text:
One of the issues raised by the lengthy discussion about the designation of Jesus as a high priest after the order of Melchizedek is that of Jesus' "sinlessness". Traditionally we have understood this in what I suppose are general existential or ontological terms: Jesus was sinless because he was by nature both God and man. But the New Testament, for the most part, frames the matter differently, situating the motif in a narrative and eschatological context that puts the emphasis not on his nature but on his obedience under particular conditions. This is not an isolated correction, of course. It is part of a wholesale shift in how we make sense of the New Testament and therefore of Christian origins—from a dogmatic-theological reading to a narrative-historical reading.
First, the background argument…
For the writer of Hebrews the significance of Jesus' high priesthood lies not so much in the fact that he died for Israel, though that is a crucial part of the narrative, but in the fact that he presently mediated in a heavenly sanctuary for the sake of the persecuted Jewish-Christian communities that confessed his name (cf. Heb. 4:11). This is the basic eschatological argument of the Letter: the readers should persevere because Jesus has gone before them through suffering and death, he is the "founder and perfecter" of their faith (Heb. 12:1-3), he is seated at the right hand of God having received authority to rule, he now ministers as a high priest in the presence of God on behalf of his suffering "brothers" (Heb. 2:17; 6:20; 8:1-3), and he will appear in the not too distant future to "save those who are eagerly waiting for him" (9:28). If we don't keep this narrative in view, we will inevitably misinterpret the various statements that are made about Jesus, who he was, and what he did.
Tested… without sin
For we do not have a high priest unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but tested in every way according to likeness without sin. (Heb. 4:15, my translation)
The writer explains in Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus is able to sympathise with the weaknesses and failings of a community under pressure to abandon its calling because he was himself tested in exactly the same manner. A specific form of testing or temptation is in view here: the testing of persecution, which may cause believers to disobey or depart from the faith out of fear. The argument is that the one whom they have confessed as Lord and king is also (this is the point of the frequent appeal to Psalm 110:4) a "merciful and faithful" high priest who fully understands their natural weaknesses in the face of suffering.
When it is said, therefore, that Jesus was "tested in exactly the same way but without sin" (Heb. 4:15), the point is that when faced with suffering Jesus was not disobedient and did not cease to trust in his Father. The argument is not that Jesus was naturally or supernaturally sinless prior to being tested, therefore he passed the test. It is that when he was tested, he did not sin: he resembled the readers of the Letter in that he was tested, but unlike them he did not waver in his faith. "Without sin" does not denote a precondition but an outcome, a consequence. This is not to say that Jesus was not sinless in other respects; it is to say that the argument focuses on the manner in which Jesus responded to the prospect of suffering.
The son who learned obedience
This is why the writer goes on to stress the fact that through his suffering Jesus "learned obedience" (Heb. 5:8-10).
Though being a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered, and having been made perfect he became the source of salvation of the age for all those obeying him, being designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. (Heb. 5:8-10, my translation)
What he means by this is indicated in the preceding verse:
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. (Heb. 5:7)
This is a picture of a thoroughly human Jesus who in great anguish prayed to be saved from death and was heard by God because of his reverence. It is the sort of obedience under extreme duress that the Jewish Christian communities addressed in the Letter needed to learn, or they would fail to enter their "Sabbath rest" at the end of the painful wilderness experience (Heb. 4:1-13).
Jesus responded perfectly, in full obedience, with unfailing trust, without sin, in the face of suffering and death. Therefore, he became i) the "source of salvation" for those who faithfully and obediently walked the same path of suffering and ii) the Melchizedek-like priest-king in heaven, to whom, on the one hand, all their enemies had been subjected (Heb. 2:8), and who, on the other, made propitiation on an ongoing basis for the sins of his people, who were being tested and were sinning (Heb. 2:17-18).
We should also be careful not to over-interpret the clause "Although he was a son…". Lane states: "Although Jesus was the eternal Son of God, he entered into a new dimension in the experience of sonship by virtue of his incarnation and sacrificial death." 1 This is not what the writer is saying. Jesus is a "son" in the sense that whereas Moses was "faithful in all God's house as a servant", Jesus would inherit, at the resurrection, the right to rule over God's house (Heb. 3:5-6). This is, in effect, the kingship theme again. But this status, guaranteed to him at his baptism, did not exempt him from having to walk the path of suffering.
Other texts
There are a three other texts in the New Testament that need to be taken into consideration.
Peter modifies Isaiah 53:9 LXX when he says that Jesus "committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). The Septuagint has "committed no lawlessness", and Peter may have generalized the statement to fit the household instructions to slaves. Nevertheless, the context in which Christ is declared sinless is clear: he did not sin when he was reviled, tortured, and crucified; instead he "continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly" (1 Pet. 2:23-24).
I'm not sure that 1 John 3:5-6 actually says that Jesus did not sin. What we have is: "he appeared in order to take away the sins, and there is no sin in him; everyone who remains in him does not sin…." The present tense ("there is no sin in him") is odd if the reference is to his past life in the flesh. The overall argument rather suggests that the reference is to the community that is "in him" in the present: Jesus took away sins, those in him do not sin, therefore there is no sin in him.
Finally, we have 2 Corinthians 5:21, which certainly looks much more like a general denial that Jesus ever sinned:
the one not having known sin was made sin (or a sin offering) for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
But even here there is a strong case for thinking that Isaiah 53:9-12 is in the background.2 The servant of the Lord suffers violent abuse, even though he has done no lawlessness; through this suffering he bears the sins of many, but will make many to be accounted righteous.
In conclusion, unless I've overlooked something…
In conclusion, unless I've overlooked something, which is quite possible, the New Testament is barely interested, if at all, in attributing a prior sinless nature to the Jesus. The sinlessness of Jesus is noted principally in the manner of his response to the prospect of suffering and death—it is part of the narrative. This certainly does not preclude the idea that Jesus was inherently sinless, but as in other respects, our rationalist interest in ontology and our concern to safeguard later theological developments can easily blind us to the prominence and significance of the apocalyptic narrative in the New Testament.
A very brief note on blog etiquette
Proportionate, relevant and constructive responses, appropriate to the comments section on a blog, no matter how critical, are very welcome and, indeed, very helpful. Lengthy disapproving lectures? Hmm, well….
Submitted by Bob MacDonald on 16 April, 2012 - 16:24 Permalink
I find it helpful to avoid, as you have done, the linear model of time. I find your reading of these texts helpful. The real question is whether we together or individually will read in the present and therefore in the presence. I have to admit I do not understand time or eternity or pre-existent. I get sin, sin offering, hearing, and obedience (hearing) and the one thing the poet of Psalm 27 asks:
One thing I have asked from
יְהוָה that thing I will seek
that I may sit in the house of
יְהוָה all the days of my life
to gaze on the pleasantness of
יְהוָה and to reflect in his temple
It is clear from history - which we have some insight into, that this request is fraught with danger - temples - physical or bodily are places where one may well suffer.
:: Submitted by Andrew on 16 April, 2012 - 20:15 Permalink
Bob, I'm not sure what you mean by avoiding the "linear model of time" here. Could you explain?
:: Submitted by Bob MacDonald on 16 April, 2012 - 22:15 Permalink
Andrew, as far as know and can see, humans perceive time analogically as a 'line'. Time is more complex than that. It stops at the speed of light. This makes eternity a more complex idea than 'everlasting' in the merely linear sense. Aquinas spoke of the eternal as having 'no term either end'. These ancients had a concept of time as instantaneous. But Jesus said - Before Abraham was, I am. And he spoke of his 'hour' (the word occurs 24 times in John's gospel.) This 24 hours is the 1 day of creation and redemption for me. Try George Herbert's poem Easter. Of course I am speaking in another metaphor. - Just not a linear one.
Submitted by cherylu on 16 April, 2012 - 18:07 Permalink
Maybe I am not following you correctly here. But are you saying that the only place where it really mattered that Jesus was sinless was when facing suffering and death?
:: Submitted by Andrew on 16 April, 2012 - 20:13 Permalink
Well, yes, that's more or less how it looks to me. The New Testament appears to be interested in the idea that Jesus was sinless primarily—and perhaps exclusively—in relation to his response to the prospect of suffering and death. That probably has a bearing on the argument about the divinity of Jesus—at least, the New Testament is clearly not interested in asserting that Jesus was sinless because he was God, and it doesn't seem to me to be even a logical inference.
But the more important point is that New Testament theology is mostly constructed narratively, and I think that we are generally too quick to move beyond the narrative to abstract statements about who Jesus was. In fact, I think we should learn to trust the narrative to do the theological work.
:: Submitted by cherylu on 16 April, 2012 - 21:25 Permalink
How could a man that was only sinless at one point in his life be a perfect sacrifice for the sins of all of the rest of humanity?
I hate to have to say this Andrew, but it is looking more and more to me like you have moved to an interpretation of the Bible that is so far afield from orthodox Christianity that it can't even be called Christianity any more.
:: Submitted by BradK on 16 April, 2012 - 22:03 Permalink
