Sunspots 713

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A Relevant writer tells us about four ways in which the modern church is not like the early church.
A Christianity Today writer reminds us that the New Testament uses "in Christ" to describe salvation.

Humor: (or something) Jalopnik reports on a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado made of Legos.


Politics: Michael Gerson on the Trumpification of the pro-life movement.

S. E. Cupp considers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Relevant reports that four women who left water in the desert for immigrants may go to jail.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain.
Thanks for looking!

The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 63

Watson continues to urge his readers to be contented with what they have, and to warn of some dangers of being prosperous:
Secondly, a prosperous condition is dangerous in regard of others. A great estate, for the most part, draws envy to it, whereas in little there is quiet. David a shepherd was quiet, but David a courier was pursued by his enemies; envy cannot endure a superior; an envious man knows not how to live but upon the ruins of his neighbours; he raiseth himself higher by bringing others lower. Prosperity
is an eye-sore to many. Such sheep as have most wool are soonest fleeced. The barren tree grows peaceably; no man meddles with the ash or willow, but the apple-tree and the damasin shall have many rude suitors. O then be contented to carry a lesser sail! He that hath less revenues hath less envy; such as bear the fairest frontispiece and make the greatest show in the world, are the white for envy and malice to shoot at.

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, God willing, will post excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.
  
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. (World English Bible, public domain.)

Some important uses of the number twelve

 

Some important uses of the number twelve

This is the last of a series, attempting to show some of the most important uses of the numbers two through twelve (except eleven) in our culture. It is obvious that twelve has been, and is, culturally important. I did not include the twelve tribes of Israel, but they weren't exactly twelve -- Jacob had twelve sons, but the tribe of Levi was not included, for some purposes, in national matters, and Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, each founded a tribe. Further, Manasseh's offspring ended up living in two areas, one on each side of the Jordan River.

Thanks for looking!

Some important uses of the number ten

 

Some important uses of the number ten

One of a series, starting with uses of two. The next post, on twelve, will be the last.

I believe that phone numbers in some countries don't have 10 digits.

It's interesting to speculate as to how life would be different if we had 8 fingers and 8 toes, or 12 fingers and 8 toes, or whatever. But most people have 10 of each, and there are Ten Commandments, and our number system is mostly a decimal system.

Thanks for reading!

Why does the Bible say so little about nature's beauty?

Bougainvillea flowers, with orange bracts

In an address a few years ago, Bible scholar N. T. Wright answered the question of the title of this post. His answer was that creation's beauty is an intrinsic property of nature, and, as such, not generally described just for itself.

God's creation surely is beautiful, and can be appreciated by anyone with normal or nearly normal vision.

I found a few Biblical references to the beauty of nature:
2 Chronicles 3:6a He garnished the house with precious stones for beauty:

Hosea 14:6 His branches will spread, and his beauty will be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon. (Apparently referring to the fragrance of the plant life in Lebanon.)

Genesis 49:21 "Naphtali is a doe set free, who bears beautiful fawns. ..."

Ecclesiastes 3:11a He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Psalm 104:31 Doesn't mention beauty, but it sounds like it is there, in God's creation: Let Yahweh’s glory endure forever. Let Yahweh rejoice in his works.

James 1:11a For the sun arises with the scorching wind, and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. (There are other verses which speak of plant life losing beauty, such as this one. But they do state that plant life has beauty, however temporary it may be. The Bible also speaks, in several places, about women's beauty, and Moses was said to be a beautiful child, but this post is about the beauty of non-human nature.)

Although the last chapter in the Bible doesn't specifically mention beauty, it's hard to read it without imagining great beauty in the new earth: Revelation 22:1 He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. The first chapter in the Bible says that everything God created was good, implying that it was beautiful.

Thank God for the beauty of God's creation, from the sub-microscopic to the cosmic!

Sunspots 712

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Gizmodo reports that the Mona Lisa doesn't really have the Mona Lisa effect (the eyes follow you, whatever your position relative to the painting) but other paintings do have it.

Christianity: Christianity Today reports on the 50 countries where it's hardest to follow Christ. Only two of these are in the Western Hemisphere. India has risen, if that's the word, to being in the top 10 most dangerous countries.
Ken Schenck presents Biblical (and other) arguments for having women in ministry.


Computing: An article on NPR suggests that parents spend more time on-screen with their children. 
This article lists the top 10 moneymakers on YouTube, for 2017. The highest one was 7 years old at the time. See also this article in Scientific American, which says that technology use doesn't harm teenagers much, or any.

