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ohsalome · 1 year

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What are some amazing, most read Ukraine authors? The only one I know is Gogol and I would like more on my radar.

First important disclaimer is that without knowing ukrainian, your pool of choice is very limited. Unfortunately, our translators haven't done nearly enough to make ukrainian literature acessable for english speakers, so a lot of genuinely amazing stuff would require you to know the language.

The second important disclaimer is that I am going to recommend you a lot of poetry, and, with no disrespect to the translators, it doesn't hit nearly as hard in english as it is in ukrainian. I've recently heard the phrase "to read poetry in translation is like to take a shower wearing a raincoat", and it is so true. So, apologies for this barrier, but there is nothing one can do.

With that in mind, let's start from classics:

The first most important author is Taras Shevchenko. He mainly wrote poetry, but has some prose works as well, and during his life he was more known as a popular artist. The Bible of his works is Kobzar (a ukrainian word for travelling blind musicians), and the same word is also often used as a nickname for Shevchenko - akin to how Shakespeare can be called the Bard. Among the most important poems pay attention to A Dream (the poem for which he was imprisoned by the russians with an explicit ban on writing and painting), The Caucasus, My Testament, Kateryna, A cherry orchad by the house, О thoughts of mine

The second big name to know is Lesya Ukrainka. Lesya is also more known for her drama and poetry than her prose, but she also was a prolific translator and a feminist. Her most well-know play is The Forest Song (a cartoon adaptation is soon to be released after 7 years of production, but from the trailer it looks like it's not going to be close to the text). I find her Бояриня play to be much more interesting and relevant, however, it looks like it has not been translated yet. Among her poems, some of the most important are Contra Spem Spero and Cassandra (the latter has had some successful stage prouctions in Great Britain last year, mayhaps it will gain popularity)

Some links to her works: [x] [x]

Fun fact: there are speculations about Lesya Ukrainka's relationship with her close friend Olga Kobylyanska. The letters they exchanged are quite intimate and sometimes even erotic in nature, which lead some academics to believe that they were more than friends (most still fall in the "gal pals" camp tho). However, if that were true, that would mean that Lesya Ukrainka is the only bisexual woman to ever be printed on banknotes.

The third pillar of ukrainian classical literature is Ivan Franko. Once again, we are talking about partiotic poetry, but there are also many socialistic ideas in his works (although he became dissilusioned with it in his later years ), which I think many western readers will find appealing - (side comment - it looks like "collective west" is going through the same processses that we overcame a century ago, so ehm... good luck, y'all will need it). I haven't been able to find much of his works translated in English, so here is a good master page. Zakhar Berkut is considered to be one of his greatest works (a ukrainian-american co-production movie The Rising Hawk was released a couple of years ago, it was shit). If you manage to put your hands on it, I would greatly recommend The Painted Fox and Moses. Also, reading Eternal Revolutionary imprinted on me so much in childhood and determined who I grew up to be, I pretty much consider Franko to be my spiritual father.

A great event that happened this year is that Valeryan Pidmohylny's The City is finally getting an english translation. I have been gushing about this book on this blog before (you can also find the link to the publisher there), because for the archetypical ukrainian literature this book is a breath of fresh air. It's beautiful, it's modern, it's urbanistic, the protagonist is irredeemable asshole, it's amazing and I should re-read it as well.

Among the authors that are much more difficult to find, I greatly recommend Ivan Nechu-Levytsky. In my humble opinion, he like no other has managed to capture the "ukrainian spirit" and his plots are extremely captivating and dramatic as hell.

I will always, always add Ivan Bahryiany to my lists of ukrainian "must reads". He is an author of the first ever ukrainian adventure novel Tiger Trappers/The Hunters and the Hunted, which is the book that is loved even by those who don't like ukrainian literature. However, I personally find his Garden of Gethsemane to be a much more important (but take care, it is much more depressing as well). This author is extremely important, but I struggle finding PDFs of his work - perhaps, you'd have to search the libraries or ukr diaspora publishers for paperbacks. I have also been unsuccessfully hunting for an english translation of Why I am not going back to the Soviet Union? pamphlet for years - and I know for sure it exists because the USA first lady at that time has read it and it influenced her opinion on the USSR - but I've had no luck so far.

Another very important author of the same time period is Mykola Khyvylovy. One of his plays has actually been recently put to stage in English (shamefully, I haven't watched it yet, but I can vouch for the text it was based on - it's brutal).

I can't speak about ukrainian literature without mentioning crimean tatars, and although their works are much, much less known (in Ukraine as well, unfortunately), please do not overlook it. It is a gorgeous culture, and reading it, I grew to love and value Crimea so much even without ever visiting it. There are some english translations avaliable, including those of Noman Çelebicihan - an extermely important figure in Crimean Tatar history, the founder of the unfortunately short-lived Crimean Democratic Republic, the author of their national anthem, and overall very influential revolutionary.

Now let's jump to the popular modern authors. Many don't have english translation, but the problem is much less prominent in comparison to the ukrainian classics. With these authors, you shouldn't have trouble with finding paperbacks. Among the most influential authors I can recommend Serhiy Zhadan (Timothy Snyder has once said that he expects Zhadan to receive a Nobel Prize in literature and I agree), Oksana Zabuzhko (she either aught to release soon or has already released an english-exclusive book about the russian-ukrainian war), Yuri Izdryk (extremely modern and unconventional, but he's a good represention of the current state of art), Yuriy Andrukhovych (love his mastery of language, hate his characters). These authors are more light-hearted, but a grim necessity for today is Stanislav Aseyev's The Torture Camp on Paradise Street. It is a autobilgraphical book describing his experience being imprisoned by russians between 2017 and 2019. Western journalism often describes the war crimes russians commit on our land, but just listing the number of people lost doesn't show the face of the russian horror. Read this book to understand why we were screaming about the russian threat before the full-scale invasion, and why every time we regain the territory we brace with terror of what we'll discover there - because everywhere russian army goes, they build hunderds of such Isolyatsya camps that the book describes.

Also check out Serhiy Zhadan's band!

#response #ukraine #ukrainian literature #thank you for this question this is much more fun to talk about than the usual topics on this blog

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the-incorrigible-chaia · 1 year

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So, there's a trend that I've noticed a lot that's starting to really annoy me, not least because it's something I used to do, too.

Namely, when I see left-wing antisemites being antisemitic schmucks, going "bUt IsRaEl" on a post about antisemitism, and the response from several otherwise left-wing Jews is to defend Zionism, or refer to the state of Israel as decolonizing and a restoration of the Jewish homeland, and I just want to go, like

My sibling at Sinai, Zionism isn't what you think it is.

I understand what you're trying to do, but, like. Zionism as an -ism is a political ideology with a material history. It has founders, leaders, and writings. And believe me, I would genuinely love for the core of it to have simply been the return of Jewish life and self-determination to Eretz Yisrael. I'm not against Jewish life in ha'aretz. But that just isn't what the core of Zionism is.

Zionism is an ethnonationalist ideology based in 19th-century European ethnostatism, formulated most clearly in the writings of Moses Hess and Theodor Herzl. It's only 200 years old, and is deeply rooted in a form of European colonial theory that posits Eretz Yisrael - a place neither Hess nor Herzl had ever been to when they wrote their works on Zionism - as a terra nullius that had lain fallow since the Roman expulsion, when that simply isn't the case. Herzl didn't discuss the Arab population at all, and Hess only briefly referenced them as enemies to be destroyed.

Plus, like, the facts on the ground regarding the results of Zionism kind of speak for themselves? As much as I want to blame Ze'ev Jabotinsky and Menachem Begin, Ahad Ha'am's writings show that even the earliest members of the New Yishuv treated their Palestinian neighbours with contempt, and the same colonialist assumption that the people already living there would just leave - and when, predictably, they refused to do so, to the following decision to make them leave by force.