Cheryl, it doesn't appear that you are really interested in the topics on which Andrew writes, but rather that you are merely interested in sniffing out a heretic. For example, you asked him if the only place where it mattered if Jesus was sinless was when he was facing suffering and death. When he said that was how it looked to him, you didn't bother giving examples of where you see it mattering or how you see the text showing otherwise, but merely moved on to branding Andrew as a heretic. If you truly see his view as erroneous, then it would be of interest to everyone, including Andrew I am sure, for you to show this. Pointing out which particular parts of the text on Jesus as the perfect sacrifice seem to contradict Andrew's view of a more limited view of Jesus's sinlessness and how you read it would be useful. Some of the rest of us who read his blog are very interested in the topics about which Andrew is writing and his interpretation of the text. Whether his views are tenable is of more interest than whether someone else views them as orthodox.
:: Submitted by cherylu on 16 April, 2012 - 22:22 Permalink
It seems to me that I have pointed out quite a few Scriptures and also other resources here recently that show why I see his views as being in error.
I have read a lot of his material both on this blog and in other places. And frankly, the more I read, the more I have come to the conclusion that I stated in my last comment. The last few posts made have really helped cement that idea in my mind.
I can discuss this idea of Jesus sinlessness (or lack thereof) further. But it seems to me that there comes a point where you need to state things as you see them in the overall picture too. And it truly does appear to me that Andrew's views as a whole simply do not fit in with any definition of orthodox Christianity that I know of. I am just being honest when I make that observation.
:: Submitted by Bob MacDonald on 16 April, 2012 - 22:06 Permalink
(Pardon my butting in)
The mechanism of atonement is far from agreed and has never been a point of exclusion within the churches. Christianity moved far afield from its own moorings in its history. Perhaps it should find itself. I was reading the longer commentary on the Psalms by David Kimhi yesterday (can't find the link at the moment) and was moved by the grace of his writing. I have spent 6 years in the Hebrew of the psalms and I understand why Andrew can and should ask these questions. The Psalms move in the Anointed Spirit through the same Spirit that moves the writer of 1 John, towards a purity that is motivated by the loveliness of God, not a doctrine. This is a real movement of the human spirit in response to the same act of God that we find in Jesus and in the work of his hour. But for us humans to define God's ways and imply the exclusion of others out of our own definitions, is, I think, a hubris that must find itself destroyed, obliterated like any other wickedness.
I was wrestling with the text of Psalm 55 this morning
יַשִּׁי מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ
יֵרְדוּ שְׁאוֹל חַיִּים
כִּי רָעוֹת בִּמְגוּרָם בְּקִרְבָּם
let death lure them
let them descend alive to the grave
for the evils in their hospitality within them
It is too easy to forget 'hospitality'.
Mind you, I may be wrong or stretched in my reading. Certainly, I am over my head - but who isn't?
:: Submitted by cherylu on 16 April, 2012 - 23:02 Permalink
Maybe I am reading you incorrectly here. But it would kind of seem from your quote above of Psalm 55 that you are kind of, sort of (??) making the implication that I should "descend alive to the grave" because I have "forgotten hospitality". If that is the case, the humor of the situation certainly does not escape me! Someone saying that someone else should "go to the grave" because of what they see as their lack of hospitality in stating an honest observation! How very hospitable that is!! (Do "smilies" work here?) :) :)
And by the way, "Christianity" is something that has had definitions and boundaries and accepted beliefs all down through history. If someone seems to be walking outside of those boundaries, is it really a terrible thing to say so? The deity of Christ and the sinlessness of Christ are areas that are considered essential, as I understand it. Someone else said in discussion here a few days ago that Andrew calls himself orthodox, evangelical, and trinitarian but that he has so redefined those terms that they are not recognizable to most people. (At least that is the way I remember his comment.) It is a similar thought that I was expressing here.
:: Submitted by Bob MacDonald on 17 April, 2012 - 00:05 Permalink
You might think I impled that. I couldn't possibly say so.
My reading of your last three comments is that they are without content. They are noises that indicate to me a dependence on doctrinal abstractions that answer all questions. There is a danger thatwhen a question is so answered, it leaves the person who has the answer in a state where refinements to questions and further learning are shut off. My opinion is that such a thing is not good. You may disagree.
As to whether we deserve to descend alive to the grave, or to have our selves destroyed, is not that exactly what we are instructed to do, to consider ourselves dead and buried with Christ Jesus so that we may be alive to God? It is God who teaches. His Torah is not a set of abstract doctrines derived from a book or from tradition without the mediator, the Lord, the Spirit who alone is the giver of life.
Your words seem to me to cut off further discussion, not to mention joy in the Spirit. Nothing that Andrew has written in this post deserves such a comment. It is fair for you to be bothered by his careful exegesis, but it is not good for you or anyone to retreat behind a wall of words and say 'this is what you must write or not write about Jesus'. So say, 'I am bothered by such and such' - rather than 'you are a cad for saying such and such'.
I recommend a close read of Psalm 50 on which Paul modeled his opening chapters of Romans. Note verses 16 and 17. They are addressed to those who 'bear the covenant in your mouths but cast my words behind you'.
:: Submitted by cherylu on 17 April, 2012 - 00:44 Permalink
Methinks you are putting words in my mouth. I never said anyone was a "Cad." I said his beliefs don't line up with orthodox Christianity (Chritianity as it has been hammered out down through the years starting at the time of the apostles onward), in fact they are so far from it as a whole, that they fail to fit in that category any more as far as I can tell. That is NOT the same as calling him a name.
Jude 3 tells us we need to "defend the faith once given to the saints." Now obviously, we disagree on what the details of that faith are. But my contention is simply that the version being given here by Andrew is so far from the understanding of that faith as it has been taken by orthodox Christianity for centuries that it doesn't fit under that name anymore. If you want to define Christianity in such a broad way that beliefs, and interpretations of even the basics, no matter how contradictory they are, all fit under that umbrella, that is one thing. But it is not the definition of orthodox Christianity.
And please remember that what I said is the result of cumulative reading, not just what I got from this one post.
Andrew, I wish you would come back and interact here soon!
:: Submitted by Bob MacDonald on 17 April, 2012 - 01:03 Permalink
Of course you didn't say 'cad'.
:: Submitted by Yinka on 17 April, 2012 - 00:09 Permalink
Dear Cherylu,
Re: Christianity's boundaries. Does it not matter that your version of orthodoxy (circa 2012)would be totally unfamiliar to the Jewish peasants who started this whole thing ?
:: Submitted by cherylu on 17 April, 2012 - 00:27 Permalink
And are any of you 100% certain that the version of "orthodoxy" that Andrew proposes is what was known to the Jewish peasants that started this whole thing? Does it not bother any one of you that second century Christians saw issues like the deity of Christ and the "Word" being Jesus in the same way as we see them today in orthodoxy circa 2012? Are you so certain that one that was taught by the Apostle John and stated that Jesus was both God and man had it all wrong and that is not what John and the other disciples had in mind at all?
:: Submitted by Yinka on 17 April, 2012 - 00:57 Permalink
I never said I was 100% certain , Cherylu. As a "serious" layperson, I do know what passes for orthodoxy today is not 100% of what those FIRST century Jews imbibed in church on Sunday , er, Saturday..
Now one could even parse things further: which 1st century group is in question, Pauls' crew or James's ( while not directly dealing with Christ's deity, Gal.2 and many other passages paint quite a rancorous doctrinal picture of the two groups). Other texts from the same second century you cite have a different take on things .
In sum, Christianity has been dynamic. Other than devotion to Jesus, I daresay that uniformity across the board is an anomaly( unless you're saying we should pack our bags for Rome…..which I wouldn't mind actually, oh, the beauty)
:: Submitted by shirley on 6 March, 2013 - 03:21 Permalink
Beautifully said Bob.
:: Submitted by Andrew on 17 April, 2012 - 05:17 Permalink
Cherylu, just to be clear, I did not say that he was "only sinless at one point in his life". I said that the New Testament was "interested in" the sinlessness of Jesus only really at the point of his response to suffering. That is, the issue is contextualized narratively. But that should not be taken to mean that he was not sinless throughout his life. That would seem to be the implication of 2 Corinthians 5:21; and nothing is said anywhere else that suggests he was anything other than perfectly obedient to his Father's will.
On the matter of orthodoxy, I know this will not make sense, but my position is this. I stand with orthodox Christianity, I regard myself as an evangelical, but I do not think that the popular orthodoxy that we mostly espouse gives a very good account of the New Testament narrative.
The confession of Jesus' divinity is part of the New Testament witness ("My Lord and my God"), but the New Testament narrative is weighted overwhelmingly towards the conviction that YHWH has given authority to his obedient and faithful "Son" to rule over his people and to judge the nations. I think that it is a mistake to read the whole of the narrative through the lens of Thomas' confession.
Similarly, I think that the New Testament bears witness to the unique and full sinlessness of Jesus, but the more we set out to defend this as a matter of dogma, the harder we make it to understand the narrative and argumentative point of the assertion.
My view is that the New Testament is not written as source material for a later Christian orthodoxy. It is written as an engagement with far-reaching political-religious changes that were about to take place in the status of the people of God in relation to the nations. Inevitably, recovering that narrative will put current notions of orthodoxy under strain, but I don't think we will lose as much as you seem to fear, and the potential gains, in my view, are immense.
:: Submitted by cherylu on 17 April, 2012 - 05:33 Permalink
Hi again Andrew,
I guess I misunderstood what you meant on this point. You said, Well, yes, that's more or less how it looks to me. The New Testament appears to be interested in the idea that Jesus was sinless primarily—and perhaps exclusively—in relation to his response to the prospect of suffering and death. That phrase and perhaps exclusively made me think you believed that it was maybe the only at the time of his suffering and death that He was sinless.
It would still seem to me to be very important that He was always sinless. I believe the Old Testament typology of the necessity of the spotless/unblemished lamb for sacrifice would be lost if Jesus had sinned at any time in His life. And if He had to have a sacrifice made for His own sins, how would He of been able to provide in Himself the sacrifice for everyone's sins?
