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Take your Bibles now and turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. And I would like us to look again at the first part of chapter 12 as we continue in the beginning of our series on spiritual gifts. We're going through 1 Corinthians. We find ourselves in the 12th chapter considering this very vital area concerning spiritual gifts.
Now as I said earlier, in my prayer, Jesus made it clear that we who know God are salt and light in the world. The Scripture also calls us, through the Apostle Paul's terminology, in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, "Ambassadors to the world."
First Peter chapter 2 calls us, "Pilgrims in the world." Paul said to the Philippians, "Our citizenship is not here but it's in heaven. We are sojourners, as it is, in the world." So we have been given to the world, to journey through the world, to be ambassadors for God, to be salt, to be light. There is a purpose for our individual existence as believers in the society in which we live. And that purpose is to turn men to God, to turn men to Christ. We are a witnessing community. We are group of people placed in the world to draw the attention of the world to God.
Now in Ephesians, perhaps the most thrilling concept of all, in identifying ourselves, comes together in the 4th chapter and the 13th verse of Ephesians. It says this, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of god, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Now that passage says that the design of the church is to be brought into Christ's likeness. "Till we all come to the full stature of Christ." God has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, teaching pastors, for the perfecting of the saints, or the maturing of the saints, for the work of the ministry, that the body might be built up, in order that being up it might come to a fullness of Christ likeness.
Now that leads me to say, not only are we to be salt and light and ambassadors and pilgrims, and so forth, in the world, but we are to be Christ in the world. This is a very vital concept. The church is to be Christ in the world. That's why I've chosen frequently to call the church body two. The incarnation was body one, Christ in a human body. We are body two, Christ, alive in the world, in the church. This is a very vital reality and it's something that we have to understand. The Lord Jesus wants to leave Himself in the world even after He ascends. He wants us to be Christ in the world. He wants to reproduce, in us, His very essence, His very life, His very personality, His very character, so that we manifest to the world Christ, in as real a sense as Christ was manifest into human form when He was walking in the world.
Now how is it that God has designed us to be Christ in the world? How is it that we can literally represent Him? How is it that we can manifest His character to this world? First of all, the Bible says that "He has planted within us the Spirit of Christ. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His. But we have received the Spirit of Christ. Therefore, Paul says, the life I live is not my own, but it is Christ living in me." So Christ then will reproduce Himself in the world by living in me as an individual believer.
Now a step further than that, Christ no only indwells every individual believer but he dwells the corporate church. Ephesians chapter 2 says that the entire church is built together as a habitation for the Spirit of Christ. Christ exists, not only in the individual life of a Christian, but in the corporate life of the community of believers known as the body of Christ. So He produces his character in us, first of all, by dwelling in us.
Now let's see just specifically how this works together. Before we look at 1 Corinthians 12 go back a little further towards the end of your New Testament to the 4th chapter of Ephesians, and I want to just pull out a couple of very related thoughts here. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 7, here is basically the simplest explanation of how Christ really reproduces Himself in the church as it works out from His presence. His presence is there but his character becomes manifest in this way: "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Now Christ has given, by grace, certain gifts. They come from Him. They are divine ennoblements given to the believer onto every one of us. No Christian is excluded, is given grace...that is, we can't deserve it, we can't earn it, according to the measure...that is, it is measured out individually and uniquely for every Christian...the gift of Christ. Christ then gives a gift; a spiritual endowment, a spiritual ennoblements to every believer, unique to that believer. He has given all of us gifts. You say, "Why does it say gift, singular, if some of us have more than one?" Because I think the plurality of our gifts can be expressed as "our gift." My gift from God may be the gifts of preaching or teaching, of administration, all combined into the gift He gives me. Sometimes you've opened a package and gotten three things in one box. Well that's the same idea. But its design is to manifest His character. It is an aspect of His character that he gives.
Look at verse 8, "Wherefore it saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." Now when Christ died on the cross He gathered some spoils. Some of the spoils, which would be the souls of the men and women that He won at the cross, He turned around and gave back to the church as gifts. Skip the parenthesis of 9 and 10 and look at verse 11. And here are those gifts. "He gave gifts and he gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teaching pastors." Now they are the gifted men given to the church.
Now listen to this, "They are the gifted men given to the church." Verse 7 says, "He has already given individual gifts to the believers and it is the role of the gifted men to equip the gifted believers to use their gifts." That's the purpose and that's what verse 12 says, "The gifted men are for the maturing of the saints, for the work of the ministry." Now the Lord Jesus Christ has given every believer a gift, and that gift is known as spiritual gifts to us today. But that gift is for the purpose of manifesting Christ in the church and ultimately in the world. In order to allow us the fullest use of those gifts and to bring them to maturity and to maximum output. "God has also given to the church...verse 11...gifted men, and the gifted men equip the saints to use the gifts they have." And the result...verse 12...the edifying of the body of Christ...verse 13...Till the church, together, manifests the stature of the fullness of Christ." Now that's a great concept and it's very basic in identifying the church: gifted men equip the saints to use their gifts to build the body, that the body might manifest Christ. That we might literally be Christ.
Now if the gifted men do not perfect the saints or if the saints do not minister their gifts the body will not be built. If the body is not built up, the body of Christ, then it does not manifest Christ. And we've often said that one of the difficulties in the world today, in the church, is the fact that the church is so fractured, and Christians are so disobedient in the area of the gifts, and leaders are so failing in perfecting the saints, that the whole body of Christ is crippled and distorted and confused and the world cannot see truly the manifestation of Jesus Christ. All of the gifts are given to the church, to the ultimate end that the church is built up into the fullness of the stature of Christ, so that individually and corporately we represent Christ.
Now I want to go a step further because it's important that you understand this: all of the spiritual gifts, and there are many of them listed in the New Testament, we'll be studying them in detail next week, but all of those gifts in their fullest sense are complete in Christ. For example, you have the gift of prophecy or the gift of preaching. Did Christ preach? Yes. Was he the best? Of course. You have the gift of teaching. Did Christ teach? Yes. Was he the best teacher? Yes. You have the gift of showing mercy. Did Christ show mercy? Yes. Magnanimously did he show mercy? Like no other person that ever lived did he show mercy.
You have the gifts of ruling, and helps, and giving, and faith, and every one of those has its perfect example in Jesus Christ, who gave like nobody ever gave, who rules like nobody ever ruled, who had faith in the Father like nobody has ever displayed. In other words, the spiritual gifts....remember this now...the spiritual gifts are characteristics of Christ that will be manifest through the body corporate as they were manifest through the body incarnate. That's the purpose of spiritual gifts. They are the characteristics of Christ poured back through...you say, "What about the miraculous gifts?" Christ had miraculous ability as confirmation of His identify. And those were given in the early years of the church, again, to confirm the message. And so all of the gifts find their perfection in Christ, and the reason God gave them to the church when he gave the church the spirit of Christ, was in order to re-manifest Christ in the world.
Now when we preach or teach or show mercy or help or lead or give or have faith, or whatever of those gifts we exercise, we find that that is a supernatural activity endowed and enabled by the Spirit of God, which manifests and attribute of Christ for the building of body. Thus Christ becomes real in the world as the body grows up. So we see these are not random things but the gifts specifically find their source in God, their channel, in the Spirit, and their pattern, their example, their completeness in the person of Jesus Christ. Now they are essential then because they are the things that will manifest Christ, the things that will build the church.
Now the amazing thing about the Corinthian church...and we'll move to discuss them for a minute now...the amazing thing about the Corinthian church was they had all the gifts - all of them. First chapter verse 7 says, "You come behind and no gift." You lack nothing. They had been endowed with all spiritual gifts. They were fully equipped for maturing, they were fully equipped for ministering, they were fully equipped to be Christ-like, but instead there was absolute chaos. There was a failure on the part of the gifted men to do the job they were supposed to do in maturing the saints. There was a failure on the part of the saints to minister the gifts they had been given, instead they were being counterfeited, they were being exploited, they were being neglected, they were being abused, they were being confused, and the result was the terrible chaos that appears in chapter 12 to 14 in the Corinthian church relative to spiritual gifts.
Now Paul writes chapters 12 to 14 to deal with the urgent need for proper understanding of the gifts, proper ministry of the gifts as spiritual endowments from God, Himself. So it's a very, very important section, and it's important for us as it was for the Corinthians.
Now let's look back a little bit...back to chapter 12 1 Corinthians. Let's look back and remember something that we learned last week and something that we have reviewed all the way in our study in 1 Corinthians. And that is that the Corinthian church was basically carnal, basically chaotic, that is there was little or zero order going on there. They were beset by every conceivable trial, and every conceivable turmoil, and every conceivable sin was manifesting itself. They had managed to pervert the life of the church in every way possible and they had included spiritual gifts. As we saw last week their society was drowning in the sea of the mystery religions. They were characterized by two words: ecstasy and enthusiasm, which spoke of the non-rational, ecstatic, orgiastic-kind of trancelike activity that occurred as the highest level, supposedly, of religious experience.
As a result of this, hysterical extremism and delusions regarding the true gifts had infiltrated the church at Corinth and they were now confused. Their public worship had turned into a disaster; an exercise in selfishness, gluttony, drunkenness, ecstatic orgiastic frenzies, as Satan was busy counterfeiting the gifts and carnal people were left in confusion as to what was real and what was not. They had exalted the ecstatic, and they had come to the perversion of the gift of languages, particularly, into ecstatic speech and this became their major abuse. As a result of all of this some had written to Paul and said, "Will you help us straighten this mess out?" And so he writes chapters 12 to 14 in response to the fearful marriage of the frenzy of the mystery religions in the truth of the grace gifts to the Spirit of God that had come often in Corinthian assembly.