And ultimately, at least imo, the ideological core of Zionism is rooted in internalized antisemitism. I know that's a bold claim, but hear me out. At the core of both Hess and Herzl's writings is the unspoken fact that both of them have accepted the European framing of "The Jewish Problem" as legitimate. Hess outright states that he believes Jews won't be respected in Europe until they have a state of their own - and moreover, in his view, that we wouldn't be worthy of respect from Europe unless we had an ethnostate like them. Herzl's Judenstadt is explicitly framed as a "solution" to the "Jewish Question", and claims that the key to ending European antisemitism is to just leave Europe, and and that once there was a Jewish state, Europeans would simply treat Jews as people from another country.

These aren't liberatory or decolonial movements, they're assimilatory even as they decry Jewish assimilation, and come at the expense of other people.

So, I guess my conclusion is just... you don't have to stan for Zionism or Israel when some antisemitic chud engages in whataboutism on a post about antisemitism - just link them April Rosenblum's pamphlet.

And for us; liberation in Eretz Yisrael isn't going to come at the Palestinians' expense, and it isn't going to come from a 19th-century ethnonationalist ideology like Zionism. We need to leave it, and the idea that the land is only for us, far behind.

#jumblr #antisemitism #zionism

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thislovintime · 1 year

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The Monkees at their New York City press conference on July 6, 1967.

“‘Goin’ Down’ was originally to be a part of Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. as well but was omitted when ‘Love Is Only Sleeping’ was added to the album’s lineup at the last minute. With ‘Goin’ Down’ secured as the flip side of ‘Daydream Believer,’ the powers that be felt no need to include this exclusive track on the album. […] The song itself was a product of the band’s increasingly frequent studio jam sessions. ‘That was originally the track for Mose Allison’s Parchment Farm, and it came out real good,’ Dolenz recalls. ‘I remember Mike saying, ‘Why should we cover someone else’s tune. We’re not stealing the melody.’ ‘Peter had always loved to jam to Mose Allison’s Parchment Farm and started off on this thing,’ says Nesmith. ‘Then Micky started riffing this thing over the top [of] it, and we just headed off into la-la land.’”- Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd. 1995 CD liner notes

“Diane [Hildebrand] contributed lyrics to the Monkees’ collective group composition ‘Goin’ Down,’ which originated as a study jam and (as the B-side of their chart-topping ‘Daydream Believer’) would become one of their hardest-rocking and best recordings. Though she was just one of numerous names on Monkees songwriting credits, such was the group’s fame in 1967 and 1968 that she didn’t escape attention from the band’s more devoted fans. ‘Diane was always getting calls from Monkees fans who wanted to know all about Peter or Micky,’ says Colin Cameron, Hildebrand’s boyfriend of the time. ‘I really learned the value of an unlisted phone number!’” - Early Morning Blues And Greens 2006 CD liner notes

“It was October, last year that I met them at the TV studios. They’d just seen ‘Early Morning Blues’ and it was Peter who asked me over to meet everybody. I know it sounds crazy but I’d met Peter before somewhere and for the life of me I couldn’t remember just where it was. Lester Sill, the company boss, took me over there. Anyway I just watched things progress. I had only the simple one-note music, of the song written down. But the boys wanted to do it. Only problem was that they didn’t know where or when. What I noticed first about the way they work is that they’re always being hassled by people. They really do lead very busy lives and everybody pulls and pokes at them when they’re out anywhere. So it’s pretty strict security on the set. But they’re real exuberant when they’re working. Actually, I must tell you that Peter came up to my office in the Screen Gems’ Building and we wrote a song together after work one day. Oh, it has these broken-down merry-go-round lyrics… guess we’ll call it ‘The Merry-Go-Round.’ Peter had a couple of bars of the song going round in his head, so I got with him to finish it off. So it was Peter I got to know best. You know how people say Mike is a bit moody. Well, I went to Nashville where he was doing some sessions and I really got to know him well. And he’s great. You know he’s a boy from the South. Well, he told me: ‘It’s funny but everytime I come back to the South my I.Q. drops about twenty degrees.’ […] But let’s talk about Peter a little longer. I’m not going to talk about his personal life because I feel that’s wrong. These guys have to work darned hard and they deserve some privacy… But I’ll say this — Peter is very deep. Moody. But whether he enjoys something or not depends a lot on how he feels. Like we went sometimes to places in Hollywood where you can get Southern grits, and ham hocks and food like that. Or we’d go to teen clubs, to watch some real teenage talent. One club was a coloured place. But somebody always wants an autograph. Peter’s great, though, for joining in things if he’s in the right mood. You know, I play guitar and he plays guitar and banjo. Well, you go to some of these clubs and there are always instruments lying around. So he’ll get up and start jamming. Like he’ll meet a guy from the Modern Folk Quartet and soon everybody’s joining in a session. I dated Peter several times. But really when you go into it, the Monkees aren’t so much for going out. They just get some friends around them and have conversation and maybe a little jamming. […] [B]ack to Peter. He’s just got this Mercedes Sedan. But really he doesn’t spend much on himself — though he spends a whole lot on his friends. This guy is just TOO generous. Take clothes. He’s got a closet full of them that he doesn’t wear. But fans send him a lot of new clothes. His attitude is that if it suits him, he’ll wear it. Probably for ever. He thinks a lot of fans who go to all this trouble on his behalf. You know they were terribly impressed with meeting the Beatles when they were in London. I told Peter I was going to London and he said to send the Beatles his love. And really Peter, and the others, are interested in meditation — as from the Maharishi. I guess we see basic truth in his work and in his word… so we’re meditators. […] And Peter has helped out friends all over the place. Sure he gets depressed. sometimes, but who wouldn’t in his position. You can’t keep on at full pelt all the time. They’re all different individuals. I mean, Micky has his house in Laurel Canyon, which is a very popular area. He’s a fanatic over improving everything and making it into a show place. But Peter doesn’t seem concerned about his home at all. It’s somewhere to live and to entertain friends and that’s about the total of it. I adore the Monkees as characters and people.’” - Diane Hildebrand, Monkees Monthly, January 1968

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esotericas-sims · 5 days

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Dear Victoria,

I took your advice, and wrote to your father - though I suppose I should get into the habit of calling him my father - and he agreed to let me come stay with him. He said he's living in St. Aude nowadays, and your address for him is out-of-date. Apparently he inherited a home from some great-aunt... I fear it's going to be a crumbling ruin. But I suppose we'll have to manage. It's better than heading back to New York. And he even agreed to let George stay as well, which was a small miracle.

We set out early this morning. It was odd to leave school, though I promised to write the Marseilles. If the tearful goodbyes were bad, the train ride was worse. I haven't taken one since I first arrived in La Lueur, and I'd forgotten just how much they turn my stomach. For the sake of my own nausea, I'll refrain from describing the journey.

After our train arrived, George and I found a carriage waiting for us, a rickety old thing. But the driver had our names, and he brought us out of town, and into the countryside. And the house, Victoria! It was like something out of a painting, all crumbling stone and ivy.

It took us a moment to remember we were supposed to do anything other than stare. We did get there eventually, though, and the doors were opened almost immediately after we knocked. I half expected some sort of butler inside, but it was my father who opened the door for us. He looks... Different, from how I remember him, I think. Though it's far too faded now for me to be sure. He seemed eager to greet me, and he was polite enough to George, though I'm not certain they got off on the friendliest of feet. George still isn't much of a gentleman.

Then he took us on a grand tour of the house, which I won't detail in full because I believe it could fill an entire book, but the place was lovely. That's all that I could hope to say. The tour took some time, though, and Moses - he insisted that I call him that, instead of Mr. Spectre. I'm still unsure how I feel about it - was just settling us in for dinner when a little boy arrived in the door. Moses introduced him as Harrison, his son. Did you know we had a little brother? I know I didn't.

Moses certainly never mentioned a mother in the house, nor did Harrison. He seemed like a sweet boy, though. I get the impression that it's rather lonely out here, with just his father and the servants. So perhaps he'll be glad to have us about? I hope so, anyways. I would quite like if he liked me, he's terribly charming.