:: Submitted by Andrew on 17 April, 2012 - 05:48 Permalink
I don't have a problem with that argument.
I was extending the comment while you were replying. I added some points on my approach to orthodoxy.
:: Submitted by cherylu on 17 April, 2012 - 05:56 Permalink
I noticed you expanded your comment. It is late here and I am getting very tired, so may have to save any further discussion for tomorrow. Think I may be too tired to make any sense any more tonight.
:: Submitted by cherylu on 17 April, 2012 - 16:12 Permalink
You are right, Andrew, it doesn't make sense! To say in one breath that you stand with orthodox Christianity and in the next breath (and most of the breaths thereafter), to say that the New Testament consistently teaches the opposite of that orthodoxy in regards to Christology is a true enigma to me.
The deity of Christ is an essential part of orthodoxy. And I mean the eternal deity of Christ. And not some kind of He became God at one point in time and He will lose it again at some point in eternity kind of deity.
Many within the orthodox evangelical world go so far as to say that one can not deny Christ's deity and experience the personal salvation that He offers. This is rather a huge issue, obviously.
I also realize that when it comes to declaring Him to not be God, you have said that "you aren't there yet." But you have seemed to me to be getting closer all of the time in the articles you have written. More and more of Scripture has been declared to be making that point.
And I don't think most people that believe He was/is eternally God are reading the whole New Testament through the lens of Thomas' confession. There is simply much, much more that leads people to that conclusion. Obviously you don't agree with that. But the arguments are very convincing to many people and obviously have been right from the start of things way back when. (Early second century.)
:: Submitted by Justin vR on 18 April, 2012 - 03:48 Permalink
Please don't take this comment as being critical but are you sure you really understand what Andrew is trying to do with a narrative historical approach to the text? It would be erroneous to read what Andrew writes as you would read probably the vast majority of theolgically based blogs/book/articles etc. Perhaps try reading 'Hell and Heaven in Narrative Perspective' (I'm guessing you have not read it yet) which you can see the link to on the right hand side of the page.
'Many within the orthodox evangelical world go so far as to say that one can not deny Christ's deity and experience the personal salvation that He offers.'
If one was concerned with trying to understand the bible as a a theological document from which theological meaning and truth is hidden in the words of the orignal writers then the above comment would probably be meaningful. However if one is concerned with understanding the bible as a historical document that has a consistent and flowing narrative from start to finish then the above comment is virtually meaningless.
:: Submitted by cherylu on 18 April, 2012 - 04:12 Permalink
Is theology not being formed from a narrative historical approach? It certainly seems to me that it is. And it is this theology that is of great concern to me.
:: Submitted by Justin vR on 18 April, 2012 - 05:15 Permalink
Clearly you make a valid point. The end result of studying the text will always result in theological outcomes (which again suggests to me you don't really understand what I'm talking about). But why is it of great concern to you? Surely if you find it so disagreeable you can just not read the blog? I mean I've come accross a heap of blogs I disagree with, I just don't read them anymore. I'm curious as to your motivation? It seems to me there are two types of people when it comes to engaging with challenging material. There are those who are critical but from a basis of feeling challenged/stretched/deconstructed and therefore we critique because something we hold dear is being threatened. Personally I have been there a heap of times and definetely from this blog. Then there are those who just want to pin the people who have got it wrong, because being right is just so important - proably everyone that knows me thinks I do that all the time as well :) I don't know where you stand but I hope it is the former as its a pretty cool place to be. Certainty is not all its made up to be.
:: Submitted by cherylu on 18 April, 2012 - 06:04 Permalink
I think I do understand your point. And my point is that studying the text is resulting in theological outcomes–in this case outcomes that I find deeply troubling and I believe have far reaching consequences. That is reason enough to me to speak up and possibly get folks to see things in a different way.
:: Submitted by Justin vR on 18 April, 2012 - 06:20 Permalink
Well all the best to you in your fight! It's great to know where you stand. I won't bother you again.
:: Submitted by Andrew on 18 April, 2012 - 07:31 Permalink
Thanks for your help, Justin. Much appreciated!
:: Submitted by Andrew on 18 April, 2012 - 07:28 Permalink
to say that the New Testament consistently teaches the opposite of that orthodoxy in regards to Christology…
That's not what I said. What I said was: 'the New Testament narrative is weighted overwhelmingly towards the conviction that YHWH has given authority to his obedient and faithful "Son" to rule over his people and to judge the nations.' That does not exclude the confession that Jesus is God. "Weighted towards" one thing does not mean "is the opposite of" something else.
The deity of Christ is an essential part of orthodoxy. And I mean the eternal deity of Christ.
Yes, but it is clearly not the aspect of who Jesus was that the New Testament is primarily concerned to assert. All I am trying to do is put in the foreground what the New Testament puts in the foreground, because I think that the New Testament narrative might provide a better guide to Christian self-understanding than the heavily theological discourse of Western Christendom. Not least, I think it will help us to recover a sense of the dynamic and necessary lordship of Christ over his people.
Many within the orthodox evangelical world go so far as to say that one can not deny Christ's deity and experience the personal salvation that He offers.
Where in the New Testament is a person "saved" by believing in the deity of Christ? Certainly people are saved—Jews first, then Greeks—by confessing that Jesus is Lord, but he is Lord because the authority to rule has been given to him. Lordship is always something that Jesus acquires at a particular point in the story, namely at his ascension to the right hand of God. Lordship is not something that Jesus has eternally in the sense you mean, though it will last throughout the coming ages.
I also realize that when it comes to declaring Him to not be God, you have said that "you aren't there yet."
I am not declaring him not to be God. I am trying to understand how the New Testament speaks about Jesus, and I am pretty sure that at a number of critical points our concern to safeguard orthodoxy is getting in the way of our reading of the New Testament. For all Peter Wilkinson's lengthy protestations, I still think that his reading of the high priest passages in Hebrews is a case in point. The argument about having the authority to forgive sins in Matthew 9:1-8 is another example.
Finally, I have to say I really appreciate the persistent but polite way you attempt to "get folks to see things in a different way".
:: Submitted by cherylu on 18 April, 2012 - 16:24 Permalink
I noticed that you used a favorite phrase of mine somewhere in recent conversation here, "I don't get it." Well, I don't get it either!
I said, "I also realize that when it comes to declaring Him to not be God, you have said that "you aren't there yet."
Then you replied, "I am not declaring him not to be God. I am trying to understand how the New Testament speaks about Jesus, and I am pretty sure that at a number of critical points our concern to safeguard orthodoxy is getting in the way of our reading of the New Testament."
(BTW, the italics and block quote functions are not working at all for me this a.m.)
When I have spoken of you declaring Him to not be God, I have taken it from the total of your writings that I have read here and elsewhere. Maybe you are changing your mind on some things, I don't know. But I have read such things as, (my paraphrase from memory), "The New Testament knows nothing of the Trinitarianism we know today. If we are going to retain Trinitarian language it has to be an eschatological Trinitarianism. He was declared God after His death and resurrection because of His obedience." And at one point you even spoke of Him losing that God hood again when all things are put under the feet of the Father. Any new testament reading that says He is only God after His death and resurrection is not at all the orthodox belief that He was and is eternally God.
So to say you are not declaring Him not to be God while you say that our theology must come from the narrative of the New Tesatment and then to say that the New Testament knows nothing of Him being eternally God is….well it seems to me to be nothing but an outright contradiction. As I said, I don't get it!!
Submitted by peter wilkinson on 17 April, 2012 - 00:08 Permalink
Traditionally we have understood this in what I suppose are general existential or ontological terms: Jesus was sinless because he was by nature both God and man. But the New Testament, for the most part, frames the matter differently, situating the motif in a narrative and eschatological context that puts the emphasis not on his nature but on his obedience under particular conditions. This is not an isolated correction, of course. It is part of a wholesale shift in how we make sense of the New Testament and therefore of Christian origins—from a dogmatic-theological reading to a narrative-historical reading.
I think this probably puts it the wrong way: the conclusion that Jesus was both God and man comes from asking questions which the narrative itself raises. There wasn't some dogmatic starting point prior to the narrative ever being read at which it was agreed by the chrch hierarchy that Jesus was both God and man, which was then to be read into the narrative.
The sinlessness of Jesus was likewise not agreed upon by some church council prior to the narrative being read, and then imposed upon it by decree. It is a proposal which arises from the very questions raised by Jesus being seen to be a very different person from anyone else he can be compared with in the wider narrative, let alone history in general. This kind of questioning about Jesus's identity was taking place all the time, and if it did not have sinlessness as the direct issue subject of the question, the issue was never far behind. It wasn't just a question of whether or not Jesus was Israel's messiah, but what kind of messiah, and behind that, what kind of person was he?
Hebrews itself says very little about Jesus's sinlessness - so it's probably unwise to place too much weight on what is said, though I have suggested an alternative reading to Andrew's, which I think makes better sense, given the background here suggested. (Note the significant absence in Jesus as high priest of making sacrifices for his own sins - something without parallel amongst high priests). However, Hebrews does, it seems to me, say a great deal about Jesus's divine person, in Hebrews 1, which, alongside what the letter also says about his humanity, agrees with a similar combination of deity and humanity within his person suggested elsewhere in the NT. So maybe the 'sinlessness' argument is a bit of a red herring.