Now as we said last time, in chapter 12 he lays out basic theology. In chapter 13 he talks about love, the context in which all gifts operate. In chapter 14 he directly deals with abuses. Look at your outline there and let's remind ourselves of what we're discussing. Three features are identified in Paul's basic presentation of the gifts: one, the importance, two, the source, and three, the kinds of gifts. Now last time we just looked at verse one. We are going to get a little further than that today, but I'm, again, not in any hurry because it's very important that we have some very solid foundation and then things will begin to fly a little faster as we go.
Number one, we discussed the importance of spiritual gifts. Verse 1, "Now concerning spirituals, brethren, I would not have you ignorant." He uses the word spirituals. This is the first descriptive term for the ministries of Christ given to the church and it speaks of their source. Whatever the ministries are that God has given the church they are called spirituals. Now what does it mean? Pneuma is the Holy Spirit. Anytime you say an "ik" ending in a Greek word it means controlled by or characterized by. Whatever these things are they are controlled by and characterized by the Holy Spirit. So he says, "I want to talk to you concerning ennoblements or endowments that the Holy Spirit has given you as characteristic of Himself; the spirit of Christ." And we're going to see other terms as we go.
So the first term...there's five different terms to describe spiritual gifts in this one section. Term one explains the fact that they are characterized and controlled by Holy Spirit, whatever they are. And we don't really have a definitive term yet. Spirituals is just talking about their basic source. So he says, "Regarding these things I do not want you to be ignorant." And that is something that is very, very important. It is essential to the church that we have no ignorance at this point.
Now let's go verse 2 and pick it up where we left off, "Ye know that ye were pagans or heathens, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit." And we'll stop there. Now these two verses, for the most part, in the study that I've done, I find treated rather lightly and the effort of most people is just to go right on by them and hurry to get to verse 4 and talk about spiritual gifts. But these become tremendously critical in understanding what was going on in the Corinth Church. And that becomes critical in understanding how we deal them.
Look first at verse 2, "Ye know that ye were heathen." The word Gentile, in its technical sense, means non-Jews. In its non-technical sense it means non-Christians. I can mean Gentile or it can be translated heathen. And a heathen is anybody who does not know God. So it is in a non-Christian sense that the word Gentile is used here, not in a non-Jewish sense. For a comparison you might notice...1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 5 uses it in the same way. So he says, "You were pagan." Now let me characterize your paganism. Watch this. "Carried away unto these dumb idols, even as you ye were led." Now you have a picture there of a victim, of somebody in a system of religion who has little or no choice about what is going on there. He is being led, he is being carried away...those two terms...to dumb idols. He is strictly a victim. The word carried away is a verb used frequently in the Bible to speak of leading a prisoner or a condemned person away to prison. You can check it in Mark 14:44 and Mark 15 verse 16, and find that that is its use in both of those occasions.
So the verb then pictures somebody who is caught, shackled, and dragged away to a dumb idol. He has little choice. In fact, he has no choice. This is not something he chose, not something he selected, something that has fallen upon him. "The heathen then...now mark this...are pictured not as intelligent, choosing freely following what their mind has concluded, but they are helpless victims who know no better than to be led away by constraint to a dumb deity." I don't think all people realize this. I've talked to a lot of people. I think of one person in particular who's managed to weave his way through my life for the last 15 years. This particular individual has always said to me, "I would become a Christian but I do not want to give up my freedom. I do not want to be restricted to having to do certain things because now I can choose whatever I want." I'm reminded of many Scriptures, all of which I've shared with him, but of this one particularly, "You are nothing but a pagan carried away to a dumb deity, being led by the nose, you are a victim. You are not free, you are a prisoner." And Paul says in Roman 6, "You are a slave to sin."
Now this is a picture of the heathen - the ungodly man. He is led away to worship a non-God; he is led away to worship a no-deity. And believe me everybody worships somewhere. You don't choose whether or not you're going to worship, you just choose what. In the case of the Corinthian people they had been led away to their idolatry, God's who were dumb idols. He calls them dumb, that is, dumb in the sense that they couldn't speak, the couldn't answer, they couldn't respond, they couldn't give any direction, they couldn't give any revelation, they can't say anything, authoritative they can't say anything in response, they utter nothing. But that's the plight of the religious man, the religious man without Christ. The religious man who doesn't know the true God is led away to a dumb deity and he never knows the true freedom and the true dignity of a Son of God.
Now this is a biblical theme that occurs again, and again, and again, that is that unregenerate people are hopelessly being led away to stupid deities and those who cannot utter, those who cannot speak. First Corinthians 10:19 says, "What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, the things which the heathens sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, to a no-God...to a no-God. No...hyphen...God." In Galatians chapter 4 in verse 8, "Nevertheless, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods." Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17, "This I say, therefore, and testy in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as Gentile, in the vanity of their mind, Having their understanding darkened, alienated from the life of God into the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart." Again, darkness, blindness, alienation, dumbness, this characterizes the worship of an unregenerate individual. And this goes on, and on, and on through the Scripture - a very common theme. A _______ too, of Titus 3:3, "For we, ourselves also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another. We were deceived; we were foolish; characterizing the unregenerate, characterizing the ungodly person.
First Peter chapter 4 verse 3, "The time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the heath, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, wild parties, carousing, abominable idolatries," etc. So all of that just to say this: there is a tragic portrayal in the Scripture of an unregenerate man. He is being led as a victim in to evil and he's led to dumb deities that can't respond, that can't reply, no matter how religious a man he might be. That's the plight of pagans around the world who do not worship the true God. Now you say, "Well what is the connection, John, with this and spiritual gifts? After all verse 1 is talking about spirituals and then, bang, he gets to discussing the heathen." The connection comes in the last phrase in verse 2, "Even as ye were led." Ago, here is a verb that implies being led away. It is a passive. They are victims. The use of this verb, in a sense, in this passage, has about it an irresistible leading.
In 2 Timothy 3:6 the same Greek verb appears again, "For of this sort are they who creep into houses, and lead captivity silly women laden with sins, led away with various lusts." It implies a leading away into sinfulness there in 2 Timothy, and I think that's its implication here. "You were victims. You were led away by demons to worship false gods and the result was you got yourselves in a pagan religion and you got yourselves in the ecstatic religion that is particularly indulged in, in your society."
Paul says to the Corinthians then...and I'll paraphrase verse 2..."You used to worship the way the pagans do, led away by demons to ecstasies and enthusiasm that characterize the mystic religions," that's what he's saying. "You have brought those old patterns now into the church and are letting the demons invade your worship. You used to do a certain kind of worship. It was a worship of being led away into ecstasy. It was a victim-type worship. You went there and those demons got you and led you away. They carried you away. You gave up your will, as it were, to them." And he's saying, "That's the way you used to do." Verse 2 says, "You were this way and now you've dragged it into the church." They were unable to distinguish between the usual and the unusual, between the demonic and the divine. Everything was going on in their worship and they couldn't distinguish what was God and what was Satan. There was intrusion, there was corruption, there was chaos. They literally mistook the work of Satan for the work of the Spirit.
So Paul is saying this...now listen..."The truly spiritual...the truly spiritual...pneumatika...is not marked by being carried away, it is not marked by being led away. That is precisely the characteristic of your former kind of religion." Now you get the point? "You used to have a led away religion, you don't anymore. You used to have a religion where you went there and the demons just carried you away as a victim into ecstatic orgiastic-kind of activity. That was a former religion and now you've dragged your fanatical type of religion into the church and created chaos." Listen, again, "The truly spiritual is not marked by being swept away into trances and ecstasies and emotional frenzies."
And I'll draw it down to say this: seizure, being out of control is never the Christian's use of His gift. When somebody says, "Well, my brother, I was slain in the spirit." I'd say, "You've been slain but it is not in the spirit." Don't you buy that for a minute. They're not slain in the spirit." You say, "How are they slain?" Well I suppose, in many cases, that's the thing to do, so you do it. There's a guy standing there waiting to catch you and you want to be a part of it. In other cases maybe it's a hypnotic thing. In other cases maybe it's a demonic thing. Who knows what it is? But the Spirit of God does not operate the gifts of the spirit when people are out of control. Now mark that. That's his point in verse 2.
Chapter 14 verse 15 for support, "What is it then...chapter 14 verse 15...we'll get into this later of course, but I want to give it you...I will pray with the spirit, yes, and I will pray with the...what?...the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, yes, and I will sing with the understanding also." I recently heard a long play record album where there was singing in the spirit. It's been recorded and it's just gibberish. And I kept thinking, "It's fine to sing under the power of the Spirit as long as you sing with the understanding also." Look at verse 33, "For God is not the author of confusion." Look at verse 40, "Let all things be done...what?...indecently and out of order...no...decently and in order." The Spirit of God does not operate the gifts of God when you are out of control, when you are under sort of supernatural seizure. When someone goes out of control, a trance, or faints, is supposedly slain in the Spirit, or speaks ecstatic languages, or goes into frenzied behavior, that is never of God, never. They are reflecting a pagan style of religion that corrupted the Corinthian assembly and continues to do the same. "All...listen to this...all spiritual gifts function in full control and consciousness of the user."
So Paul refers to the heathen ecstasies. And just to show you how bizarre it had become and how bold the demons had become when they knew they could get away with it in the church, look at verse 3. This is incredible. "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man, speaking by the Spirit of God, calls Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit." Now here Paul shows us the first principle that the genuine spiritual gift will be determined by. In light of the confusion and in light of the failure to distinguish the Holy Spirit's activity from heathen demonic leading Paul gives a basic test and it's a positive and negative.
Let's look at negative first. This is very, very amazing to me. Here's the negative part of the test, "No man, speaking by the Spirit of God, calls Jesus accursed." Now listen to me. Do you know what they were doing in the Corinthians assembly? Listen to this. Some folks were standing up in the Corinthians assembly, supposedly manifesting the gifts of Spirit, and cursing Jesus. That's what they were doing. You say, "How do you know that?" Because that's the thing Paul is dealing with.
