“Being a Christian isn’t for sissies,” Cash said once. “It takes a real man to live for God—a lot more man than to live for the devil, you know? If you really want to live right these days, you gotta be tough.”
What’s more, he was intimately aware of the hard truths about living God’s way: “If you’re going to be a Christian, you’re going to change. You’re going to lose some old friends, not because you want to, but because you need to.”
“I Don’t Give Up”
Especially since June’s death in May 2003, many wondered how much longer Cash could hang on to life—it’s not uncommon, after all, for longtime spouses to die in close succession to each other. And that’s exactly what happened.
But you have to admit those were fightin’ words to Cash. In fact, shortly after June’s death, Cash headed back into the studio to begin work on more songs with fellow rebel and producer of nearly a decade, Rick Rubin. (Truth to tell, Cash’s last two albums, American III: Solitary Man and American IV: The Man Comes Around, were both reckoned as his farewell offerings.)
“He kind of made a decision,” Rubin told Billboard. “He called me a couple of days after June passed and said that he really has dedicated his life to work and wants to be busy all the time and focused on songs. That’s what he wants to do, so that’s what we’re going to do [and] that’s what we’ve been doing.”
And in his final days, despite moment-by-moment battles with diabetes, glaucoma (which cost him well over half of his vision), asthma, and a progressive, debilitating case of autonomic neuropathy (which deadened his nerve endings, complicated his other ailments, and pretty much confined Cash to a wheelchair during his waking hours), the Man in Black was anything but in a black mood. In fact, he was celebrating life—sopping up every second he could, while he could.
“I’m thrilled to death with life,” he told Larry King during a recent interview. “Life is—the way God has given it to me—was just a platter. A golden platter of life laid out there for me. It’s been beautiful.”
Observers were continually amazed with the grace Cash exuded despite the legion of forces working against him. “He looks more frail than imposing, propped up in his black leather recliner,” one writer noted. “Yet … it’s remarkable just how vital, even unassailable, Cash and his craggy baritone remain … and while Cash’s stentorian vocals may sound tattered, they still convey an almost biblical authority, a reverberant mix of judgment, hope, and, above all, steadfastness.”
“I don’t give up,” he told Larry King. “I don’t give up … and it’s not out of frustration and desperation that I say ‘I don’t give up.’ I don’t give up because I don’t give up. I don’t believe in it.”
This is “Music Monday” and I always look at a band with some of their best music. I am currently looking at Coldplay’s best songs. Here are a few followed by another person’s preference:
My son Hunter Hatcher’s 5th favorite Coldplay song is “Square One.”
He noted, “This is song gets me determined or pumped up. Idk why but it just does.”
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I got the following review off the internet:
Well, hey, they can always change their names when they grow up.
So back the music. This band is described as rock, but I have to frown at that categorization. I’d say they’re more alternative or adult something or other. This music doesn’t make me think sex, drugs or rock and roll, therefore I take issue with that labeling. I do, however, this is great music. The lyrics are sometimes strange, but always interesting. There’s nothing predictable in the patterns, it’s all very original. Chris Martin’s voice isn’t particularly amazing, but he does have that something special quality – I can’t name it, I don’t think there’s a word for it.
Music video by Coldplay performing Square One (Live From Austin City Limits).
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But the boy can emote. You can feel the pain he must have been feeling when he wrote the songs, and that is what moves people to buy records like this. Feeling depressed? Whip these songs out and you’ll either feel better, or even more depressed before it’s done, because his stuff can be pretty moving. Still worth having on the iPod though, and you needn’t be miserable to appreciate it. It’s very calming and relaxing, so if you’re slightly neurotic like me and need background noise when you’re writing or working on the computer, these are wonderfully unobtrusive songs that can still make you feel good, somehow.
X & Y
Fix You
From the X & Y album, this is one of those songs for people who are “stuck in reverse” in any number of ways. It’s a sweet melody, nothing harsh, delicate piano scattered about and thoughtful lyrics expressing the empathy anyone in a depressed state would appreciate.
The Scientist
This one is from the album A Rush of Blood to the Head. One of my favorites, I love the lyrics here. Sounds to me like the story of a man who’s screwed up with a woman and has now realized his mistake and is ready to fix it. Lots of angst here, gotta love it.
A Rush of Blood to the Head
In My Place
Also from A Rush of Blood to the Head. I love, love, love the opening guitar melody here. It’s so damned catchy it’s amazing. Another depressing love song, lots of angst, more about how he’s screwed up – though I don’t hear him trying to fix much in this one.
Yellow
From the album Parachutes. I admit, I thought this was a fairly stupid song when I first heard it. It wasn’t until I saw the video that I changed my mind. Don’t ask me why, that’s just how it was. Now I love this little ditty. Still not sure why everything’s yellow, but hey, I don’t need to get it in order to like the song.
Clocks
This is from the Rush of Blood to the Head album. This is also the big grammy winner. And it was worth it, very catchy. Great melody, great riff, great lyrics, great phrasing. Just a great song, even if it is slightly over played.
From X & Y. Very good song asking how long it will take to get what you’re after. Well, that’s what it seems like to me. And it seems like he’s talking about getting a specific woman for the most part. Hard to tell with these pop types, you know. It’s a nice song, whatever it means.
