Enjoy

6.27.19

Ava and Reese 

Enjoy
Freedom
享受自由 
Xiǎngshòu zìyóu
自由を享受する
Jiyū o kyōju suru
ps90
frui libertate

The afternoon breeze
blew through the trees
dispersing storm tossed leaves.

The place away from danger is a refuge.
Refugees flee to find safety for their use.

Like wolves we chose to move even in the night
to escape certain death as our plight.

This has been true from one generation to another.
War has been against your fellow man as brother.

It has driven non-combatants to a place that is other
than the one in which we had taken succor.

Spoils and taxes have driven war against some flutter
of threat created by news of some slaughtering snuffer.

War has to be limited to defense to be just.
The limitation will guide those who govern for us.

A thousand years in divine sight
are like one watch within the night.

We had been swept away like a dream.
Like the grass in the morning, we were green
then, we lost the moisture to feed our need.
We withered brown by the evening due to heat.

We consumed too much in displeasure.
We took beyond the seasoned measure.

We lost our faith for fear of wrath.
We lost our health upon this path.

We didn't change to meet the challenge.
Iniquity prevented the savagery to manage.

Guilt from secret sins held movement in check.
Power as a motive had become a train wreck.

Destruction makes sure the days are gone.
Years are shortened before they grow long.

The span of life is eighty years.
It's more like ninety when we shed fears with tears.

The sum of life is labor and sorrow
when we don't build law with love for tomorrow.

The power of production replaces wrath with math.
This is the power that civilization has.

Seek good, not evil, that you may live
as a model for living as one who gives.

Hate evil and love good for justice in the gate
to manage resources with patience in how to participate.

Who can be saved when judgment condemns the person?
Immortal strength selects statements that strengthen benign purpose.

Knowledge is like standing on a chair to get closer to the moon.
A step back for perspective will produce a fall with a consequential tune.

Different frames for perception produce a race
for perspective on how to rule out what is not the case.

The insect that lighted on the girl on a horse
was brushed away as the ordinary course
without remorse.

The pear blossom blooms in the early Spring.
The tree is seen as a beautiful thing.

Terrific thunder from the elder brother
produced good fortune unique to each other.

We have a high priest who has passed through the heavens.
Salvation from the Son of God lets us hold fast to our confession.

The one who serves Christ is acceptable for approval.
Slavery as protected by law has met with removal.

The Son has the power to take up life again.
The Spirit resurrects for the imminent presence to attend.

Variance in production with instruction from time
makes the value of our products seem sublime.

Learn from experience to teach yourself measure.
It is the gold which life does so highly treasure.

Replace the daze of affliction in adversity
with the ways of satisfaction in maturity.

Time turns mind back to the dust to say,
"Go back to earth like a child at play."

Who feels the power of your presence?
You are in the wonder of the divine essence.

Who loves the real feeling of true power?
You are growing in strength by the hour.

Teach us to value time for our hearts in wisdom.
We will learn to see mission with our vision.

How long will you wait?
Get this goal straight.

Be gracious with your love.
It is the message that came from above with the dove.

Satisfy us with your kindness in the morning,
so we may weather storms as life's adorning.

Make us glad by the measure of the days
in which we were afflicted in ways
that the endurance of adversity will be raised
as the emblem of virtue to be praised.

Show your work to your loved ones.
Your splendor will shine like the sun.

Productive action makes the power to alleviate distress.
The rule for production blends thought into action to eliminate mess.

May your grace be with us.
The fruit of labor will be discussed.

We see that we saw the soul as one
in the products of our love.