As I read through the commentaries in the last two weeks, and just to be sure, I think I read about 20 different commentaries on this particular passage. I found none of them that disagreed with the view that actually in the Corinthian assembly somebody was doing that. And maybe more than one person and maybe more than one occasion. It literally says, "No one speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus is Anathema.'" Now I don't know how it hits you folks, but to me it's beyond belief. If somebody stood up in Grace Church and said, 'I have the gift of prophesy and would like to speak. Jesus is accursed." What would you think? Would you think it was of the Holy Spirit? I wouldn't neither. I mean, I wouldn't have to think about it. I know it isn't of the Holy Spirit, but the Corinthians didn't know that. Why? Because they had made the judgment...listen...of the value of the gift on the basis of the experience rather than the content. You understand? You see, if it was far out, and ecstatic, and supernatural, and obvious beyond a human, they figure, "It's got to be the Holy Spirit. After all, it's in the church and it's happened here." And here somebody had gone so far as to literally curse Jesus and the people could not determine that it was not, in fact, of the Holy Spirit. Beyond belief and doubly unbelievable after their training under the Apostle Paul. Such a thing actually occurred. Someone led away by demons; here they're going and everybody's up. And this is the way it would go: everybody doing something at the same time, somebody singing, somebody speaking, ecstatic speech, somebody giving a prophesy, somebody shouting out a word of wisdom and a word of this and that, and everything going on, and somebody in the middle of it all, "Jesus is Anathema." "Oh, there's the Holy Spirit. Bless you brother." See? No ability to distinguish. You say, "How in heavens name could they ever believe that was of the Holy Spirit?"
Well let me give you a little background, I'll tell you how. First of all, it must have been a professing that did it or they never would have believed it was the Holy Spirit. Right? So it must have been a professing Christian. They knew that the Holy Spirit only dwelled in Christian. So if they assumed that it was the Holy Spirit they must have assumed this person to be, or persons to be, Christians. So here you have a Christian, at least in their eyes, somebody they think is a Christian. I'm gonna give you a little idea of how good their judgment was. They assumed this person to be a Christian. Now you and I would assume different. Would we?
Here's the non-Christian. But they didn't have enough sense to understand the difference, or to be, at least, open to it, and they figured if he had the experience he must be a Christian and it must be the Holy Spirit. So must have been a professing Christian, secondly. It definitely was a carry over from the frenzy that is described in verse 2, that's disconnection here. When a person was beside himself with ecstasy, do you know what they said in Corinth? "It is the Holy Spirit." Do you Paul says, "It is not the Holy Spirit." Paul says, "Just because this happens in the church doesn't make it of the Spirit. But those demons had such free reign there that they were actually publicly saying, "Jesus is Anathema," and getting away with it. That's how bad off this assembly was. Boy, Satan was really operating there. Listen, don't you believe that just because it happens in the church it's of the Spirit. Satan spends a lot of his time in the church. And just because someone is in the church, someone is under control by outside forces, don't necessarily assume it's God. It could be demons. So the state of emotion and ecstasy laid behind the cursing of Jesus, and in that glutinous, selfish, drunken, pagan-oriented worship, ecstasies broke out and some wild characters begin saying, "Jesus is Anathema." And others thought it was the Holy Spirit. Incredible.
I'll take it a step further. It was perhaps a Jewish professing Christian because the word Anathema is a Jewish word. And it means devoted to destruction. It's a common Jewish word. In fact, it is the strongest Jewish word for condemnation. It would similar to our saying, "Jesus be damned." That's the strongest term the Jew had; devoted to destruction. You say, "Well why would they say that about Jesus?" Well it was no doubt something that the Jews said frequently because of Deuteronomy 21:23, which said, "Cursed is he that... what?...hangeth on a tree." And much of the Jewish criticism of Christianity might have been, "How could you claim that that man was the messiah when He was hanged on a tree?" "Cursed is such a one." So it may have been a rather common statement, "Jesus is accursed." We don't accept a crucified messiah. He's accursed." So perhaps it was not uncommon for them to pronounce curses on Jesus. It was certainly not uncommon for the Apostle Paul who tried to chase Christian's down. Read Acts 26:11 and make them curse Jesus. That's what he tried to do them.
So here was a Jewish person who had picked up the curse and was cursing Jesus. But this one was one professing to be a Christian, doing it in the church, so it was accepted as the Holy Spirit. You say, "But, John, how in the world could this be? Who would reason this way?" Let me give you the best explanation that I know, and I don't know any other. There are about 15 explanations and I'll just give you what I think is the best one. I don't know why they were letting him get away with it or how they had come to that point. But this is the best one as I can see it: Already in the Corinthian assembly there was a creeping heresy, and it is the same creeping heresy that was all over the New Testament era.
Now listen to me, it is the heresy that denies the deity of Jesus Christ and denies His sufficiency to save. Haven't we seen it? We save it in our study 1 John. We see it right now in our study of Colossians. It's all over the place. It became, later on, by the second century, what is known as an gnosticism. This is kind of insipient gnosticism or the basic formation of it. And it was apparently growing in the Corinthian assembly - a non loyalty to Jesus Christ. Notice what it says. It doesn't say Christ is accursed but Jesus. Perhaps what they were doing was buying this heresy that separated the true Christ from the human Jesus. See? This was the Gnostics' view, that the Christ Spirit dwelled up in space and kind of ruled the world and did the whole thing. And then when Jesus, the man, who was not the Christ, when he was baptized, the Christ Spirit descended upon Him. And just prior His death, the Christ Spirit left so that Jesus died as a cursed criminal. So that the dying Christ was just a man. The dying Jesus was nobody. And that's why, you see, when Jesus rose from the dead the Corinthians didn't understand it. He had to write the whole 15th chapter to explain the Resurrection. Remember? "If Christ be not risen, then our hope is in vain," and so forth. The reason was very likely they were beginning to accept the fact that the Christ Spirit and the human Jesus were separate. And so they were cursing the Jesus while supposedly acknowledging the glorified and divine Christ.
Now let me take you a step further. This is really important. Look at 1 Corinthians 16:22. And here I think is something that really supports it. Now listen, "If any man love not...the King James says, and there is some discussion about whether the King James or the...the other manuscripts vary but it says, "If any man love not thee Lord Jesus Christ, let him be....what?...Anathema. You might say, 'Curse Jesus,' I say, 'If you don't acknowledge Him, curse you.'" Paul says. "And what do you mean Paul?" "Well if it's in this verse, Lord Jesus Christ, then you have to believe that the whole thing comes together. He is Lord Jesus Christ," one in the same.
Now if the other manuscripts are right and verse 22 only says, "Lord," then you go to verse 23, which says, "Lord Jesus," and you go to verse 24, which says, "Christ Jesus," and you have it all together anyway. Paul is saying, "Look, you will be cursed unless you accept the Lord Jesus Christ." That's the fullness of his deity. If you say, "Well I accept the Christ but deny the Jesus," curse you. If you say, "I accept Jesus but deny Christ," curse you. If you say, "I accept Jesus but deny His Lordship," curse you. "If I accept the Lordship but deny the Man Jesus," curse you. The Lord Jesus Christ. All one in the same, incarnate God. Do you see the point?
And here...what had happened is, this creeping idea had come in, distinguishing the historical Jesus and the Christ as some floating Spirit to deny the incarnation. See? Do you know what this does? Now listen to me, if you've got the Christ leaving Jesus before the cross then what is the significance of His death? It hasn't any. And what is the significance of His Resurrection? It hasn't any. And that's why he writes chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians and tells them, "If Christ be not risen...then what?...then your faith is in vain." You can't just have Jesus you've got to have Christ. You see, they were hung up on the Resurrection if they believe this, cause if you've got a human Jesus then you're going to have trouble getting Him out of the grave, and if He doesn't rise then we're all hopeless. See, by believing this, you see, you destroy the cross and you destroy the resurrection, as well as the deity of Christ.
Now I believe, this is what was creeping in, look at the 11th chapter of 2 Corinthians. This is just a few months later. Second Corinthians 11, look at it, verse 3, "I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his craftiness, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." Do you see? He says, "I'm afraid for you because there's a corrupting process going on in relation to your understanding of Christ. For if he that comes preaches another...what?...Jesus. If somebody comes to you and preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if we receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him, and where we could explain all that, that means." But he's just saying, "Look, avoid falling into a trap of believing in another Jesus. Don't let anybody corrupt your mind from the simplicity that is in the true Christ." What is simplicity? It's a single thing, the single identity of the true Christ, that's the meaning of the word simplicity. A simple thing is something that can't be what? Divided. The simple thing about Christ, the indivisible Christ.
Paul is acknowledging, I think, in 1 Corinthians, and that's the best explanation that I can come through with and I'm the only one that has defined it in that breath of terminology, so I would like to find some folks who would agree with me in that area. And there are some who kind of play around with the edges of this argument but I think if we studied it even further it would become more developed that this is. In fact, the best explanation for how they could wind up cursing Jesus, and that's what they had done.
Now they were then separating the historical Jesus from the Christ the Spirit and he says, "That has been tolerated so that somebody saying, 'Jesus is accursed,' can be accepted in your community as having a gift from the Holy Spirit by which that thing was said." Incredible. So the doctrinal test is the first test of a gift. Anybody ministers a gift, I don't care what that gift is, the first test: what do they say about Jesus? What do they say about Christ? Anybody who says Jesus is accursed is not speaking of the Holy Spirit. Now, folks listen to me, the first test of the operation of any gift is its connection with the authoritative revealed Word of God. The reason they were out of line was because what they said did not agree with what? Scripture. When somebody comes along and says, "I have a Word from the Holy Spirit." If it agrees with Scripture, it isn't necessary, and if it does, then it isn't right.
