An electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) is a brief recording of the heart’s electrical discharges. The irregular EKG tracings of AF are easy to recognize provided AF occurs during the EKG.

Echocardiography: Echocardiography uses ultrasound waves to produce images of the chambers and valves and the lining around the heart (pericardium). Conditions that may accompany AF such as mitral valve prolapse, rheumatic valve diseases, and pericarditis (inflammation of the “sack” surrounding the heart) can be detected with echocardiography. Echocardiography also is useful in measuring the size of the atrial chambers. Atrial size is an important factor in determining how a patient responds to treatment for the disease. For instance, it is more difficult to achieve and maintain a normal rhythm in patients with enlarged atria.

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE): Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a special echocardiographic technique that involves taking pictures of the atria using sound waves. A special probe that generates sound waves is placed in the esophagus (the food pipe connecting the mouth to the stomach). The probe is located at the end of a long flexible tube that is inserted through the mouth into the esophagus. This technique brings the probe very close to the heart (which lies just in front of the esophagus). Sound waves generated by the probe are bounced off the structures within the heart, and the reflected sound waves are used to form a picture of the heart. TEE is very accurate for detecting blood clots in the atria as well as for measuring the size of the atria.

Holter monitor: If episodes of the disease occur intermittently, a standard EKG performed at the time of a visit to the doctor’s office may not show AF. Therefore, a Holter monitor, a continuous recording of the heart’s rhythm for 24 hours, often is used to diagnose intermittent episodes of AF.

Patient-activated event recorder: If the episodes of atrial fibrillation are infrequent, a 24-hour Holter recording may not capture these sporadic episodes. In this situation, the patient can wear a patient-activated event recorder for 1 to 4 weeks. The patient presses a button to start the recording when he or she senses the onset of irregular heartbeats or symptoms possibly caused by AF. The doctor then analyzes the recordings later.

Other tests: High blood pressure and signs of heart failure can be ascertained (determined) during a physical examination of the patient. Blood tests are performed to detect abnormalities in blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, electrolytes, and thyroid hormone levels. Chest X-rays reveal enlargement of the heart, heart failure, and other diseases of the lung. Exercise treadmill testing (a continuous recording of the EKG during exercise) is a useful screening study for detecting severe coronary disease in a doctor’s office or hospital.

Treatments
Treatments for atrial fibrillation include medicines to control heart rate and reduce the risk of stroke, and procedures such as cardioversion to restore normal heart rhythm.

It may be possible for you to be treated by a GP, or you may be referred to a heart specialist (a cardiologist).

Some cardiologists, known as electrophysiologists, specialize in the management of abnormalities of heart rhythm.

You’ll have a treatment plan and work closely with your healthcare team to decide the most suitable and appropriate treatment for you.

Factors that will be taken into consideration include:

Your age
Your overall health
The type of atrial fibrillation you have
Your symptoms
Whether you have an underlying cause that needs to be treated
The first step is to try to find the cause of the atrial fibrillation. If a cause can be identified, you may only need treatment for this.

For example, if you have an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism), medicine to treat it may also cure atrial fibrillation.

If no underlying cause can be found, the treatment options are:

Medicines to reduce the risk of a stroke
Medicines to control atrial fibrillation
cardioversion (electric shock treatment)
Catheter ablation
Having a pacemaker fitted
You’ll be promptly referred to your specialist treatment team if 1 type of treatment fails to control your symptoms of atrial fibrillation and more specialized management is needed.

Medicines to control atrial fibrillation
Medicines called anti-arrhythmic can control atrial fibrillation by:

Restoring a normal heart rhythm
Controlling the rate at which the heartbeats
The choice of anti-arrhythmic medicine depends on the type of atrial fibrillation, any other medical conditions you have, side effects of the medicine chosen, and how well the atrial fibrillation responds.

Some people with atrial fibrillation may need more than 1 anti-arrhythmic medicine to control it.

Restoring a normal heart rhythm
A variety of medicines are available to restore normal heart rhythm, including:

Flecainide
Beta-blockers, particularly sotalol
An alternative medicine may be recommended if a particular medicine does not work or the side effects are troublesome.

Newer medicines are in development, but are not widely available yet.

Controlling the rate of the heartbeat
The aim is to reduce the resting heart rate to under 90 beats per minute, although in some people the target is under 110 beats per minute.

A beta-blocker, such as bisoprolol or atenolol, or a calcium channel blocker, such as verapamil or diltiazem, will be prescribed.

A medicine called digoxin may be added to help control the heart rate further.

Normally, only 1 medicine will be tried before catheter ablation is considered.

Reduce your risk of stroke
Most people need a type of blood-thinner medication (such as warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban or dabigatran) to reduce the risk of clotting. With warfarin, frequent blood checks are needed to monitor effectiveness and dose, but this is not required for the newer blood thinners, says Calkins. Medication decisions are based on the assessment of your stroke risk. Most patients with AF who are over age 65 require a blood thinner, Calkins says.

Prevention and Risk Reduction
Although no one is able to absolutely guarantee that a stroke or a clot can be preventable, there are ways to reduce risks for developing these problems.

After a patient is diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, the ideal goals may include:

Restoring the heart to a normal rhythm (called rhythm control)
Reducing an overly high heart rate (called rate control)
Preventing blood clots (called prevention of thromboembolism such as stroke)
Managing risk factors for stroke
Preventing additional heart rhythm problems
Preventing heart failure
Source: Disease Dictionary

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Introduction
Adenoviruses (Adenovirus infection) are a group of common viruses that infect the lining of your eyes, airways and lungs, intestines, urinary tract, and nervous system. They’re common causes of fever, coughs, sore throats, diarrhea, and pink eye.