Till Kingdom Come
I love this one. Also from X & Y. It’s very different from the other songs and has a darker melody. It seems to be a declaration of love, but somehow moody. It’s not cheery, yet it definitely seems to be about having fallen in love.
Twisted Logic
The melody here is very cool. Again, from the X & Y album. I can’t help feeling in a trance when this one is on. Just don’t pay too close attention to the lyrics, they get a little strange. Computers looking for life on earth.. gotta wonder what kind of brownies he was eating. Still, very good song.
Parachutes
Sparks
From Parachutes. Fantastically mellowing melody. Makes me feel very relaxed, even though the lyrics seem to be depressing as anything. Then again, he also seems to be saying he’s always going to take care of whomever he’s singing about. I love the bridge very nice falsetto work.
Daylight
Great song from A Rush of Blood to the Head album. The riff is excellent and will stay with you all day. I love the melody, love the way it sounds slightly middle eastern somehow too. That could just be my imagination, though. Lyrics don’t really make a lot of sense to me.. but hey.. who cares? It sounds good. With all these depressing love songs, etc, you have to wonder who inspired them. Was Gwyneth the woman behind all of these?
Dave Hogan/ Getty Images This is “Music Monday” and I always look at a band with some of their best music. I am currently looking at Coldplay’s best songs. Here are a few followed by another person’s preference: For the 17th best Coldplay song of all-time, Hunter picks “42.” He notes, “You thought you might […]
The best band in the world. Below I have linked some articles I have earlier about the search for meaning in life the band seems to involved in. Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion formed Coldplay in 1996 while going to University in London. The young band quickly established themselves in the […]
I am presently involved in the counting down of the best Coldplay songs of all time, but I am also in a series here reviewing the upcoming songs on Coldplay’s new cd that will be released soon. Here is a review from Rolling Stone: Coldplay Debut new song ‘Charlie Brown’ June 6, 2011 Coldplay debuted […]
Great documentary on Coldplay. I have written a lot on Coldplay the last few years and I see something spiritually happening with the group as they continue to search for a deeping meaning in life. Coldplay Max Masters – Part 1 of 7 Uploaded by thepostbox on May 6, 2009 The ASTRA Award winning music documentary […]
Several members of the 70′s band Kansas became committed Christians after they realized that the world had nothing but meaningless to offer. It seems through the writings of both Woody Allen and Chris Martin of Coldplay that they both are wrestling with the issue of death and what meaning does life bring. Kansas went through […]
This is “Music Monday” and I always look at a band with some of their best music. I am currently looking at Coldplay’s best songs. Here are a few followed by another person’s preference: Hunter has chosen the song “Viva La Vida” as his number 18 pick. Hunter noted, “The violin synth is a […]
Coldplay – Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall Published on Jun 28, 2011 by ColdplayVEVO The new single, taken from Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall EP (featuring two more new tracks). Download it from http://cldp.ly/itunescp Music video by Coldplay performing Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall. (P) 2011 The copyright in this audiovisual recording is owned by […]
If you’re a taxpayer and you like beef jerky, I have good and bad news. The good news is that Jack Link’s is expanding the production facilities at its corporate home in Minong, Wisconsin. The bad news is the expansion is being “made possible” with a $365,000 federal grant to Minong for infrastructure upgrades.
The money comes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program. Curiously, the state’s Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation doesn’t mention in the press release that the money is coming from federal taxpayers:
The Village of Minong will receive a $356,000 Community Development Block Grant for Public Facilities for Economic Development from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to help finance utility improvements that will facilitate the expansion of Link Snacks, Inc. Link Snacks’ expansion is expected to create 70 full-time jobs over the next three years…
The Community Development Block Grant program is a versatile financing tool for general-purpose local units of government in need of funds to undertake needed infrastructure and public building projects. The program is designed to enhance the vitality of a community by undertaking public investment that contributes to its overall community and economic development.
The WEDC was created by Republican Gov. Scott Walker to replace the state’s Department of Commerce and is modeled after Gov. Mitch Daniels’ Indiana Economic Development Corporation. Like the IEDC, the WEDC dispenses corporate welfare and engages in what I derisively call “press release economics.” Given that the press release doesn’t mention that the money came from the federal government, and thus makes it look like the Walker administration is responsible for the “job creation,” I’d say that the WEDC has learned well from its cousin in Indiana.
The bottom line is that it is not a proper role of the federal government to fund local infrastructure projects for the benefit of a business. The bureaucratic inefficiency alone of laundering money through three levels of government (from federal to state to local) is reason enough to terminate the Community Development Block Grant program. Unfortunately, the CDBG program creates a win-win situation for politicians at all levels, which means that taxpayers are going to keep losing unless enough voters come to realize that robbing Peter to pay Paul’s company isn’t good economics.
Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode 8 – The Age of Fragmentation
NoMirrorHDDHrorriMoN
Francis Schaeffer- How Should We Then Live? -8- The Age of Fragmentation
Joseph Rozak·
I saw this film series in 1979 and it had a major impact on me. T h e Age of FRAGMENTATION I. Art As a Vehicle Of Modern Thought A. Impressionism (Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, Degas) and Post-Impressionism (Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat): appearance and reality. 1. Problem of reality in Impressionism: no universal. 2. Post-Impression seeks the universal behind appearances. 3. Painting expresses an idea in its own terms as a work of art; to discuss the idea in a painting is not to intellectualize art. 4. Parallel search for universal in art and philosophy; Cézanne. B. Fragmentation. 1. Extremes of ultra-naturalism or abstraction: Wassily Kandinsky. 2. Picasso leads choice for abstraction: relevance of this choice. 3. Failure of Picasso (like Sartre, and for similar reasons) to be fully consistent with his choice. C. Retreat to absurdity. 1. Dada , and Marcel Duchamp: art as absurd. 2. Art followed philosophy but came sooner to logical end. 3. Chance in his art technique as an art theory impossible to practice: Pollock. II. Music As a Vehicle of Modern Thought A. Non-resolution and fragmentation: German and French streams. 1. Influence of Beethoven’s last Quartets. 2. Direction and influence of Debussy. 3. Schoenberg’s non-resolution; contrast with Bach. 4. Stockhausen: electronic music and concern with the element of change. B. Cage: a case study in confusion. 1. Deliberate chance and confusion in Cage’s music. 2. Cage’s inability to live the philosophy of his music. C. Contrast of music-by-chance and the world around us. 1. Inconsistency of indulging in expression of chaos when we acknowledge order for practical matters like airplane design. 2. Art as anti-art when it is mere intellectual statement, divorced from reality of who people are and the fullness of what the universe is. III. General Culture As the Vehicle of Modern Thought A. Propagation of idea of fragmentation in literature. 1. Effect of Eliot’s Wasteland and Picasso’s Demoiselles d’ Avignon compared; the drift of general culture. 2. Eliot’s change in his form of writing when he became a Christian. 3. Philosophic popularization by novel: Sartre, Camus, de Beauvoir. B. Cinema as advanced medium of philosophy. 1. Cinema in the 1960s used to express Man’s destruction: e.g. Blow-up. 2. Cinema and the leap into fantasy: The Hour of the Wolf, Belle de Jour, Juliet of the Spirits, The Last Year at Marienbad. 3. Bergman’s inability to live out his philosophy (see Cage): Silence and The Hour of the Wolf. IV. Only on Christian Base Can Reality Be Faced Squarely Questions 1. Explain what “fragmentation” means, as discussed by Dr. Schaeffer. What does it result from? Give examples of it. 2. Apart from the fact that modern printing and recording processes made the art and music of the past more accessible than ever before, do you think that the preference of many people for the art and music of the past is related to the matters discussed by Dr. Schaeffer? If so, how? 3. “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds… With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.” Emerson wrote this over a century ago. Debate. 4. How far do you think that the opinion of some Christians that one should have nothing to do with philosophy, art and novels is a manifestation of the very fragmentation which is characteristic of modern secular thought? Discuss. Key Events and Persons Beethoven’s last Quartets: 1825-26 Claude Monet: 1840-1926 Poplars at Giverny, Sunrise: 1885 Paul Cézanne: 1839-1906 The Bathers: c.1905 Claude Debussy: 1862-1918 Wassily Kandinsky: 1866-1944 Arnold Schoenberg: 1874-1951 Picasso: 1881-1973 Les Demoiselles d’Avignon: 1906-7 Marcel Duchamp: 1887-1969 Nude Descending a Staircase: 1912 T.S. Eliot: 1888-1965 The Wasteland: 1922 John Cage: 1912-1992 Music for Marcel Duchamp: 1947 Jackson Pollock: 1912-1956 Karlheinz Stockhausen: 1928- Sartre’s Nausea: 1938 Beauvoir’s L’Invitée: 1943 Camus’ The Stranger: 1942 Camus’ The Plague: 1947 Resnais’ The Last Year at Marienbad: 1961 Bergman’s The Silence: 1963 Fellini’s Juliet of the Spirits: 1965 Antonioni’s Blow-Up: 1966 Bergman’s The Hour of the Wolf: 1967 Buñel’s Belle de Jour: 1967 Further Study Perhaps you have seen some of the films mentioned. You should try to see them if you haven’t.Watch for them in local art-film festivals, on TV, or in campus film series. They rarely return nowadays to the commercial circuit. The sex and violence which they treated philosophically have now taken over the screen in a more popular and crude form! Easier of access are the philosophic novels of Sartre, Camus and de Beauvoir. Read the titles Dr. Schaeffer mentions. Again, for the artwork and music mentioned, consult libraries and record shops. But spend time here—let the visual images and the musical sounds sink in. Listening patiently to Cage and Webern, for example, will tell you more than volumes of musicology. T.S. Eliot, The Wasteland (many editions, usually in collections of his verse). Joseph Machlis, Introduction to Contemporary Music (1961). H.R. Rookmaaker, Modern Art and the Death of a Culture (1970). Donald J. Drew, Images of Man (1974). Colin Wilson, The Outsider (1956). R
E P I S O D E 1 0 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode X – Final Choices 27 min FINAL CHOICES I. Authoritarianism the Only Humanistic Social Option One man or an elite giving authoritative arbitrary absolutes. A. Society is sole absolute in absence of other absolutes. B. But society has to be […]