Now let's go to the positive in verse 3. I was going to get through verse 11. Can you believe that? Verse 3... yes, you can believe that. Verse 3, And the other side...here's the positive test..."That no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit." This is the positive. When somebody comes into your midst with all of his faculties, and with all of his mind, and with all of his heart, and with all of his being, says, "Jesus is Lord," you know that's of the Holy Spirit. Now it isn't simply the words, it's the commitment. No man can say...and the word say here doesn't just mean to pair. A skeptic can say, "Jesus is Lord." You can pay a guy ten dollars and say, "Would you say Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Lord. Here's your ten dollars." That isn't the point. It's not quite that simplistic. No man can truly say, no man can truly confess, no man can truly acknowledge, "Jesus is the Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. When that deep conviction of genuine understanding about who He is comes forth it is of the Spirit.
When somebody curses Jesus, that's sufficient evidence that they're not of the Spirit. When somebody confesses Jesus, that's sufficient evidence they are. And I want you to notice something, verse 3, "That no man can say that Jesus is the Lord." Oh, that's important. Lord is kurios. It is the regular means in the New Testament for translating the tetra grama tan. That's the Old Testament name for God, Yahweh. The regular New Testament term for translating the Old Testament name of God is kurios. The confession is that Jesus is God. You see? When somebody confesses that Jesus the Man...he's using the human term...that Jesus the human is, in fact, God; that there is no separation. There is no Gnostic division there. That is of the Holy Spirit. And that leads me again to believe that what they were doing was separating the human Jesus from the divine Christ. So the Spirit prompted confession is distinguished from the counterfeit by the acknowledgement that Jesus, the Man, is, in fact, God.
Now test one: in anybody's gift, in anybody's use of that gift, is an accurate doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit always leads men to ascribe deity, lordship, and all sufficiency to Christ. And that's the test you have to begin with. There are going to be many more tests on these gifts that we're going to see, but that's to start.
Now let me say this in closing. Spiritual gifts are important people. I mean, they are very important. You know how I know they're important? I know they're important because verse 1 says, you shouldn't be what? Ignorant. And if God feels that way they're important. But I'll tell you another way I know they're important: I can't believe how busy Satan is counterfeiting them. And if they are that much of a problem to him then they must be important. My dad always used to say, "You know, people don't counterfeit what isn't valuable." You don't ever hear about counterfeit brown paper, and nobody counterfeits sticks. People counterfeit money. People counterfeit diamonds. People counterfeit what's valuable because that's the only point in it. And if Satan is as busy as he is today, counterfeiting spiritual gifts, then let me tell you something people, they must really be important. You understand that? And if they are important for the life of the church, in order that we might be built up to be like Jesus Christ, then we better get it on and find out how we can use ours. Don't you think?
When I was in Chicago this week, meeting with those thousand plus pastors, I was very much aware that pastors are a part of a great team of men. God has given the church gifted men, and that we have a tremendous high calling, and it's a sobering thing. We talked about a lot of things together, but the thing that keeps coming back into your mind is the fact that God has given you a tremendous responsibility. And it is my responsibility to teach you, that you might come to maturity, to love you, that you might have a context in which to hear my teaching and belief it, to set an example for you, that you might have a pattern. That's my responsibility. And your responsibility, in response, is to see those gifts developing as the Spirit of God wants to use you and the minister.
I see pastor, for example, who haven't got the first idea about what it is to teach the Word of God, who don't understand what it is to mature the saints, who have never discipled anybody in their entire life. And so they can't function as they should, and the people can't respond as they should, and the body can't be built up. And so when Satan comes rolling into town with his bandwagon of counterfeit gifts, off they all go, and pretty soon you've got chaos. It behooves us, as a people and as a pastor, to be sure that we're committed to teach the Word of God, and you to learn the Word of God, and submit to the Word of God, and obey the Word of God. And know the difference between the true and the false, in order that the Body of Christ might be built for His Glory. Amen?
Father, thank you for our fellowship this morning. And thank you for giving us another clear word in regard to understanding your truth. Help us, Lord, as we go through this study, as we pour our hearts into Your truth, to be able to abstract out of it, life changing principles, things that shall change the way we think, and thus, the way we act.
Minister to our minds, that we might have renewed minds, transformed minds, to understand what You're saying. To be able to judge, and to be able to discern, and to be able to see the true and the counterfeit, not only for our sake and the sake of our church fellowship, but for the sake of other believers who need so much to have that same wisdom. Give us Your wisdom. We pray in Your name. Amen.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri lawmakers blocked a proposal Wednesday that could have allowed greater amounts of ethanol to be blended into the gasoline sold for most vehicles.
The decision by a legislative panel halts a proposed rule change by the Missouri Department of Agriculture that would have allowed stations to sell fuel containing 15 percent ethanol. Lawmakers said the proposal goes beyond what's allowed under a 2006 state law that required most Missouri gasoline to contain a 10 percent ethanol blend.
Associations for gas stations, petroleum suppliers and automakers had raised concerns that E15 could damage engines in some vehicles and create liability problems for consumers and retailers alike. Corn farmers, whose product is used to make ethanol, had pointed to federal studies affirming that E15 is safe for newer vehicles and can help lower gas prices for drivers.
But the decision by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules was not based on the merits of using E15 gasoline. Committee members said the Legislature not an executive agency must make the policy decision about whether to allow it.
The motion to block the proposed rule change passed 6-2 with two members absent, getting the minimum vote needed for a majority on the 10-person panel. The decision is essentially a temporary moratorium. The full Legislature can decide whether to permanently block the rule when it convenes in January. Or the department can withdraw the proposed rule change.
As of last month, E15 was being sold at about 40 gas stations in nine states Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to the Renewable Fuels Association.
"The real losers here are consumers," said Gary Marshall, CEO of the Missouri Corn Growers Association. "Consumers in nine other states have the ability to buy a fuel that right now is significantly cheaper than gasoline, and Missouri residents don't."
By blocking the rule change, consumers may have been spared confusion about whether E15 is appropriate for their vehicles and who should bear responsibility if its use voids manufacturer warranties and causes problems, said Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.
Now the Legislature can debate and work out those details, he said.
"If somebody misfuels, I do not want my folks to be held liable if they complied with the law," Leone said. "We also don't want the consumer, obviously, to be hurt if they make a mistake and misfuel a car with E15 that's not E15 compatible."
Committee chairman Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, said he tried to broker a deal among corn farmers, fuel sellers and the Agriculture Department to back away from the rule change and address the availability of E15 during the 2014 legislative session. But Schmitt said a representative of Gov. Jay Nixon wanted to try to go forward with the rule change now.
A Nixon spokeswoman did not immediately return a message seeking comment Wednesday.
The vote blocking the rule passed with bipartisan support. Voting to halt it were Schmitt; Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield; Sen. Paul LeVota, D-Independence; Sen. Scott Sifton, D-St. Louis; Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Springfield; and Rep. Mike Colona, D-St. Louis.
Those voting to allow the rule to go forward were Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, and Rep. Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff.
© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

subset: commoncrawl


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There are a growing collection of Greenville area haunted houses and Halloween attractions for 2012… what better place to gather this list than here at GreenvilleGhost.com? So if you are looking for what to do this year for Halloween fun in Greenville South Carolina for 2012 you have come to the right place! Forget the commercial radio station owned sites like screamfinder.com lol… We will always have the most complete listing EVERY year!
While I encourage everyone to come explore the actual hauntings, mysteries and history in downtown Greenville on our original Greenville Ghost Tour… during Halloween a lot of great family fun opens up for you to enjoy. This year we even have a special ALL NIGHT GHOST HUNTING Adventure just for Halloween Night 2012! Check our main site here for details.
All NEW Scares for 2012… Haunted Pub Crawl & LATE Tour
Buy TIX online!
Walk ups welcome! Come on down! If we are not sold out we will welcome you!
>Thurs-Sun Night Ghost Tours start at 8pm and 10:30pm (fri &Sat) In front of Greenville Army Store 660 S. Main St… be 15 min early.
The "haunted houses" as described in this listing are commercial Halloween productions meant to thrill and scare you. These fun attractions only come around once a year… So get a scare while the season is here!
In this list are the places that I have found by searching long and hard, some of them are big productions, some of them are small. I cannot promise that all of these listed attractions are accurate so please try and contact the individual attractions themselves. Neither I nor GreenvilleGhost.com has any affiliation with these haunted attractions so we cannot answer any questions about them.
If you know of other Greenville and surrounding area haunted houses and Halloween attraction, please leave a comment on this post and leave me the all the contact details. If you have your own local haunted house or other Halloween attraction, please feel free to comment on this post or call us and leave a message with your details for our "Halloween attractions" page.
Contact info or links to websites and myspace pages have been provided below. If your website is listed here we would appreciate a link back to the original Greenville Ghost Tour!
Haunted Houses and Halloween Attractions for 2012 in Greenville, SC
Greenville Zombie Outbreak! The best haunted trail and ZOMBIE SHOOT in the south!
Greenville Zombie Outbreak haunted trail and zombie shoot website click here!
Truly the top of the heap in Halloween fun for Greenville County. In this fully immersive Halloween attraction you will be taken into a "crap hits the fan" extreme zombie apocalypse scenario. It is the end of the world… TRY AND SURVIVE!
Your journey starts in the zombie infested haunted trail where you find out a little bit why the outbreak happened. As you wonder through the trail you will encounter graves, bodies and gory remnants of the zombie attack. Then you will explore the extremely twisted "Curiosity Museum" of freaks and bizarre displays unlike anywhere else in the upstate.