Infections happen in children more often than in adults, but anyone can get them. Most kids will have at least one type of adenovirus infection by the time they’re 10.

The infections usually cause only mild symptoms and get better on their own in a few days. But they can be more serious in people with weak immune systems, especially children.

Pathophysiology of adenovirus infection
Adenovirus is a double-stranded DNA virus that measures 70-90 nm and that has an icosahedral capsid.

The site of entry generally determines the site of infection; respiratory tract infection infections result from droplet inhalation, while gastrointestinal tract involvement results from the fecal-oral transmission. Upon infection with adenovirus, one of three different interactions with the cells may occur.

The first is a lytic infection, which occurs when an adenovirus enters human epithelial cells and continues through an entire replication cycle, which results in cytolysis, cytokine production, and induction of host inflammatory response.

The second is a chronic or latent infection, the exact mechanism of which is unknown, which frequently involves asymptomatic infection of lymphoid tissue.

Lastly, an oncogenic transformation has been observed in rats. During oncogenesis, the replication cycle is truncated, and adenoviral DNA is then integrated into the host cell’s DNA. Thereafter, adenovirus produces potent E1A proteins that immortalize primary rodent cells by altering cellular transcription, ultimately leading to the deregulation of apoptosis and malignant transformation.

Causes of adenovirus infection
The infection is caused by a type of virus called an adenovirus. There are several types of these viruses. The infection passes easily from person to person but is rarely serious.

Risk factors
These infections are common in children. Other factors that may increase your chance of an adenovirus infection:

Weak immune system
Exposure to a sneeze or cough of an infected person
Exposure to the stool of an infected person
Living in close contact with others such as military units, schools, or summer camps
Handling an object that was exposed to an infected person
Exposure to water contaminated with adenovirus
How is adenovirus infection spread?
Adenoviruses are spread like the common cold. The viruses can be spread from person to person via coughing or sneezing. People may also become infected by touching something with adenovirus on it and then touching their mouth, nose, or eyes. For example, adenoviruses can be transferred to a doorknob when an infected person sneezes into his/her hands and then touches the doorknob before washing. Germs can also be spread if an infected person sneezes or coughs onto tabletops or other items that might be touched by other people. To prevent the spread of disease, it is important to practice good health habits.

Incubation period
The incubation period is usually 2 â€" 14 days.

Symptoms of adenovirus infection
Adenoviruses can cause a wide range of illnesses such as

Common cold or flu-like symptoms
Fever
Sore throat
Acute bronchitis (inflammation of the airways of the lungs, sometimes called a “chest cold”)
Pneumonia (infection of the lungs)
Pink eye (conjunctivitis)
Acute gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach or intestines causing diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain)

Less common symptoms of adenovirus infection include
Bladder inflammation or infection Adenoviruses can cause a wide range of illnesses such as
Common cold or flu-like symptoms
Fever
Sore throat
Acute Bronchitis (inflammation of the airways of the lungs, sometimes called a “chest cold”)
Pneumonia (infection of the lungs)
Pink Eye (conjunctivitis)
Acute Gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach or intestines causing diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain)
Less common symptoms of adenovirus infection include
Bladder inflammation or infection
Neurologic disease (conditions that affect the brain and spinal cord)

What are the possible complications of adenovirus infection in a child?
Possible complications include:

Chronic lung disease. In very rare cases, a child who gets pneumonia from adenovirus may develop chronic lung disease.
Severe infection. A child with a weak immune system is at risk for more severe infection from adenoviruses.
This is when one part of the intestine slides over another section like a telescope. It causes intestinal blockage. It most often occurs in babies. This is a medical emergency. The symptoms can include bloody stool, vomiting, abdominal swelling, knees flexed to chest, loud cries from pain, weakness, and lack of energy.
Diagnosis
Your child’s doctor may want to do a physical exam and possibly one or more of these tests to see if a virus or bacteria causing the infection:

Blood test: A nurse will take a sample of your child’s blood from a vein in his arm.
Urine test: Your child will pee in a cup the nurse gives you.
Swab test: A nurse will use a cotton swab to get a sample of mucus from your child’s nose.
Stool test: You’ll collect a sample of your child’s poop at home and bring it to the doctor’s office.
Chest X-ray: Your child will lie still while a technician uses a small amount of radiation to take pictures of the inside of her chest. This will give your child’s doctor a closer look at her heart and lungs
What is the treatment for adenovirus infections?
There is no cure for adenovirus infections. If a child is infected, treatment is supportive and is focused on relieving the symptoms associated with the infection. Because the infection is caused by a virus, antibiotics are not effective. Specific treatment for adenovirus infections will be determined by your child’s doctor based on:

Your child’s age, overall health, and medical history
The extent of the condition
Your child’s tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
Expectations for the course of the condition
Your opinion or preference
Treatment for respiratory infection may include:
Increased fluid intake. Keeping your child well-hydrated by encouraging fluids by mouth is important. If necessary, an intravenous (IV) line may be started to give your child fluids and essential electrolytes.
Bronchodilator medications. Bronchodilator medications may be used to open your child’s airways. These medications are often administered in an aerosol mist by a mask or through an inhaler.
Supplemental oxygen through a mask, nasal prongs, or an oxygen tent
Mechanical ventilation. A child who becomes very ill with adenovirus may require mechanical ventilation or a respirator to assist with breathing for a period of time.
Treatment for intestinal infection may include:
Oral rehydration. Oral rehydration with water, formula, breast milk and/or special electrolyte-containing fluids (fluids containing sugars and salts), such as Pedialyte, is important. Very young children should NOT be rehydrated with soda, juices, or sports drinks.
Continue feeding your child solid foods if they are able to tolerate them. Some children may develop severe enough dehydration to require hospitalization. For these children, treatment may include:

Administration of intravenous (IV) fluids
Nasogastric (NG) tube feedings. A small tube is placed into your child’s stomach through the nose so that formula or fluids may be administered.
Blood work. This is done to measure your child’s electrolyte levelsâ€"sugar, salt, and other chemicals in the blood.
How can adenovirus infection be prevented?
The first line of prevention is frequent hand washing (good hand hygiene).
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Disinfection of fomites [fo-mites] (clothes, utensils, and furniture) is difficult as the virus is resistant to many disinfectants.
Clean surfaces with heat or bleach-containing products.