E P I S O D E 9 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode IX – The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence 27 min T h e Age of Personal Peace and Afflunce I. By the Early 1960s People Were Bombarded From Every Side by Modern Man’s Humanistic Thought II. Modern Form of Humanistic Thought Leads […]
E P I S O D E 8 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode VIII – The Age of Fragmentation 27 min I saw this film series in 1979 and it had a major impact on me. T h e Age of FRAGMENTATION I. Art As a Vehicle Of Modern Thought A. Impressionism (Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, […]
E P I S O D E 7 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode VII – The Age of Non Reason I am thrilled to get this film series with you. I saw it first in 1979 and it had such a big impact on me. Today’s episode is where we see modern humanist man act […]
E P I S O D E 6 How Should We Then Live 6#1 Uploaded by NoMirrorHDDHrorriMoN on Oct 3, 2011 How Should We Then Live? Episode 6 of 12 ________ I am sharing with you a film series that I saw in 1979. In this film Francis Schaeffer asserted that was a shift in […]
E P I S O D E 5 How Should We Then Live? Episode 5: The Revolutionary Age I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Francis Schaeffer noted, “Reformation Did Not Bring Perfection. But gradually on basis of biblical teaching there […]
Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode IV – The Reformation 27 min I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer makes three key points concerning the Reformation: “1. Erasmian Christian humanism rejected by Farel. 2. Bible gives needed answers not only as to […]
Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 3 “The Renaissance” Francis Schaeffer: “How Should We Then Live?” (Episode 3) THE RENAISSANCE I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer really shows why we have so […]
Francis Schaeffer: “How Should We Then Live?” (Episode 2) THE MIDDLE AGES I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer points out that during this time period unfortunately we have the “Church’s deviation from early church’s teaching in regard […]
Francis Schaeffer: “How Should We Then Live?” (Episode 1) THE ROMAN AGE Today I am starting a series that really had a big impact on my life back in the 1970′s when I first saw it. There are ten parts and today is the first. Francis Schaeffer takes a look at Rome and why […]
The opening song at the beginning of this episode is very insightful. Francis Schaeffer: “Whatever Happened to the Human Race” (Episode 4) THE BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY Published on Oct 7, 2012 by AdamMetropolis This crucial series is narrated by the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer and former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop. Today, choices […]
It is not possible to know where the pro-life evangelicals are coming from unless you look at the work of the person who inspired them the most. That person was Francis Schaeffer. I do care about economic issues but the pro-life issue is the most important to me. Several years ago Adrian Rogers (past president of […]
posted by Linda Mintle | 7:25am Tuesday December 6, 2011
I walked in to a radio station focused on doing an interview totally unrelated to football and the producer starts ranting about how much he hates Tim Tebow. This was a day after Tebow once again brought his Broncos to victory. So I asked why he hates him so much. He really couldn’t articulate a reason. I pushed. Still no answer.
Is it because he is a good guy and has faith in God? No answer.
So you would prefer a Brett Favre who takes pictures of his body parts and emails them to women, or a Michael Vick who bank rolled dog fights? Or Tom Brady who has babies out of wedlock?
Apparently, it is no big deal when a player in the NFL is a bad boy. We’ve come to expect this according to Jeff Benedict who wrote a column for SI.com last year. He and his research assistant, Jeff Gasser, tracked public arrests of pro and college athletes from January 1, 2010 to August 31, 2010. In this eight month span, they found 125 reported arrests, more than one every other day. And that figure did not count minor arrests!
Back to Tebow, who so far, doesn’t have an arrest record, but has a I HATE TIM TEBOW Facebook page.
When Detroit Lions’ Stephen Tulloch and Tony Scheffler fell to their knees and mocked Tebow a few weeks ago (“Tebowing”), no one was too upset. But imagine if those two player did the same to a Muslim player who bowed to Mecca. There would be complete outrage. And there should be. Instead of mocking religious faith, we should be glad people embrace it. Religious faith usually helps people live better lives.
So why are people full of hate, want Tebow to fail and insist on making fun of him? Here are my thoughts:
1) People who enjoy seeing others fail usually attack others to feel good about themselves. Healthy people take joy in the success of others.
2) People are jealous and incredibly insecure.
3) Tebow raises the standard and makes others uncomfortable.
4) People are intolerant. They don’t agree with his pro-life stance and belief in Jesus.
5) American media has no problems making fun of Christians. There are few repercussions for this rude and insensitive behavior.
5) People are judgmental. If Tebow’s beliefs don’t match theirs, they go on the attack.
6) Misery loves company.
7) By debasing another, haters enhance their self-image
8) Haters do not have to look inward -they are too busy focusing on others.
9) Tebow acknowledges his dependency on God. We prefer self-sufficiency and humanism to win the day.
10) St. Paul reminds us that to those who are lost, the Gospel offends.