The assumption made by Andrew is that Jesus's identity is adequately summed up as human agent of YHWH, and that the narrative of 1st century crisis requires no further questioning about his person. But this is begging the question. If Jesus was an agent of YHWH, questions as to what kind of person this agent was would continue to be asked, as the gospels themselves do, and as history has shown that they have continued to be asked, by all kinds of people in all kinds of cultures. The genie of ontology won't go back into the bottle of a 1st century narrative.
Just a further detailed comment on Hebrews - it seems that Andrew's assumption that the "sabbath rest" to be enjoyed by the people of God, provided they persevere under persecution, is rest from persecution. Apart from being historically questionable, it's also a travesty of the narrative in Hebrews. The "rest" was rest from works, representing works of the law - 4:10, not from persecution. It is a "rest" which God prepared from the foundation of the world, on the seventh day of creation.
The whole burden of the teaching which then follows is the incompleteness of the sacrificial system of works to deal with sin, and the completeness of Jesus's sacrifice of himself as a sacrifice for sin. The issue is law versus promise, where the promise has as its highest objective the access to the very presence of God himself, through Jesus the intercessory high priest, who made atonement for sins as high priest. This is the highest goal of Hebrews, as it is for us, and not a 1st century respite from 1st century persecution.
The narrative is that the Hebrew believers would do better to maintain their loyalty to Jesus rather than apostasize to Judaism, and that this entailed a better understanding of what Jesus had accomplished for them as high priest, by providing unbroken access to God and the the fruits of that - Hebrews 12:22-24, when they were in danger of drifting back to a sacrificial system which was never designed to be more than shadow to the reality provided by Jesus.
Proportionate, relevant and constructive - or disapproving lecture? You decide.
:: Submitted by Bob MacDonald on 17 April, 2012 - 01:01 Permalink
Thanks - I think you raise a balanced question. My feel for it on a quick read is that we can see God through the action and work of Jesus. We also see God through the voiceless voice of the created order. The NT definitely processes the identity of Jesus in a direction and perhaps these were well taken up by later church councils. (But some not so well.) Thus I come to see what is divine through the work and action of Jesus. However, I find the unified voice of the Spirit in the TNK as well - so more refinement to my questions is required.
Besides this, the TNK identifies the son with Israel and the anointed also. Exactly where to go from here? The questions are manifold and multifarious. But note, I am not trying to 'figure this out' by human ingenuity or formula. In the situation I find myself in, i.e. in covenant, I don't need to - but I am free to find rationale and joy in the dialogue within the Anointing Spirit that we are taught through the Anointed Jesus.
:: Submitted by Andrew on 17 April, 2012 - 06:53 Permalink
This seems to me to come firmly in the "disapproving lecture" category. You think everything that I say is wrong, most of what you say here you have said before, and much of it is a misunderstanding of what I wrote.
I have never maintained, for example, that "Jesus's identity is adequately summed up as human agent of YHWH, and that the narrative of 1st century crisis requires no further questioning about his person".
Likewise, I did not simply equate "Sabbath rest" with the ending of persecution. The writer to the Hebrews is concerned that these Jewish believers will fail in obedience, like the wilderness generation (Heb. 3:7-11, 12, 18-19; 4:1, 6, 11), and therefore not reach their promised land, their Sabbath rest after six days of work, which is the impending "day" when Jesus will "appear a second time… to save those who are eagerly waiting for him" (Heb. 9:28; 10:25; cf. 1 Thess. 1:10).
One reason—not the only reason—why they might fail in obedience is persecution.
So the writer repeatedly urges them to hold fast to their confidence and hope (eg. Heb. 3:6, 14; 4:11; 6:18). This is the "work" of faithful obedience from which they will eventually find rest. It has nothing to do with "works of the Law"—that whole controversy is absent from Hebrews; there is nothing about apostasizing to Judaism. These are good and necessary works: "whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his" (Heb. 4:10; cf. 6:10-12; 10:24-25). The writer is clearly not suggesting that God's works of creation are like works of the Law that are superseded in Christ.
It seems a bit rich, therefore, to label my argument a "travesty of the narrative in Hebrews".
:: Submitted by peter wilkinson on 17 April, 2012 - 10:11 Permalink
Andrew - I do actually appreciate the depth and detail which you combine in your exegetical explorations; maybe I should preface each comment with this sort of affirming statement. I also find myself asking: how can an argument which seems so watertight (the stress must fall on 'seems') also get it so wrong?
In fact, your views depend on a big picture which you have drawn, which you then fill in with the supporting detail. The detail is fascinating. It also adroitly side-steps problematic issues. In the comment I have just provided, I was also stepping back from the detail, initially, and looking at how the narrative actively encourages us to ask questions about the identity of Jesus which cannot be limited to the 1st century narrative crisis version of events which you describe. I find that when you have ventured into this territory (the inner identity of Jesus), it has been disastrous for you argument - eg Jesus becomes "God for us".
These questions, however, are precisely the reason why I come to the conclusion, along with I suppose the majority opinion of Christians in history, that Jesus is both God and man, and that this is the best basis for an explanation of a narrative which was occurring then, and also which has personal relevance for us today. I would willingly support that statement, but it's not the primary issue of this thread.
Just to look in detail at your comments above. I note that you say "I did not simply equate "Sabbath rest" with the ending of persecution." So you did, to a greater or lesser extent, equate "Sabbath rest" with the end of persecution.
What else then, according to you, did the "Sabbath rest entail?" You say it was the "impending "day" when Jesus will "appear a second time… to save those who are eagerly waiting for him", which of course for you is the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, which in effect, according to you, was the beginning of the "rest" from persecution, the assurance of the survival of the church through and beyond persecution - it amounts to the same thing.
You then say: "The writer to the Hebrews is concerned that these Jewish believers will fail in obedience, like the wilderness generation". But what did this obedience entail? What was their "confidence and hope" which he "urges them to hold fast to?" It was clearly the confidence and hope they had obtained when it was placed in Jesus, as opposed to Judaism with its sacrificial system, which they were in danger of reverting to by "drifting away" - Hebrews 2:1. I guess we agree on the first point, but disagree on the second, since you think the danger of apostasizing to Judaism has nothing to do with the Hebrews narrative.
You say of the "works" of the Hebrew believers:
These are good and necessary works: "whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his" (Heb. 4:10; cf. 6:10-12; 10:24-25).
I have always associated the "works" of Hebrews 4:10 with the sacrificial system which follows. Maybe that's a false assumption. I think you may be right. Hebrews distinguishes "works" (which are sometimes "good works"), from "dead works", which to my mind is associated with the danger of reversion to Judaism which underlies, in my view, the narrative of the letter.
I do think the writer has a narrative in view here, warning that possession of the land did not amount to the "rest" which was promised in Psalm 95, nor was "rest" to be found exclusively in the land. A warning to nationalist zealots, or those who wanted to maintain their exclusively Jewish traditions, perhaps. There was in this sense, in comparison with the six days of creation, a seventh day, which had come about through Jesus (I don't think that is overstating it, since he was Lord of creation).
I also think the writer has a lasting state or condition in view - a contrast between promise (Hebrews 4:1, Hebrews 6:13, Hebrews 7:20) and law (Hebrews 7:11 ff). This revolves around the meaning of the word "rest". What is "the rest" which the Hebrew Christians might be in danger of failing to enter? It was not something future, such as an imminent day of reckoning for hostile and disobedient Judaism, since the writer says: "Let us be careful that none of you be found (ie in the present) to have fallen short of it" - 4:1, and "Now we who have believed enter (ie in the present) that rest" - 4:3.
Entering this "rest" was a present experience for the Hebrew believers, when they believed and "entered". "Today" is the time for entering that rest, which was fulfilled in Jesus's "today" for the believers - a current possibility for them, which the writer urges them to take hold of. It was not in the first place a future 1st century or later event.
The comparison and contrast of Jesus with the sacrificial system then illustrates what Jesus makes possible in this "today" for the Hebrew believers, rather than simply in their future. The crowning glory is access to the presence of God - Hebrews 9:24, Hebrews 10:19-22, Hebrews 11:39-40, Hebrews 12:22-24, through Jesus's dealing with sin which excluded Jews under Judaism, for all its sacrificial and high priestly system, and exaltation to 'the right hand of God'. I find this to be the emphasis of the letter: entry to the Most Holy Place in particular - Hebrews 10:19, rather than, as you seem to be suggesting, a description of equipment which will get believers through the more important imminent judgment on Jerusalem.
The sacrificial system itself is not necessarily, I think, presented in a negative light, although it did entail repetitive tasks (Hebrews 10:11) which failed to achieve what Jesus did, namely absolution from sin and privilege of access for every believer to the holy of holies, the presence of God. I may be wrong, but a coming 'day' of judgment and deliverance, whether on Jerusalem in the 1st century, or yet to come, does not in itself form a huge part of the letter (mainly the latter part of chapter 10). That's not to diminish its importance, but just to say that the focus of the letter's teaching is not in itself totally dependent on a coming day as a future event for the Hebrew believers.
I hope you find this to be a constructive response to your comment - rich, but not "a bit rich".
:: Submitted by writer42 on 16 June, 2012 - 02:00 Permalink
What about John 8:46? "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?" Doesn't Jesus present Himself as sinless here before His passion?