A Gizmodo reporter tried hard to live without Amazon. She found it to be impossible -- Amazon controls so much of the internet.

Google has an on-line phishing quiz -- can you spot attempts to harvest your information?

Finance: Listverse describes 10 jobs where you get paid for doing (almost) nothing.

Food: Earther reports that half, or more, of wild coffee species are likely to go extinct.

The web site for an institution that keeps samples of strains of microorganisms used to make sourdough.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight analyzes the chances, in the primaries, of 17 possible Democratic candidates for President.

FiveThirtyEight also reports on various legal cases involving the President.

S. E. Cupp is not happy that our troops, for the first time ever, are not getting paid during a government shut-down, and she blames the President.

Gizmodo reports that photos of the President, on his official social media accounts, have been edited to make him look better.

Science: A giant disk of ice is floating on a river in Maine, and slowly rotating.

Phys.Org reports that plants that get fresh water from sea water produce more brine than fresh water.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain. 

Thanks for looking!

Some important uses of the number nine

 

Some important uses of the number nine.

Part of a series. Previous posts have been for the numbers two through eight, and, God willing, there will be two more posts, for ten and twelve. The uses of nine in this poster seem straightforward enough without my commentary.

Thanks for looking!

Some important uses of the number eight

 

Some uses of the number eight, which are important in our culture.

The idea of eight-ness has some importance in nature, and in our culture. Consider stop signs, for one thing. Molecules made from Oxygen, Nitrogen and Carbon (which molecules are essential for living things like ourselves) act in such a way that they have eight electrons in what is called their outer shell, which makes these molecules possible.

If you are interested in the eight-fold way as a unifying idea in physics, see here.

Thanks for looking. This blog has recently shown posters based on two, three, four, five, six, and seven, and, God willing, will soon have such on nine, ten and twelve.

The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 62

Watson continues to urge his readers to be contented with what they have, and to warn of some dangers of being prosperous:

Prosperity, in Scripture, is compared to a candle; “his candle shined upon my head:” (Job 29. 3) how many have burnt their wings about this candle! “The corn being over-ripe, sheds; and fruit, when it mellows, begins to rot; when men do mellow with the sun of prosperity, commonly their souls begin to rot in sin. “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” (Lu. 18. 24) His golden weights keep him from ascending up the hill of God; and shall we not be content, though we are placed in a lower orb? What if we are not in so much bravery and gallantry as others? we are not in so much danger; as we want the honour of the world, so the temptations.

O the abundance of danger that is in abundance! We see, by common experience, that lunatics, when the moon is declining, and in the wane, are sober enough, but when it is full they are wild and more exorbitant: when men’s estates are in the wane, they are more serious about their souls, more humble, but when it is the full of the moon, and they have abundance, then their hearts begin to swell with their estates, and are scarcely themselves. Those that write concerning the several climates, observe, that such as live in the northern parts of the world, if you bring them into the south part, lose their stomachs, and die quickly: but those that live in the more southern and hot climates, bring them into the north, and their stomach’s mend, and they are long-lived; give me leave to apply it.

Bring a man from the cold, starving climate of poverty, into the hot southern climate of prosperity, and he begins to lose his appetite to good things, he grows weak, and a thousand to one if all his religion doth not die; but bring a Christian from the south to the north, from a rich flourishing estate into a jejune low condition, let him come into a more cold and hungry air, and then his stomach mends, he hath a better appetite after heavenly things, he hungers more after Christ, he thirsts more for grace, he eats more than at one meal of the bread of life, than at six before; this man is now like to live and hold out in his religion. Be content then with a modicum; if you have but enough to pay for your passage to heaven, it sufficeth. 

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, God willing, will post excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.
  
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. (World English Bible, public domain.) 

Some important uses of the number seven

 

Some important uses of the number seven (7). One of a series.

This blog has previously had posts of posters displaying important uses of the numbers two - six, in our culture. Here's a poster for seven. God willing, there will be posters for eight, nine, ten and twelve in the next few days.

Clearly, seven was important in Biblical and religious culture. But sometimes the importance seems to be exaggerated. There are thirty-six occurrences of "seven" in Revelation, not just the one at the bottom of the poster. But none of these are about seven years, although some interpretations of the Bible hold that there will be a seven year tribulation during the end times. Perhaps. Perhaps not.

Thanks for looking! 