People who have an infection and are in the hospital need to be in isolation. You should try to avoid close contact with those who are sick.
Anyone who is ill with the virus should stay home and avoid spreading the infection further.
Virus shedding (released from the body) can continue for days to weeks even after the person recovers from the acute illness, therefore those who were infected can still spread to others even when they appear well.

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What is an anal fissure?
An anal fissure is a tear in the lining of the lower rectum (anal canal) that causes pain during bowel movements. Anal fissures don’t lead to more serious problems.

Most anal fissures heal with home treatment after a few days or weeks. These are called short-term (acute) anal fissures. If you have an anal fissure that hasn’t healed after 8 to 12 weeks, it is considered a long-term (chronic) fissure. A chronic fissure may need medical treatment. Anal fissures are a common problem. They affect people of all ages, especially young and otherwise healthy people.

Pathophysiology and Etiology
The exact etiology of anal fissures is unknown, but the initiating factor is thought to be trauma from the passage of a particularly hard or painful bowel movement. Low-fiber diets (eg, those lacking in raw fruits and vegetables) are associated with the development of anal fissures. No occupations are associated with a higher risk for the development of anal fissures. Prior anal surgery is a predisposing factor because scarring from the surgery may cause either stenosis or tethering of the anal canal, which makes it more susceptible to trauma from the hard stool.

Initial minor tears in the anal mucosa due to a hard bowel movement probably occur often. In most people, these heal rapidly without long-term sequelae. In patients with underlying abnormalities of the internal sphincter, however, these injuries progress to acute and chronic anal fissures. Studies of the internal anal sphincter and of anal canal physiology have been performed with varied results, but at least one abnormality is likely to present in the internal anal sphincter of many anal fissure patients.

The most commonly observed abnormalities are hypertonicity and hypertrophy of the internal anal sphincter, leading to the elevated anal canal and sphincter resting pressures. The internal sphincter maintains the resting pressure of the anal canal; anal-rectal manometry can be used to measure this pressure. Most patients with anal fissures have elevated resting pressure, which returns to normal levels after surgical sphincterotomy.

The posterior anal commissure is the most poorly perfused part of the anal canal. In patients with hypertrophied internal anal sphincters, this delicate blood supply is further compromised, thus rendering the posterior midline of the anal canal relatively ischemic. This relative ischemia is thought to account for why many fissures do not heal spontaneously and may last for several months.

Pain accompanies each bowel movement as this raw area is stretched and the injured mucosa is abraded by the stool. The internal sphincter also begins to spasm when a bowel movement is passed. This spasm has two effects: First, it is painful in itself, and second, it further reduces the blood flow to the posterior midline and the anal fissure, contributing to the poor healing rate.

What causes an anal fissure?
Anal fissures can be caused by trauma to the anus and anal canal. The trauma can be caused by one or more of the following:

Chronic (long-term) constipation
Straining to have a bowel movement, especially if the stool is large, hard and/or dry
Prolonged diarrhea
Anal sex, anal stretching
Insertion of foreign objects into the anus
Causes other than trauma include:

Longstanding poor bowel habits
Overly tight or spastic anal sphincter muscles (muscles that control the closing of the anus)
Scarring in the anorectal area
An underlying medical problem, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (types of inflammatory bowel disease); anal cancer; leukemia; infectious diseases (such as tuberculosis); and sexually transmitted diseases (such as syphilis, gonorrhea, Chlamydia, chancroid, HIV)
Decreased blood flow to the anorectal area
Anal fissures are also common in young infants and in women after childbirth.

Risk factors of anal fissure
Factors that may increase your risk of developing an anal fissure include:

Straining during bowel movements and passing hard stools increase the risk of tearing.
Anal fissures are more common in women after they give birth.
Crohn’s disease. This inflammatory bowel disease causes chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract, which may make the lining of the anal canal more vulnerable to tearing.
Anal intercourse.
Anal fissures can occur at any age but are more common in infants and middle-aged adults.
What are the signs and symptoms of anal fissures?
People with anal fissures almost always experience anal pain that worsens with bowel movements.

The pain following a bowel movement may be brief or long-lasting; however, the pain usually subsides between bowel movements.
The pain can be so severe that patients are unwilling to have a bowel movement, resulting in constipation and even fecal impaction. Moreover, constipation can result in the passage of a larger, harder stool that causes further trauma and makes the fissure worse.
The pain also can affect urination by causing discomfort when urinating (dysuria), frequent urination, or the inability to urinate.
Bleeding in small amounts, itching (pruritus ani), and a malodorous discharge may occur due to the discharge of pus from the fissure.
As previously mentioned, anal fissures commonly bleed in infants.


Complications of anal fissure
Complications seen with anal fissures include:

Pain and discomfort
Reduced quality of life
Difficulty with bowel movements. Many people even avoid going to the bathroom because of the pain and discomfort it causes
Possible recurrence even after treatment
Clotting
Uncontrolled bowel movements and gas
Diagnosis
Your doctor will likely ask about your medical history and perform a physical exam, including a gentle inspection of the anal region. Often the tear is visible. Usually, this exam is all that’s needed to diagnose an anal fissure.