I suppose that's about the end of the tale for now. Moses settled me in the guest room, and George in an unoccupied room down the hall. It's a bit shabby - "Needs some work" he told me - but I've got a beautiful view of the farm outside. I hope you're well, and I do hope you'll come and visit me soon. I'd like to see your face, it's been so long that I can barely remember what it looks like.

Your sister, Ruby

Playing with SeveralPerson’s Ultimate Decades Challenge Rules

Started: 1800

Current year: 1888

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 1 month

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14th March >> Fr. Martin's Reflections / Homilies on Today's Mass Readings (Inc. John 5:31-47) for Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent: ‘As for human approval, that means nothing to me’.

Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

Gospel (Except USA) John 5:31-47 You place your hopes on Moses but Moses will be your accuser.

Jesus said to the Jews:

‘Were I to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid; but there is another witness who can speak on my behalf, and I know that his testimony is valid. You sent messengers to John, and he gave his testimony to the truth: not that I depend on human testimony; no, it is for your salvation that I speak of this. John was a lamp alight and shining and for a time you were content to enjoy the light that he gave. But my testimony is greater than John’s: the works my Father has given me to carry out, these same works of mine testify that the Father has sent me. Besides, the Father who sent me bears witness to me himself. You have never heard his voice, you have never seen his shape, and his word finds no home in you because you do not believe in the one he has sent.

‘You study the scriptures, believing that in them you have eternal life; now these same scriptures testify to me, and yet you refuse to come to me for life! As for human approval, this means nothing to me. Besides, I know you too well: you have no love of God in you. I have come in the name of my Father and you refuse to accept me; if someone else comes in his own name you will accept him. How can you believe, since you look to one another for approval and are not concerned with the approval that comes from the one God? Do not imagine that I am going to accuse you before the Father: you place your hopes on Moses, and Moses will be your accuser. If you really believed him you would believe me too, since it was I that he was writing about; but if you refuse to believe what he wrote, how can you believe what I say?’

Gospel (USA) John 5:31-47 The one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.

Jesus said to the Jews: “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true. But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life.

“I do not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

Reflections (11)

(i) Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

What Jesus says in today’s gospel reading is part of his response to the Jewish leaders who had started to persecute Jesus because he healed a crippled man on the Sabbath day, thereby breaking the Sabbath law which said that no work could be done on the Sabbath. Jesus clearly does not have the approval of the religious leaders. Yet, in the gospel reading Jesus says, ‘As for human approval, that means nothing to me’. He goes on to say to his critics, ‘you look to one another for approval and are not concerned with the approval that comes from the one God?’ For Jesus, human approval was much less important that approval from God, his loving Father. He came to do the will of his heavenly Father, even if that meant having to live with the consequences of the disapproval of powerful people. What is the will of God for Jesus? Elsewhere in this gospel of John, Jesus says, ‘This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life’. Jesus came to lead all people to believe in him so that they may have life and have it to the full. Jesus’ food, his deepest hunger, was to do this will of God and, thereby, continue to enjoy God’s approval. We can all be tempted to place human approval before God’s approval. Like Jesus, we are called to live according to God’s will for our lives, as Jesus has revealed it, even if this means at times losing human approval. A life pleasing to God matters more than a life pleasing to others. God’s approval is worth a great deal more than human approval.

And/Or

(ii) Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

Our church is dedicated to John the Baptist and we are alert to the references to John the Baptist in the gospels. In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus says that John testified to the truth. In John’s gospel Jesus says the same about himself as he stands before Pilate: ‘For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth’. It seems that John the Baptist and Jesus have something very fundamental in common; they both testify to the truth; they both bear witness to God who is truth. Yet, Jesus goes on in this morning’s gospel reading to speak of John as a lamp alight and shining, whereas Jesus will go on to speak of himself as the light of the world. John is not the light of the world; he testifies to the light of the world, to Jesus, and that is why he is a lamp alight and shining. John the Baptist exemplifies what we are all called to become. We are not the light of the world, but we are called to testify to Jesus the light of the world by what we say and what we do. If we are faithful to that calling we too, like John, will be a lamp alight and shining. Earlier in John’s gospel John the Baptist spoke of Jesus as the bridegroom and of himself as a friend of the bridegroom. That too is our calling, to live as friends of the bridegroom, making way for him to enter the lives of others.

And/Or

(iii) Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

Jesus speaks of John the Baptist as a ‘lamp alight and shining’. Later in the gospel of John, Jesus will speak of himself as the light of the world. If Jesus is the light, John is only a lamp. The relationship between Jesus and John could be compared to that between the sun and the moon. The sun is the source of light; the moon reflects the light of the sun. Jesus is the source of God’s light, the light of God’s love and God’s truth. John’s role was to reflect the light of Jesus by bearing witness to Jesus. John’s role is also our role. We are called to reflect something of the light of Jesus to others, the light of God’s love and God’s truth, by bearing witness to Jesus as John did. Like John, we too are called to be a ‘lamp alight and shining’. We cannot look directly into the light of the sun; we can only look at the sun’s light as it is reflected in various ways. In this life, we cannot look directly at Jesus the light; we do not see him face to face. However, we can see his light as it is reflected in the lives of others, and others can see his light as it is reflected in our lives.

And/Or

(iv) Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

In the gospel reading this morning Jesus speaks of John the Baptist as a lamp alight and shining who gave out light that people were content to enjoy for a time. Whereas Jesus is the light of the world, John the Baptist is a lamp alight and shining. In a sense, John is to Jesus as the moon is to the sun; he reflects something of the light of Jesus to others, but he himself is not the light. John the Baptist expresses the calling of each one of us, in virtue of our baptism. Each of us is to be the moon to the sun that is Jesus, the light of the world. We are all called to reflect something of the light of Jesus to others. When people look upon us they are to see something of the light of the Lord reflected in us. When Jesus speaks of himself as the light of the world he is declaring himself to be the perfect revelation in human form of God’s love and God’s truth. He is the love of God and the truth of God incarnate. Our calling is to reflect something of that divine love and truth that shines so brilliantly in Jesus. If we are to be faithful to that calling we need to keep on entering into the light of Jesus, placing ourselves before that light in prayer and in the sacraments.

And/Or

(v) Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

In the gospel reading Jesus says to those who are hostile to him, ‘you look to one another for approval and are not concerned with the approval that come from the one God’. We all look for human approval in one way or another. If we receive a lot of approval, we tend to feel good about ourselves; we feel that we must be doing something right. When it comes to leaders of political parties, approval ratings are taken very seriously. Yet in the gospel reading Jesus warns against working for human approval while neglecting the more important approval, the approval that comes from God. The opposite of human approval is human rejection. Jesus experienced the ultimate in human rejection by being crucified. Yet, at the very moment when he had lost all human approval he had the approval of God. God was faithful to him and raised him from the dead. What we call the paschal mystery, the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, shows that the absence of human approval does not necessarily mean the absence of God’s approval. Jesus suggests that it is God’s approval rather than human approval we need to strive for. We will know God’s approval if we receive his Son whom he sent into the world, if, like John the Baptist in today’s gospel reading, we bear witness to God’s Son by our lives.

And/Or

(vi) Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

At the beginning of this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus speaks about John the Baptist as a lamp alight and shining. Later on in this same gospel Jesus will speak of himself as the light, the light of the world. John may be a shining lamp, but Jesus is the true light. Jesus also says that John the Baptist’s testimony is valid and that he gave his testimony to the truth. Jesus, however, says that his testimony is greater than John’s; his testimony to the truth is fuller because as he will say later on in this gospel, ‘I am the truth’. Jesus is honouring John the Baptist but he is also stating that he is so much greater than John. As Jesus says in that reading, people were content to enjoy the light that John the Baptist gave, but there is a greater light here now. Jesus is calling on his contemporaries and on all of us not to settle for a lesser light, wonderful as that light may be. We can all be tempted to settle for less than what God wants for us and is offering us. We can be content to bathe in a lesser light than the light that comes to us through God’s Son. We can settle for a partial truth rather than continuing to seek after the one who is full of God’s truth and God’s grace. We can place our hopes on one of God’s gifts rather than on God’s greatest gift, his Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.