With high tech special effects this end of the world trail winds its way into the heart of the zombie infection zone. You will be debriefed as you enter the ZOMBIE SHOOT arena where you will be armed and taught how to retrieve the hidden anti-virus canister… Shoot zombies and try and stay alive to get the canister back to base camp.Located in an industrial zoned property on the fringes of Greenville County, the setting is perfect for this surreal exploration of the end of the world with the walking dead.
*Haunted Trail!
*Curiosity Museum of Freaks!
*Zombie Shoot!
Where: 200 WHAM RD. Fountain Inn SC 29644 (Near the Greenville water tower just off 385 past simpsonville)
Greenville Zombie Outbreak Website Click here!
Greenville Zombie outbreak Facebook fan page Click HERE!
Nightmare Dungeon, Upstates #1 Haunted house for 7 years!
Nightmare Dungeon Website
For 18 years Scream Productions have been bringing nightmares to life. This year is no exception. Nightmare Dungeon will be the upstate's scariest haunted house. With over 20 wretched horror scenes, this will be the longest nightmare experience. Expect to be thrilled and chilled over and over again. The picture you see is the actual house. The Nightmare Dungeon is an old 2 story farm house walk thru attraction featuring many scares and dark tight places. Located on an old concrete companies property known as zupan sand, this attraction features a combination of dark tunnels and maze like rooms, digital sound and motivated actors, as well as fine detail and realism. We have added lots of new props, and made many changes for the 2012 season.
Second floor, scares never stop coming, filled with horror, terror, gore, screams,
Where: 645 Old Anderson Rd Greenville, SC 29611
Powdersville area across from the new WalMart
Haunted Scream Park (large multi theme attraction)
On HWY 123 near Greenville Pickens Speedway going towards Easley, SC
Where: 3800 Calhoun Memorial Highway, Easley, SC 29640
On the same side of the road as the fairgrounds – look for the wrecked police car.
4 Screams in one: The Forbidden Forest, House of the Dead, Friday the 13th Haunted Maze, and the Evil Fortune Teller!
The Vault of Horror Haunted House (downtown)
What: Vault of Horror One day, a man lost his son at the show. He looked high and low for him. The man attended the show each night in hopes of finding his son, and as he left on the last night, he passed a cage with the oddest creature in it. As he looked into the eyes of the creature, he saw his son's eyes looking back.
The man confronted Raymond and knocked him to the ground. Raymond snapped, recalling his childhood trauma. He struck the man and killed him in front of hundreds of witnesses. The cops came and arrested him.
The next day, Raymond Hunt III disappeared from police custody. The Traveling House of Freaks was never seen again, until a poor soul opened the Vault.
The Vault of Horror.
In it, he found the most unique, terrifying, inspiring, and bloodcurdling collection know to man.
Do you dare to enter?
Where: 245 North Main Street, Greenville, SC 29601
Next to Jersey Mike's and the Beaded Frog, across Main from the Hyatt, near the intersection of Main Street and Beatty.
Fear Factory / Walking Dead Zombie Maze / Circus Mayhem
Description: Greenville's biggest haunted attraction will blow. you. away. Not only is it the creepiest, scariest, most detailed haunted house you've ever seen, but there's 50,000 square feet of it. Fear Factory Haunted House will terrify even the most stoic horror fans. Circus Mayhem will fulfill your creepy clown quota for the rest of your life. And that might not be long, because the Walking Dead Maze will keep you in close quarters with some very hungry undead. There's tons of free parking on-site and plenty of room for all.
Where: 555 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29607
In the Babies R Us shopping center, on the far left (in the old Steve & Barry's location), above Halloween Express. Entrance is on the left side of the building.
MADWORLD Haunted attraction and zombie shoot
MADWORLD is unlike your regular "run-of-the-mill" haunted house. These days, haunted houses are overpriced and the experience lasts about five minutes.
Not here.
MADWORLD was created with the idea in mind to allow you to interact with the haunt as much as possible. When you drive into this haunted attraction and park your car, you have entered a whole new world; a world that is dark, eerie, apocalyptic, and strange beyond your imagination.
WHERE: 147 country manor rd. Piedmont, SC 29673
MADWORLD HAUNTED ATTRACTION WEBSITE Click here
Hawk & Toms Nightmare on Pendleton St.
Not far from downtown Greenville SC located on Pendelton St.
Pretty easy to find… most likely has a hearse out front!
The Boneyard Trail of terror
203 Green Rd, Wellford, South Carolina
Treedines Haunted Farm presents
Camp Crystal Lake and Jeepers Creepers
1506 Durham Rd, Piedmont, South Carolina
Phone: 864-947-9238
Ghillie Man Woods
489 Cassell Rd, Liberty, South Carolina
Lost Emerald Farm presents
Pirates of the Lost Emerald
2761 Overbrook Dr, Gaffney, South Carolina
Phone: 800-769-7228
Suburban Blood Trail
288 Ford Cir, 288 Ford Cir, Greer, South Carolina
Wompus Wood Haunted Trail
330 Paris Rd, Cowpens, South Carolina
Phone: 864-578-6175
Comment below and tell us about other cool Halloween attractions! Know any cool haunted houses in clemson spartanburg anderson easley gaffney or greenwood sc?


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Will only happen if Gulutzan is suspended as well.Hockey Widow wrote:It is being reported that Torts has an in person meeting with the NHL on Monday. Wouldn't it be funny if he got a 5-10 games suspension and our PP went something like 90%
Gotta say, I'm loving Torts as well! By far my favourite coach since Quinn!
Bring on Konopka!


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Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. The main and most well known Semitic languages are Hebrew, Aramaic (Syriac), Arabic, and Amharic. But modern versions of dialects of some of these languages show intermingling with and influence by some Indo-European languages.
Semitic languages are "root" languages - with basic meanings of words derived from the consonants. This is different than English and other Indo-European languages where the vowels have equal weight as the consonants. Thus, in Hebrew, the consonants KTB (or V) have something to do with "writing". From this basic root, there is derived KoTeV=writing or author, KaTTav= reporter, KaTuV=written, K'TuVim= Scriptures, KaTaVti= I wrote, eK(kh)ToV=I will write, K'ToVet=inscription or address, and so on. This "root" aspect of Hebrew is common to all Semitic languages. Thus, in Arabic, KTB appears in KaTaBa= "he wrote", maKTuB= "letter", KaaTiB= author, KuTiBat=it (fem.) was written, etc. In Aramaic, KTB appears in KeTaV= "he wrote", KaTVat= "she wrote", KeTuBa= "marriage contract", KeTiVat= was written (feminine), KaaTiV= writing. (In Aramaic the definite article for "the" is A (Aleph) added at the end of a noun rather than at the front. Thus the Hebrew "HaMeLeKH"= the King, becomes in Aramaic MaLKA)
The following examples of Semitic language structure use Hebrew, in the main, as examples to differentiate from IndoEuropean language, but other Semitic languages follow the same pattern.
Noun, Adjective and Verb in singular
1. Hebrew expresses the basic meaning of the word in consonants (capital letters in this article). Y,L,D are the 3 consonants for "child", "boy". YeLeD is a boy. The feminine is formed usually by adding an "ah" sound (some of the inner vowels may change). YaLDah is a girl.
2. Verbs follow the same pattern: QaM means "gets up", "arises" for masculine; QaMah is for feminine.
Ha means "the", and it is attached to the word.
HaYeLeD QaM means "The boy gets up". HaYaLDah QaMah means "The girl gets up".
3. There is no word in Hebrew for "is" and "are" in the present tense. Therefore, HaYeled Qam also means "The boy is getting up"; HaYaLDah QaMah also means "The girl is getting up".
Tov means "good". HaYeLeD Tov means "The boy is good", HaYaLDah ToVah means "The girl is good".
Noun, Adjective and Verb in plural
1. Masculine nouns, adjectives and verbs usually are made plural by adding the sound "im" (the i sounds "ee") to the end for masculine, and the sound "ot" to the end for feminine (some of the inner vowels may change). In Aramaic, plural of masculine nouns is "in" and of feminine nouns is "at" or "an"/.
Hebrew: HaYeLaDim ToVim means "The boys are good". HaYelaDot ToVot means " The girls are good".
Attributive Adjectives
1. The adjective goes after the noun in Hebrew instead of before the noun as in English. (You must put the Ha in front of the adjective, as well as in front of the noun).
Example: GaDoL means "big". If you want to say "The big boy is good", you must say: HaYeLeD HaGadol Tov. (It is like you are saying: The boy, the big one, is good.) The big girl is good, Ha YaLDah HaGeDoLah ToVah. The big boys are good, Ha Yeladim HaGeDoLim ToVim. The big girls are good, Ha YeLaDot HaGeDoLot ToVot.
That Semitic language places the adjective after the noun ("The grass, the tall, the green ones") it modifies or describes, rather than as in Emglish placing the adjective before the noun ("The tall, green grass") suggests to some a difference of mental approach between English and Semitic language speakers. The Semitic wants to know first of all what or who, and then what about. Whereas the English speaker first approaches through qualities and aspects and then grasps the what or whom. But this understanding is conjecture. Greek, the prime example of Indo-European, is comfortable both ways - o anthropos o agathos = the good man and o agathos anthropos = the good man.
The word "in", and "in" with the word "the"
1. The consonant B means "in" (It has only the slightest vowel sound). It is attached to the next word. Hebrew has no way of saying the word "a". You just leave it out.
Example: House is BaYiT. The big girl is in a house, HaYaLDah HaGeDoLah BBaYiT.
2. When you want to say "in the" it should be BeHa. But this is shortened and becomes Ba.
The big girl is in the house, HaYaLDah HaGeDoLah BaBaYiT. The good children are in the house, Ha YeLaDim HaToVim BaBaYit.