Tom Brady “More than this…” Uploaded by EdenWorshipCenter on Jan 22, 2008 EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview. To Download this video copy the URL to http://www.vixy.net Tom Brady is still searching for satisfaction in his life. Over the years I wanted bands like Kansas and Coldplay […]
Tom Brady “More than this…” Uploaded by EdenWorshipCenter on Jan 22, 2008 EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview. To Download this video copy the URL to http://www.vixy.net Below you will see several video clips of both Tom Brady and Tim Tebow. Evidently despite all the super bowl […]
Denver quarterback Tim Tebow reacts after Broncos running back Lance Ball scored a touchdown against the New England Patriots on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (Associated Press/Jack Dempsey) I think Tebow is fine Christian man who believes in telling others about Christ and he lives a morally pure life unlike many others in our society. Therefore, […]
“The View” Fights over Abortion Uploaded by RandomClips2008 on Jun 14, 2009 Hot-Topics The ladies on “The View”sit down and talk about President Obama’s commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame and talk about how the crowd got a little riled over Abortion protesters. They then continue on the abortion subject which leads to […]
I was saddened that SNL proclaimed Mormonism true in a skit Saturday. The archaeological record is obvious that Joseph Smith was wrong in many of the details he put in the Book of Mormon and he assumed that the Indians in the North America had the same surroundings that the Jews did in the middle east 2000 years […]
I knew this day would come soon. I was asked this morning if I thought God was pulling for the Broncos and I responded, “No I do not. Many think that and for them it will be said that that devil Tom Brady brings the Tebow winning streak to a halt.” Sure enough New England […]
Another good article I read on Tebow: By PATTON DODD On a brisk Thursday evening in mid-November, I sat high in the stands at a Denver Broncos home game, covering the ears of my 4-year-old son as the fans around us launched f-bombs at Tim Tebow, the Broncos’ struggling second-year quarterback. Mr. Tebow was ineffective […]
Everyone is wondering if this amazing fourth quarter comeback streak will end for the Denver Broncos and their quarterback Tim Tebow. At the December 11, 2011 early service at Fellowship Bible Church, pastor Mark Henry noted: How many of you have been watching the drama behind Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow is the starting quarterback for […]
Abby Wambach, whose thunderous header in the final seconds of the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals against Brazil led the U.S. to an improbable victory and sparked a nationwide frenzy rarely seen for women’s sports, has been voted Female Athlete of the Year.
The 31-year-old forward won the award handily, receiving 65 of the 214 votes cast by members of the Associated Press. Teammate Hope Solo (38 votes) was second, and UConn basketball player Maya Moore (35) was third.
Wambach is the first individual soccer player – man or woman – to win one of the AP’s annual athlete awards, which began in 1931. The U.S. women’s team won in 1999, when its World Cup triumph at the Rose Bowl captured the country’s imagination.
“We, as a team, did something that no team since Mia Hamm was able to do,” Wambach said. “Even the team that won the (Olympic) gold medal in 2008 wasn’t able to inspire and get people excited about women’s soccer. It goes to show you the impact drama can bring.”
— Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was suspended for eight matches and fined $62,000 after being found guilty of directing a racial insult at Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, who is black.
Hanukkah (Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה, Tiberian: Ḥănukkāh, usually spelled חנוכה pronounced [χanuˈka] in Modern Hebrew, also romanized as Chanukah, Chanukkah, or Chanuka), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.
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Conservative Bible scholars hold the Book of Daniel was written in the 6th century B.C as the Bible claims. However, liberal scholars and skeptics hold it to be written around 165 B.C.
Outside of the Pentateuch, no book of the OT has been subjected to as much scrutiny as the Book of Daniel. The detailed and accurate prophecies contained in that book have motivated many, Skeptic and professed believer alike, to subscribe to the theory of a late date of composition for Daniel in the time of the Maccabees.
Generally, the Maccabeean theory holds that the Book of Daniel was written around 168-165 BC. Most modern radical critics hold that the book was completed in its final form at that time, but some allow for parts of Daniel (mainly chapters 1-6) to have an earlier date prior to 168-165. Some say the editor in the 2nd century used certain traditions to compose the final form of Daniel.
Others have said that the book has many authors (one scholar says that there were six authors). All of them agree, however, that the final form of the book was completed around 165 BC. We will show that such late date hypotheses are NOT indicated by the evidence.
Let me suggest some good articles on this subject. One is by Charles Ray and most of his article is based the research of my good friend Dr. Stephen R. Miller, professor of Old Testament, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, Germantown, Tennessee. Dr. Miller is the author of Daniel (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994; New American Commentary Series). IVOR C. FLETCHER wrote another fine article too.
Here is my input on the matter:
Traditional Church View v. Critic’s View
The time Daniel lived was 620 BC approx to 530 BC approx which would make him somewhere in his eighties when he died. If he died in 539 then he would be in his early 80’s but in 530 then he would be almost 90. Now Daniel Chapter 11 gives exact details of what happened from 330 BC to 160 BC and Chapter 2 and 7 and 8 give details about the four world empires and that is why critics have always said the Book of Daniel was written in the time of the Maccabean rebellion around 160 BC. The traditional view of the church has been that Daniel was written in the 6th century BC around 530 BC at the latest by Daniel himself who actually saw these 6th century events with his own eyes.
How would a Maccabean author know these details? [1] Belshazzar was ruling during the last few years of the Babylonian Empire. [2] The Babylonians executed individuals by casting them into fire, but the Persians threw the condemned to the lions. [3] The practice in the 6th Century was to mention first the Medes, then the Persians. [4] Laws made by Persian kings could not be revoked. [5] In the sixth century B.C., Susa was in the province of Elam (Dan. 8:2). [6] Nebuchadnezzar had a pride problem (Dan. 4:30) and often boasted about his great building projects. These claims by Daniel have all been supported by tablets and historical records found in Babylon. J.P. Holding rightly notes that the existence of the Book of Daniel in the Dead Sea Scrolls dated in the 2nd century indicates that they were written previously.