An acute anal fissure looks like a fresh tear, somewhat like a paper cut. A chronic anal fissure likely has a deeper tear and may have internal or external fleshy growths. A fissure is considered chronic if it lasts more than eight weeks.

The fissure’s location offers clues about its cause. A fissure that occurs on the side of the anal opening, rather than the back or front, is more likely to be a sign of another disorder, such as Crohn’s disease. Your doctor may recommend further testing if he or she thinks you have an underlying condition:

Anoscopy. An anoscope is a tubular device inserted into the anus to help your doctor visualize the rectum and anus.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy. Your doctor will insert a thin, flexible tube with a tiny video into the bottom portion of your colon. This test may be done if you’re younger than 50 and have no risk factors for intestinal diseases or colon cancer.

Colonoscopy. Your doctor will insert a flexible tube into your rectum to inspect the entire colon. This test may be done if you are older than age 50 or you have risk factors for colon cancer, signs of other conditions, or other symptoms such as abdominal pain or diarrhea.

Treatment
Anal fissures often heal within a few weeks if you take steps to keep your stool soft, such as increasing your intake of fiber and fluids. Soaking in warm water for 10 to 20 minutes several times a day, especially after bowel movements, can help relax the sphincter and promote healing.

If your symptoms persist, you’ll likely need further treatment.

Nonsurgical treatments
Your doctor may recommend:

Externally applied nitroglycerin (Rectiv), to help increase blood flow to the fissure and promote healing and to help relax the anal sphincter. Nitroglycerin is generally considered the medical treatment of choice when other conservative measures fail. Side effects may include headaches, which can be severe.
Topical anesthetic creams such as lidocaine hydrochloride (Xylocaine) may be helpful for pain relief.
Botulinum toxin type A (Botox) injection, to paralyze the anal sphincter muscle and relax spasms.
Blood pressure medications, such as oral nifedipine (Procardia) or diltiazem (Cardizem) can help relax the anal sphincter. These medications may be taken by mouth or applied externally and may be used when nitroglycerin is not effective or causes significant side effects.
Surgery
If you have a chronic anal fissure that is resistant to other treatments, or if your symptoms are severe, your doctor may recommend surgery. Doctors usually perform a procedure called lateral internal sphincterotomy (LIS), which involves cutting a small portion of the anal sphincter muscle to reduce spasm and pain and promote healing.

Studies have found that for chronic fissure, surgery is much more effective than any medical treatment. However, surgery has a small risk of causing incontinence.


Self-help for anal fissures
Be guided by your health care professional, but general suggestions include:

Apply petroleum jelly to the anus.
See your chemist for advice on ointments specific for anal pain.
Take regular sitz (salt bath) baths, which involves sitting in a shallow bath of warm water for around 20 minutes.
Use baby wipes instead of toilet paper.
Shower or bathe after every bowel motion.
Drink six to eight glasses of water every day.
How can an anal fissure be prevented?
An anal fissure can’t always be prevented, but you can reduce your risk of getting one by taking the following preventive measures:

Keeping the anal area dry
Cleansing the anal area gently with mild soap and warm water
Drinking plenty of fluids, eating fibrous foods, and exercising regularly to avoid constipation
Treating diarrhea immediately
Changing infants’ diapers frequently
Source: Dictionary of Diseases

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DOE Sec. Cusi Pushes for Further Development of Geothermal

TAGUIG CITY- Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi wants to push the development of geothermal power among the country’s renewable resources to help attain energy security and boost Republic Act 9513, also known as the Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2008.

In a meeting with key officials of the Department of Energy (DOE) on Wednesday (24 June) via videoconferencing, Secretary Cusi directed his team to prepare a formal directive that would contain initiatives and guidelines on how to promote geothermal energy development and increase its utilization, as said resource is indigenous to the country.

“I would like to issue an order to really look deeply and comprehensively into how we can develop geothermal. I have been really thinking about it, assessing how we are addressing RE,” Secretary Cusi told the officials.

Present during the team meeting were DOE Senior Undersecretary Jesus Cristino P. Posadas, Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella, Undersecretary Emmanuel P. Juaneza, DOE-Renewable Energy Management Bureau Director Mylene C. Capongcol, and Electric Power Industry Management Bureau Director Mario C. Marasigan.

In promoting RE, Secretary Cusi said it is best for the country to focus on the resources that are abundant available, and extend all the necessary support to encourage its development through innovative policies and strategies.

He cited Vietnam as an example, where the country focused on developing the strength of its hydro resources.

“They are very strong on hydro and that’s what they are developing. They are giving priority to their hydro.  It doesn’t mean that they don’t have the other sources, but they focused on the strength of this particular resource,” he noted.

Secretary Cusi said geothermal power plants may be expensive to develop and may
take a longer time to build, but it would be able to generate the kind of power that will help sustain the energy security of the Philippines in the long-term.

“This is the time to sit down and explore ways to support geothermal, because one installation will easily wipe out the 1,000MW installation of solar. I am for RE that would help improve the energy security of the country,” he pointed out.

“Let us break our head, think on how we can promote this source of energy â€" renewable that is really indigenous to us,” he added. “Eto, proven na natin itong geothermal. Let’s go for it and regain our previous global standing as one of the top countries in geothermal development,” he said, noting that the Philippines used to be number one in the field.