-----------------------

Psalm 90
Domine, refugium
Dominated, our refuge

1 Lord, you have been our refuge
from one generation to another.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or the land and the earth were born,
from age to age you are God.
3 You turn us back to the dust and say,
"Go back, O child of earth."
4 For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past
and like a watch in the night.
5 You sweep us away like a dream;
we fade away suddenly like the grass.
6 In the morning it is green and flourishes;
in the evening it is dried up and withered.
7 For we consume away in your displeasure;
we are afraid because of your wrathful indignation.
8 Our iniquities you have set before you,
and our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
9 When you are angry, all our days are gone;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The span of our life is seventy years,
perhaps in strength even eighty;
yet the sum of them is but labor and sorrow,
for they pass away quickly and we are gone.
11 Who regards the power of your wrath?
who rightly fears your indignation?
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord; how long will you tarry?
be gracious to your servants.
14 Satisfy us by your loving-kindness in the morning;
so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.
15 Make us glad by the measure of the days that you afflicted us
and the years in which we suffered adversity.
16 Show your servants your works
and your splendor to their children.
17 May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us;
prosper the work of our hands;
prosper our handiwork.

-----------------------
Romans 14:18

The one who serves Christ is acceptable to God for human approval.

-----------------------

The one who serves Christ is acceptable for approval.
Slavery as protected by law has met with removal.

=================
John 10:18

'The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. I laid it down of my own accord. I have the power to lay it down. I have the power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.'

-----------------------

The Son has the power to take up life again.
The Spirit resurrects for the imminent to attend.

=================
Reservations

----------------------
Ps.90:1

Lord, you have been our refuge
from one generation to another.

----------------------

Cornelius Hill
b. November 13, 1834, tribal land in Wisconsin
d. January 26, 1907, Oneida, Wisconsin

He was ordained to the diaconate on June 27, 1895.

The native name for Cornelius Hill  was Onan-gwat-go (“Big Medicine”). He was the last hereditary chief of the Oneida Nation. He also served as a priest for the Episcopal Church in the United States of America in his last years.

Cornelius was born on tribal lands in Wisconsin in 1834. His parents belonged to the Oneida tribe. The Oneida were with the Iroquois confederacy in New York state. They were known for their longhouses and communal lifestyle.

They were not opposed to settlement or agriculture. The period of time into which he was born was characterized by significant change in the relations between Native and European Americans.

About 80,000 members of the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole Nations lived on land that many Americans felt could be more profitably farmed and settled by non-Indians by the early 1830’s.

All five nations had signed treaties with the US government guaranteeing the right to live in their ancestral lands and maintain their sovereign systems of tribal government.  These nations were unwilling to negotiate new treaties with the federal government that would give away any of their territory.

President Andrew Jackson decided that a new federal policy would be necessary in order to remove the natives from their lands.  He supported the Removal Act of 1830. This gave the President the right to make land "exchanges" by forcibly removing the five tribes from their ancestral lands against their will.

The men who created the reservation system believed that if natives could be confined to one particular geographical place reserved for them they could become 'civilized" and assimilated into American life.

They could be encouraged to stop being nomadic and to become settled like white men. The reservations were to make sure the remaining tribes were converted to Christianity, taught English, sewing and small-scale farming. The goal was to make them Americanized in the European American way.

----------------------
Amos 5:15

Hate evil and love good.
Establish justice in the gate.
It may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph

 ----------------------

An Episcopal missionary by the name of Rev. James Lloyd Breck escorted the ten year old Cornelius and two other boys to Nashotah House to learn English in 1843. The boys were to be educated by Episcopal bishop Jackson Kemper and other missionaries for five years.

Hill became a chief for the Bear clan as a teenager at a council of Oneida from New York, Canada and Wisconsin. He was given the responsibility for distributing the annuity money from previous treaties among his people at age 18.

He was later given responsibility for taking the census of tribal members. The number of members doubled in Wisconsin in the course of his office. Hill went to Albany, New York and Washington, D.C. to advocate for his people several times.

Federal Law

The Indian Trade and Intercourse Act of 1790 had placed nearly all interaction between Indians and non-Indians under federal control. A judge from a state could not arbitrate  disputes.

The jurisdiction for the US government included the buying and selling of Indian land. It also established new boundaries for Indian Country, protected Indian lands against non-Indian aggression, subjected trade with Indians to federal regulation, and stipulated that injuries against Indians by non-Indians was a federal crime.

The conduct of Indians among themselves while in their country was left to the tribal leadership.  Indian people saw their lands greatly diminished between 1763 and 1889 despite the initial attempt to respect their lands and rights.