And/Or

(vii) Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

In the first reading, Moses pleads with God on behalf of God’s people who have turned away from God and worshipped a calf of molten metal, treating it as their god. This is the fundamental sin of idolatry. Yet, Moses does not give up on the people. He asks God to pardon them and God hears Moses’ prayer; God responds to Moses’ plea. Because of Moses’ prayer there is reconciliation between God and his people. If Moses worked to reconcile God’s people to God, Jesus did so to an even fuller degree. Saint Paul declares, ‘God reconciled us to himself through Christ... in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself’. The work of Moses pointed ahead to the even greater work of Jesus. That is why Jesus can say in the gospel reading, ‘if you really believed Moses, you would believe me too’. There is continuity between Moses and Jesus, but, according to John’s gospel, Jesus brings Moses’ work to completion. As the Prologue to that gospel states, ‘the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ’. Jesus is the fullest revelation of God’s gracious and reconciling love possible in human form. In this Jubilee Year of Mercy we are celebrating God’s reconciling love revealed in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. God continues to be at work in Christ today reconciling the world to himself. We are asked to respond to that reconciling work of God. The call of this year is ‘Be reconciled to God’, a call which is inseparable from the call, ‘Be reconciled to one another’. We cannot return to God without returning to each other, just as, in the parable of the prodigal son, the elder son could not return to his father without being willing to return to his younger brother.

And/Or

(viii) Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

Very few of us probably could say with Jesus in this morning’s gospel reading, ‘As for human approval, this means nothing to me’. Very few of us are indifferent to what other people think of us. If we meet with disapproval, we tend to think that there is something wrong with us. We sometimes measure our worth in relation to how others see us. Human approval can confirm us in our sense of self-worth. Human disapproval can undermine our sense of self-worth. Jesus was not like us in that respect. His sense of self-worth was rooted less in how others saw him and very much in how God saw him. In the gospel reading, Jesus goes on to challenge his critics, ‘How can you believe, since you look to one another for approval and are not concerned about the approval that comes from the one God?’ Many of Jesus’ critics went along with undermining Jesus’ ministry because this is what their peers were doing. They were more concerned with the approval of their peers than with the approval of God. Peer pressure is a permanent feature of life in any age. We can all find ourselves going along with the emerging consensus, because not to do so would be to risk the disapproval of others. Yet, Jesus suggests in the gospel reading that the more important question is not ‘What do others think?’ but ‘What does God think?’ ‘How does God see me?’ In the gospel reading, Jesus suggests that one of the places where we can discover what God thinks, what God approves or and doesn’t, is in the Scriptures, ‘these same Scriptures testify to me’, and for us that includes above all the Christian Scriptures. As believers, it is from there we try to take our lead, even if it leaves us at odds with our peers.

And/Or

(ix) Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus refers to John the Baptist as a lamp alight and shining and declares that for a time people were content to enjoy the light that he gave. Jesus will go on to say in this gospel of John, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life’. John the Baptist may be a lamp who gives off some light, but only Jesus is the true light. People like John the Baptist have brought something of God’s light to others but Jesus alone is the light of God. We all need lamps as we go through life, people like John the Baptist who reveal the light of God’s presence to us in some way. We are all called to be a lamp in that sense. If we are to be a lamp for others, we need to keep turning towards Jesus the true light. This activity of turning to Jesus the true light lasts a life-time. In various ways we can turn away from this light of God that shines so brilliantly through the person of Jesus. We can turn towards the darkness, in some form or other, just as in today’s first reading the people of Israel turned from God and worshipped a golden calf that had been made by human hands. This is the human story; it is often our personal story. When that happens, we need to keep turning back towards Jesus, the true light who is always turned towards us. Only then can we live out our calling to be a lamp alight and shining. When we keep turning towards the light, we can become a light for others.

And/Or

(x) Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

Most of us are aware of our need for human approval. If people approve of us we sense that we are worthwhile. If people do not approve of us we can easily begin to doubt our self-worth. The saying of Jesus in today’s gospel is, to that extent, true to human experience, ‘you look to one another for approval’. Very few of us could make our own the sentiment of Jesus in today’s gospel reading, ‘As for human approval, this means nothing to me’. Human approval means something to all of us and, sometimes, it can come to mean a great deal. In speaking in this way, Jesus is trying to highlight a more fundamental approval than human approval, and that is the approval that comes from God. When Jesus says to his opponents, who were already intent on killing him, that ‘you look to one another for approval’, he immediately goes on to say, ‘You are not concerned with the approval that comes from the one God’. If they were concerned with God’s approval, they would not be intent on killing Jesus who reveals God to us. Jesus suggests in today’s gospel reading that a more important question than, ‘Do people approve?’ is ‘Does God approve?’ At the end of the day, it is God we are seeking to please rather than other people. Like Jesus, we are to put God’s will before the will of others. The life, and. especially, the death of Jesus clearly shows that the lack of human approval can go hand in hand with God’s unreserved approval. This may be very anxious and difficult times for many, but God could not be approve of the many expressions of the very best of the human spirit that we see all round us at the moment.

And/Or

(xi) Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

In the gospel reading Jesus speaks of John the Baptist as a lamp alight and shining and of those who knew him as enjoying the light that he gave. Jesus is saying that something of God’s light shone through John the Baptist. Yet, in this fourth gospel, it is only Jesus who is declared to be the light of the world. Jesus does not only reflect the light of God; he is the light of God. The relationship of John the Baptist to Jesus is akin to the relationship between the moon and the sun. Jesus is the source of God’s light and John the Baptist reflects this light to others. I was reading the Confession of Saint Patrick recently. Towards the end of that text, Patrick says, ‘This sun which we see rises daily at God’s command for our benefit, but will never reign, nor will its brilliance endure. Those who worship it will be severely punished. We, on the other hand, believe in and worship Christ the true sun who will never perish, not will anyone who does his will. They will remain for ever as Christ remains for ever’. Patrick spoke those words in a setting where the sun was worshipped. In another of the gospels, Jesus speaks of God who ‘makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good’. God has given Jesus, his Son, to all people, without distinction or discrimination. Our calling is to open our lives to God’s light shining through God’s Son and, like John the Baptist, to reflect something of this light to others, especially to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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roman-catholic-mass-readings · 1 month

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14th March >> Mass Readings (USA)

Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent - Proper Readings

(see also The Man Born Blind on previous Sunday)

(Liturgical Colour: Violet: B (2))

First Reading Exodus 32:7-14 Relent in punishing your people.

The LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once to your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, ‘This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ The LORD said to Moses, “I see how stiff-necked this people is. Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation.”

But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, “Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent he brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains and exterminate them from the face of the earth’? Let your blazing wrath die down; relent in punishing your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’“ So the LORD relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 106:19-20, 21-22, 23

R/ Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

Our fathers made a calf in Horeb and adored a molten image; They exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating bullock.

R/ Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

They forgot the God who had saved them, who had done great deeds in Egypt, Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham, terrible things at the Red Sea.

R/ Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

Then he spoke of exterminating them, but Moses, his chosen one, Withstood him in the breach to turn back his destructive wrath.

R/ Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

Gospel Acclamation John 3:16

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

Gospel John 5:31-47 The one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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sarahhillips · 9 months

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This is a Children’s Cartoon From PBS FFS

Honor and Compromise

Imagine if Disney made a movie of this in the 90s instead but f Pocahontas.

Little dogs are my weakness hey lets follow that guy

Oh they’re note passing

A woman and a minority walk into a room full of old white men.

Rabble rabble rabble

Ya’ll need to get along if you wanna win this war

“Sort of like a king?” 😮

Henri just charged into him like a rhino

James is not going to expose the spies

Henry said ooooo feathers

We’re going to hunt for feathers

Henri forming a battalion of Turkys

“It’s too windy IN here” 🌬️

Henry 0 Turkeys 1

Hamilton getting heated

“They shame their French blood!” Lol

Henry 0 Turkeys 2

How are Sarah and Moses allowed in there.

Redcoats coming this way!