Let me just take a few of these 6 examples mentioned above and show how amazing these facts are. Lets look at [4] Laws made by Persian kings could not be revoked.The critic Lacocque observes: “Diodorus of Sicily (XVII, 30) in fact, reports the case of a man put to death under Darius III (336-330) even though he was known to be perfectly innocent. (Darius III) immediately repented and blamed himself for having committed such a great error, but it was impossible to have undone what had been done by royal authority” (Andre Lacocque, The Book of Daniel, Atlanta: John Knox, 1979, p. 113). Of course, this is the same thing that happened to Daniel when he got thrown in the lions den in chapter 6!!!!! The king regretted that he had signed the law that condemned Daniel but he could not revoke the law. The same thing happened in the Book of Esther where the Persian King could not change a law after it had been signed (Esther chapters 7 and 8).
Now when I call someone a critic then they have late dated the Book of Daniel to the 2nd century BC around 160 AD and Andre Lacocque is a critic but he gives Daniel credit on this point.
Again, Daniel was correct when he placed Susa in the province of Elam (Dan. 8:2). Dr. Gleason Archer, Jr., notes: “From the Greek and Roman historians, we learn that from Persian times Susa, or Sushan, was the capital of the province of Susiana; and Elam was restricted to the territory east of the Eulaeus River. Nevertheless, we know from cuneiform records that Sushan was part of the territory of Elam back in Chaldean times and before. It is very striking that Daniel 8:2 refers to ‘Susa in the province of Elam’ an item of information scarcely accessible to a second-century B.C. author” (Archer, p. 19).
Since Daniel was an eyewitness to 6th-century events, he could accurately record historical details. The conservative scholar Dr. Stephen R. Miller (Dr Miller is a friend of mine from Memphis and has written the foremost respected Southern Baptist Commentary on Daniel released in 1994) notes: “In fact, the author of Daniel exhibited a more extensive knowledge of Sixth Century events than would seem possible for a second-century writer.”
Back in 1980 I read the book “Free to Choose” by Milton and Rose Friedman. I noticed that Milton made it clear both in the book and in the film series of the same name that immigration was good for America in the past. However, since the USA changed to a welfare state, we could no longer have a tremendous amount of legal immigration because it was overload the welfare state!!!!
Milton Friedman in a lecture at Stanford asserted:
“I’ve always been amused by a kind of a paradox. Suppose you go around and ask people: ‘The United States before 1914, as you know, had completely free immigration. Anybody could get in a boat and come to these shores and if landed at Ellis Island he was an immigrant. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?”
You will find that hardly a soul who will say that it was a bad thing. Almost everybody will say it was a good thing. ‘But what about today? Do you think we should have free immigration?’ ‘Oh, no,’ they’ll say, ‘We couldn’t possibly have free immigration today. Why, that would flood us with immigrants from India, and God knows where. We’d be driven down to a bare subsistence level.’
What’s the difference? How can people be so inconsistent? Why is it that free immigration was a good thing before 1914 and free immigration is a bad thing today? Well, there is a sense in which that answer is right. There’s a sense in which free immigration, in the same sense as we had it before 1914 is not possible today. Why not?
Because it is one thing to have free immigration to jobs. It is another thing to have free immigration to welfare. And you cannot have both. If you have a welfare state, if you have a state in which every resident is promises a certain minimal level of income, or a minimum level of subsistence, regardless of whether he works or not, produces it or not. Then it really is an impossible thing.
I was perplexed at the time that Friedman’s ideology had to take a backseat to the real world that liberals had taken over!!! That is exactly the case here.
Milton Friedman – Illegal Immigration – PT 2
(2 of 2) Professor Friedman fields a question on the dynamics of illegal immigration. http://LibertyPen.com
Paul considers it a “boondoggle” for the U.S. to spend much money policing other countries’ borders (such as the Iraq–Syria border) while leaving its own borders porous and unpatrolled;[32] he argues the U.S.–Mexico border can be crossed by anyone, including potential terrorists.[52] During the Cold War, he supported Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative,[53] intended to replace the “strategic offense” doctrine of mutual assured destruction with strategic defense.
Paul believes illegal aliens take a toll on welfare and Social Security and would end such benefits, concerned that uncontrolled immigration makes the U.S. a magnet for illegal aliens, increases welfare payments, and exacerbates the strain on an already highly unbalanced federal budget.[54]
Paul believes that illegal immigrants should not be given an “unfair advantage” under law.[55] He has advocated for a “coherent immigration policy”, and has spoken strongly against amnesty for illegal aliens because he believes it undermines the rule of law, grants pardons to lawbreakers,[56] and subsidizes more illegal immigration.[57] Paul voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, authorizing an additional 700 miles (1100 kilometers) of double-layered fencing between the U.S. and Mexico mainly because he wanted enforcement of the law and opposed amnesty, not because he supported the construction of a border fence.[58]
Paul believes that mandated hospital emergency treatment for illegal aliens should be ceased and that assistance from charities should instead be sought because there should be no federal mandates on providing health care for illegal aliens.[58]
Paul also believes children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens should not be granted automatic birthright citizenship.[59] He has called for a new Constitutional amendment to revise fourteenth amendment principles and “end automatic birthright citizenship”,[60] and believes that welfare issues are directly tied to the illegal immigration problem.[61]
EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview.
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Tom Brady ESPN Interview
Tom Brady has famous wife earned over 76 million dollars last year. However, has Brady found lasting satifaction in his life? It does not seem so.