Eastern and Plains Indian nations lost the range of their ancestral homeland. Nations on the West Coast also suffered great losses.  Oregon tribes lost the majority of their territory beginning in 1841, continuing in 1864 and ending in 1880.

California native tribes suffered a similar fate beginning with the 1848 discovery of gold. The loss of land continued with the 1850’s negotiations of eighteen treaties in northern California that were never ratified by the U.S. government. The rapid loss of land decreased as the 19th century came to a close.

The Dawes Act of 1887 divided tribal allocations into individual properties. It was a way of reducing the land protected by treaties. It was also part of the movement to assimilate native Americans in European American traditions.

The major distinction between the two cultures was that of settled versus nomadic lifestyles. The reservations and the individual land allocations were a way to insist on the right to private property.
European American Culture

Tribal land was broken up and given to individuals.  These plots could not be sold for 25 years, but reservation land left over after the distribution of allotments could be sold to outsiders. The US government sold the "excess" land to whites to help expose Indians to the civilizing effects of mainstream American society after the allotment process was completed.

[Citizens or not, the Apostles insisted on abstinence from meat sacrificed to idols. It was a more contentious issue than it may have seemed. The author of the letter to the Romans was moving Christendom away from the apostolic injunction against said sacrifice.]

---------------------
Romans 14:17

The kingdom of God is not food and drink. It is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

---------------------

Cornelius used his knowledge of tribal history from New York and his communication skills to defend native allocations.

Rev. Edward A. Goodnough worked among the Oneidas as a missionary and teacher from 1853 to 1890. Hill had served with him as an organist and interpreter for Episcopal services. He thought ordination would bring additional authority among whites to help him become a bridge between the cultures.

Hill and Goodnough's successor, Rev. Solomon S. Burleson, was also a lawyer and doctor. He had negotiated with the federal government to secure a hospital for the reservation in 1893. The Sisters of the Holy Nativity for nuns were designated to work in the hospital and educate tribal members.

Agriculture

Hill also helped tribal members learn new farming techniques and secure machinery. Women made baskets and beadwork for sale. They learned to make lace to support themselves in the modernized world after 1900.

Tribal members had volunteered at a limestone quarry one day a week since 1870. They laid the cornerstone for a new gothic stone chapel in order to dress stone for a new church building in 1887.

They named the building the Church of the Holy Apostles.

Church of the Holy Apostles
Oneida, Wisconsin

The Church of the Holy Apostles in NY was the oldest Indian mission of the Episcopal Church. The name traces its roots to the earliest Anglican missionaries from the Church of England and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.  The mission was established in the area that would later become central New York around Oneida Lake.

Bishop John Henry Hobart of New York licensed Mr. Eleazer Williams as Lay Reader, Catechist and Schoolmaster to the Oneida about 1815 at the earnest request of the Oneida chiefs.

Williams would become the first Episcopal missionary in Wisconsin. He played a major role in the removal of the Oneida from New York to Wisconsin.

The Oneida Indians settled and built a log church building in 1825 in the vicinity of Duck Creek after removing from New York in the 1820’s. Duck Creek was about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Green Bay.

Williams also translated parts of the Prayer Book and certain hymns into the Mohawk tongue.
He wrote a letter to the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, the missionary arm of the Episcopal Church, on December 2, 1822.  He requested the establishment of a mission.

The Rev. Norman Nash was appointed as an official missionary on May 22, 1823 for the area around Green Bay. He did not arrive until 1825. Williams had been ordained Deacon in 1824 and undoubtedly held services at Oneida among the Indians.

A larger wood frame "Gothic" church building was built by the Oneidas after out-growing the log church.  The laying of the cornerstone on August 7, 1838 was by Bishop Jackson Kemper, the first Missionary Bishop of the Episcopal Church. It was his first official act in the territory.

The third and present stone church building was built with the support of the Rev. E. A. Goodnough.  The building plan was prepared by the Rev. Charles Babcock, who was also an architect, as a gift to the mission.

------------------------
John 10:7

Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.’

------------------------

Bishop Charles C. Grafton ordained Hill a deacon on June 27, 1895. Hill was ordained as a priest in 1903. He was the first of his people to serve in the office. He repeated his vows in his native language.