The Hebrew Script
The present day Hebrew alphabet is based on the old Aramaic alphabet, which in turn was based on the Phoenician alphabet. The term "alphabet" is something of a misnomer here, though, as Hebrew script is not in fact an alphabet, but an abjad; that is, a script with only consonants. Diacritics in the form of dots, called "niqqud" (נִקּוּד), are used to indicate vowels. However, the Hebrew script is not a pure abjad, either, and the characters alef, he, vav, and yod are sometimes (in the case of vav and yod, frequently) used to represent vowels. When consonantal letters are used in this fashion, they are called matres lectionis (Latin, "mothers of reading").
Hebrew in the Bible
The Hebrew of the Old Testament, though "classical", is not uniform. Some of the Hebrew, as in the Song of Deborah, is very archaic. The narrative portions relating to Deborah are more "modern". The same is true of the poetic Song of Moses and its corresponding narrative. This indicates that the poetic portions were written much earlier than the narrative and very close to the time of the event itself. This suggests that the events were passed on orally and in song to the next generation before they were written down. Deuteronomy displays a type of Hebrew similar to some of the Prophetic literature. What all this indicates is the "freedom" found in the Hebrew language of the Bible. In comparative terms to our modern sense and usage, it would be as if King James English with its magnificent cadences, Revised Standard English, more accessible and approachable to the modern man, and New International English, more familiar to the "man in the street", were to be used in one and the same version of the Bible to fit different "moods" and different usages and succeeding centuries. This evinces a most convincing and natural development of the language just as there is a most convincing and natural development of the culture and of the people of the Bible. Biblical Hebrew is thus shown to be very far different from an artificial or "school room" construct. It is a living language – or, more properly, living languages – used for different purposes and at different times.
Ge'ez was a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia, which used an alphabet based on the alphabets of the Semitic peoples.[1] It was the language of the Kingdom of Aksum, which is located in present-day Ethiopia.[1] It has been compared to Latin, by some, in that the three languages spoken in Ethiopia are derived from it, similar to how Latin developed into Italian, Spanish, French and other languages.
Differences between Semitic and Indo-European language structure
Unlike Greek, which has an ample vocabulary, and case endings to determine which words are to be read with which words, what parts of speech (subject, object etc.), Semitic languages are contextual languages - that is, having relatively few words but each word having a variety of meanings. This requires knowledge of the literature, and of literatures - that is, knowledge of the context to determine the precise meaning. This general rule is somewhat modified with respect to the Arabic language which does have case endings and does have a more replete vocabulary than Hebrew. (There is evidence that Hebrew and Aramaic once did have case endings but they had dropped off in time.)
Here are examples from Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic showing how case ending helps tell which is subject, which is object, etc. thereby leaving the order of the words with respect to each other (syntax) more flexible, and how the lack of case endings requires a more precise word order.
Hebrew: "Eesh Elohim" may mean " man is God (a man is God)" or "man of God". (To mean either one, "Eesh" must be placed before "Elohim", already reducing flexibility in syntax). There is nothing at the end of these words to indicate what part of speech they are. So we must look outside to the context to determine whether the meaning is, or probably is, "man is God" or "man of God" The context decides for us that 'man is God' is highly unlikely and that "man of God"is highly probable.
Greek: "anthropos" (man) has "os" attached to the root "anthrop". This "os" tells us that this word is nominative and the subject of the sentence. Theou (of God) has "ou", meaning "of", attached to the root of "The", meaning God. So there is no mistaking the meaning of "man of God", whether we have the word order of "anthropos theou" or "theou anthropos", or even separate the words by other modifying or qualifying words (Example: "What is this new being spoken by you teaching?" Acts 17:19 - bad English but good Greek). This allows for a variety of syntactical relations in Greek, and the general context is less determinative for meaning, as it is in the Semitic group of languages. In addition, either one, "theou anthropos" or "anthropos theou", is stylisticly correct, or, at least, if not equally correct, it is for reasons other than being considered now.
English: Though an Indo-European language, English words can be somewhat flexible and precise in meaning (but nevertheless stylistically stiff), by changing word order and insertion, in this case, of the word "of". Example. "the man of God" and " of God, the man" means the same thing but the latter is stilted: "man" and "God" have nothing to indicate which is subject, object, etc.
Arabic (classical), as mentioned above, does have case endings and so is an example of the mixing of root language and consonantal-determinative-for-meaning language, and more of a freedom in word order (syntax) on the "Indo-European" style. Example: "Beit" means house. "Beitu"- house is nominative - subject of sentences. "Beiti" is to or for a house, or indirect object, and "Beita" (or Beitan) is accusative or the direct object of the sentence. "Ana mawjuud filbeiti ilkabiri" - I am in the big house (in the house, the big one) indirect object. Ana ar'a' albeita alkabira I see the big house (the house, the big one) - direct object. The precision that case endings give allows flexibility with full comprehension and style no matter the positioning of the words - The big house I see. I see the big house. I, the house, the big one, see. Yet, as in Hebrew and Aramaic, the particular meaning of the words is determined by its consonental roots, rather than the vowels.
Another difference is that, at least in the classical Semitic languages, verbs were conjugated for aspect (perfect or imperfect) rather than tense. By contrast, Indo-European languages are known for verb conjugations that distinguish both aspect and tense. However, modern Semitic languages have developed ways to distinguish tense as well. For example, in Modern Hebrew, the old perfect and imperfect aspects are used as past and future tenses, respectively, while the present tense is based on a participle.
See also
- Hebrew
- Aramaic
- alphabet
- Transmigration of Words in Religion: an essay
- First Century Aramaic Jewish Christian Gospel and poetry
- Essay: Christians and the Law of Moses


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Bercow addresses MPs over clerk row
Commons Speaker John Bercow will today face MPs for the first time since a row erupted over his recommended candidate for the post of clerk of the House.
He will reportedly make a statement in the chamber amid growing disquiet among critics of the choice of Australian Carol Mills, who is currently head of the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) in Canberra.
Members have voiced concerns about her lack of knowledge of Westminster procedures and believe she is too inexperienced for the prestigious £200,000-a-year position, which combines the clerk's duties as a key constitutional adviser with the role of Commons chief executive.
John Bercow will face MPs for the first time since a row erupted over his recommended candidate for the post of clerk of the House.
She has been dubbed the "Canberra caterer" because her responsibilities at the Australian senate are said to include managing kitchens and cleaning.
But allies of the Speaker insisted that was an "immensely patronising and incredibly sexist" description of her role and qualifications.
The DPS has around 800 staff and an annual budget of around £67.5 million and is responsible for the Australian version of Hansard and provides IT, library and research services for parliamentarians.
In an effort to defuse the row, Mr Bercow, who is expected to visit Australia next month, has indicated he wants to split the functions into two jobs, b ut the suggestion has failed to appease the critics led by Tory Jesse Norman.
The Hereford and South Herefordshire MP has submitted a motion calling for Parliament to be given the opportunity to scrutinise the appointment. It has since been signed by 84 members from across the political spectrum, including three former foreign secretaries, a former deputy leader of the Labour party and six former ministers. All three deputy speakers are also understood to be against the choice of Ms Mills.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Mr Norman said: "So far there has not been any indication that Parliament will be given a say on this matter. Nor has the appointment of Ms Mills been withdrawn.
"Instead it has been proposed that the role of clerk should be split and a new chief executive (presumably Ms Mills) be appointed as well.
"This effectively concedes that Ms Mills is not qualified to be clerk. But instead of dropping her and starting again, it puts the cart before the horse and proposes an on-the-hoof restructuring of the House, all it seems, in order to accommodate her appointment.
"Not only that - it proposes a new role of chief executive at a probable cost of £150,000- £200,000."
He condemned the appointment process as "flawed", because key people such as deputy speaker Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle had not been included. He also criticised the use of headhunters, adding: "It is far from clear how they could have recommended a candidate who was, and remains, under investigation in Australia for maladministration."
Mr Norman warned that if allowed to drag on the affair could damage the office of Speaker and, in turn, the Commons.
He added: "We must hope he will move swiftly to end that appointment (in his statement today), reaffirm the importance of due process in the selection of public officials and put the wider issue of clerkship before a special committee elected by MPs."
Former deputy speaker Nigel Evans added on the Sky News Murnaghan programme yesterday that the real issue was whether Mr Bercow would have the "guts" to stand up and tell the House Ms Mills was no longer the appointee.
He went on: "It has ... transpired that while she is very good at administration, apparently she knows nothing about the constitution and wouldn't know what Erskine May is for instance, which is the bible of the chamber.
"In the meantime the Speaker has said why don't we split the job. Well, if we split the job which may have some sense, may not - don't you re-open the appointment panel again to have a look?
"The real issue is whether John is going to have the guts tomorrow to stand up in Parliament and say Carol Mills is no longer the appointee of a position that really now doesn't exist. We need a panel to be set up to look at the job, what sort of job it is first and once we have sorted out what the job is then we can look at the candidates."
Meanwhile, a n influential committee of members will meet today to discuss the Speaker's expected statement.
Bernard Jenkin, chairman of the public administration select committee, said he would be arguing for a pre-appointment hearing with Ms Mills if she is to be appointed to either the post of clerk or chief executive due to the need for scrutiny.
Ms Mills was recommended for the role earlier this month following an open recruitment process with a selection panel led by the Speaker.
Downing Street has insisted the new clerk must have the backing of MPs. The Prime Minister is responsible for passing the recommendation to the Queen to be finalised.
A spokeswoman for the Speaker told the Mail on Sunday: "The Speaker is keen to listen to the views of MPs."
She said his visit to Australia was planned a year ago and added that Commonwealth visits to meet other speakers were an "element" of his job.
