Sunspots 392

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

Science:  Naked mole rats don't get cancer, or at least don't die from it, according to a report in Wired, which report also indicates the mechanism of protection.

Sports: Sports Illustrated has posted their version of the 100 greatest sports photos of all time.

 

Politics:  The transcript of re-elected President Obama's speech.

Henry Neufeld points out two extreme reactions to the Obama victory. An owner of a coal company read a prayer to some of his employees, and then fired 156 of them, because, he said, of the election results. A self-identified Libertarian advised people to remove anyone who voted Democrat from their Facebook Friend list, and men (No corresponding advice to women) to break up with a girlfriend, or divorce a spouse, who voted Democratic. (He said more than that, but that's enough.)

Image source (public domain)

Psalm 72 on government assistance to the poor

Psalm 72:1 God, give the king your justice;

your righteousness to the royal son.

2 He will judge your people with righteousness,

and your poor with justice.

3 The mountains shall bring prosperity to the people.

The hills bring the fruit of righteousness.

4 He will judge the poor of the people.

He will save the children of the needy,

and will break the oppressor in pieces

12 For he will deliver the needy when he cries;

the poor, who has no helper.

13 He will have pity on the poor and needy.

He will save the souls of the needy. (World English Bible, public domain)

I had never seen this, but I should have. Psalm 72, apparently written by either David or Solomon, speaks of the government -- which, in those days, was the king -- saving the children of the needy, having pity on the poor and needy, and delivering them. Presumably, this should have included material blessings. In other words, the Psalm seems to be condoning, even expecting, that the government, and/or the rich, would help the poor.

There are plenty of Old Testament passages about God's displeasure when those in power treat the poor unjustly. This one indicates His pleasure when they help the poor.

This post is a reaction to a better post on the same subject, governmental assistance to the poor, by Ken Schenck, Bible scholar.

Thanks for reading.

I'm thankful for the Fabaceae (pea family)

Soybean pods (legumes) against a November sky. Abbeville County, South Carolina.



Purple flower of wild pea plant, Pickens County, South Carolina. (Both photos are links to the originals, in my Flickr photostream.)

The photos above are of just two representatives of the enormous, and enormously important, pea family, also known as legumes, or Fabaceae. Why are they important? Let me count the ways. Rather, let me list just some of the members of this family:

peanuts
soybeans
beans (many kinds)
peas (many kinds)
clover (many kinds)
alfalfa
carob
licorice

Peanuts and soybeans are important crops. According to this source, we exported $16 billion worth of soybeans and soybean products in a recent year. See here for the Wikipedia article section on soybean use. Uses include oil, tofu, edamame, and many other food uses. Peanuts are also noted for having many uses, including, of course, peanut butter. See here for the Wikipedia reference. Beans and peas, of many kinds, are eaten in many ways. Alfalfa and clover are important cattle food. Clover is used as an ornamental, too.

One reason that the members of this family are so important in human diets is that the family is rich in protein. One reason for that is that the plants have nodules on their roots, where Nitrogen-fixing bacteria live, in a mutually beneficial association with the peas, beans, etc. There is some gaseous Nitrogen in the air, and there is air in the soil, usually. The bacteria take some of this Nitrogen, and change it into amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. Glycine is one of the amino acids. Glycine is also the scientific name of soybeans. Since we must have protein for almost every biological function -- it's essential for all of our cells -- having a source of protein is critical for human diets, and members of the pea family are good sources of protein. Vegetarians, and people who can't afford to eat meat, generally eat beans and peas and other members of the pea family as protein sources.

It is probable that Daniel and his friends persuaded the Babylonian officials to let them eat members of the pea family, as part of their diet, rather than the meats the rest of the trainees ate. The Prodigal Son was probably feeding carob pods to the pigs. Carob is used to make a chocolate substitute.

I'm thankful to God for the bounty of the pea family! Thanks for reading.