To date, the Philippines continues to have the highest RE generation mix within the Southeast Asian region. In 2018, RE accounted for about 33.2% of our country’s total primary energy supply. The figure is already 10% ahead of the regional target set forth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plan of Action on Energy Cooperation, which seeks to increase the RE component on the ASEAN total primary energy mix to 23% by the year 2025.

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Mandatory checking of body temperature

What is eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)?
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic disease of the esophagus. Your esophagus is the muscular tube that carries food and liquids from your mouth to the stomach. If you have EoE, white blood cells called eosinophils build up in your esophagus. This causes damage and inflammation, which can cause pain and may lead to trouble swallowing and food getting stuck in your throat.

EoE is rare. But because it is a newly recognized disease, more people are now getting diagnosed with it. Some people who think that they have reflux (GERD) may actually have EoE.

Pathophysiology of eosinophilic esophagitis
Eosinophilic esophagitis is hypothesized to result from a T-helper (Th)2-mediated inflammatory response to food and/or environmental allergens. The Th2 cytokines interleukin-4, interleukin-5, and interleukin-13 have been implicated in disease pathogenesis as has eotaxin-3, a chemokine that attracts eosinophils to sites of inflammation. Chronic esophageal inflammation results in eventual fibrotic changes referred to as esophageal remodeling.

What causes eosinophilic esophagitis?
The esophagus is a muscular tube that propels swallowed food from the mouth into the stomach. Esophagitis refers to inflammation of the esophagus that has several causes.

The most common cause of esophagitis is acid reflux, which most frequently results in heartburn. Acid reflux can also cause ulcers in the inner lining of the esophagus.
Other less common causes of esophagitis include viruses (such as herpes simplex), fungi (such as Candida), medications that become stuck in the esophagus (such as the antibiotic, tetracycline), and radiation therapy (such as during treatment of lung cancer).
Doctors believe that eosinophilic esophagitis is a type of esophagitis that is caused by an allergen for two reasons.

First, eosinophils are prominent in other diseases associated with allergies such as asthma, hay fever, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis.
Second, people with eosinophilic esophagitis are more likely to suffer from these other allergic diseases.
Nevertheless, the exact substance that causes the allergic reaction in eosinophilic esophagitis is not known. The hallmark of eosinophilic esophagitis is the presence of large numbers of eosinophils in the tissue just beneath the inner lining of the esophagus.

Eosinophilic esophagitis â€" Risk factors
The following risk factors are associated with eosinophilic esophagitis:

People who live in a cold or dry climate are more likely than those in other climates to be diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis.
You’re more likely to be diagnosed between the spring and fall, probably because levels of pollen and other allergens are higher and people are more prone to be outdoors.
Eosinophilic esophagitis is more common in males than in females.
Family history. Doctors think eosinophilic esophagitis may run in the family (have a genetic component). If your family members have eosinophilic esophagitis, you have a greater chance of being diagnosed.
Allergies and asthma. If you have food or environmental allergies, asthma, atopic dermatitis or a chronic respiratory disease, you’re more likely to be diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis.
Originally, eosinophilic esophagitis was thought to be a childhood disease, but now it is known to be common in adults as well. The symptoms differ somewhat between children and adults.

What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of EoE may vary from one individual to the next and may differ depending on age. Infants and toddlers often refuse their food or have trouble growing properly. School-age children may have recurring abdominal pain, trouble swallowing, or vomiting. Adolescents and adults most often have difficult or painful swallowing. Their esophagus may narrow and cause food to become stuck (impaction), causing a medical emergency.

Symptoms also may vary given the developmental ability and communication skills of the age group affected.

Common symptoms include:

Reflux that does not respond to medication (acid suppressors) â€" infant, child, adult
Difficulty swallowing â€" child, adult
Food impactions (food gets stuck in the esophagus) â€" older children, adult
Nausea and Vomiting â€" infant, child, adult
Failure to thrive (poor growth, malnutrition, or weight loss) and poor appetite â€" infant, child, rarely adult
Abdominal or chest pain â€" child, adult
Feeding refusal/intolerance or poor appetite â€" infant, child
Difficulty sleeping due to chest or abdominal pain, reflux, and/or nausea â€" infant, child, adult
Complications
In some people, eosinophilic esophagitis can lead to the following:

Scarring and narrowing of the esophagus. This makes it difficult to swallow and more likely that you will have food get stuck.
Damage to the esophagus. Because of inflammation of the esophagus, endoscopy can cause perforation or tears in the tissue that lines the esophagus. Tearing can also occur in connection with retching that some people experience when they get food stuck in the esophagus.
How is eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) diagnosed?

To diagnose EoE, your doctor will

Ask about your symptoms and medical history. Since other conditions can have the same symptoms of EoE, it is important for your doctor to take a thorough history.
Do an upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy. An endoscope is a long, flexible tube with a light and camera at the end of it. Your doctor will run the endoscope down your esophagus and look at it. Some signs that you might have EoE include white spots, rings, narrowing, and inflammation in the esophagus. However, not everyone with EoE has those signs, and sometimes they can be signs of a different esophagus disorder.
Do a biopsy. During the endoscopy, the doctor will take small tissue samples from your esophagus. The samples will be checked for a high number of eosinophils. This is the only way to make a diagnosis of EoE.
Do other tests as needed. You may have blood tests to check for other conditions. If you do have EoE, you may have blood or other types of tests to check for specific allergies.
EoE Treatment options
Time
Symptoms in infants may resolve in the first few years of life, particularly if only one or two foods are involved. When symptoms arise in older children and adults, they usually do not resolve.

Medication
Proton Pump inhibitors are tablets or liquids that reduce acid production but also have an anti-inflammatory action that may reduce or abolish the eosinophilic inflammation in EoE.