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This is an economical bundle of items to get you started using a 7-inch LCD TFT touch panel from 4D Systems on your Arduino. It includes the touchscreen display module itself (which comes with a header strip and 5-way jumper cable) and an Arduino adapter shield. All you'll need to provide is your own Arduino system. The shield is compatible with most Arduino boards and clones, including Uno, Mega, Due, Galileo, etc.
The uLCD-70DT display has a comprehensive range of serial commands ready to be received from your Arduino, which can instruct it to draw primitives (e.g. lines, rectangles, circles, text), display images, play sound, play video, and log data to a microSD card.
It utilizes your Arduino's UART serial port, plus a single digital pin for reset of the display. Power for the display can come either through your Arduino or from an external source. Follow the link above to the Adaptor-Shield-II page for details about pin and power configuration.
There's a couple of USB-to-Serial adapters available in the Optional Recommended Products list below. Using one of those is recommended if you ever want to program the display for autonomous function, to update the firmware, or to use the ViSi-Genie environment with its Arduino library. Either adapter also can act as an alternative power source for the display (when connected to the shield's H2 header) in case your Arduino is unable to provide enough (e.g. it's already using too much current, or it's a 3.3V Arduino in which case the display will need a 5V source).

subset: commoncrawl


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President Barack Obama isn't waiting for Senate Democrats to reject House Republicans' proposed $61 billion in spending cuts for this year's government operations.
Even before the bill passed the House, as expected later this week, Obama fired a shot across Congress' bow and threatened to veto the spending bill that would keep the government running after March 4.The Office of Management and Budget, in an official statement of administration policy, threatened to veto the Republican continuing resolution, which funds the government after March 4 and would cut $61 billion from the budget for rest of this fiscal year.
While the administration supports reducing spending to cut the deficit, the OMB said, it "does not support deep cuts that will undermine our ability to out-educate, out-build, and out-innovate the rest of the world."
The OMB specifically targeted the House GOP's proposed cuts to defense spending. The defense cuts are already dividing Republicans many of whom view any spending on national security as a sacred cow that should be spared the scalpel.
"The bill proposes cuts that would sharply undermine core government functions and investments key to economic growth and job creation, and would reduce funding for the Department of Defense to a level that would leave the Department without the resources and flexibility needed to meet vital military requirements," the OMB statement added.
The administration's veto threat comes as the Republican House begins debate on the continuing resolution Tuesday afternoon. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has pledged an "open" debate, meaning that lawmakers could add broad range of amendments to the legislation, cutting spending even further.
The statement also demonstrates the deep divisions between Democrats and House Republicans on the issue of spending and draws a line in the sand over what President Obama will and won't tolerate.
But the stakes are enormously high for both sides. The bill or another stop-gap measure must be passed by March 4 in order to keep the government up and running. If the House manages to push some of the cuts the administration opposes through the Senate, Obama would be forced to veto the bill. Without some sort of short-term fix, a government shutdown would be unavoidable.
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) said Tuesday morning, however, that Republicans would pass another short-term government funding bill rather than risking a shutdown.
"The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to refine the legislation to allow critical government functions to operate without interruption for the remainder of the fiscal year underway," the statement concluded.


text: The perfect finale for your wedding or other special occasion is a scrumptious cake which also serves as an artistic and decorative complement to your reception or gathering. Offering a wide array of flavors, fillings and icings, JohnnyCakes creates exquisite and delicious cakes which are baked using only the freshest and highest quality of ingredients and then decorated with lots of panache. Allow us to create an elegant and delectable cake as the perfect finale for your special event. Based in North Andover, Massachusetts, JohnnyCakes is proud to serve the communities of Merrimack Valley, Greater Boston and Cape Cod, as well as the bordering New England states of New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and Connecticut.


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NWS surveys tornado damage in Siloam Springs
The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado touched down in Siloam Springs during Monday's severe weather.
Benton County Emergency Manager Robert McGown said officials from the National Weather Service are surveying the damage in Siloam Springs Wednesday.
"Most of the structural damage that we saw was from trees falling on to houses; saw some out buildings with some damages," Benton County Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director Mike Dixon said.
A preliminary storm report indicated the potential of a tornado near the city.
Dixon said it was important to assess the damage in order to be certain there was a tornado.
"They'll look at the type of damage, the extent of the damage, and on the ground, approach to how the damage occurred," he said.
Emergency managers took a helicopter ride to survey damage from the air Wednesday.
"I think my first reaction, like a lot of people, is awe at how powerful nature and how powerful storms at this part of the country can be," Dixon said.


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Half-Time Institute Faculty
B.A. English/Creative Writing, San Francisco State University, 1969
M.A. English Literature, Boston University, 1970
M.A. Italian Literature, University of California, Berkeley, 1982
Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, The Wright Institute, 1988
Dr. Barrows came to psychology with a background in English and European literature. She is an internationally published poet and translator, as well as a clinical psychologist maintaining a private practice in Berkeley. She was awarded her doctorate from the Wright Institute in 1988, having specialized in child development and treatment, and she received pre- and postdoctoral training at the Department of Psychiatry and the Child Development Center at Children's Hospital Oakland, and in the pediatric trauma and oncology divisions at San Francisco General and Moffitt (University of California, San Francisco) Hospitals. Dr. Barrows' dissertation explored clinical approaches to the treatment of autism.
In her practice, she works extensively with children, adolescents, and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. The scope of Dr. Barrows' clinical work also includes adult gay and lesbian issues and issues deriving from trauma, abuse, and chronic illness. She has advanced training in group facilitation and experiential learning, as well as in sandtray and expressive dance.
Dr. Barrows' clinical orientation, founded in Jungian and object relations theoretical approaches, is deeply informed by an ecosystems worldview, where the individual is understood in a relational, societal, and environmental context.