Prayer and God's Work, part 4, by E. M. Bounds

If it be contended that the work of God is progressing, and that we are growing in holiness, then some perplexing questions arise which will be hard to answer. If the Church is making advances on the lines of deep spirituality—if we are a praying people, noted for our prayer habits—if our people are hungering after holiness—then let us ask, why do we now have so few mighty outpourings of the Holy Spirit on our chief churches and our principal appointments? Why is it that so few of our revivals spring from the life of the pastor, who is noted for his deep spirituality, or the life of our church? Is the Lord’s hand shortened that He cannot save? Is His ear heavy that He cannot hear? Why is it that in order to have so-called revivals, we must have outside pressure, by the reputation and sensation of some renowned evangelist? This is largely true in our larger charges and with our leading men. Why is it that the pastor is not sufficiently spiritual, holy and in communion with God, that he cannot hold his own revival services, and have large outpourings of the Holy Spirit on the Church, the community and upon himself? There can be but one solution for all this state of things. We have cultivated other things to the neglect of the work of holiness. We have permitted our minds to be preoccupied with material things in the Church. Unfortunately, whether designedly or not, we have substituted the external for the internal. We have put that which is seen to the front and shut out that which is unseen. It is all too true as to the Church, that we are much further advanced in material matters than in matters spiritual.
 
But the cause of this sad state of things may be traced further back. It is largely due to the decay of prayer. For with the decline of the work of holiness there has come the decline of the business of praying. As praying and holiness go together, so the decline of one, means the decay of the other. Excuse it if we may, justify the present state of things if we will, yet it is all too patent that the emphasis in the work of the present-day Church is not put on prayer. And just as this has occurred, the emphasis has been taken from the great work of God set on foot in the atonement, holiness of heart and life. The Church is not turning out praying men and women, because the Church is not intently engaged in the one great work of holiness.

- From The Essentials of Prayer, by E. M. Bounds.

Although E. M. Bounds died in 1913, this book was first published in 1925, by an admirer of the author's life. Bounds was known for praying from four until seven each morning.

This post is one of a series, taken from The Essentials of Prayer, by Bounds. Found through the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, here. The Essentials of Prayer is in the public domain. The previous post in the entire series on the book is here. Thanks for reading. Read this book, and, more importantly, practice, prayer.

Epistemic closure

I learned a new phrase yesterday, "epistemic closure." See here for the Wikipedia article on the subject. The article says:

The term "epistemic closure" has been used in US political debate to refer to the claim that the belief systems of political conservatives are closed systems of deduction, which cannot be affected by empirical evidence.

In other words, political conservatives don't listen to facts that contradict their belief systems. They tend to listen to conservative talk radio, watch only Fox News news and commentary, follow right-wing web sites, and read conservative-leaning newspapers.

The article is actually mostly about the theory of knowledge, as a philosophical matter, and the sentence quoted above is almost all it says about politics.

There have been recent examples of epistemic closure in political discourse. One of these is the mis-prediction of right-wing political "experts" on how the recent Presidential election would turn out, most famously Fox's Karl Rove doubting that the Fox News experts had called Ohio correctly, and reports that Mr. Romney, himself, on election night, didn't believe that he could lose. Other news sources, and the Obama campaign, believed, in the days before the election, that Mr. Obama would be re-elected.

Another example relates to Hurricane Sandy. The Wikipedia can be edited by anyone. (I have edited it a little myself, but not on substantive political matters.) A report, based on analysis of who was doing the Wikipedia editing, says that a single individual deliberately kept references to global climate change out of the Wikipedia article on Hurricane Sandy for several days, because he didn't believe there was any such thing. (I credit The Foundry for much of the information referenced above.) The article on Hurricane Sandy does, now, refer to global climate change.

Epistemic closure by right-wingers is bad enough. However, I'm sure that the Left has its own epistemic closure, and that's bad, too. But, far more serious, is epistemic closure about eternal things. I am epistemically closed about salvation. I believe that I have a sin problem, which condemns me to eternal separation from God and the good. I believe that the only solution is to accept the sacrifice of the crucified and risen Christ, and go on to follow Him as Lord of my life. Can I prove this? No. I seldom even read or listen to sources that discredit these views, or think about them. I'm epistemically closed. There are those with other views, of course.

I recently had an on-line discussion with an atheist, who asked why an all-powerful god would be so concerned about sin, and why a blood sacrifice was necessary to pay for it. These are good questions. I attempted to answer them, and some others did, too, but I doubt that this person was much impressed -- he has his own epistemic closure about this subject.

I believe that there's a sin problem in the world, and Christ is the solution. I hope you do, too.

Thanks for reading.