Topical asthma steroid puffers or steroid liquid made up as a paste can reduce inflammation in the oesophagus. These are swallowed instead of inhaled, poorly absorbed, and extremely unlikely to cause cortisone/steroid tablet-like side effects. They help reduce inflammation and the scarring that can result from untreated EoE.

It is important to have a rescue plan for the flare of symptoms and to take the lowest dose of medications.

Dilation
If the oesophagus is very narrow, an endoscopy and a procedure are known as dilation may be required to open the narrowed oesophagus to allow the food to pass easier. This may provide temporary relief.

Diet manipulation
Dietary manipulation may assist both adults and children, but should be undertaken under the direction of a gastroenterologist or immunologist, and supervised by a specialist dietitian. When undertaking dietary manipulation, the foods are removed for a period of time and then re-introduced one at a time to see which foods result in symptoms.

Types of dietary manipulation used include:
Common food allergen elimination diets: These usually include the removal of cow’s milk, soy, egg, and wheat. Allergy testing or patient history may result in the removal of additional foods.
Step-up diets: Instead of removing many foods at the same time, one to two foods are removed at first, to see if symptoms improve, then repeating a biopsy if they do, but removing more foods later on if inflammation persists on biopsy.
Directed diets: Foods are removed based on the history of trigger foods and allergy testing. This approach is no longer recommended as allergy test results are negative in most people with EoE.
Amino acid-based diets: These are based on amino acid/elemental formula and can be impractical in adults and older children, but are useful and commonly used for babies with EoE.
Endoscopies and repeat biopsies are essential to monitoring response to treatment. Symptoms alone are not a reliable guide to disease control. It is important to note that:

Diagnosis of EoE should always be confirmed by endoscopy and biopsies.

Dietary manipulation for EoE should be temporary, initiated by a medical specialist and supervised by a specialist dietitian to avoid the risk of malnutrition.

What is the prognosis?
Eosinophilic esophagitis is a chronic disease that requires ongoing monitoring and management. EoE does not appear to limit life expectancy and there is currently no strong data suggesting EoE causes cancer of the esophagus. In some patients, EoE is complicated by the development of esophageal narrowing (strictures) which may cause food to lodge in the esophagus (impaction). It can also make eating very difficult and uncomfortable for children and adults. It is not clear how long EoE has to exist before strictures form. However, since the natural history of EoE is only emerging, careful monitoring and long-term follow-up are advised.

The initial diagnosis of EoE can be overwhelming and often affects the entire family. A positive attitude and a focus on non-food activities go a long way in learning to live with EoE. With proper treatment, individuals with EoE can successfully manage the condition.

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DOTr guide on public transportation under GCQ areas

Did you know the sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the English alphabet.

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From Bohol Governor Art Yap:
"We cannot deal with Covid-19 in an atmosphere of fear. We have to meet Covid-19 with a fighting spirit that we can beat this virus. The only way we can do that is to keep on trying. Di ta mo-give. Di ta mo-surrender. Kinahanglan sa kada oportunidad, kinahanglan suwayan nato. We can no longer go back to what we had been used to. As we move forward, many of the things that we are going to be doing are new things. Mao nga kinahanglan all of us kinahanglan game pod ta. Di ta pwede na we are going to be retreating into our own homes and do nothing. The global average for infections and death is only 5%. The average for deaths in the Philippines is below 5%. Mao nga ingon nako nga dakong posibilidad nga daghan pa ang maigo dili tungod sa virus or sa Covid-19. Dakong posibilidad nga daghan ang maigo tungod kay wa na tay maipakaon nila. Wa na tay maitabang nila tungod kay nicollapsed na, naguba na ang entiro economic system sa nasudnong Pilipinhon. We cannot allow that to happen. We must face this problem with courage. There are solutions. But we cannot know the solutions and the right way if we do not try. Mao nga sa kada adlaw, sa kada lakang, maningkamot tang tanan ug importante magtinabangay ang tanan. Maghiusa ta. I know you have fears. I also have fears. And, we will do our best to protect you.

Nobody can win this fight against Covid alone. The mayors will not be able to do it alone; the governor will not be able to do it alone; the police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines cannot do it alone. Only with the people of Bohol can we win this fight. Mao nga ang akong hangyo sa tanan, sa atong  mga kaigsoonang Bol-anon- -we have to police and monitor. Kinahanglan mo-self-regulate ta. Kung kita, wa ta’y mga disiplina ug di ta andam na mo-self-regulate, dakong posibilidad nga, simbako, naay posibilidad na magka-local transmission diri, naay posibilidad na magka-pandemic outbreak diri. At this point in time, there’s nothing sure in the Philippines, there is nothing sure globally.  Akong ipahinumdom ninyong tanan na hangtod karon, wa pa tay nakit-an, nadiskobre na bakuna, tambal kontra sa kagaw. Mao nga the way continues to be aggressive prevention. But as we aggressively prevent, we must not forget- -we must try to find new solutions, because to survive with this virus is to defeat this virus. So I pray for all of you. Keep your leaders in mind and keep us in your prayers as well. God protect you and God save Bohol." - -Gov. Art Yap

ANG UBANG PAMAHAYAG NI GOV. ART YAP ATUL SA PRESSCON KAGANIHANG HAPON

Ganinang buntag, nakigtigum ta sa transport sector uban ang LTO ug PNP. Atong giklaro ang mga issue kabahin sa pagpanakop. Gipasabot ni Atty. Jun Gador ngadto kanila ang mga basehan nganong nanakop ang taga LTO ug LTFRB sa nanglabay nga mga semana.