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Assignment: Remembering Davy Jones
iREPORTS FILED
iREPORTERS SIGNED UP
Created February 29, 2012 by
Monkees heartthrob Davy Jones has died at the age of 66.
Jones – best known for lead vocals on "Daydream Believer" – also co-starred in the 1960s TV series of the same name.
Were you a Monkees fanatic? Did you have their memorabilia all over your bedroom? Did you watch the TV series religiously, attend any concerts or even meet Davy Jones in person?
Share your stories of Monkees fandom and your memories of Jones with CNN iReport. Your story may be featured on CNN.


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I'm Miss Mirian Brent
I saw your contact , and i was deeply moved.I think that you are a
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i still hope for your reply,
view my email(email@example.com)
have a pleasant day,
Miss Mirian
Hi Bruce,
"Join The Fan Club"!
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Dr. Amber Gorham in Boise IDTOPNPI
Dr. Amber Gorham, PAAG
Primary specialty: Physician Assistant5 views - No reviews yet - be the first to write a review
Dr. Amber Gorham has a medical practice at 100 East Bannock Street, Boise ID. Dr. Amber Gorham specializes in physician assistant and has over 18 years of experience in the field of medicine. She is affiliated with numerous hospitals, including St Luke's Regional Medical Center (ID) and more. New patients are welcome to contact Dr. Amber's office. Please call (208) 381 2983 or go to the doctoc's office to know doctor's practice, includes clinics, staff, opening hours and medical advice or to make an appointment with this doctor.
Office Location & Contact Information
Dr. Amber practice address, contact phone number and fax are as below. Check locations where Dr. Amber practices near Davenport ID for appointment.
- Office Address St Lukes Clinic-treasure Valley Llc 100 East Bannock Street,
Boise, ID 83712, United States
- Phone number (208) 381 2983
- Primary Practice Location
Quick Stats
- NPI Number: #1881718880
- Entity Type Code: Individual
- Years in Practice: +18 years
- Gender: Female
- Credential: PA
- Medical License: 001063, Iowa
- Provider Taxonomy: 363A00000X, Physician Assistant
- Enumeration Date: Mar 17, 2007
- Languages: English
- Is Sole Proprietor: No
- Organization Legal Name: St Lukes Clinic-treasure Valley Llc
Hours of Operation
These hours represent this office's business hours. Dr. Amber Gorham's opening hours may vary from the office hours displayed here.
- Monday - Friday:08 am - 05:00 pm.
Saturday and Sunday: Closed.
Specialty: Physician Assistant
- Dr. Amber Gorham has been identified as specializing in physician assistant and has been in practice for more than 18 years.
She can have one or more medical licenses for different specialities in Idaho or the different states. Related medical licenses for Dr. Amber Gorham are as mentioned below.
- Medical school
Not available - Graduated year 2000.
- Medicare Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) Incentive Program: Yes
- Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program: N/A
- Medicare Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program: N/A
- Participated in the Medicare Maintenance of Certification Program: N/A
- Heart health through the Million Hearts® initiative: N/A.
Dr. Amber Gorham is professionally affiliated with hospitals in Boise, ID area.
- Address: 190 East Bannock Street, Boise, ID 83712
- Phone: (208) 381 2222
- Hospital Type: Acute Care Hospitals
- Hospital Ownership: Voluntary non-profit - Private
- Emergency Services: Yes
- Hospital overall rating: 5
Appointments may be made for routine visits or new problems that you may be experiencing. Knowing what questions to ask before, during and after appointments is vital to better understand, and therefore manage, an illness.
- Accepting new patients? - Yes
- Please call to Dr. Amber to schedule your appointment today: (208) 381 2983.
- English
Dr. Amber Gorham does not have any insurances listed. Please contact to the doctor office to get information about insurances provided by this doctor.
She has multiple office locations in Idaho and the different states.
- 1 Primary Practice Location:
Dr. Amber Gorham
1227 East Rusholme Street, Davenport, ID 52803, United States
Phone: (563) 421 2120
- 2 190 East Bannock Street, Boise, ID 83712 office information
If you are Amber Gorham and let us know if this information is out of date or incorrect, please report a correction to update this doctor profile!
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I've been riding (testing) my Xbow 16 upper limits in inland waters (sudden 28 knots gusts in average 18 knots winds). Not fun. Don't do it!!! . Insane jumps, though...tomatkins wrote:Kakanala,
You said: "the safest thing available right now when things go very wrong or for solo riding"
What do you base this opinion on?
Have you tried the 2 line safety system in desperate overpowered gusty conditions?
I activated the IDS at the end of the session just to see how it performed. Obviously a couple of friends were on shore waiting for the unexpected. I do not want to hurt myself! All went fine. The kite fell with no forward pull and despite the gusty weather it stood still "flagging" with leading edge sitting on the water as if there was not wind at all. IMO, the kite's safety was unbeatable.
I did not go for the kite. I recovered the bar, re-armed the chicken loop and relaunched the kite again.
That's all I can say. Hope I've been of help.


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More students are taking the classes needed to qualify for the state's TOPS scholarship, potentially giving more students a shot at college.
More students are taking the classes needed to qualify for the state's TOPS scholarship, potentially giving more students a shot at college.
"Kids are starting to realize that this is something they need to be paying attention to," said Terrebonne Parish Superintendent Philip Martin. "Everyone knows what an opportunity TOPS is now, so everybody's trying to get it."
To qualify for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students scholarship, which pays tuition to a Louisiana university, a student must take and pass the right classes and earn a high- enough score on the ACT. The right classes include some of the more rigorous courses school districts offer, such as advanced math and science courses and foreign languages.
"We can't make anybody do it. A lot of students just want to take the path of least resistance, and the classes you need for TOPS are definitely more difficult," Martin said. "But we do our best to tell every student how big an opportunity this is for them so they know what's at stake."
Individual school districts don't keep tallies of how many students choose to take TOPS-required courses, but both Bubba Orgeron, secondary schools supervisor in Lafourche, and Terrebonne Secondary Schools Supervisor Tony Authement said they're seeing fewer kids opt out in their parishes.
That perception is backed up by a report by the Board of Regents that says the number of students taking TOPS-required courses is steadily increasing. Of the 2012 graduating class, 69 percent of students had the right transcript, up from 57 percent in 2003.
The report says growth partially happened because schools have made it so students must take a TOPS-ready curriculum by default.
Every student starts his or her freshman year on the Core Four track, which includes the necessary classes, Authement said.
Each student has to finish sophomore year on Core Four. Before their junior year, students who are sure they will not go to college — either because they are seeking technical training or because they don't think they're up for it — can choose to leave that path and take less difficult classes.
But Orgeron said that decision doesn't happen instantly.
"If a student says he wants to drop down, there's a process. We meet with the parents and say to them 'OK, this is exactly what's going to happen,' " Orgeron said. "A student can't just walk in and ask for this and it happen right away."
Orgeron said some students struggle with some of the classes TOPS requires, such as foreign languages, and see foregoing those classes as a way out.
But, as TOPS becomes more popular, fewer parents are willing to let their child forego the chance to take advantage.
"A lot of times when they realize or their parents realize that they can't get TOPS if they do this, that's a big incentive for them to say 'well, we're just going to have to work harder and get the grade,' " Orgeron said.
Orgeron said TOPS is one of the most generous scholarship offers of its kind, giving many students opportunities to go college when that would otherwise be outside their financial reach.
"As a parent, it's been a huge financial aid for me," Orgeron said. "I know from personal experience how big a help TOPS can be."
While more students qualifying is good news for parents and colleges, it could end up being bad news for the state's budget.
Louisiana has spent about $1.5 billion on TOPS so far. And, as more students qualify and college tuition steadily increases, the cost is constantly rising. Since its inception in 1999, the annual price tag has more than doubled.
In the past few legislative sessions, some lawmakers have proposed limiting who can get TOPS or how much they can receive. But, so far, the program's popularity has prevented such changes.
"I know it's a source of consternation for some people at the state level because of how much it costs," Martin said. "But, in my mind, it's worth the money."
Staff Writer Matthew Albright can be reached at 448-7635 or at email@example.com.


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Lady Gaga is set to make her hosting debut on sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live.
The Born This Way hitmaker is heading back to the SNL stage on 16 November (13), as host and musical guest - a double act only a handful of performers, including Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus, have carried out.
It will mark the singer's third appearance on the show, following stints in 2009 and 2011, in which she performed and acted in several skits alongside hosts Ryan Reynolds and Timberlake.
Producers of the show have also announced that The Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson will make his hosting debut on 23 November (13), the day after the highly-anticipated Catching Fire sequel hits theatres in America.


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Curt Schilling, October 21, 1993.
Cole Hamels, October 1, 2008.
Who are the only pitchers to throw at least eight innings and allow zero runs in a post-season game for the Philadelphia Phillies?
Add Cliff Lee to that list. Going by game score, and assuming my calculations are correct, Lee's start tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers was tied for the best among the trio:
- Schilling, 1993: 80 game score
- Hamels, 2008: 86
- Lee, 2009: 86
Lee pitched eight innings of shut-out baseball, allowed only three hits, walked no one, and struck out ten Dodgers. His start was the 51st post-season start, since 1903, with a game score of 86 or higher, which puts him in the ranks of Roger Clemens, Don Larsen, and Randy Johnson. It was only the 18th post-season start in which a pitcher threw at least eight innings, allowed no runs, struck out at least ten, and had a game score of at least 86. And it was exactly the cure for what ailed the Phillies following their disappointing loss in Game Two.
The Phillies would have been fine with an imperfect Lee just the same, as they punched 11 runs across home plate by game's end. Ryan Howard continued his post-season RBI streak (the new Mr. October?), and every Phillie starter — including Lee — got a hit except for Raul Ibanez. Along with the 11 runs came 11 hits, six of which went for extra bases.