Text Mechanic

Here's some text from Through the Looking-glass, by Lewis Carroll (public domain):

'Well, in OUR country,' said Alice, still panting a little, 'you'd generally get to somewhere else—if you ran very fast for a long time, as we've been doing.'
'A slow sort of country!' said the Queen. 'Now, HERE, you see, it takes all the running YOU can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!'

Here's the same text, given randomize case changes:
 'WEll, in OuR CountRy,' saiD alIce, StilL PAntING A lITTLE, 'YOU'D gEnERAllY get To sOmEWHere ElSE—iF you Ran VErY FAsT fOr a lonG tIme, aS We'vE BEen dOing.'

'A SlOw SoRt Of CouNTRY!' sAiD tHe qUeen. 'NoW, HERe, yOu see, it taKEs ALl ThE runninG YOU cAn Do, TO KEep In thE sAme pLacE. if YOU wANt TO gET SOmeWheRe eLse, yoU MUSt Run AT LEAst TWiCE As FasT as THat!'

The transformation was done with Text Mechanic, a free on-line service, which allows all sorts of manipulations of text.

For example, here's text from a .PDF version of The Essentials of Prayer, by E. M. Bounds, also public domain:

Prayer, praise and thanksgiving all go in company. A close relationship exists between
them. Praise and thanksgiving are so near alike that it is not easy to distinguish between
them or define them separately. The Scriptures join these three things together. Many are
the causes for thanksgiving and praise. The Psalms are filled with many songs of praise and
hymns of thanksgiving, all pointing back to the results of prayer. Thanksgiving includes
gratitude. In fact thanksgiving is but the expression of an inward conscious gratitude to God
for mercies received. Gratitude is an inward emotion of the soul, involuntarily arising therein,
while thanksgiving is the voluntary expression of gratitude.

It's not obvious, I guess, but there are line breaks at the end of each line, which means that things can look pretty awkward, depending on the width of the text when used.

I pasted the same text into the "Add/Remove line breaks" portion of Text Mechanic, asking that each line break be replaced with a space, and here's the result:
Prayer, praise and thanksgiving all go in company. A close relationship exists between them. Praise and thanksgiving are so near alike that it is not easy to distinguish between them or define them separately. The Scriptures join these three things together. Many are the causes for thanksgiving and praise. The Psalms are filled with many songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving, all pointing back to the results of prayer. Thanksgiving includes gratitude. In fact thanksgiving is but the expression of an inward conscious gratitude to God for mercies received. Gratitude is an inward emotion of the soul, involuntarily arising therein, while thanksgiving is the voluntary expression of gratitude.

No line breaks!

Here's my name, Martin LaBar, in binary:
01001101 01100001 01110010 01110100 01101001 01101110 00100000 01001100 01100001 01000010 01100001 01110010.

Thanks for reading!

Here's "Thanks for reading" in hexadecimal code:
(I removed;#x and ; which are delimiters)
54 68 61 6e 6b 73 20 66 6f 72 20 72 65 61 64 69 6e 67 21

Sunspots 391

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

 

Science:  The Scale of the Universe is a web page that shows you objects from the yoctometer range through a Gigaparsec, which is roughly 10 to the 25th power meters. This web page took a little time to get started, then worked fine.

Wired reports that an elephant can say five words in the Korean language.

(or education) Wired reports that doing math problems is, indeed, painful for some people.

Politics:  (or something) Wired reports on technology developments that could make it even easier for the President (whoever he is) to take out bad guys. Clearly, these developments also pose potential dangers.

Image source (public domain)

Skepticism and Atheism

The Skeptical Zone has a most interesting post, which argues that atheists are most likely deceived. The argument is based on logic.

I'm thankful for sugars

I'm thankful for sugars. Not only do I like to eat them -- more than I should -- but they are extremely important. Persons in need of serious medical attention are often given glucose. A sugar is the product of photosynthesis, so that all other types of food molecule are produced from sugar. Cellulose, found in paper and some types of fabric, and in wood, is a polymer of sugar. DNA and RNA, which control the structure of cells, and, ultimately, the characteristics of living things, including individual humans, have a sugar as one of their building blocks.

The writer of Proverbs warned about being too much in love with sweetness: 
25:16 Have you found honey?
Eat as much as is sufficient for you,
lest you eat too much, and vomit it.
 

Prayer and God's Work, part 3, by E. M. Bounds

We might as well face the situation first as last. There is no use to shut our eyes to real facts. If the Church does not do this sort of work—if the Church does not advance its members in holiness of heart and life—then all our show of activities and all our display of Church work are a delusion and a snare.