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10-3-2010 Hunter Schooling Show At Sharon Oaks Stables
Hello riders. Please keep in mind that most of the photos in this gallery are low resolution images. If you are interested in purchasing a photo please email me the photo number at email@example.com. I will edit and color correct your photos and then load full size images into the gallery. You will then be able to purchase photos in any size that you like, not just 4x6 inch sizes.Read More


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We campaign to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and promote peace by investigating, exposing and confronting environmental abuse, and championing environmentally responsible solutions to:
Global Warming is a Catastrophe Coming! We already know the causes - humankind's unfettered burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. We already know some of the impacts - the melting of polar ice caps, rising oceans, severe droughts, the spread of pestilence, massive flooding, coral bleaching and surging storms. We already know who will be hit hardest - coastal countries, island nations, and underdeveloped regions like Southeast Asia. Know more
Only a couple of decades ago, genetically modified organisms (GMO) would have been something out of science fiction. In the not so distant past, we never imagined we would find on our dinner tables strawberries with fish genes, corn with bacterial genes, and soybeans with built-in herbicides. Little did we know that such scenes would turn into reality in a dizzyingly short period of time. But this is now part of today's reality. Know more
Rapid industrialization has made Southeast Asia one of the most dynamic regions in the world. The development of the region, however, has come at the expense of causing severe environmental damage. Pollution, particularly in urban and industrial areas, has reached alarming proportions. Major cities in the region like Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila are among the most polluted cities in the world today. Know more
by challenging wasteful and destructive fishing, and creating a global network of marine reserves.
Fundamental changes need to be made in the way our oceans are managed. This means that we must act to make sure that human activities are sustainable, in other words that they meet human needs of current and future generations without causing harm to the environment. Accordingly, governments must set aside 40 percent of our oceans as marine reserves. Marine reserves can be defined as areas of the ocean in which the exploitation of all living resources is prevented, together with the exploitation of non-living resources such as sand and gravel and other minerals. Know more.


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'A Confident Person with Shiny Teeth'
"Sometimes people just want to hear a confident person with shiny teeth tell them appealing stories about the secrets to success."
So writes Jay Greene in his debunking of Marc Tucker's education reform book Surpassing Shanghai. Jay's whole review is worth reading, but the basic point is simple: you can't learn much about the systemic causes of success if you only look at a single success story or even at a small handful of them. You need to cast a wide net to detect meaningful patterns. Having spent a lot of time casting wide nets, into both the historical and modern evidence, I couldn't agree more. But maybe Jay would just tell me that's confirmation bias ;-)
[HT: Bill Evers]


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RaceChip GTS Tuning Box With App Control for Jaguar XF (X260)
RaceChip GTS.
- Up to 30% more power & torque
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Contour GPS Bluetooth camcorder
Extreme sports shooter with iPhone viewing
Review Contour has been making a lot of noise recently about the new wireless viewfinder feature for its HD range of helmet cameras. With these units being necessarily small, the idea is that the viewfinder bulk is taken care of by using your phone's display, with a Bluetooth connection streaming the pics and video. Simply download a free app and you're all set.
Environmentally friendly: Contour's GPS camcorder
The concept is great, however, the current implementation is for iOS devices only, with Android support on the horizon. The cameras themselves (GPS version tested) are impressive pieces of kit. The brushed-metal enclosure slots tightly onto the supplied fixings including the ingenious goggle-mount; skiers and off-road bikers will be most impressed. A few more bundled mounts would have been nice, though the range available separately for your chosen type of extreme, daredevil activity is quite staggering.
Camera settings
With resolutions from 720p (perfectly adequate) up to the majestic 1080p HD, image quality is generally impressive – though colours can appear a tad over-saturated in direct sunlight. The 1280 x 960 option gives a cool fish-eye effect and this squarer aspect-ratio proved itself to be invaluable for fitting everything into the frame. Good to see a 2GB MicroSD card included – the camera will take up to 32GB.
Live viewfinder at work on an iPod Touch
The standalone hardware certainly bears up well to scrutiny, but getting everything to play nice over Bluetooth had its share of challenges. Yes, I did manage – after some fervent button holding – to establish a Bluetooth connection between the camera and iPod. Yes, the lens-eye view on the iPod was clear and, yes, this was useful for setting up the frame before recording.
Sponsored: Detecting cyber attacks as a small to medium business


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Receive our FREE "Healthy Living with Bipolar Disorder" book here.
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.
About 5.7 million American adults, or about 2.6 percent of the population, age 18 and older in any given year, have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, some people have their first symptoms during childhood, and some develop them late in life. It is often not recognized as an illness, and people may suffer for years before it is properly diagnosed and treated. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life (National Institute of Mental Health).
Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings—from overly "high" and/or irritable to sad and hopeless, and then back again, often with periods of normal mood in between. Severe changes in energy and behavior go along with these changes in mood. The periods of highs and lows are called episodes of mania and depression.
A mild to moderate level of mania is called hypomania. Hypomania may feel good to the person who experiences it and may even be associated with good functioning and enhanced productivity. Thus even when family and friends learn to recognize the mood swings as possible bipolar disorder, the person may deny that anything is wrong. Without proper treatment, however, hypomania can become severe mania in some people or can switch into depression.
Sometimes, severe episodes of mania or depression include symptoms of psychosis (or psychotic symptoms). Common psychotic symptoms are hallucinations (hearing, seeing, or otherwise sensing the presence of things not actually there) and delusions (false, strongly held beliefs not influenced by logical reasoning or explained by a person's usual cultural concepts). Psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder tend to reflect the extreme mood state at the time. For example, delusions of grandiosity, such as believing one is the President or has special powers or wealth, may occur during mania; delusions of guilt or worthlessness, such as believing that one is ruined and penniless or has committed some terrible crime, may appear during depression. People with bipolar disorder who have these symptoms are sometimes incorrectly diagnosed as having schizophrenia, another severe mental illness.
Symptoms of Mania
- Increased energy, activity, and restlessness
- Excessively "high," overly good, euphoric mood
- Extreme irritability
- Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another
- Distractibility, can't concentrate well
- Little sleep needed
- Unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers
- Poor judgment
- Spending sprees
- A lasting period of behavior that is different from usual
- Increased sexual drive
- Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications
- Provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior
- Denial that anything is wrong
A manic episode is diagnosed if elevated mood occurs with three or more of the other symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for 1 week or longer. If the mood is irritable, four additional symptoms must be present.
Symptoms of Depression
- Poor appetite or eating too much
- Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
- Nervousness and worry
- Loss of interest in and withdrawal from usual activities
- Feelings of sadness that don't go away
- Irritability or restlessness
- Lack of energy
- Feelings of sadness, worthlessness or guilt
- Inability to think or concentrate
- Repeated thoughts of death or suicide
- Chronic pain or other physical problems that don't respond to treatment
- Increased risk-taking behavior, including reckless driving or substance abuse
Course of Bipolar Disorder
Episodes of mania and depression typically recur across the life span. Between episodes, most people with bipolar disorder are free of symptoms, but as many as one-third of people have some residual symptoms. A small percentage of people experience chronic unremitting symptoms despite treatment.
The classic form of the illness, which involves recurrent episodes of mania and depression, is called bipolar I disorder. Some people, however, never develop severe mania but instead experience milder episodes of hypomania that alternate with depression; this form of the illness is called bipolar II disorder. When four or more episodes of illness occur within a 12-month period, a person is said to have rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. Some people experience multiple episodes within a single week, or even within a single day. Rapid cycling tends to develop later in the course of illness and is more common among women than among men.
People with bipolar disorder can lead healthy and productive lives when the illness is effectively treated. Without treatment, however, the natural course of bipolar disorder tends to worsen. Over time a person may suffer more frequent (more rapid-cycling) and more severe manic and depressive episodes than those experienced when the illness first appeared. But in most cases, proper treatment can help reduce the frequency and severity of episodes and can help people with bipolar disorder maintain good quality of life.
Causes of Bipolar Disorder
Scientists are learning about the possible causes of bipolar disorder through several kinds of studies. Most scientists now agree that there is no single cause for bipolar disorder—rather, many factors act together to produce the illness.
Because bipolar disorder tends to run in families, researchers have been searching for specific genes—the microscopic "building blocks" of DNA inside all cells that influence how the body and mind work and grow—passed down through generations that may increase a person's chance of developing the illness. But genes are not the whole story. Studies of identical twins, who share all the same genes, indicate that both genes and other factors play a role in bipolar disorder. If bipolar disorder were caused entirely by genes, then the identical twin of someone with the illness would always develop the illness, and research has shown that this is not the case. But if one twin has bipolar disorder, the other twin is more likely to develop the illness than is another sibling. In addition, findings from gene research suggest that bipolar disorder, like other mental illnesses, does not occur because of a single gene. It appears likely that many different genes act together, and in combination with other factors of the person or the person's environment, to cause bipolar disorder. Finding these genes, each of which contributes only a small amount toward the vulnerability to bipolar disorder, has been extremely difficult. But scientists expect that the advanced research tools now being used will lead to these discoveries and to new and better treatments for bipolar disorder.
Brain-imaging studies are helping scientists learn what goes wrong in the brain to produce bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses. New brain-imaging techniques allow researchers to take pictures of the living brain at work, to examine its structure and activity, without the need for surgery or other invasive procedures. These techniques include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). There is evidence from imaging studies that the brains of people with bipolar disorder may differ from the brains of healthy individuals. As the differences are more clearly identified and defined through research, scientists will gain a better understanding of the underlying causes of the illness, and eventually may be able to predict which types of treatment will work most effectively.
Children and Adolescents
Both children and adolescents can develop bipolar disorder. It is more likely to affect the children of parents who have the illness. Unlike many adults with bipolar disorder, whose episodes tend to be more clearly defined, children and young adolescents with the illness often experience very fast mood swings between depression and mania many times within a day. Children with mania are more likely to be irritable and prone to destructive tantrums than to be overly happy and elated. Mixed symptoms also are common in youths with bipolar disorder. Older adolescents who develop the illness may have more classic, adult-type episodes and symptoms.
Bipolar disorder in children and adolescents can be hard to tell apart from other problems that may occur in these age groups. For example, while irritability and aggressiveness can indicate bipolar disorder, they also can be symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, or other types of mental disorders more common among adults such as major depression or schizophrenia. Drug abuse also may lead to such symptoms.
For any illness, however, effective treatment depends on appropriate diagnosis. Children or adolescents with emotional and behavioral symptoms should be carefully evaluated by a mental health professional. Any child or adolescent who has suicidal feelings, talks about suicide, or attempts suicide should be taken seriously and should receive immediate help from a mental health specialist.