Hill died on January 26, 1907. He was buried on the reservation in the Church of the Holy Apostles graveyard.

Fire from a lightning strike on July 17, 1920 destroyed the gothic stone church. It was rebuilt in a similar design.

The Oneida continued to revere Hill's wisdom and sanctity. They related tales about him to Works Progress Administration historians during the Great Depression.

Cornelius Hill
科尼利厄斯和力
科尼利厄斯和力

科 Ke       rules                        科  ka          course           Ko   こ-  コ-           Go  고  the         
尼  ni       nun                        尼   ni            nun                ne     ね    ネ          nel  넬  Nell                   
利  li         to benefit              利   ri            profit              ri      り    リ          lyo  료  ryo         
厄  e         distressed              厄   yaku      bad luck          a      あ    ア          Hil   힐  hill                   
斯  si         this                       斯   shi          this                 su    す    ス                             
和  He       to blend                和  wa           harmony        Hi     ひ     ヒ             
力   li         power                  力   ryoku      power            ru     る     ル                               

-----------------------

Productive action makes the power to alleviate distress.
The rule for production blends thought into action to eliminate mess.                                                   

===============

wiki Cornelius Hill
wiki Church of the Holy Apostles, Oneida, Wisconsin
Turning Points in Wisconsin History: Settlement
Turning Pts: Indians in the 20th c.
HistoryToday: Native Americans and the Federal Gvt.
http://americanindiantah.com/…/nar_19thcenturyrelations.html

Revere

6.1.19

Revere
Life
反抗生活 
Fǎnkàng shēnghuó
リヴィア生活
Rivu~ia seikatsu
ps116
revere vitae

I love that I found help when I needed it.
Salvation came and I heeded it.

I felt desperate. My mind cried for direction.
Choice was compressed to this bit. I had to select protection 
from the danger of dereliction.

I found what I needed before the moment of crisis.
The rightness in choice was decisive. 

The cords of death had entangled me.
My sight was so strangled, I had to get free.

The grip of the grave grapple grabbed
until my adam's apple gagged
while seeing the sensible source sag 
from the sense perception had.

Sorrow drove sadness to the threshold of pain.
The horror drove madness to enfold the insane.

Then I cried for help
after yapping a yelp,
“What do I have to do to find safety?
I need it now. I need it greatly.”

The success of salvation is gracious.
It was so efficacious, it was almost salacious.

Nothing else is quite so profound
as wonder in the world once it has been found.

Defense is granted to the watchful
if only because the thoughtful 
watch for the goodness of the gospel.

I felt that I fell very low, but I was helped.
I exempted contempt for what I was dealt.

It is time to rest
now that I have been blessed
with the quest to sing of salvation with zest.

Stress from the test has worn my torn soul.
I will do my best to celebrate life as a whole.

I was rescued from death.
Help was given in the test.

My eyes shed natural tears.
I was grateful for my years.

My feet did not stumble
though I felt glad and humble.

I will walk in the presence 
of the divine essence
in the land of the living
to give thanks for the giving.

I believed even when 
I had been brought to a bend.
Then I said, 
“No one can be trusted
when your trust has been busted.”

False prophets lead those who believe them astray.
Truth is the safeguard against fake news for the day. 

How will I repay my debt
without regret 
for all the good things 
carried by angel wings?

I will lift up the cup of salvation 
and hold it high as a libation.

I will fulfill my promise to live
with reverence for life as a gift
in the rule of law that we win
in transcending sin.

Precious in the sight of divine Light
is the death of those who defended rights.
They lived good lives.

The transcendence of punishment for false conviction was celebrated
when Christ as the power of God on the cross was elevated.

The reward for agreement with the commandment to love is eternal life.
The Son spoke as the Father had granted inheritance to overcome strife.

I am a defender of rights. 
I have been resurrected as a good life
by the experience that brought me past strife. 

I tasted a glimpse of the abyss.
It was black and gray with white lights in the tryst.

I have been freed from the world of discrimination
to recount deliverance by narration.

My ear has been opened.
I hear sounds that are spoken.

From the same mouth come blessing and curse.
Speech should be the garden ground for verse.