But let us ask as to another large and important class of people in our churches. They are the hope of the future Church. To them all eyes are turned. Are our young men and women growing in sober-mindedness and reverence, and in all those graces which have their root in the renewed heart, which mark solid and permanent advance in the Divine life? If we are not growing in holiness, then we are doing nothing religious nor abiding.

Material prosperity is not the infallible sign of spiritual prosperity. The former may exist while the latter is significantly absent. Material prosperity may easily blind the eyes of Church leaders, so much so that they will make it a substitute for spiritual prosperity. How great the need to watch at that point! Prosperity in money matters does not signify growth in holiness. The seasons of material prosperity are rarely seasons of spiritual advance, either to the individual or to the Church. It is so easy to lose sight of God when goods increase. It is so easy to lean on human agencies and cease praying and relying upon God when material prosperity comes to the Church.

- From The Essentials of Prayer, by E. M. Bounds.

Although E. M. Bounds died in 1913, this book was first published in 1925, by an admirer of the author's life. Bounds was known for praying from four until seven each morning.

This post is one of a series, taken from The Essentials of Prayer, by Bounds. Found through the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, here. The Essentials of Prayer is in the public domain. The previous post in the entire series on the book is here. Thanks for reading. Read this book, and, more importantly, practice, prayer.

Gratitude for Bible translators

I'm thankful for people I don't think about much -- Bible translators, some long since passed away, some still at work, in English and many other languages. Thanks to them, I can read the Bible in several versions of my "heart language." Most other people in the world can do the same, in at least one version, in theirs. There are people who work in Bible translation, some for a lifetime. Others, missionaries, who have found that the group they are working with needs to have God's Word in their own language, so they do it out of necessity, and still others who are working to translate the Bible into their own language, because no one else has. They all deserve my praise, and prayer support.

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 390

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

Science: An astronomical object, 20 million light-years in length -- that's really long -- has been discovered, according to Wired.

Scientists in Italy have been convicted of not giving sufficient warning about an earthquake, according to The Daily Beast.

Dinosaurs probably had feathers, and the feathers may have been colored, perhaps used in courtship displays, according to reports by National Public Radio and the Scientific American. See here and here.

Philosophy: Do plants have rights? Some think that they do. (Some don't!) NPR reports.

Computing: You may think you own books, and other media, that you obtain from Apple, Amazon, and other commercial sources. Not so. Furthermore, Wired reports that all the content you have paid to use may be removed. Whoops.!

Christianity: Project Gutenberg has recently released the public domain Rand-McNally Bible Atlas by Hurlbut, in several versions. There is an abundance of maps and charts. I took the HTML version and went to the large version of a couple dozen maps or so, and saved them for later use. I also took the Windows Snipping tool (any screen capture tool should work) and saved some of the charts, some of which were on subjects I had never thought of, such as how much land each tribe got, under Joshua. I also hope to use the Kindle version. There are more versions.

Image source (public domain)

Isn't God a great artist?

I don't think it's original with me, but I sometimes place, in the description of a photo I post, such as those on Flickr, the question, "Isn't God a great artist?" (This is, I believe, the latest of these.)

God as artist

What do I mean by that? What should I mean? I wish to muse about these questions. First, some scripture:

Genesis 2:19 Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature became its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 Yahweh God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Yahweh God made a woman from the rib which had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.” (all Bible quotations from World English Bible, public domain)

Isaiah 64:8 But now, Yahweh, you are our Father.

We are the clay, and you our potter.

We all are the work of your hand.

Leaving aside questions about how literally we are supposed to take these passages, the language indicates clearly that God can be described as an Artist, a Craftsman who takes existing ordinary material and does something wonderful with it.

Is God an artist? Of course. Orthodox Christian belief includes this:
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty maker of heaven and earth,of all that is, seen and unseen. (Taken from a version of the Nicene Creed, 1975)

If God is Almighty, He clearly can be an Artist. If He is "maker of heaven and earth," then that required Him to be an artist, in the sense that He took, not "existing ordinary material," but nothing, and made a lot of something, wonderful something, from it. See the graphic at the top of this page for more about this question. Not only did God make things, but He sustains the universe -- see Colossians 1:16-17, and Hebrews 1:3 for part of the evidence for that.