Lee you bitch

“WE ARE GONNA ATTACK”

Attack poodles 🐩

Sarah is sending messages to congress on behalf of Washington girl that’s treason right there

Henris risking his life for a feather

Lee didn’t listen to Washington and it backfired

“Lee, you’re fired! Get out!”

Go back inti battle guys, it’s not over k

Ok that last shot with the turkeys, and Henri sleeping

The New Frontier

We get to see Sarahs dilf of a father

“And you, Sarah, are you an American?”

Sarahs like omg forgot about me looking for my dad

Boooooooo children are starving

I love how James wants her to be safe and Sarahs confident in her safety.

How often does Sarah have to sleep outside?

Why did he just straight up desert her?

Imagine passing out in the forest and waking up in the log cabin of a stranger.

Sarah why are you scared of them they’re people

What is that pig eating, pizza on a baguette?

Sarah was definitely not expecting that

Papa Phillips is an outdoors nature men at heart

“It all started when these rebels started throwing tea off the ship I was sailing on.”

Rich people ruined everything in every era of time

Damn. That’s a hell if a debate club meeting.

Because most white people are bad people.

Tarring and feathering is way too extreme

Well James congrats on your first tar and feathering threat

“I fell in love with this country just like I fell in love with her.” 🥲

This is when Sarah finally doubts her views

These men didn’t deserve to be warned

This was the last straw for Sarah that made her say fuck this shit I’m out.

James, you are a writer. That was poetry.

“I lost you for six years”

Papa Phillips really is dad of the year all in one day

These scene would have been perfect for Sarah to go on a passionate and tearful rant about all the men who have mistreated her and how they’re both patriot and loyalist.

“I have been chocked, slapped, bound and gagged, spat on, ridiculed, threatened, and nearly had my virtue taken away more times than I can count! These are the exact kind of men who would have a prisoner executed even if he’s only just a boy! And the worst part is, the men who do this, come from both sides!”

Sarahs very anti-violence. I need to remember that for my writing.

Oh Sam, she’ll lovvvvvvvve that beard

James doesn’t want a goodbye hug

Poor Henri

Not Yet Begun to Fight

Omg yay the pirate episode

Omg is Jones a ginger

Sarah and Jones forming a friendship off of hair color

“Ah, another ginger.”

Sarah what are you doing above deck.

Ok but how did she survive that?

So no scene with Jones taking off his hat coat and boots to jump into the water and save her and while he’s holding her he says ‘Ay, whas ye name lass?’ but Sarah only responds with heavy coughs?

Just two gingers bonding over ham.

*Instant concern when Sarah says she doesn’t write anymore*

200 English prisoners!?

“Take my first riding teacher, Alec Spencer.”

Jones teaching Sarah a sea shanty.

Yesssss Sarah.

“I cannot write what I do not believe in” “Forgive me Ms. Phillips, but you strike me as someone who believes in liberty.”

Bros just sailing a burning ship like nbd

And then Sarah switched views right then and there. Treason complete.

“Serve our cause with your eyes and your pen.”

And she wrote the article on a plank of wood. Amazing.

Great idea with the grenade

Cue Titanic theme

“Ms. Phillips, I look forward to many more articles under your name.”

I bet Sarahs still getting used to shaking hands with men after having her hand taken and kissed so many times.

The Great Galves

So Sarah was a townhouse kind of girl in England

Why is Sarah being carried? Her being unconscious makes no sense here.

I wonder what books Sarah has on her shelve

I know James acts unmoved about Sarah leaving but I think he misses her.

Where’s Henri?

Oh jfc not the skunk

Who’s this chubster

“The war is already lost bro.” “But for Britain, America is lost.”

“Boys who’ll not be forced to fight other poor boys.”

“I’ve seen some shit mom. Anyways, I wanna go back.”

No article from Lady Whistledown about Sarahs surprise return?

“Log up ahead!”

Ooos Henri fell in the water can he swim

James stfu they can hear you

Time to steal a boat

“Hi one way ticket to America.”

“And your America will be different?” Yes, it’ll be so much worse.

I would be uncomfortable af if I saw shackled prisoners walking past me like a slow sad parade

*looks at captured American boy* “Courage.”

“Mom, I’m American.”

In Praise of Ben

I feel like this was just a filler episode but Sarah coming back is a yay

This would have been the opportune episode for James and Sarah to finally start flirting and because they have so much pent up, they find themselves kissing each other shamelessly.

So she switches sides in 1780

“Probably that I’m a silly girl who keeps changing her mind about who she really is.”

A lady like Sarah has ti have more than one bag I mean c’mon. I bet her mom bought her new clothes

Moses is so happy 🥹

James is like hmmmmmmm

Ope Henris gettin into fights

Imagine Henri was short when Sarah left but had a growth spurt while Sarah was away

Moses is in full dad mode

Kid, time for a history lesson

Wtf is that thing a glass harmonica

That’s sounds kinda annoying though

Lightning doesn’t strike that damn slow

Everyones just stanning Ben

Is the turkey laughing at him?

Bens mom was a slut too

Everyones infodumping

Imagine sharing a hospital room with 20+ people.

Noooo poor Ben

“Slavery is the economic foundation of the south” bish shut yo ass up

Ben Franklin as a mall Santa

Ben in a shirt that says 🐱🧲

#sarah phillips #libertys kids #james hiller #liberty's kids #henri lefebvre #lafayette #john paul jones

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myremnantarmy · 1 year

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𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

Gospel Jn 5:31-47

Jesus said to the Jews:

"If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.

But there is another who testifies on my behalf,

and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.

You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.

I do not accept human testimony,

but I say this so that you may be saved.

He was a burning and shining lamp,

and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.

But I have testimony greater than John's.

The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,

these works that I perform testify on my behalf

that the Father has sent me.

Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.

But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,

and you do not have his word remaining in you,

because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.

You search the Scriptures,

because you think you have eternal life through them;

even they testify on my behalf.

But you do not want to come to me to have life.

"I do not accept human praise;

moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.

I came in the name of my Father,

but you do not accept me;

yet if another comes in his own name,

you will accept him.

How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another

and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?

Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:

the one who will accuse you is Moses,

in whom you have placed your hope.

For if you had believed Moses,

you would have believed me,

because he wrote about me.

But if you do not believe his writings,

how will you believe my words?"

#jesus #catholic #my remnant army #jesus christ #virgin mary #faithoverfear #saints #jesusisgod #endtimes #artwork #jesusiscoming #gospel #word of god #bible verse #biblevisuals

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heavensmysteries · 1 year

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GALATIANS 1

In Paul's time there were now as many non-Jews as there were Gentiles. This sparked a huge debate (please read Acts 15).

Acts 15: 1 ''Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers, "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved."

Historically, God's covenant people were of one ethnic group-the Jews. Jewish people were set apart by the practices commanded in the Torah. An example would be, by observing the Sabbath. When the Gentiles became saved, many Messianic Jews were meeting in churches in Galatia and commanding the Gentiles to obey the Torah. They argued that in order for the Gentiles to be accepted into God's family, they needed to be circumcised.

Paul was deeply saddened upon hearing this. He wrote that the Gospel could not be altered and those who were infiltrating the Gospel, would be under God's curse. Paul spoke of how the Gospel that the Jews received had not been perverted!

Do you remember the story of Acts 16? Paul and Silas were in prison praying and singing hymns; suddenly, there was a great earthquake and all the prisoner's chains became loose. What astonished me about this chapter is that the jailer wanted to commit suicide. He knew that he would eventually be killed if there were no prisoners inside the jail cells! It would have been extremely hard to prove to the Council and the Chief Magistrates that the gates of the prison cell flew open because of a 'violent earthquake'. What also astonishes me is that after Paul shouted in v.28 "Don't harm yourself, we are all here!" the jailer knew that a Miraculous Power had done this. He fell trembling at their feet and said "What must i do to be saved?"

Acts 16:31

They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved- you and all your household."