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I got asked an interesting question recently, I was demonstrating how you can use wild cards in a WHERE clauses when someone asked 'How do you search for a wild card character when using a LIKE based WHERE clause fro string comparisons. I must have looked stumped for a minute because my mate Jim happened to mention that I did, add then asked 'How I was going to ESCAPE from that'
That's how we search for a wildcard character when doing a string comparison, we escape the wild card characters. The code below shows how we do this:
--Create table
create table t2
(id int, Name varchar(35))
--Populat the data with some data
declare @i int
set @i =0
while @i <= 10
insert into t2
values (@i, REPLICATE('A',10))
set @i = @i + 1
--Add a Wild Card to one of our records
update t2
set Name = 'gethyn % Ellis'
where id = 5
We have created a table added some rows to our table and we have added some wild cards to our varchar column. Next we'll do a string comparison looking for our % sign in the name column.
--Search for the % sign by escaping the character
-- There are a couple of ways to this
--In this first query the [] brackets tell the database engine to treat % as a normal character and not a wildcard
select * from t2
where Name like '%[%]%' --escape '%'
--In this second query we have defined a '\' as they escape character which means the next character will be treated as literal
select * from t2
where Name
--both queries return the same results
Both queries return the same results. In the first query we used the [] brackets to tell the database engine to treat the % as a normal character and not a wild card. In the second query we have defined '/' as the escape character which the next character following the escape character will be treated as literal and not a wild card
Now this example is a little contrived and probably would not be used in the real world, so where would it be used. I have seen it used in when looks for offers 25% off etc. So retailer, banks, anyone that offers a percentage discount may need to know how to search for wild card operators in a string comparision


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This beautiful stop-motion animation is the video to Josh Ritter's new song Love Is Making Its Way Back Home. It's an enchanting track, but what really grabs you is the accompanying footage, made using over 12,000 pieces of individually cut paper.
It took a team of twenty artists, editors and assistants to make the video. The process was a long one, seeing the concept progress from storyboarding, through computer animation, conversion of the digital graphics into laser-cut paper form, and finally the stop-motion animation itself. In total, the video uses 12,000 laser-cut pieces of construction paper.
There's a great, in-depth description of how the video was made over on Josh Ritter's blog. [Josh Ritter]


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Thursday, November 7, 2013
See You in Miami
Your Legal History Bloggers will be in transit today and in the flesh at the annual meeting of the American Society for Legal History for the remainder of the week. Please do say hello if you see us there; we're always interested in suggestions for the Blog. We've banked some posts for while we're away, but we may be delayed in responding to your emails. Finally, although I am not myself a Twitter fiend, I'm sure some of us will be checking to see how we're experiencing the meeting in real time. #ASLH2013
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text:
And somehow there's always room for more. I justify it with the fact that ice cream melts and fits around everything else in an already full tum. Somehow there is some ice cream logic there. At least, in my mind, there is.
Peanut butter ice cream is fantastically simple to make, requiring very little effort and tasting fantastic. Couple this ice cream with some shop bought chocolate cookies for a primo dessert – I'd be tempted to make sandwiches with the biscuits, squishing the ice cream in the middle with maybe just a smidge of something saucy – a butterscotch or chocolate sauce perhaps.
Tags: dessert, ice cream, pb, peanut butter, pudding


text:
Beginning with MySQL 5.5.18, Debian packages for MySQL are available.
Upgrading from an
Advanced GPLRPM package to an
AdvancedRPM package did not work. Now on Linux it is possible to use rpm -U to replace any installed MySQL product by any other of the same release family. It is not necessary to remove the old produce with rpm -e first. (Bug #11886309)
Incompatible Change; Replication: The statements in the following list are now marked as unsafe for statement-based replication. This is due to the fact that each of these statements depends on the results of a
SELECTstatement whose order cannot always be determined. When using
STATEMENTlogging mode, a warning is issued in the binary log for any of these statements; when using
MIXEDlogging mode, the statement is logged using the row-based format.
When upgrading, you should note the use of these statements in your applications, keeping in mind that a statement that inserts or replaces rows obtained from a
SELECTcan take up many times as much space in the binary log when logged using row-based format than when only the statement itself is logged. Depending on the number and size of the rows selected and inserted (or replaced) by any such statements, the difference in size of the binary log after the logging of these statements is switched from statement-based to row-based can potentially be several orders of magnitude. See Advantages and Disadvantages of Statement-Based and Row-Based Replication. (Bug #11758262, Bug #50439)
Performance; InnoDB: The process of deallocating the
InnoDBAdaptive Hash Index was made faster, during shutdown or when turning off the AHI with the statement:
SET GLOBAL innodb_adaptive_hash_index=OFF;
(Bug #13006367, Bug #62487)
InnoDB: Fixed a compilation problem that affected the
InnoDBsource code with
gcc4.6.1. The affected
InnoDBsource file was
btr/btr0cur.c. (Bug #13116045)
InnoDB: An
UPDATEstatement for an
InnoDBtable could hang. The issue affects tables using the Barracuda file format and having multiple indexes on column prefixes. The size of an undo log record could exceed the page size, even though the total size of the column prefixes was less than the page size (usually 16KB). In MySQL 5.5 and higher, this error is now reported using the new code
ER_UNDO_RECORD_TOO_BIG. In MySQL 5.1 with the InnoDB Plugin, this error is reported using the existing code
ER_TOO_BIG_ROWSIZE. (Bug #12547647)
Replication: A replication master could send damaged events to slaves after the binary log disk on the master became full. To correct this issue, only complete events are now pushed by the master dump thread to the slave I/O thread. In addition, the error text that the master sends to the slave when an incomplete event is found now states that the incomplete event may have been caused by running out of disk space on the master, and provides coordinates of the first and the last event bytes read. (Bug #11747416, Bug #32228)
References: See also: Bug #64035, Bug #13593869.
During the table-opening process, memory was allocated and later freed that was needed view loading, even for statements that did not use views. These unnecessary allocation and free operations are no longer done. (Bug #13116518)
mysql_plugin mishandled the
--mysqld, and
--my-print-defaultsoptions under some circumstances. (Bug #12968815)
mysql_plugin returned the wrong error code from failed server bootstrap execution. (Bug #12968567)
Several improvements were made to the
libeditlibrary bundled with MySQL distributions, and that is available for all platforms that MySQL supports except Windows.
Navigation keys did not work for UTF-8 input.
Word navigation and delete operations did not work for UTF-8 input with Cyrillic characters.
Nonlatin characters were corrupted in overwrite mode for UTF-8 input.
Long queries caused the statement history file to become corrupted.
The Alt key caused history operations to fail.
(Bug #12605400, Bug #12613725, Bug #12618092, Bug #12624155, Bug #12617651, Bug #12605388)
decimal_round()could cause a server exit when processing long numeric strings. (Bug #12563865)
ARCHIVEtables with
NULLcolumns could cause server crashes or become corrupt under concurrent load. (Bug #51252, Bug #11758979)
OPTIMIZE TABLEcould corrupt
MyISAMtables if
myisam_use_mmapwas enabled. (Bug #49030, Bug #11757032)
A query that selected a
GROUP_CONCAT()function result could return different values depending on whether an
ORDER BYof the function result was present. (Bug #41090, Bug #11750518)
FEDERATEDtables, loss of connection to the remote table during some insert operations could cause a server crash. (Bug #34660, Bug #11747970)


text:
The Willoughbys
"I have a plan," Mr. Willoughby said, putting his paper down. He stroked one eyebrow in a satisfied way. "It's thoroughly despicable."
"Lovely," said his wife. "A plan for what?"
"To rid us of the children."
Little do Mr. And Mrs. Willoughby know that while they are trying to rid themselves of their children, the children—four of them—are trying to rid themselves of their terrible parents.
This is a humorous book, of course, and no one is recommending that real children do away with their parents. (Unless, of course—heh heh—their parents are as outrageously awful as Mr. And Mrs. Willoughby!)