Kung nahinumdoman ninyo, niadtong byernes atong gi-question ang maong direktiba tungod kay tan-aw nato mas nahasol na hinuon ang mga pasahero, mas dako pud ang kahigayonan nga ma-violate ang social distancing tungod kay mag-ilog na hinuon ang mga taw kung kinsay maka una ug sakay.

Mapasalamaton ta kay gitawgan ko ni LTO R7 Dir. Vic Caindec gahapon. Matud niya, gisuspenso una sa LTO ang deputation orders ug gi-undang sa nila ang pagpanakop samtang makignegosasyon sila sa mga Local Government Units nga hingtungdan.

Naminaw pud ta sa mga yango-ngo sa atong mga transport sector labi na kadtong naapektuhan sa COVID-19 nga pandemia. Uban kanila naa pay gisagubang nga mga loans sa banko ug gihimo nilang puhunan sa pagpalit ug sakyanan niadtong kusog pa ang turismo sa atong lalawigan. Karon nga wala pa kitay turista nga gidawat, nagproblema sila kung unsaon nila pagbayad sa mga loans nga wala may income ang ilang mga sakyanan.

Tungod niini, nagpadala ta ug suwat ngadto ni Presidente Duterte aron matabangan nato sila pinaagi sa paghangyo nga unta mopagawas siya og direktiba ngadto sa Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ug ubang ahensya sa gobyerno nga tugotan ang mga bangko ug ubang institusyon nga nagpahuwam og kwata nga i-restructure ang mga loans sa mga sakop sa transport sector ngadto na sa mas taas nga panahon ug malugwayan pa ang collection moratorium kutob usa ka tuig gikan panahon nga gipaubos sa MGCQ ang Bohol.

Kining atong sugyot kabahin sa loan restructuring nakakuha kini og suporta gikan sa Regional Development Council of Region 7 pinaagi sa RDC Resolution No. 21, Series of 2020 ug sa League of Provinces of the Philippines through LPP Special Resolution No. 2020-010.

Atong gitabangan ang atong transport sector tungod kay usa sila sa mga sektor nga naapektohan og dako sa dihang nagsira ang tourism industry dinhi sa Bohol tungod sa Covid 19. Ang atong transport sector sa Bohol dunay 35 ka sakop nga grupo nga naglangkob sa 458 ka filcabs, 349 ka GT Express, 258 ka mini-buses ug PUBs, 816 PUJs. Apil sab sa transport sector ang mga Tourist Units Vans, Coasters and Buses nga moabot tanan sa 578. Ug, ang atong transport sector nakahatag og trabaho sa sobra sa 10,000 ka tawo.

Ako sab nga gisuwatan si LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III  aron isuspenso ang pagpatuman sa ilang Memorandum  Circular dinhi sa Bohol, bisan og kutob nga makagawas na ta sa MGCQ nga status.

Ang mga hinungdan nga atong gihatag ngadto sa LTFRB mao ang mosunod: 1) Nagkinahanglan kita og dugang mga sakyanan aron masunod ang social distancing; 2) kasagaran sa mga sakyanan mga bag-o pa ug dunay pay mga lima ka tuig o sobra pa sa ilang economic useful lives; ug 3) ang original maximum distancing rules were premised on vehicles ferrying passengers at maximum capacity. Kining maong sitwasyon dili possible karong panahona tungod kay ang mga de pasaheroang sakyanan gitugotan lamang sa pagpasakay og katunga sa ilang capacity.

For these reasons, we reiterate our APPEAL to LTFRB to put this Memorandum Circular in abeyance.

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LOOK: DOH COVID-19 CASE BULLETIN #102

As of 4PM today, June 24, 2020, the Department of Health reports the total number of COVID-19 cases at 32,295.

In addition to the 357 fresh cases, 113 late cases were also reported today. Today's fresh cases are based on the daily accomplishment reports submitted by only 45 out of 59 current operational labs.

DOH likewise announces 214 recoveries. This brings the total number of recoveries to 8,656.

Note:
Of the 18 reported deaths, 14 (78%) occurred in June (June 04-17, 2020).  The total cases reported may be subject to change as these numbers undergo constant cleaning and validation.

Full details here: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDOHgov/posts/3437057592972135

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From Divine Word College Tagbilaran to Alta Cita Mall
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HNU Graduate Tops CPA Board Exam
Published on May 28, 2006 by The Bohol Chronicle

Warren Bompat Yap Jr., son of Mr and Mrs. Warren Yap (nee Leyema Bompat), of Wrenley's Appliance and Wregent Hotel this city, ranked 2nd place in the board examinations for Certified Public Accountants (CPA) given by the Professional Regulations Commi ssion (PRC) earlier this month.

The new CPA graduated cum laude from Holy Name University (HNU) in October last year. He finished the course in three and a half years.

Other board exam passers of HNU are Elaine U. Arcales, Myranel S. Banga, Juleah Anne P. Caballo, Philip Roseller S. Cajes, Jonalee M. Coja, Josephine V. Conson, Trinita Corazon A. Fuego, Silver D. Gran, Dario P. Laurden, Dino P. Malugao, Jevios Mar T. Monton, Roy R. Pacot, Rocelle G. Palaca, Melody Faith R. Trigo.

HNU ranked third nationwide with a passing percentage of 39 percent as compared to the national passing percentage of 24 percent.

Fixers at Tagbilaran LTO still rampant    
By KIT BAGAIPO
Published by The Bohol Chronicle on May 28, 2006
       
The city-based Land Transportation Office (LTO) has failed to stop the presence of fixers victimizing land vehicle owners and applicants for drivers' licenses.

This was confirmed when a Chronicle-dyRD team visited the local LTO last Monday to conduct a three-day actual observation on the modus operandi of these fixers.