Many times when two very successful people marry they discover that they have a lot in common. One of the striking problems that successful people have is struggling with an overall worldview to share with their kids when they know the secret that riches and fame does not bring true satisfaction. Tom and his wife now are parents will possibly look at life differently and Tom will continue to look for what can give him peace.
This has been demonstrated in the writings of King Solomon and in the songs of Chris Martin of Coldplay.
I wrote this article a couple of years ago.
Are Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin looking for Spiritual Answers?
Just like King Solomon’s predicament in the Book of Ecclesiastes, both of these individuals are very wealthy, famous, and successful, but they still are seeking satisfying answers to life’s greatest questions even though it seems they have experienced all the best the world has to offer.
Gwyneth Paltrow is an Academy Award winning actress and in 2003 she married Chris Martin who is the leader of the musical group Coldplay (currently one the most successful bands in the world today).
On July 9th it was revealed that the Rupert Murdoch owned paper The Guardian in London had secretly paid more than 1.6 million dollars to cover up legal cases involving celebrities (including Gwyneth Paltrow) who had their phones bugged. It is ironic to me that the press wants to find pieces of information about what Paltrow and Martin are doing with their spare time when to me what they are saying in their music and art is so much more interesting.
It is a little known fact that Gwyneth Paltrow is an descendant of Rabbi David HaLevi Segal of Krakow through the Russian rabbinical family Paltrowitch, which produced 33 rabbis over several generations. Even more surprising are the lyrics that Chris Martin wrote for his latest album.
Unlike many the past grammy winners of “Best Rock Album,” this year’s winner Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends by Coldplay is filled with songs that deal with spiritual themes such as death, the meaning of life and searching for an afterlife. In the song “Strawberry Swing,” Martin sings the words “Every moment was so precious…Now my feet won’t touch the ground…It’s such a perfect day.” It seems he wants to get his feet off this earth and probe spiritual heights if possible with the songs released by Coldplay in 2008 especially.
Lead singer Chris Martin notes, “…because we’ve had some people close to us we’ve lost, but some miracles — we’ve got kids. So, life has been very extreme recently, and so both death and life pop up quite often” (MTV News interview, June 9, 2008). In 2005 the song “Fix You” was written by Martin to help his wife deal with the death of her father Bruce Paltrow, and it has become one of Coldplay’s most popular songs of all time.
The subject of death is prominent in the songs “Death and All His Friends,” and the “Cemeteries of London.” Then the song “The Escapist” states, “And in the end, We lie awake and we dream, we’re makin our escape.” In the end we all die. Therefore, I assume this song is searching for an afterlife.
The song “Glass of Water” sheds some more light on where we could possibly go: “Oh he said you could see a future inside a glass of water, with riddles and the rhymes, He asked ‘Will I see heaven in mine?’ ”
Coldplay is clearly searching for spiritual answers but it seems they have not found them quite yet. The song “42“: “Time is so short and I’m sure, There must be something more.” Then in the song “Lost” Martin sings these words: “Every river that I tried to cross, Every door I ever tried was locked..”
Solomon went to the extreme in his searching in the Book of Ecclesiastes for this “something more” that Coldplay is talking about, but he found riches (2:8-11), pleasure (2:1), education (2:3), fame (2:9) and his work (2:4) all “meaningless” and “vanity” and “a chasing of the wind.” Every door he tried was locked.
Overshadowing it all was Solomon’s upcoming death which depressed him because both people and animals alike “go to the same place — they came from dust and they return to dust” (3:20).
In 1978 I heard the song “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas when it rose to #6 on the charts. That song told me that Kerry Livgren the writer of that song and a member of Kansas had come to the same conclusion that Solomon had. I remember mentioning to my friends at church that we may soon see some members of Kansas become Christians because their search for the meaning of life had obviously come up empty even though they had risen from being an unknown band to the top of the music business and had all the wealth and fame that came with that. But just like Solomon before him and Coldplay after him, Kerry Livgren realized death comes to everyone and “there must be something more” than just these material possessions of this world.
Livgren wrote:
“All we do, crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see, Dust in the Wind, All we are is dust in the wind, Don’t hang on, Nothing lasts forever but the Earth and Sky, It slips away, And all your money won’t another minute buy.”
I am glad to report that both Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope of Kansas found the answers they needed eventually. Kerry Livgren first tried Eastern Religions and Dave Hope had to come out of a heavy drug addiction. In 1981 I saw both gentlemen on The 700 Club in a clip (available now on youtube) that can be summed up by Blaise Pascal’s quote: ” There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man that cannot be filled by any created thing but only by the Creator made known through Jesus Christ.”
Livgren lives in Topeka, Kansas today where he teaches “Diggers,” a Sunday school class atTopeka Bible Church. Hope is the head of Worship, Evangelism and Outreach at Immanuel Anglican Church in Destin, Florida.
Are Paltrow and Martin looking for spiritual answers? Clearly the facts indicate that they are, but they have not found them quite yet. Russ Briermeier of Christianity Today observes that the latest work by Martin’s musical group Coldplay is “often provocative, spiritual, and seemingly on the verge of identifying a greater truth, asking and inspiring many questions without providing the answers.”Solomon’s experiment in the Book of Ecclesiastes was a search for meaning in life “under the sun”(1:3). Then in last few words in Ecclesiastes he looks above the sun and brings God back into the picture: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
You can hear Kerry Livgren’s story from this youtube link:
Photo by Justin A. Shaw, Special to the News Sentinel
Jarnell’s mother Shunta Stokes said his college decision was “solely up to him. I support his decision wholeheartedly, he’s the one that has to attend the school, not me. His dad and I are behind him 100%.”