This is the same Gospel that was preached to the Gentiles, firstly to the Jews. Therefore gospels of Inclusion, Prosperity, Works and other beliefs that do not align with the above, are sent from Satan.

Feel free to ask questions!

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holyfaithbiblechurch · 1 year

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A Woman Caught in Adultery

8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Now early in the morning he came again to the temple courts.* And all the people were coming, and he sat down and* began to teach* them.

3 Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery. And standing her in their midst, 4 they said to him, testing him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery! 5 Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 (Now they were saying this to test him, so that they would have an occasion* to bring charges against him.) But Jesus, bending down, began to write* with his* finger on the ground, taking no notice.d 7 And when they persisted in asking him, straightening up he saide to them, “The one of you without sin, let him throw the first stone at her!” 8 And bending down again, he wrote on the ground. 9 Now when they* heard it,* being convicted by their conscience,f they began to depart,* one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesusg was left alone—and the woman who was in their midst. 10 So Jesus, straightening up and seeing no one except the woman, said to her, “Where are those accusers of yours?i Does no one condemn you?” 11 And she said, “No one, Lord.” So Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”⟧

Jesus, the Light of the World

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world! The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You testify concerning yourself! Your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify concerning myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I have come from and where I am going. But you do not know where I have come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to externals; I do not judge anyone. 16 But even if I judge, my judgment is true, because I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 And even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true.l 18 I am the one who testifies concerning myself, and the Father who sent me testifies concerning me.”

19 So they were saying to him, “Where is your father?” Jesus replied, “You know neither me nor my Father! If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words by the treasury while* teaching in the temple courts,* and no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

Jesus Predicts His Death

21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me and will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come!” 22 Then the Jews began to say,* “Perhaps he will kill himself, because he is saying, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ ” 23 And he said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are from this world; I am not from this world. 24 Thus I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

25 So they began to say to him,* “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “⌊What⌋m I have been saying to you from the beginning.��26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but the one who sent me is true, and the things which I heard from him, these things I say to the world.” 27 (They did not know that he was speaking to them about the Father.)

28 Then Jesus said,n “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will recognize that I am he, and I do nothing from myself, but just as the Father taught me, I say these things. 29 And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 While* he was saying these things, many believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They replied to him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have not been enslaved to anyone at any time. How do you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus replied to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, that everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And the slave does not remain in the household ⌊forever⌋;o the son remains ⌊forever⌋.p 36 So if the son sets you free, you will be truly free. 37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are seeking to kill me, because my word makes no progress among you. 38 I speak the things that I have seen with the Father; so also you do the things that you have heard from the Father.”

The Priority of Jesus Over Abraham

39 They answered and said to him, “Abraham is our father!” Jesus said to them, “If you are children of Abraham, do the deeds of Abraham! 40 But now you are seeking to kill me, a man who spoke to you the truth which I heard from God. This Abraham did not do. 41 You are doing the deeds of your father!”

They saidq to him, “We were not born from sexual immorality! We have one father, God!” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I have come forth from God and have come. For I have not come from myself, but that one sent me. 43 ⌊Why⌋r do you not understand my way of speaking? Because you are not able to listen to my message. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father! That one was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand firm in the truth, because truth is not in him. Whenever he speaks the lie, he speaks from his own nature,* because he is a liar and the father ⌊of lies⌋.s 45 But because I am telling the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Who among you convicts me concerning sin? If I am telling the truth, ⌊why⌋t do you not believe me? 47 The one who is from God listens to the words of God. Because of this you do not listen—because you are not of God.”

48 The Jews answered and said to him, “Do we not correctly say that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus replied, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me! 50 But I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges! 51 Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never experience death ⌊forever⌋.”u

52 The Jewsv said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham and the prophets died, and you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death ⌊forever⌋.’w 53 You are not greater than our father Abraham who died, are you?* And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself to be?” 54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 And you have not known him, but I know him. And if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you! But I know him and I keep his word. 56 Abraham your father rejoiced that he would see my day, and he saw it* and was glad.”

57 So the Jews said to him, “⌊You are⌋x not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am!” 59 Then they picked up stones in order to throw them* at him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple courts.*

#salvation #bible verse #gospeltruth #jesus christ

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christ-our-glory · 2 years

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What happens when a child dies?

2 Samuel 12:21-23 His servants asked him, “What did you just do? While the baby was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate food.”

He answered, “While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let him live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me.”

King David’s words showed his certainty that once he died, he would go to his child. And it’s also a somber reminder that once someone dies, there’s no reason to keep on mourning for them for a long period of time; life marches on.

Within Christianity, we have those who believe in the doctrine known as the age of accountability. Within that doctrine, any person up until a certain age (mostly believed to be around the age of 13) gets a free pass from God for any sin committed and they will go to heaven if they die while young.

There are a few passages in Scripture that are used to back up such a doctrine by those who believe it. For instance, we also have Exodus 30:11-12 that tells us how God told Moses that “each [man] shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord,” followed by verse 14 which says, “from twenty years old and over” as the age one became responsible for his own self (Cf. Numbers 1:2-3).

However, it must be noted that the doctrine of the age of accountability goes in direct contradiction with another doctrine, which is known as the doctrine of original sin. Original sin tells us we are all guilty of sin the very moment we come to exist at conception (Psalm 51:5).

Genesis 8:21 tells us: “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” As noted by D.B. Harrison: “the Hebrew noun ‘youth’ literally translates to mean from our earliest childhood. Sin is so pervasive, it is so universal, that even the cutest, the most adorable infant that is born into the world, enters this world with a heart that is an abyss of sin and evil and is in desperate need of regeneration by the power and Spirit of God.”

Will those who die young, no matter what sin might’ve been committed, go to heaven by default? Let’s look at what Scripture says.

The New Testament says “whoever believes will in [Jesus] have eternal life” (John 3:15). Unlike Old Testament times, we now have a definitive atonement that has been purchased not by money, nor by the blood of animals (Hebrews 10:4), but by the blood of Christ (Romans 5:9). You cannot hope to be saved if you don’t have salvific faith in Christ. The times of ignorance are gone (Acts 17:30). All of us are now called to “repent and believe” (Mark 1:15).

I like what Charles Spurgeon wrote in regards to a child’s salvation: “I do hold that there is no doctrine of the Word of God which a child, if he be capable of salvation, is not capable of receiving... As soon as a child is capable of being lost, it is capable of being saved. As soon as a child can sin, that child can, if God's grace assist it, believe and receive the Word of God. As soon as children can learn evil, be assured that they are competent, under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, to learn good.”

Having said all this, what does it mean for a child’s soul? Even though the default mode for our heart is to be “deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9) from the moment we come into this world (Psalm 51:5), Scripture indicates that those who “have no knowledge of good or evil” (Deuteronomy 1:39) would be spared from His wrath; that’s why King David had the assurance he would go to his infant boy upon his death.

I’ll finish this with the words of Costi Hinn: “While we cannot dogmatically say what age a child must be to be held eternally responsible for their rebellion and rejection of general revelation, we can most certainly come to well thought out conclusions about this subject matter. Based on the evidence from Scripture about God, His judgments, His view of children, and His heart towards those who cannot discern their left hand from their right hand (Jonah 4:11), I believe that children who die, along with special needs persons who do not have the current capacity to understand, were chosen before the foundation of the earth.”

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dfroza · 28 days

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“I am the light that shines through the cosmos; if you walk with Me, you will thrive in the nourishing light that gives life and will not know darkness.”

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 8th chapter of the book of John:

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. He awoke early in the morning to return to the temple. When He arrived, the people surrounded Him, so He sat down and began to teach them. While He was teaching, the scribes and Pharisees brought in a woman who was caught in the act of adultery; and they stood her before Jesus.

Pharisees: Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. Moses says in the law that we are to kill such women by stoning. What do You say about it?

This was all set up as a test for Jesus; His answers would give them grounds to accuse Him of crimes against Moses’ law. Jesus bent over and wrote something in the dirt with His finger. They persisted in badgering Jesus, so He stood up straight.

Jesus: Let the first stone be thrown by the one among you who has not sinned.