Christians also usually believe that God is Omnipotent and Omniscient. Such a powerful Creator should, then, be able to design every leaf on every tree on earth, and every water ripple and dewdrop on earth, and every human face, individually, and to the finest detail. I suppose that human faces are altered by human activity, such as disease, emotions, bad nutrition, exposure to the sun, accidents, and, of course, makeup. But I believe that God could have designed each face, exercising complete control over its appearance. I'm not sure that God did, for reasons I hope to explain below. There are those who believe that not only could God have designed each face, but that He did, and that He is also in control of how each face changes as it matures and is exposed to the environment, including emotions and human activity.

Free will and randomness

We come, thus, to the question of free will, at least for humans. I'm not suggesting that leaves, water ripples and dewdrops have a will at all, free or not. But humans do, and I'm certainly not alone in believing so. If they do, part of what a human face looks like is because of choices that human has made, or that others have made affecting that person.

How about leaves and ripples? Although God created the universe, and sustains it now, it is possible that God's artistry is not so much expressed in His work in each leaf, ripple, or face, but in the creation of the laws that determine how things develop. For example, God could have created the universe in such a way that the Big Bang produced the elements with small nuclei, and in such a way that supernovae produce the elements with heavier nuclei. He could also have created the universe in such a way that Carbon atoms bind rather easily with Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Sulfur and Phosphorus so as to assemble the complex organic molecules that make life possible. Creation of a universe with laws and properties resulting in the way things are now would have been as great, or even greater, artistry than assembling each leaf, atom by atom.

God could also have built some randomness (or maybe a lot of it) into the universe. I have posted previously on this idea, asking "Is there such a thing as chance?" and on "God and Chance," here and yet again, and also on the idea of randomness at the subatomic level. Henry Neufeld, theologian, has also written about this subject. C. S. Lewis, on the other hand, had one of his best characters, Puddleglum, in The Silver Chair, say that "there are no accidents."

The fact is that we have no way of determining whether God controls all events in the universe, or whether he lets some of them be determined by the properties He has built in to the universe, or by those properties, plus chance. So God could have specially designed each and every leaf, and its changing fall colors, or God could have built laws and principles and properties into the universe which lead to the changing fall colors of each leaf, or God could also let random events, at the subatomic level, or higher, determine the appearance of such a leaf, over time. But, in all of these cases, God either controls or allows. If random processes produce a beautiful leaf, God be praised! If intricate control does, God be praised! God is a great artist.

An illustration of what Puddleglum said: While thinking about this subject, and preparing to write about it, I came upon a discussion of the artistry of Linnéa Spransy, who, she says, attempts to express "the tension between freedom and constraint" in her paintings. Spransy is a Christian. The post says this:

Like many working scientists, she is seeking a way of understanding how the creator engages with His creation, and a better grasp on how we creatures should make our way in response. On one hand, her attentiveness to the basic orderliness of the material creation has a corollary in the familiar disciplines of faith, including reading the scriptures, prayer, and responding with mercy to ruptures in human lives and communities. But on the other hand, her embrace of surprise and chaos is, as she says, an “invitation to the otherness of God,”. . .

You may wish to see my recent post on the use of the words, beauty and beautiful, in the Bible.

Thanks for reading, whether by chance or design.

Scripture that indicates that humans can choose salvation

This is a thorny topic, and one that I'm not expecting to settle. There are intelligent, Bible-believing people who disagree with the title of this post. See the Wikipedia articles on Free Will, Free will in theology, and Predestination for good treatment of this subject, including views opposed to mine. Now to what the title says, below. Some of these verses don't say anything directly about free choice, but these were chosen because they indicate that anyone may accept Christ's sacrifice for sin, thus implying that they may choose it:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (All scripture quotations from the World English Bible, which is public domain.)

Acts 2:20 The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood,
before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
21 It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ (quoting Joel 2)

Romans 5:17 For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. 18 So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life.

Romans 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him. 13 For, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (quoting Joel 2)

1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6a who gave himself as a ransom for all; 

1 Timothy 4:10 For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

1 John 2:2 And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.

Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.
 
Thanks for reading, whether you did it by a free choice, or not!