Some important uses of the number six

 

Some important uses of the number six are shown above. I guess that the most important one is for the six quarks. If current theory in physics is true, then, as the Wikipedia says, they are "a fundamental constituent of matter." In other words, you and I and the screen or paper you are reading this on are mostly quarks. If angelic beings with six wings literally exist, that would be important, too. In fact, it would be important if they were only an attempt at describing the indescribable. But dice, time, degrees, cubic crystals, and honeycomb are also important.

Thanks for looking.

Some important uses of the number five

 

This post is one of a series, beginning with two, and through ten, plus the number twelve. The post on three is here.

No doubt there are more important uses of the word, "five," but here are a few such. I especially like five-fold symmetry in flowers, as in roses and the morning glory family. Some roses have flower parts in multiples of five.

I might have included "pleading the fifth," but didn't.

TULIP, the so-called "five points of Calvinism," is explained here. As far as I know, there is no contrasting acronym for Arminians.

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 711

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: (and Sports) Relevant on whether God cares about who wins a football game.

He Lives assesses Christian's reactions to the Command to "remember the Sabbath."

Education: NPR reports that school bullying has increased in areas in Virginia that voted for President Trump.

Politics: Yes, it's early, but that didn't stop FiveThirtyEight from analyzing the chances of the top ten or so potential Democratic candidates for President, to actually be the Democratic nominee.

From The Daily Beast: Shepard Smith, of Fox News fact-checked President Trump's speech from the Oval Office. There were "facts" that weren't facts.

Michael Gerson on a crisis that isn't really one, about a wall that really isn't a wall, paid for by Mexican pesos that are really US tax dollars, and he goes on.

Catherine Rampell on trading with China -- we need to be careful!

Earther reports that President Trump is still blaming the wrong people and practices for the increase in forest fires in California and elsewhere.

The Interior Department isn't picking up trash, but it is holding meetings for the purpose of granting oil leases in Alaska.

Trudy Rubin argues that border security is not one of our main security problems. President Trump's inflated opinion of himself is.

Science: NPR reports that religious fundamentalism has led to some really strange claims, at the annual Indian Science Congress.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain. 

Thanks for looking!

The first day of creation: things we are never going to understand

Genesis 1:2 The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day. (World English Bible, public domain)

There are plenty of possible questions about this passage, such as about how literally to take it, but I’d rather not explore the questions of what “day” means, and other such matters, important as they might be. I have some other questions in mind, questions that we will never understand in this life, and maybe not in the next one. We can, and may, have opinions about them, but the opinions are not strongly backed by the Scripture, or are not covered at all in the Bible, and Genesis 1 is interpreted in different ways by different people. For more on scriptural interpretation, see this post.

Questions:
If God spoke light into existence, what language did He use?
Does God, in this passage, mean God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, or some combination of them?
Who did God speak to?
If He/They spoke to some other entity, who was it, and why was this said?
Did angels, or some other entity, actually create the light, at God’s command?
Was the creation of light preceded (whatever preceded  means to an eternal God!) by planning?
Was the entire electromagnetic spectrum, of which light is only a small part, created at once?
Did the creation of light cost God effort or resources of some sort?
Does this passage actually refer to the creation of the sun, or was that created later?
Was there light elsewhere in the universe, but not on earth, or, on the other hand, was the light created for the earth, or perhaps for the solar system, spread throughout the universe somehow, after this initial creation?
Was light created from something else?

Interesting questions. (There are more questions about origins in this post -- toward the end.) I have no answers. Thanks for reading.

Some important uses of the number four

 

Poster showing uses of the number four, and using four colors, four typefaces, four corners and four sides.

There are four freedoms in the First Amendment to the US Constitution; four fundamental forces, or interactions, holding the universe, you and me, and atoms and molecules together; four sides and four corners in many of the basic building blocks of buildings; four limbs in vertebrate animals, and, conventionally, four directions. There are more uses of four, or groups of four, that I have not thought of, no doubt.

Thanks for looking! I expect to post more of these posters in the future.

The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 61

Watson continues to urge his readers to be contented with what they have. In particular, he warns of some dangers of being prosperous:
2. In a prosperous condition there is more danger; and that two ways: First, in respect of a man’s self. The rich man’s table is oft his snare; he is ready to ingulf himself too deep in these sweet waters. In this sense it is hard to know how to abound. It must be a strong brain that bears heady wine; he had need have much wisdom and grace, that knows how to bear an high condition; either he is ready to kill himself with care, or to surfeit himself with luscious delights. O the hazard of honour, the damage of dignity! Pride, security, rebellion, are the three worms that breed of plenty. (De. 32. 15) The pastures of prosperity are rank and surfeiting. How soon are we broken upon the soft pillow of ease? 