Once again Jesus bent down to the ground and resumed writing with His finger. The Pharisees who heard Him stood still for a few moments and then began to leave slowly, one by one, beginning with the older men. Eventually only Jesus and the woman remained, and Jesus looked up.

Jesus: Dear woman, where is everyone? Are we alone? Did no one step forward to condemn you?

Woman Caught in Adultery: Lord, no one has condemned me.

Jesus: Well, I do not condemn you either; all I ask is that you go and from now on avoid the sins that plague you.]

On another occasion, Jesus spoke to the crowds again.

Jesus: I am the light that shines through the cosmos; if you walk with Me, you will thrive in the nourishing light that gives life and will not know darkness.

Pharisees: Jesus, what You are claiming about Yourself cannot possibly be true. The only person bearing witness is You.

Jesus: Even if I am making bold claims about Myself—who I am, what I have come to do—I am speaking the truth. You see, I know where I came from and where I will go when I am done here. You know neither where I come from nor where I will go. You spend your time judging by the wrong criteria, by human standards; but I am not here to judge anyone. If I were to judge, then My judgment would be based on truth; but I would not judge anyone alone. I act in harmony with the One who sent Me. Your law states that if the testimonies of two witnesses agree, their testimony is true. Well, I testify about Myself, and so does the Father who sent Me here.

Pharisees: Where is the Father who testifies on Your behalf?

Jesus: You don’t know the Father or Me. If you knew Me, then you would also know the Father.

Jesus said all of these things in the treasury while He was teaching in the temple; followers and opponents alike gathered to hear Him, but none of His enemies tried to seize Him because His time had not yet come.

Jesus (to the crowds): I am leaving this place, and you will look for Me and die in your sin. For where I am going, you are unable to come.

Jews: Is He suicidal? He keeps saying, “Where I am going, you are unable to come.”

Jesus: You originate from the earth below, and I have come from the heavens above. You are from this world, and I am not. That’s why I told you that you will die here as a result of your sins. Unless you believe I am who I have said I am, your sins will lead to your death.

Jews: Who exactly are You?

Jesus: From the beginning of My mission, I have been telling you who I am. I have so much to say about you, so many judgments to render; but if you hear one thing, hear that the One who sent Me is true, and all the things I have heard from Him I speak into the world.

The people had not understood that Jesus was teaching about the Father.

Jesus: Whenever the day comes and you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He. It will be clear then that I am not acting alone, but that I am speaking the things I have learned directly from the Father. The One who sent Me is with Me; He has not abandoned Me because I always do what pleases Him.

As Jesus was speaking, many in the crowd believed in Him.

Jesus (to the new Jewish believers): If you hear My voice and abide in My word, you are truly My disciples; you will know the truth, and that truth will give you freedom.

Jewish Believers: We are Abraham’s children, and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can You say to us, “You will be set free”?

Jesus: I tell you the truth: everyone who commits sin surrenders his freedom to sin. He is a slave to sin’s power. Even a household slave does not live in the home like a member of the family, but a son belongs there forever. So think of it this way: if the Son comes to make you free, you will really be free.

I know you are descendants of Abraham, but here you are plotting to murder Me because you do not welcome My voice into your lives. As I speak, I am painting you a picture of what I have seen with My Father; here you are repeating the things you have seen from your father.

Jews: Abraham is our father.

Jesus: If you are truly Abraham’s children, then act like Abraham! From what I see you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that comes from the Father. This is not something Abraham would do, but you are doing what you have learned from your father.

Jews: We were not born from adulterous parents; we have one Father: God.

Jesus: I come from the one True God, and I’m not here on My own. He sent Me on a mission. If God were your Father, you would know that and would love Me. You don’t even understand what I’m saying. Do you? Why not? It is because You cannot stand to hear My voice. You are just like your true father, the devil; and you spend your time pursuing the things your father loves. He started out as a killer, and he cannot tolerate truth because he is void of anything true. At the core of his character, he is a liar; everything he speaks originates in these lies because he is the father of lies. So when I speak truth, you don’t believe Me. If I speak the truth, why don’t you believe Me? If you belong to God’s family, then why can’t you hear God speak? The answer is clear; you are not in God’s family. I speak truth, and you don’t believe Me. Can any of you convict Me of sin?

Jews: We were right when we called You a demon-possessed Samaritan.

Jesus: I’m not taken by demons. You dishonor Me, but I give all glory and honor to the Father. But I am not pursuing My own fame. There is only One who pursues and renders justice. I tell you the truth, anyone who hears My voice and keeps My word will never experience death.

Jews: We are even more confident now that You are demon-possessed. Just go down the list: Abraham died, the prophets all died. Yet You say, “If you keep My word, you will never taste death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died; remember? Prophets—are any of them still alive? No. Who do You think You are?

Jesus: If I were trying to make Myself somebody important, it would be a waste of time. That kind of fame is worth nothing. It is the Father who is behind Me, urging Me on, giving Me praise. You say, “He is our God,” but you are not in relationship with Him. I know Him intimately; even if I said anything other than the truth, I would be a liar, like you. I know Him, and I do as He says. Your father Abraham anticipated the time when I would come, and he celebrated My coming.

Jews: You aren’t even 50 years old, yet You have seen and talked with Abraham?

Jesus: I tell you the truth; I AM before Abraham was born.

The people picked up stones to hurl at Him, but Jesus slipped out of the temple. Their murderous rage would have to wait.

The Book of John, Chapter 8 (The Voice)

Today’s paired reading from the First Testament is the 20th chapter of the book of Genesis:

After spending a period of time in the hill country, Abraham moved on into the region of the Negev and settled in the land between Kadesh and Shur. Then he moved on to Gerar. Because he was living in Gerar as a foreigner, Abraham once again told everyone that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her into his harem. But God spoke to Abimelech in a dream during the night and warned him.

Eternal One: Look, you are a dead man because the woman you have taken into your harem is a married woman.

Up to this point, Abimelech had not physically approached her.

Abimelech: Lord, would You jeopardize a nation by killing its innocent king? The man himself said to me that she was his sister. Even she said he was her brother. I took her in my harem without knowing the truth. I acted with integrity. I am completely innocent.

Then God replied to him still in his dream.

Eternal One: Yes, I know you did this with integrity in your heart. It was I who prevented you from crossing the line. I protected you from yourself by not letting you touch her. Now do the right thing. Return the man’s wife. He is one of My prophets. He will pray and intercede for you, and you will live. But if you do not give her back, I assure you, you will die—you and everyone associated with you.

Abimelech got up early the next morning and called all of his servants together. He told them his dream, and the men became very afraid. Then Abimelech called for Abraham to meet with him.

Abimelech (to Abraham): What have you done to us? What were you thinking? What have I ever done to deserve your bringing such great shame and guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done to another human being.

Abraham: I did it for my own protection. I did it because I thought this was not a God-fearing place, and I was afraid you would surely kill me to possess my wife. Besides it isn’t entirely a lie. She really is my sister. She’s the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. But, of course, she did become my wife. Ever since God called me away from my father’s house years ago, I told her, “I need you to do this favor for me—whenever we visit or stay in some strange or foreign place you need to tell people I am your brother.”

For good measure Abimelech took sheep and oxen, as well as male and female slaves, and he gave them to Abraham when he gave back his wife Sarah to him.

Abimelech (to Abraham): Look, my land is your land; make your home wherever you please.

(to Sarah) Look now, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. This is to make up for what has happened. Everyone will see that you are completely vindicated of any wrongdoing.

Abraham prayed to God on Abimelech’s behalf, and God healed Abimelech. He also healed the infertility that plagued Abimelech’s wife and female slaves enabling them to again bear children because God had temporarily sealed the wombs of all of the females of Abimelech’s household—all because of what happened to Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

The Book of Genesis, Chapter 20 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for friday, march 22 of 2024 with a paired chapter from each Testament (the First & the New) of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons that illumines the eternal tapest

From a “macro” or high-level view, we can understand the book of Leviticus to provide a spiritual map that points the way to connect with God. It was written to speak to our need and desire to enter into the holy space of his reconciliation...