Prayer and God's Work, part 2, by E. M. Bounds

The work of God in the world is the implantation, the growth and the perfection of holiness in His people. Keep this ever in mind. But we might ask just now, Is this work advancing in the Church? Are men and women being made holy? Is the present-day Church engaged in the business of making holy men and women? This is not a vain and speculative question. It is practical, pertinent and all important.
The present-day Church has vast machinery. Her activities are great, and her material prosperity is unparalleled. The name of religion is widely-spread and well-known. Much money comes into the Lord’s treasury and is paid out. But here is the question: Does the work of holiness keep pace with all this? Is the burden of the prayers of Church people to be made holy? Are our preachers really holy men? Or to go back a little further, are they hungering and thirsting after righteousness, desiring the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby? Are they really seeking to be holy men? Of course men of intelligence are greatly needed in the pulpit, but prior to that, and primary to it, is the fact that we need holy men to stand before dying men and proclaim the salvation of God to them.
Ministers, like laymen, and no more so than laymen, must be holy men in life, in conversation and in temper. They must be examples to the flock of God in all things. By their lives they are to preach as well as to speak. Men in the pulpit are needed who are spotless in life, circumspect in behaviour, “without rebuke and blameless in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom they are to shine in the world.” Are our preachers of this type of men? We are simply asking the question. Let the reader make up his own judgment. Is the work of holiness making progress among our preachers?
Again let us ask: Are our leading laymen examples of holiness? Are they seeking holiness of heart and life? Are they praying men, ever praying that God would fashion them according to His pattern of holiness? Are their business ways without stain of sin, and their gains free from the taint of wrong-doing? Have they the foundation of solid honesty, and does uprightness bring them into elevation and influence? Does business integrity and probity run parallel with religious activity, and with churchly observance?

- From The Essentials of Prayer, by E. M. Bounds.

Although E. M. Bounds died in 1913, this book was first published in 1925, by an admirer of the author's life. Bounds was known for praying from four until seven each morning.

This post is one of a series, taken from The Essentials of Prayer, by Bounds. Found through the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, here. The Essentials of Prayer is in the public domain. The previous post in the entire series on the book is here. Thanks for reading. Read this book, and, more importantly, practice, prayer.

Beauty in the Bible

The word, "beauty" occurs in the Bible a number of times. The Hebrew word,  תִּפְאָרָה, which is rendered as tiph'arah in English, occurs over 40 times in the Old Testament. It is translated variously, depending on the context and the translation. According to the Blueletter Bible's page on this word, it is translated as glory, beauty, beautiful, honor, fair, glorious, bravery, comely, excellent, and perhaps other words. I will quote several occurrences of the word, using the World English Bible, which is in the public domain, below. I have also included an occurrence of the word "lovely," which has a related meaning, because the verse is important. (See here for a graphic presentation of that verse.)

Exodus 28:2 You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. . . . 40 “You shall make coats for Aaron’s sons, and you shall make sashes for them and you shall make headbands for them, for glory and for beauty.

Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after,
that I may dwell in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life,
to see Yahweh’s beauty,
and to inquire in his temple.

Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but Yahweh made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before him.
Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Isaiah 33:15 He who walks righteously,
and speaks blamelessly;
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
who gestures with his hands, refusing to take a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of blood,
and shuts his eyes from looking at evil—
16 he will dwell on high.
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks.
His bread will be supplied.
His waters will be sure.
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty.
They will see a distant land.

Isaiah 53:2b He has no good looks or majesty.
When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised,
and rejected by men;
a man of suffering,
and acquainted with disease.
He was despised as one from whom men hide their face;
and we didn’t respect him.
4 Surely he has borne our sickness,
and carried our suffering;
yet we considered him plagued,
struck by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions.
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought our peace was on him;
and by his wounds we are healed. 

Ezekiel 16:11 I decked you with ornaments, and I put bracelets on your hands, and a chain on your neck. 12 I put a ring on your nose, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were decked with gold and silver; and your clothing was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered work; you ate fine flour, and honey, and oil; and you were exceeding beautiful, and you prospered to royal estate. 14 Your renown went out among the nations for your beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put on you, says the Lord Yahweh. 15 But you trusted in your beauty, and played the prostitute because of your renown, and poured out your prostitution on everyone who passed by; his it was. 16 You took of your garments, and made for yourselves high places decked with various colors, and played the prostitute on them. This shall not come, neither shall it be. 17 You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and played the prostitute with them; 18 and you took your embroidered garments, and covered them, and set my oil and my incense before them. 19 My bread also which I gave you, fine flour, and oil, and honey, with which I fed you, you even set it before them for a pleasant aroma; and so it was, says the Lord Yahweh. [God, prophesying against Israel, through Ezekiel]