Prosperity is often a trumpet that sounds a retreat, it calls men off from the pursuit of religion. The sun of prosperity oft dulls and puts out the fire of zeal; how many souls hath the pleurisy of abundance killed? They that “will be rich, fall into snares.” (1 Ti. 6. 9) The world is birdlime at our feet, it is full of golden sands, but they are quick-sands. Prosperity, like smooth Jacob, will supplant and betray; a great estate, without much vigilancy, will be a thief to rob us of heaven; such as are upon the pinnacle of honour are in most danger of falling. A lower estate is less hazardous; the little pinnacle rides safe by the shore, when the gallant ship advancing with its mast and top-sail, is cast away. Adam in paradise was overcome, when Job on the dung-hill was a conqueror. Samson fell asleep in Delilah’s lap: some have fallen so fast asleep on the lap of ease and plenty, that they have never awaked till they have been in hell. The world’s fawning is worse than its frowning, and it is more to be feared when it smiles than when it thunders.

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, God willing, will post excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.
  
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. (World English Bible, public domain.) 

Some important uses of the number three

 

Some important uses of the number three.

Perhaps the most important use of the number three is in naming the Trinity. Do I understand the Trinity? Certainly not. In the so-called "love chapter," Paul said that there were three things which would endure beyond time, namely faith, hope and love. In addition, the US has three branches of government; there are three germ layers in embryonic development in vertebrates; there are three primary colors, and normal people have three types of cone cells in their eyes, which receive light of these three kinds; there are three commonly discussed states of matter (there is actually a fourth such state); monocot reproductive structures have three-fold symmetry (see here) -- monocots, including wheat, rice, maize/corn, and other plants, are very important to humans.

For the post on the number four, see here.

Thanks for reading and looking!

Some important uses of the number two

 

A poster showing some of the important uses of the number two. Some of these are biblical, including the statement by Jesus that no one can serve two masters, and also the statement by Jesus that if two of his followers agreed on a request, it would be granted. Then there are some things we take for granted, such as that we, and many animals, have two sides, right and left; the two sexes; that the things we see on our devices, and in books, are (mostly) two-dimensional; and that computer information is stored, transferred and used as binary information, 1s and 0s.

Thanks for looking! God willing, I'll be posting more such posters, using other numerals. For the post on the number four, see here.

What's unique about this auto brand/model name?

Look at the above list of various automobile brands or models. There's something unique about the Toyota name, as shown here. What is it?

Sunspots 710

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: (and Sports) Relevant reports that a Chicago Bears kicker did not make a field goal that would have won the game, but thanked God, anyway.

Education: NPR reports on poor reading scores, which are widespread, and a fundamental reason for them -- educators aren't using scientific findings on learning to read. In some places, this is being remedied.

Food: (and Health) Gizmodo reports that millions of Americans think they have a food allergy, but don't.

Health: NPR reports that increases in drug prices are primarily due to drug company attempts to make more money, rather than research costs.

Humor: (or Food) A sculpture, constructed of a half ton* of butter, has been produced in Pennsylvania, according to NPR.

Politics: NPR reports that the acting Secretary of the Interior may be worse than his predecessor at protecting the environment.

(or possibly, humor) A few days ago, President Trump said that he knew more about drones than anyone. The Washington Post has compiled a list of things the President claims to know more about than anyone else. The list also includes people (not him) that Mr. Trump says are the world expert on various topics.

It's almost that time again, I'm afraid. But FiveThirtyEight analyzes Presidential primary debates, and finds that they are important.

Science: Gizmodo tells us (with pictures) that some hummingbird species have beaks specialized for aggression toward rivals.

(and food) NPR reports on granary weevils, insects that have been eating our stored grain throughout human history.

Scientific American on how the part of the border wall already built is damaging habitat and migration routes for animals, and how adding to the wall will make things worse.


The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain. 

Thanks for looking!

*When this was posted, I had carelessly said a half-pound of butter, not a half ton. I thank one of my brothers for bringing this error to my attention.