Lee was staked to a 4-0 lead after one inning and 6-0 after two. Little did the Phillies know that they could have gone on cruise control once they conquered their conqueror. Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda came into his start tonight with historic dominance over the defending World Champions: current Phillies hitters had a collective slash line (AVG/OBP/SLG) of .118/.179/.157 against him in the regular season.
Kuroda was ineffective from the start, falling behind five of the seven hitters he faced in the first inning, when he allowed four runs on two singles, a two-run Ryan Howard triple, and a two-run Jayson Werth home run. All four of the hits came on Kuroda fastballs. The trend continued in the second inning. Carlos Ruiz and Jimmy Rollins each hit doubles on fastballs, and Shane Victorino and Chase Utley walked.
The Phillies would tack on two more in the fifth on a Pedro Feliz RBI triple and Ruiz RBI single. Three more runs in the eighth sealed the deal courtesy a three-run Victorino home run. Right-hander Chad Durbin pitched a perfect ninth inning to put Game Three in the books.
No drama, no blood-curdling screams, nothing. It was the first easy game the Phillies have had in a long time.
Tonight, the Phillies showed the nation that they are clearly a better team than the Dodgers. Two more wins to go with two more at home. The feeling among Phillies fans right now is a complete reversal than what it was after the Game Two heart-breaker.
The Phillies will send right-hander Joe Blanton to the mound for Game Four tomorrow night to oppose the Dodgers' southpaw and former Phillie Randy Wolf. The Fightins look to continue their trend of only dropping one game in each post-season series. The last time they lost more than one was when they were swept by the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 NLDS.
Game graph above courtesy FanGraphs.


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Obsessive Prince Fielder Watch: Prince Wants to Play for the Chicago Cubs
A new report suggests that, if free agent first baseman Prince Fielder had his druthers, he would be a Chicago Cub in 2012.
According to Newsday's Ken Davidoff, Fielder wants to wind up with the Cubs, in part because of his excellent numbers at Wrigley Field (.298/.424/.579 – insert your joke about facing Chicago Cubs pitching), and in part because of the proximity of two airports with direct flights to his home in Florida. You can probably toss in Cubs manager Dale Sveum, Fielder's hitting coach in Milwaukee, as another reason Prince would like to come to Chicago.
But, of course, Fielder's desire to come to the Cubs is immaterial if the Cubs aren't, themselves, willing to pony up a reasonable contract offer. And, even then, Fielder's agent, Scott Boras, will strongly encourage Fielder to take the best available offer, regardless of location.
As for whether the Cubs are pursuing Fielder, Davidoff doesn't think they are. But Bruce Levine is now reporting, as assertively as he has all Winter, that the Cubs are genuinely interested in Fielder, and are "working very hard under the radar to bring him in."
Knowing the way Bruce reports rumors, I can say with the utmost confidence that he has been told by a reliable Chicago Cubs source that the Cubs are actively pursuing Prince Fielder. That means one of two things: (1) the Cubs actually are actively pursuing Prince Fielder; or (2) the Cubs want the world to believe they're actively pursuing Prince Fielder (perhaps to put pressure on a team like the Padres to make a deal for Anthony Rizzo (i.e., "pull the trigger on our offer for Rizzo now, because if we land Fielder, the deal's off")). Both are plausible. One is true. Your guess is as good as mine as to which.
As for the ongoing Matt Garza trade saga, and the seeming incongruity between, on the one hand, pursuing a big-time free agent like Prince Fielder, and, on the other hand, trading away one of the team's best players, Jon Heyman suggests no such incongruity exists. Indeed, Heyman says the Cubs are pursuing Fielder even in the midst of a rebuild, but simply will not go after Fielder "at all costs."
This squares with something I've said since the outset of the offseason: because of Fielder's age and the lack of a long-term, in-house first base option (and the dearth of top hitters on the market in the next couple years), Fielder could be a part of a quick turnaround rebuild. Trading Matt Garza, with the right return and the right use of the salary saved, could also be a part of a quick turnaround (a year or two) rebuild.
The point is and always has been: signing Fielder is as much about 2013 and beyond as it is about 2014. If the Cubs can get him on a short-term (five-ish years) deal on their terms, they'll strongly consider it. And, if Fielder is as desirous of coming to the Cubs as it seems, they'd be wise to hold firm to their limited offer.


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Apology Not Accepted
Crack and the Contras: A newspaper retracts, but the Web stands firm.
Mercury Center, the interactive online site of the San Jose Mercury News, is buzzing with anger at a new target--Mercury News Executive Editor Jerry Ceppos. The subject was the newspaper's controversial series of last August, "Dark Alliance," which alleged that the CIA had promoted the sale of crack cocaine to Americans as part of the U.S. government's support of the Nicaraguan Contras in the 1980s.
Sunday, Ceppos wrote that the series had been irresponsibly written and edited, and that it had failed to prove any wrongdoing on the part of the CIA. Online scandal-mongers immediately labeled Ceppos a turncoat. The reporter who wrote the series, Gary Webb, called the column "nauseating," and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said that it shed "nothing new" on the debate over the credibility of the allegations. Meanwhile, the mainstream media and the CIA heralded the end of an irresponsible story.
T he Internet is being blamed--and praised--for allowing this story to gain so much stature. Despite being dissed and then shot down by such standard-bearers as the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post, the Mercury News allegations spread like cocaine had in the 1980s, causing national leaders to scurry around with concern. Two months after "Dark Alliance" appeared, CIA Director John Deutch made a rare public appearance in South Central Los Angeles to answer the charges of an angry mob.
The Web enabled "Dark Alliance" to bypass the mainstream media and enter the forefront of national debate. The Mercury News began touting its upcoming series on Internet newsgroups weeks before it was completed. The electronic version was published simultaneously with the print version, with the added features of hypertext links to cited documents, audio tracks from wiretaps and hearings, and an image (which was later removed) of the official stamp of the CIA, superimposed on a crack smoker. Within days of the story's appearance, more than 2,500 other Web sites had linked directly to Mercury Center, causing 100,000 additional hits a day for weeks afterward.
For example, Final Call Online, the Nation of Islam's journal, linked to the piece with a short commentary titled "The CIA Drug Pipeline: How the U.S. Government spread cocaine in the Black ghetto." ParaScope, one of several online journals rich in conspiracy-theorizing, attached this headline: "CIA's Contras Linked to Crack Trade." The Webzine Salon headlined its interview with Webb "Your worst fears are true--the CIA did help smuggle drugs into American ghettos, says an investigative reporter." Robert Parry, co-author of a 1985 AP news story that first reported that some groups of Contras had engaged in drug trafficking, is now the editor of an online news magazine, the Consortium, and has been promoting the story. Although the Consortium charges for access, Parry's editorial in The Nation, endorsing Webb's story, is available at no charge.
But it was the chat groups that really whipped people into a frenzy. Although Usenet newsgroups--a hotbed of discussion on the topic--may be accessed by members only, the topic spawned independent forums with such titles as "The CIA-Crack Connection" and "Black Experience: CIA and LA's Drug Connection." These sites were filled with stinging indictments of the government and the mainstream media as well as gleeful cheers for the Web. One reader in the Mercury Center's Reader Forum (the original responses to the series are all still available) wrote: "We have to raise hell! ... The power of the Web cannot be underestimated." The overwhelming majority of chat-room participants seem to accept the premise of "Dark Alliance," and to spend their time arguing over the connections to other perceived conspiracies like the JFK assassination or that more recent fave, Arkansas land dealings. One reader submitted this helpful tip: "If you enjoy this conspiracy, you may want to visit the Squirrel Conspiracy Home Page."
The contagious hyperbole of the Internet clearly had an impact on the life of "Dark Alliance." As one Web surfer noted: "The outrage of the freshly exposed readers is refreshing to see." Gary Webb himself joined the fray on the Mercury Center's Reader Forum, and was clearly energized by his online fans. His first posting, dated Aug. 19, reads thus: "Since I've been living with this story for so long, it ceased to shock me long ago. I'm glad to see it still has some punch." This was mild compared with his Sept. 1 attack on a lone Web surfer who raised questions about "proof" of CIA involvement: "That's like saying there's no proof of General Motors' involvement in making Chevrolet," Webb raged. "I also heard a great line while I was doing a radio show in Florida yesterday: Now we know what CIA really stands for--Crack In America."
The feedback on the Web and on radio talk shows fed each other, creating an alternative media alliance that shouted down the objections of the mainstream press and catapulted the series to national prominence. Anger at the mainstream media overwhelms anger at the government in many of these forums. "How long will Koppel and co. dance away from this one?" asked one Internet chatter. Black-oriented radio-show hosts repeatedly plugged the Mercury News Web site in their broadcasts, and it became, in the words of Richard Prince of the National Association of Black Journalists, "the buzz of Black America." From there, political leaders like Sen. Barbara Boxer and the NAACP's Kweisi Mfume began calling for investigations, and the mainstream press was forced to write metastories with headlines like this one, from the Oct. 21 New York Times: "Though Evidence is Thin, Tale of CIA and Drugs Has Life Of Its Own." Other news sites and respected political organizations like the NAACP began to link to the series.
The widespread attention merely fueled the "us vs. them" sentiment of most Internet discussions on the topic. When Ceppos wrote his apologetic column, he was merely saying what "they" had been saying all along. "Granted, there may be inconsistencies, there may be fallacies, but why not take up the banner of truth and march on?" argues one Webhead. The impact of the Internet has been twofold: Not only has it allowed the series to leapfrog the mainstream press, but it has also made the mainstream press as much the enemy as the CIA. The fact that Ceppos has defected to the dark side merely fuels the fire.