Ezekiel 27:1 Yahweh’s word came again to me, saying, 2 You, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre; 3 and tell Tyre, you who dwell at the entry of the sea, who are the merchant of the peoples to many islands, thus says the Lord Yahweh: You, Tyre, have said, I am perfect in beauty. 4 Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders have perfected your beauty.
10 Persia and Lud and Put were in your army, your men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in you; they showed your beauty. 11 The men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around, and valorous men were in your towers; they hanged their shields on your walls all around; they have perfected your beauty.

Ezekiel 28:1 Yahweh’s word came again to me, saying, 2 Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the middle of the seas; yet you are man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God—
6 therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because you have set your heart as the heart of God, 7 therefore, behold, I will bring strangers on you, the terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and they shall defile your brightness.
11 Moreover Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: You seal up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness: I have cast you to the ground; I have laid you before kings, that they may see you.

Zechariah 9:16 Yahweh their God will save them in that day as the flock of his people;
for they are like the jewels of a crown,
lifted on high over his land.
17a For how great is his goodness,
and how great is his beauty!

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things. 

There are also a number of uses of the word, "beautiful" in the Bible. Genesis 12 refers to Sarai (later called Sarah), Abraham's wife, as beautiful. 1 Samuel 25:3 says that the woman, Abigail, was beautiful. Deuteronomy 12:11 speaks of the possibility of capturing a beautiful woman in war.  David, as a youth, was called beautiful in 1 Samuel 25:3. So was Moses, as a baby, in Acts 7:20 and Hebrews 11:23. Several women, including Bathsheba, David's daughter Tamar, and his granddaughter Tamar, Abishag, who took care of David in his last days, Esther, Job's daughters, the woman in Song of Solomon are called beautiful. Other entities are called beautiful, in both Testaments. Joshua 7:21 speaks of Achan, who took a beautiful cloak from Jericho, which he should not have done. Isaiah 52:7 says that the feet of those who bring good news are beautiful, and this is quoted in Romans 10:15. Ezekiel 16, 23 and 31 speak of beautiful things being taken away from people because of their misbehavior. Matthew 26:10 and Mark 14:6 quote Jesus, as saying that the woman who anointed him had done a beautiful thing. Acts 3 says that one of the gates of the Temple was named Beautiful. Ecclesiastes 3:11a says "He has made everything beautiful in its time."

Thanks for reading!

*  *  *  *  * 

Added October 30, 2012.

Note the number of women, some of them mature, designated as beautiful in the above list, compared to only two men, one a baby, and one a youth. I suppose this reflects the culture of Bible times. The same would be true of my own culture -- few men would be called beautiful, whereas many women are. Is this because of the way we perceive each other, in other words, is this cultural? Is it biological, somehow built in? I don't know. It is also possible that God, Himself, sees women as more beautiful than men.

Warning passages in Hebrews: Table

Warning Passages in Hebrews (All Scripture quoted from the World English Bible, public domain.)	Persons warned	Punishment predicted
Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away. 3a how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation [?]	“We”	Not specific
Hebrews 3:12 Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God	“Brothers” (and sisters)	Not specific
Hebrews 4:11 Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience.	“Us”	Not entering “rest”
Hebrews 6:4 For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame.	Enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted God’s word, and powers of the age to come	Won’t be able to repent
Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, 27a but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, 29 How much worse punishment do you think he will be judged worthy of who . . . has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?	“We,” if we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth; and have been sanctified	No more sacrifice for sins, but judgment and punishment
Hebrews 12:14 Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord, 15a looking carefully lest there be any man who falls short of the grace of God;. . . like Esau, who sold his birthright for one meal. 17 For you know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for a change of mind though he sought it diligently with tears.	“Any man (or woman) who falls short of the grace of God”	Falling short of the grace of God, can’t repent.

The above chart is an attempt to show the "warning passages" from Hebrews in a single table.

Who was Hebrews written to? (In other words, who are “we” and “us”?) The NIV Study Bible indicates that it was written primarily to Jewish Christians. So do these verses from the book: (World English Bible, public domain)

Hebrews 1:1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.