Yesterday when I got in the car at 6pm I turned the radio to 103.7 the buzz in Little Rock to listen to Drive Time Sports with Randy Rainwater and his guest was Ron Crawford the basketball expert from Arkansas AAU fame. Ron knows a lot of people and I respect his views tremendously. If there is any piece of information concerning breaking news then Ron Crawford will be on top of it.
Many of the razorback faithful were calling in and asking who Jarnell Stokes will sign with at 6:30pm and Ron said, “All of my sources tell me he is going to Tennessee.”
I read yesterday that Stokes has a brother currently a student at Tennessee and I knew that Bruce Pearl had Stokes locked up earlier. However, after Pearl’s firing I wondered if the other schools had a chance. I read that both Mike Anderson of Arkansas and Josh Pastner of Memphis had made great impressions on Stokes, and of course, it was just assumed that John Calipari with his personality would make an impression.
Jarnell Stokes picks Vols says ‘I’m going to be pushing to play’
No. 11 player in nation
By John Varlas, Memphis Commercial Appeal
govolsxtra.com
Posted December 22, 2011 at 8 p.m., updated December 22, 2011 at 10:53 p.m.
COLLIERVILLE — Jarnell Stokes’ roller-coaster senior season officially ended Thursday when he completed the schoolwork that allowed him to graduate early.
Next stop: Knoxville.
Stokes, the would-be Southwind High School basketball standout, announced his decision to play for Tennessee on Thursday during a press conference at Fino Villa restaurant.
He said he chose UT over Memphis, Arkansas, Kentucky and Florida and will be eligible to play immediately, pending his enrollment for the spring semester and clearance from the NCAA.
“Honestly, the decision was so back-and-forth,” Stokes said. “(Memphis) coach (Josh) Pastner called me on the first day he got the job. It’s going to be hard to leave the city that I love best but it’s time to grow up and be a man.
“I walk by faith and not by sight. And with prayer comes answers.”
Playing time was almost certainly a key factor for the 6-foot-8, 255-pounder, who was regarded as the nation’s No. 11 prospect when he was still in the class of 2011. Stokes would have had to sit out the remainder of the season had he chosen Memphis because the Tigers don’t have a scholarship to offer.
“I’m ready to play,” he said. “I’m not gonna lie. I’m going to be pushing to play.”
Stokes, who transferred to Southwind from Central last summer, was ruled athletically ineligible at Southwind by Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association executive director Bernard Childress in August because of transfer rules.
His hardship appeal to the TSSAA Board of Control was denied last month, leaving him ineligible to play his senior season at Southwind.
“I don’t regret anything about sitting out,” Stokes said. “If anything, it just showed me how much I really love basketball.”
Stokes drew plenty of laughs in his opening remarks, talking about how he grew from a “goofy kid with an Afro” who excelled in chess into one of the nation’s top prospects.
“It’s surreal for me to be standing here,” he said.
He also drew chuckles with his thoughts on Kentucky coach John Calipari.
“I know a lot of people around here don’t think highly of him, but he’s actually a very engaging guy,” Stokes said.
At UT, Stokes will be reunited with former Central teammate Cameron Clear, who played in all 12 games for the football team this past season as a freshman tight end.
It seems like a done deal to me now that I have found out that Jarnell Stokes has a brother that is currently a student at the University of Tennesse that he will follow his brother and be a Vol tonight when he announces his decision. Jarnell Stokes Class of 2012 power forward Jarnell Stokes (#17) is one […]
Photo by Justin A. Shaw, Special to the News Sentinel
“I prayed heavily on this decision and God answered me. I liked the coaching staff at UT, their faith in God appealed to me. I feel like being a volunteer will be the next best step for me. To me, my hard work and work ethic, wherever I go I see success”, Jarnell Stokes
I live in Arkansas and I know that on Little Rock’s top radio station for sports, 103.7 the buzz, the constant question is about who Jarnell Stokes will be signing with tonight. My friends in Memphis tell me that the Memphis Tigers do not have a scholarship this year for Stokes but Arkansas and Tennessee […]
Photo by Justin A. Shaw, Special to the News Sentinel
Southwind High School senior Jarnell Stokes stood before family, friends, and media as he told them he prepared to continue higher education and basketball at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Knoxville newspaper revealed yesterday: MEMPHIS – Highly-rated power forward prospect Jarnell Stokes will announce his college plans Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Fino Villa in Collierville. The 6-8, 255-pound Stokes graduated from Southwind High last week, and plans to enroll in January at either Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee […]
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported today that Arkansas is after a top high school basketball player named Jarnell Stokes. My sources tell me he is leaning to signing with Kentucky. Below are the predictions of a sports writer from CBS. By Jeff Borzello Over the past few years, the early signing period in college basketball […]
Photo by Justin A. Shaw, Special to the News Sentinel
Southwind High School senior Jarnell Stokes stood before family, friends, and media as he told them he prepared to continue higher education and basketball at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Photo by Justin A. Shaw, Special to the News Sentinel
Photo by Justin A. Shaw, Special to the News Sentinel
Photo by Justin A. Shaw, Special to the News Sentinel