text:
A Florida-based credit union is putting into practice some insights from a recent discovery: Consumers' health and finances are intimately linked.
"We have a lot of retirees in Florida, but we also have a very young, fit population as well," says Joe Brancucci, CEO $1.6 billion asset GTE Financial Credit Union in Tampa, Fla. "In California, you have similar positives. People want to be fit and healthy, especially baby boomers. There's a whole culture around it."
In January, GTE Financial implemented a pilot project that was originally conceived by Singularity University researchers and tested with credit unions in Texas, Washington, Iowa, and Canada.
The team was commissioned by CUNA's National Credit Union Roundtable in 2012 to help develop a forward-looking roadmap for increasing credit unions' value to society. Filene Research Institute in Madison, Wis., managed the project, named "Jumiya," which means "union" in Swahili.
Funded by 46 credit unions and five state credit union leagues, the study's results show that when individuals are healthier, they're less likely to slide into delinquency, default, or bankruptcy.
What Jumiya Revealed to CUs
"This could be attractive for a number of credit unions, but it would probably have to fit within a credit union's overall alignment and strategy," says Nader Moghaddam. He's CEO of $860 million asset Financial Partners Credit Union in Downey, Calif., and chairman of National Credit Union Roundtable, a group of the largest U.S. credit unions that spearheaded the project's inception. "At our credit union, we're certainly exploring possible implementation."
He says a national announcement with specifics on how credit unions can apply the Jumiya concept will come sometime in 2014.
Keeping financial difficulties at bay is at the heart of GTE Financial's "Get Fit" program. Members can use a smartphone app to track how much they walk every day, merging the results into their account online.
They can redeem "steps" for rewards, such as special coupons to local businesses or cash.
"In January and February, our members logged 78.7 million steps, or about 39,350 miles," Brancucci says. "We're also trying to attract a younger set of members with this. So far, they think it's the coolest thing since sliced bread."
Although "Get Fit" was created to add value to current members, the program is attracting new members almost daily.
As of March, GTE Financial was the nation's only credit union that officially rolled out a customized version for its members with the help of Walkmore, a team of Silicon Valley technologists led by Singularity University student and entrepreneur Eli Mohamad.
An original member of the Jumiya research team, he's now looking to execute the concept for credit unions and community banks.
Mohamad says the initial study proved more than a link between a member's physical and financial health.
"It was also proof that a significant impact on a credit union's bottom line can be achieved with basic data analytics using transactional data—something large banks have been doing for 40 years," he says, but not most credit unions.
Mohamed says credit unions must become more "data driven" to serve members better.
"We're correlating members' physical activity and transactional data to produce highly accurate predictions of behavior," he says. "Credit unions will see retention of existing members and creation of new leads, particularly Gen Y."
This correlation could be the tip of the iceberg. The Walkmore team is also investigating how sleep, diet, mood, social behavior, and stress levels are related to financial behavior.
"It's time for credit unions to stop thinking of their members' financial behavior as an isolated aspect, and start looking at them from a more holistic perspective," Mohamad says. "With new digital entrants, credit unions will have to fight to retain and attract members—openly and very hard."
Even so, there's a "Wild West" undercurrent to data analysis, especially with consumers getting antsy about sharing their information, says George Hofheimer, chief research and innovation officer for the Filene Research Institute.
He says some credit unions who participated in a recent data analytics project with Filene were apprehensive. They weren't sure how much member information they could share, which shows the cautionary stance the industry is taking.
"Credit unions don't generally have the expertise to do data analytics," Hofheimer says. "Some struggle with the idea of it. If you ask credit union executives, they'll say they have a lot of info that's valuable, but quite honestly they don't know how to act on it."
The Jumiya concept "may turn into something huge, or it might not," he says. "But it provides credit unions an opportunity to learn and complete testing at a level that many organizations aren't equipped to carry out."
Brancucci said programs similar to "Get Fit" have the potential to change how credit unions engage members in the future. GTE Financial's "Get Fit" pilot program ends in September.
"In the long run, our goal is to continue to promote and facilitate the impact of financial and physical fitness on individuals," Brancucci says. "This makes us a better credit union for our members, and supports the betterment of our community."
MATT WRYE is associate editor of Credit Union Digest. Reprinted with permission by the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues.


text:
Worst of 2011: Wonder Woman
Remember when Charlie's Angels made it on the air but Wonder Woman didn't? I didn't mind Charlie's Angels because, well, my expectations weren't really high. And I still think it was better than Pan Am, a pretender disguised as quality tv. Having said that, imagine how sh-t Wonder Woman must have been if NBC turned it down. I mean, you've seen Whitney, right?
Of course Wonder Woman would have been really, really expensive to make and that may have been one of the considerations too. But it was also a mess - in concept and tone, and it had to be rewritten several times, and then they showed us Adrienne Palicki in her suit and it was all over before it began.


text:
Is it possible to have too much Star Wars in the world? Disney clearly doesn't think so. The Mouse House has already scheduled a seventh film in the Star Wars saga to be directed by J.J. Abrams and scheduled to hit theaters in 2015. Now comes reports that Disney will begin exploiting the broader Star Wars universe with spin-off movies featuring Han Solo and Boba Fett.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the films will take place during the time frames of the original three movies (which, if you remember, took place after the last three movies) which would mean characters like Darth Vader and Jabba the Hutt could be included.
Han Solo is one of the best-known character from the Star Wars franchise. As portrayed by Harrison Ford, Solo was the Rick Blaine of the film -- the reluctant smuggler hero.
Boba Fett might not be as familiar to people who are not die hard Star Wars fans. The metallic bounty hunter captured Han Solo and encased him in carbonite. He's a fan favorite though and a good starting point for Disney to test the waters for expanding on lesser-known characters.
Disney paid $4 billion for LucasFilm back in October with the hope of continuing and growing the franchise for a new audience. Choosing Abrams, who helped reboot the Star Trek franchise at Paramount, was a safe move but not one that everyone was happy about. It will be interesting to see who they tap for the spin-offs. Hopefully they'll go with some unexpected choices. Warner Bros., had great luck bringing in off-beat directors like Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell on the Harry Potter franchise.
Disney has brought in Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi to help write the new movies.


text:
mbeandesigns needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 36 designs submitted by 16 freelance designers.
I am launching a new signature product. Purses made out of MENS BOXER SHORTS. I want a logo which represents this fun new product.
Desired Color Scheme:
Black or SURPRISE me!
Accepted File Formats:
.PSD and .AI
Design guidelines:
-Primary colors in black or if interested surprise me.
-Logo to include company name; but not intregrated into design. So it can be used together or seperately.
-Initial ideas included straight design with no color, but am open to any new ideas.
-Would potentially like to see the form of a handbag in the logo.
-Contest ends December 15, 2006 at 5:00 PST.
-Winner to be paid by Paypal or other acceptable payment.
-Winning prize is $100.00 USD.
-Design format: Photoshop(PSD) and Illustrator(.AI).
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
I'd like to include some http links in my document. So i Included the hyperref package so that i can use the command
Microsoft Surface\footnote{\url{http://www.microsoft.com/surface}}
This works, but the problem is, that all the links in my document (also the ones created with
\ref{} or
\cite{} are highlighted. I want to avoid that. So i added:
But nothing changed. How can I avoid that all links are highlighted? I only want to enable URLs and nothing else.


text:
Find a rehab center in Yoder, CO.
Get help with your addiction now!
Are you or someone close to struggling with a drug addiction?
You are done being addicted to alcohol or drugs?
Looking for rehabilitation from you alcoholism or substance abuse?
Do you have the belief that recovery from an addiction is nearly impossible?
You've heard the stories of how hard and painful the withdrawal effects can be.
You might have a hard time imagining your life without drugs.
It might be hard for you to actually fathoming being able to get through the recovery process.
[drug key="3″]
Recover from an addiction.
Sure it is hard to recover from a drug, cocaine or heroin addiction or from alcohol abuse.
But the fact is that people do recover from their addiction every single day.
They usually do not do that alone though.
Support from friends and family is a big help, but your best option is to get the help from a team of healthcare professionals.
You can find help from qualified people in a drug rehabilitation center, or drug rehab for short, in Yoder, Colorado, 80864.
Having the professional support greatly enhances the chance of successfully beating your addiction.
Can you imagine your life without drug dependency?
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- heroin addiction
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For more information, read the atsiloo blog.
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[happy key="1″]