2:3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation—which at the first having been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard; 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, by various works of power, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?

You may want to see this post, on the characteristics that Christians should have, according to the Bible.

The warning passages in Hebrews aren't the whole story. There are warning passages elsewhere in the Bible. There are also indications that God is able to keep Christians from falling, as in 7:25 Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.

Some people believe that the warning passages in the Bible indicate that a person who is saved can become lost, and the warning passages in Hebrews are evidence for that. They believe that, although God is able to keep us from falling, we can still choose to disobey and fall away. The warnings in Hebrews 6 and 10 seem to be speaking to mature believers, sanctified believers.

Those who don't believe that a believer can become lost argue that the warning passages were not really written to Christians, but to some who associated with Christians, perhaps thought they were Christians, but really were not. Here's a scholarly example of such an argument.

I am not going to settle the question of whether believers can fall away or not. (There's a Wikipedia article on the Perseverance of the Saints, which covers the subject pretty well.) Many people, smarter than I, have been unable to settle the question over several centuries of Christian thought. But there is a much more important question, namely, "am I really committed to following Christ now, do I have a relationship with Him, and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, am I doing my best to keep from sinning?"

Thanks for reading!

Genetic engineering may be used to change DNA in a human egg

National Public Radio reports that some scientists are considering changing some of the DNA in a human egg, so that the resulting offspring would not have an inherited disease. Up until this point, genetic engineering has been used only to change the DNA of a child, so that the results of genes in that child that cause disease can be mitigated. (See here for the Wikipedia article on genetic engineering.)

As the article points out, there are a number of ethical concerns, such as whether it is acceptable to use human eggs for this purpose, whether it's acceptable to modify an egg in such a way, whether there is potential harm to any offspring born, as a result of such a procedure, whether it's acceptable to treat women in this way, and whether we have any business tinkering with reproduction in this way. Up till now, genetic engineering in humans has not been used to change the type of fertilized egg produced, which, of course, could lead to a change in the offspring produced, and to that change being perpetuated in the population as the offspring had descendants.

On the other hand, there is certainly potential for alleviating harm, and lots of it. If, for example, sickle cell anemia, or Lou Gehrig's disease, could be stamped out by genetically engineering eggs, should we do it?

Good question. The answer depends a lot on the answers to the questions about ethical concerns. It also depends on motive -- why would we do this? To make money? To win Nobel Prizes? There are questions of justice that the report doesn't mention, either. Assuming that we decide to do this, what conditions, in what populations, do we consider treating in this way? Which ones don't we treat, or don't we treat right away? How do we make these choices? God help us, either way.

Sunspots 389

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

Science: Thekidshouldseethis.com is a blog of cool videos, related to science, that, as the title indicates, the kids (and probably you) should see.

Todd's blog reports that changing a protein slightly doesn't necessarily mean that it won't function -- in other words, all mutations are not bad. Furthermore, there is evidence, in the experiments he reports on, that a protein can take on a new function. (Note -- Todd is a Young-Earth Creationist.)

Politics:  Wired has a page that lets you check on who is contributing to political candidates. (Some contributions are anonymous.) I discovered that my Congressperson's largest named contributor was something called the American Crystal Sugar Company Political Action Committee.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has removed Mormons (Latter-Day Saints) from their list of cults, apparently for political purposes.

Christianity: Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength asks why Christ gave the Great Commission, and how it should be treated.

Image source (public domain)

Mole Day today!

I just found out that today is Mole Day, which, according to the Wikipedia, is "celebrated among chemists on October 23, between 6:02 AM and 6:02 PM,^[1][2][3] making the date 6:02 10/23 in the American style of writing dates. The time and date are derived from Avogadro's number, which is approximately 6.02×10²³, defining the number of particles (atoms or molecules) in one mole of substance . . ."

In other words, strictly a holiday for nerds, and has nothing to do with the mammal that lives mostly underground, including under the surface of our lawn, at times, except that it's OK to use mole, in any sense, in puns.

Here's a web page on the history of National Mole Day.

There's a National Mole Day Foundation. You can join it, by paying moledues.

There's at least one page of Mole Day jokes. Sample: "molearchy - government in which moles are in complete control; under this government Mole Day is celebrated three times a year and chemistry is the only scientific subject taught in school"

Happy Mole Day!