During the three-day observation at the LTO, the Chronicle chanced to interview some of the fixers, but majority of them strongly denied their operations.

However, a supposed lady intermediary at the LTO, who identified herself as "Liliw" admitted that she has personal access to the records section of the agency claiming that her daily routine is to "help the processing office and the applicants."

Pressed to identify any personnel linked with these fixers, "Liliw" begged off to name names.

The glaring operations of fixers at the city LTO showed them carrying bundles of drivers' application forms while waiting for clients right at the main entrance of the LTO. In fact, these fixers appear like a "human barricade" right in front of the office as early as 8 o'clock every morning.

This scene at the said agency could be the best proof why in several "Bohol Poll" surveys, the LTO tops the list of corrupt government agencies here.

Confronted with "Liliw's" revelation, LTO Registrar Macario Getaruelas was irked when informed by the Chronicle that "Liliw" and several other fixers has access to LTO records including license applications under process.

During the same interview, the LTO official could not deny that he knows "Liliw" who is seen at the LTO almost daily like a regular employee. In fact, he admitted that "Liliw" assists in the filing of records at the office but quickly denied of having been aware of her activities as a fixer.

Getaruelas assured that he will convene a general meeting to relay this factual observation report submitted by the Chronicle to his office last Wednesday. In a check made late Friday afternoon, some personnel said that the LTO chief convened a meeting earlier in the day. The details of said meeting were not available until the agency closed for the weekend break.

He denied having personal knowledge about "Liliw" and some others who are transacting business in behalf of his office.

In a recorded interview over dyRD, "Liliw" admitted that she is not an employee of the licensing office but was authorized to transact for and in behalf of license applicants.

Applicants for a professional driver's license need not take the required examination if one could pay P900 in lieu of the test (excluding P300 for drug test and P50 for medical examination).

If an applicant has to dutifully abide by the standard procedure of acquiring a professional driver's license, without intervention of fixers, the applicant would only have to pay a little less than P300.

It may be recalled that earlier this year, a daughter of Provincial Board Member Godofreda Tirol applied for driver's license at the local LTO office. Refusing to pay P800, since she wanted to obtain her driver's license thru proper procedures, she was informed by LTO personnel that she would only fail in the test if she took it. However, if she paid P800 instead of taking the exam, the LTO personnel assured her, she would pass and get her license.

Nevertheless, BM Tirol's daughter took the exam saying she didn't "want a passing score in exchange for money." She wanted to get a license because she deserves to have it. The board member's daughter was even more surprised upon learning that some questions included in the exam were not applicable in the Philippines. The questionnaire was designed for the applicants to fail.

An LTO employee admitted in the same recorded interview, that even the LTO chief and members of the highway patrol would fail the exam. The questionnaires that are fed to the computerized checking machine are pre-answered by one of their personnel who already know the answers of the exam.

An inspection at the LTO office made by the Chronicle-dyRD reporters revealed that there is no testing area provided for license applicants. It was also known that pre-examination seminars and reviewers are not conducted and provided to inform and review the examinees.

Getaruelas claimed to have already initiated procedures to conduct seminars and supply review materials for applicants.

PNP lacks 680 guns; manpower
      Bohol's entire PNP command utterly lacks guns while many police units are undermanned.
      Camp Dagohoy admitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan these facts amid the rising criminalities that specifically involve daring house robberies and highway hold-ups recently.


source: The Bohol Chronicle, August 2001

It's been 8 years since it happened. Anyone can share an update of the case?

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By Premier PressAdventure Games
Adventure games are basically about exploring, where player-characters go on a quest, find things, and solve puzzles. The pioneering adventure games were text based. You would type in movement commands, and as you entered each new area or room, you would be given a brief description of where you were. Phrases like "You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike" are now gaming classics. The best adventure games play like interactive books or stories, where you as the player decide what happens next, to a certain degree.

Text adventures evolved into text-based games with static images giving the player a bet­ter idea of his surroundings. Eventually these merged with 3D modeling technology. The player was then presented with either a first- or third-person point of view of the scene his character was experiencing.

Adventure games are heavily story based and typically very linear. You have to find your way from one major accomplishment to the next. As the story develops, you soon become more capable of predicting where the game is going. Your success derives from your abil­ity to anticipate and make the best choices.
Some well-known examples of adventure games are The King's Quest series, The Longest Journey, and Syberia.
Online adventure games have not really come into their own yet, although some games are emerging that might fit the genre. They tend to include elements of FPS action games and Role-Playing Games (RPGs) to fill out the game play, because the story aspect of the game is more difficult to accomplish in an online environment. Players advance at different speeds, so a monolithic linear story line would become pretty dreary to a more advanced player. An example of an online action-adventure-FPS hybrid game is Tubettiworld, being developed by my all-volunteer team at Tubetti Enterprises.

Role-Playing Games
Role-playing games are very popular; that popularity can probably find its roots in our early childhood. At younger than age six or seven, we often imagined and acted out excit­ing adventures inspired by our action figures and other toys or children's books. As was also true for strategy games, the more mature forms of these games first evolved as pen-and­paper games, such as Dungeons & Dragons.

These games moved into the computer realm with the com­puter taking on more of the data-manipulation tasks of the game masters. In role-playing games, the player is usually responsible for the develop­ment of his game character's skills, physical appearance, loy­alties, and other characteris­tics. Eventually the game envi­ronment moved from each player's imaginations onto the computer, with rich 3D fantasy worlds populated by visually satisfying representations of buildings, monsters, and crea­tures (see Figure 1.3). RPGs are usually science fiction or fan­tasy based, with some histori­cally oriented games being popular in certain niches.

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