The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 60

Watson continues to urge his readers to be contented with what they have. In particular, he warns of some dangers of being prosperous:
Sect. X. The tenth argument to contentation is, Consider seriously the nature of a prosperous condition. There are in a prosperous estate three things,
1. More trouble. Many who have abundance of all things to enjoy, yet have not so much content and sweetness in their lives, as some that go to their hard labour. Sad, solicitous thoughts do often attend a prosperous condition. Care is the evil spirit which haunts the rich man, and will not suffer him to be quiet. When his chest is full of gold, his heart is full of care, either how to manage, or how to increase, or how to secure what he hath gotten. O the troubles and perplexities that do attend prosperity! The world’s high seats are very uneasy; sunshine is pleasant, but sometimes it scorcheth with its heat; the bee gives honey, but sometimes it stings: prosperity hath its sweetness and also its sting; “competency with contentment is far more eligible.” Never did Jacob sleep better than when he had the heavens for his canopy, and a hard stone for his pillow. A large voluminous estate is but like a long trailing garment, which is more troublesome than useful.

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, God willing, will post excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.
  
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. (World English Bible, public domain.)

Quotation about how death is viewed in the Bible

“Psalm 104 and Matthew 6, among other biblical texts, speak of organisms eating other organisms, never once ascribing this to the fall or calling it suffering or a waste.”
- quotation from Chapter 18 in Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins by Robert C. Bishop, Larry L. Funck, Raymond J. Lewis, Stephen O. Moshier, and John H. Walton. My source is here.

Job 38-39 are “other biblical texts” that don’t call predation a waste, or a cause of evil suffering. Neither does Jeremiah 12:8-10, Amos 3:4-5, Nahum 2:11-12, or other passages.

Thanks for reading.

Basketball, character and race relations: Bob Cousy and Bill Russell

One of my daughters got me The Last Pass: Cousy, Russell, and What Matters in the End, by Gary Pomerantz, for Christmas. It's a fine book. If you don't recognize the names of Bob Cousy or Bill Russell, this probably won't interest you. But I did recognize them. Cousy and Russell were parts of what arguably was the greatest dynasty in professional sports -- the Boston Celtics, who won 11 NBA championships while one or both of these men were on the team, from 1956-1969. (They have won more since then.) Russell was part of all of these 11 championship teams. Cousy retired in 1963. Both men are still alive. Cousy is 90, and, apparently, still has a good mind -- much of the book was based on interviews with him by the author. Russell is 84, and perhaps not sound mentally -- Pomerantz says that his children went to court to get control of his finances.

Cousy was noted for his passing skills. See here for a brief video of Cousy in action. (Russell was number 6 for the Celtics, and many of Cousy's passes went to him.) Thus the title.

The main theme of the book is the relationship between the two stars. Clearly, they respected each other, and played well together. But Russell was stand-offish, to his team, reporters, and fans (he almost never gave autographs). Russell, as an African-American, had experienced prejudice many times. One such occasion was an exhibition game in Kentucky. The hotel coffee shop refused to serve the black players, and they left. Cousy, discussing that event many years later, said that he didn't even remember it, and that he should have gone back to Boston with them. Like many of us, including me, we didn't apply the Golden Rule to African Americans and what they were (and are) going through. Shame on us. Cousy's last pass to Russell was a hand-written apology. Russell didn't respond directly, but he eventually called Cousy.

One of Mr. and Mrs. Cousy's treasured possessions was a clock given them by Russell, for Cousy's retirement.

Russell was, in his time, an articulate and highly intelligent man. He was active in civil rights, sitting in the front row at King's "I have a dream" speech, and present for Obama's inauguration. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom by Obama, who told him, at the ceremony, that without Russell, he wouldn't have been there.

Cousy was not a racist, or at least not a textbook case, by any means. After he became coach of his college alma mater, Holy Cross, he told an African American player who was dating his daughter that he would be proud to be his father-in-law. (The couple broke up later.) The Celtics were the first NBA team to put five African-Americans on the floor at once, and the first professional team, in any sport, to have an African-American coach (Russell). Cousy, and the Celtics, probably advanced race relations in Boston, a city with lots of racial prejudice.

It's too bad that Russell and Cousy weren't closer, and there's probably some blame to go to each of them. More important, though, is "what am I doing to reach out to people of different ethnicity?"

Another important idea, not emphasized, is Cousy's loyalty and love to his wife. She eventually became a victim of dementia. Cousy said that if he had to answer the same question from her, six times in ten minutes, he would do it. It wasn't always easy, of course, but he apparently stuck it out. She eventually died.

In their own ways, both men were role models.

The book (I read the e-book) has lots of photos, and plenty of scholarly apparatus, at the end, including an index and documentation. These don't interfere with the narrative.

A good book, about some difficult subjects. Thanks for reading.