Recall that the book of Genesis explains our origin, the fall of our souls into sin and our subsequent alienation from God. It also foretold of the coming Redeemer who would heal us from our fallen estate and establish the kingdom of God upon the earth.

The book of Exodus further reveals the LORD as our Deliverer who saves us from bondage to "olam hashkerim" (עוֹלָם הַשְׁקְרִים), the false world, and who then graciously leads us to freedom by awakening our souls to divine truth.

The Exodus from Egypt (יציאת מצרים) serves as a parable of the salvation experience (Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11). First faith in God’s promise is expressed by sheltering under the blood of the lamb of God as a “passover” sacrifice (as it was with Abel’s offering), and through it we are delivered from the plague and curse of death. We are then graciously led by the Spirit of God through the waters into newness of life when we begin our journey to our true homeland. We begin to understand the covenant promise to be God’s people. The revelation at Sinai pulls back the curtain of the phenomenal world to disclose the underlying and overarching spiritual reality. Hearing the divine voice imprints us with God-consciousness. We are awed and overwhelmed with the divine presence and desire to enshrine it within our hearts forever.

The building of the mishkan “reifies” the vision to create a habitation of the divine Presence. It embodies our gratitude to God. As King Solomon later said when he dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this Temple which I have built! Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today” (1 Kings 8:27-28). Nevertheless, the desire to have God be present calls for a sacred place to be made within the heart...

And this is what the book of Leviticus, or Vayikra, is really about: hearing the call of God to draw near to Him. Therefore the Mishkan was structured with inner chambers or “gateways” that led ever closer to the throne of God himself. We come to the first gate by faith: the curtain of the courtyard is opened and we enter. We see the outer altar where the lamb of God was continually offered, reminding us of the original sacrifice and promise given at Eden. We wash ourselves at the basin and enter the Holy Place where we behold the divine light of the Menorah. We eat of the “bread of Presence” (לֶחֶם פָּנִים) and offer prayer at the golden Altar of Incense. At the appointed time, we reverently open the veil to enter the Holy of Holies, appealing to the blood offered on our behalf to make atonement for breaking God’s heart. In a cloud of smoke we descry the blood sprinkled seven times over the broken tablets stored in the sacred Ark. We confess the Name of the LORD and sense His blessing and acceptance...

The great lesson of Vayikra is that God delivers us so that we can know his heart. And this is the message of the cross of Messiah as well -- the great Altar of God, the Tabernacle “made without hands,” where Yeshua entered the Holy of Holies to offer up his blood in intercession for our brokenness (Heb. 9:11-12). Amen, and may His Name forever be praised.

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

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Psalm 26:8 reading:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm26-8-jjp.mp3

Hebrew page:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm26-8-lesson.pdf

3.21.24 • Facebook

from yesterday’s email by Israel365:

This time, we pray the script will change. 2,500 years after Mordecai and Esther, the people of Israel have awakened – and the land of Israel is beckoning.

Return to who you are

Return to what you are,

Return to where you were

Born and reborn again.

Return again, return again

Return to the land of your soul.

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

March 22, 2024

Manna at the Banquet Table

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Mark 12:30-31)

The hymn “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship” is summarized in the moving lines of its final verse.

Let us love our God supremely,

Let us love each other, too;

Let us love and pray for sinners,

Till our God makes all things new.

Then He’ll call us home to heaven,

At His table we’ll sit down;

Christ will gird Himself, and serve us

With sweet manna all around.

The Christian’s blessings include daily “manna” (provision and blessing) from God and the promise of life with Christ throughout eternity. Our union with Him is compared to a marriage, commencing with a sumptuous wedding feast: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Revelation 19:7-8). “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).

When He comes and claims His bride—the ones for whom He sacrificed His precious blood—He will usher us all into His banquet room. Then “he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them” (Luke 12:37). JDM

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noeticprayer · 29 days

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SCRIPTURE READINGS for Sunday March 24th, 2024

Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-12:2 (Epistle)

Brothers and Sisters, by faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered abuse suffered for the Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he looked to the reward. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets -- who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated -- of whom the world was not worthy -- wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

John 1:43-51 (Gospel)

At that time, on the next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Beth-sa'ida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathan'a-el, and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathan'a-el said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathan'a-el coming to him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" Nathan'a-el said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathan'a-el answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these." And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

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scribeforchrist-blog · 1 month

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Casting Stones

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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+ 1 John 5:5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

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VERSE OF THE DAY

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+ Leviticus 20:10 If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM HELPING

I AM A CHILD OF THE KING

I AM AT PEACE

I AM NOT FULL OF HATE I AM FULL OF LOVE

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THOUGHTS:

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We all have sinned, we all have faults, we all have problems, its no one on earth that can sit and point and say you did this wrong or You did that wrong, no one on earth can do that and a lot of people like to judge others for everything, its a list of things or qualities people think, people should have, maybe it's the size ten body, it's a high IQ, maybe its prefect credit, maybe its tons of money the list goes on what people find being a prefect or find being the greatest.

We look at movies, stars, and athletics, and they have everything anyone could imagine, and in our heads, as humans, we think this person couldn't do any wrong. They build hospitals, give large donations, and do everything they should to keep up an image; how many of us try to keep up with an image? How many of us try to live up to exceptions that the world has for us, but still, people will be quick to say I think this person isn’t doing enough so they cast their stones; how many of us cast our stones at people that aren't meeting the requirement or the goal.

It was a woman once who was caught in adultery, and they brought her to Jesus, and they said we caught her in the act of adultery. The law of Moses said to cast stones at her; they were admitted to doing this to this woman; no one stopped to think about what sins have they committed that no one had caught them doing; no one thinks of this when they are casting their stones or saying their words of hate and judgment right?

John 8:3-5 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst of four, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now, in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”

So, as this was going on, Jesus didn't get angry. He kept drawing, and he said to them if you have no sin, cast the first stone as he drew, they left one by one, some times we are so busy pointing out someone's blatant sin, but do we take the time to look at ours, if people see the sins we do and the things we are into,dont you think they would cast a stone on us?

Verse 7-9: As they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more, he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

Often, we are so quick to look at someone and not look at our lives and say what do I need to change? What do I need to remove? What do I need to change before I cast my stone? And a lot of us won't, because we feel I can judge because I would never do this or I can cast a stone because I'm not that kind of person, the bible tells us this: Matthew 7:3-4 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?"

We have to take the plank out of our eyes; as believers of God, we have to ask God to examine who we are before we can go to the world and tell them not to do something we are secretly doing the thing is about the world they dont hide their perversion anymore they dont hide the things they hate, the world dont hide, the women that do things at night they idolize these people but how can we tell the world to turn from this lifestyle if this is what we do in secret if this is what we indulge in on our phones, we have to be ready to ask God to clean our hands and eyes we have to be ready to say father please change me. Are you ready to be changed, or are you ready to not cast the stone?

***Today, we must look at where we are in our lives and what hidden sins we are dealing with; we can’t be about throwing stones and not helping people through their addictions and sinful ways, and the way we help is by praying, the way we help is to pray for a willing heart for them to change and how we help is not to judge anyone or bother people. At the same time, they are stuck in the dirt because, let me tell you something, friends, there’s nothing worse than a person seeking to get help and finding none because some believers are too busy hurting than encouraging. We must ask God today if we are being judgy to help us not to be, but the ultimate question is, am I my brother's keeper? Yes we are ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, help us to be loving and kind, lord. Every day, we ask you to change us. We'd like to ask you to help us to be more like you every day. Lord, we want to help others in every way we can. Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit. Lord, break down the walls of insecurity, break down the walls of hatred, and help us be confident with who we are in you; lord, we ask you to forgive us of any sins we have done; knowing and unknowingly, we rebuke any spirits that try to attach itself to us, and we send you back to where you come from in Jesus Mighty Name Amen.

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REFERENCES

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+DEUTERONOMY 13:10 You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

+John 7:24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

+Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that you be not judged.

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