Who do you say that I am?
You are anointed to pass the exam.

I was not rebellious,
reckless or helpless.

I did not turn backwards.
I spoke in exact words.

Bravery is most bold when prepared.
Faith looks for benign design to be shared.

Traditional revival celebrates regression to the legal process.
Conservative reform pushes for manageable progress.

Time starts to grow bold.
The word shares the beauty of hope.

Hope desires goodness
to add to the fullness.

Measure the base 
to secure great restraint.

The bug pulls this stem.
You straighten the hem.

The water's edge reached up onto the sand
in resignation to the limit allowed by gravity and land.

The bridge to love leads the way
to the right thing to do or say.

We are among those who have faith with courage.
We don't shrink back to be lost or discouraged.

I will offer thanksgiving as my sacrifice.
I will give thanks to the Giver of life.

The faithful abide in love with truth.
Grace and mercy act like salve that soothes.

I will speak with reason for the reasonable acceptance
of benefit for people in the presence 
of the divine essence
in the assembly in public
in the city of peace that is love lit
by the waters near where the dove sits. 

Yea Yah!
You fill me with awe!


---------------------------

116 Dilexi, quoniam
I love, because

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of
my supplication,
because he has inclined his ear to me whenever
I called upon him.
2 The cords of death entangled me;
the grip of the grave took hold of me;
I came to grief and sorrow.
3 Then I called upon the Name of the Lord:
"O Lord, I pray you, save my life."
4 Gracious is the Lord and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
5 The Lord watches over the innocent;
I was brought very low, and he helped me.
6 Turn again to your rest, O my soul.
for the Lord has treated you well.
7 For you have rescued my life from death,
my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.
8 I will walk in the presence of the Lord
in the land of the living.
9 I believed, even when I said,
"I have been brought very low."
In my distress I said, "No one can be trusted."
10 How shall I repay the Lord
for all the good things he has done for me?
11 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call upon the Name of the Lord.
12 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
13 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his servants.
14 O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant and the child of your handmaid;
you have freed me from my bonds.
15 I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call upon the Name of the Lord.
16 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
17 In the courts of the Lord's house,
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!

------------------------

1 Corinth. 1:22-24

Jews demand signs. Greeks seek wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified. The crucifixion is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. Christ is the power and wisdom of God to those who are called. both Jews and Greeks.

--------------------------

The transcendence of punishment for false conviction was celebrated
when Christ as the power of God on the cross was elevated.

===============

John 12:50

I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak as the Father has told me.

----------------------------

The reward for agreement with the commandment to love is eternal life.
The Son spoke as the Father had granted inheritance to overcome strife.

================

Impartial Judgement

Justin Martyr
b. 100 Flavia Neapolis, Judea
d. 165 Rome, Roman Empire

Justin was an early Christian apologist. He is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century. He was martyred alongside some of his students. He is respected as a saint by the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Two of his apologies and a dialogue survived. The First Apology defended the morality of the Christian life. Various ethical and philosophical arguments were expressed to convince the Roman emperor, Antoninus, to abandon the persecution of the Church.

He also indicated that the "true religion" predated Christianity. The "seeds of Christianity" actually came before Christ's incarnation. These were manifestations of the Logos acting in history.

This notion allowed him to claim that historical Greek philosophers including Socrates and Plato were pre-Christians. The philosophical expression showed respect for moral standards that anticipated the morality of the Christian religion.

Flavia Neapolis

Flavia Neapolis translates from Latin as the "new city of the emperor Flavius." It was named in 72 CE by the Roman emperor Vespasian (r. 69-79). The name took the place of an older Samaritan village, variously called Mabartha ("the passage") or Mamorpha.

The settlement was located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. The new city lay 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of the Biblical city of Shechem which was destroyed by the Romans that same year during the First Jewish-Roman War.

Joseph's Tomb and Jacob's Well were holy places in the city. Neapolis prospered due to the city's strategic geographic position and the abundance of water from nearby springs. Territory was accumulated including the former Judean toparchy of Acraba.

The city was built on a Roman grid plan insofar as the hilly topography of the site would allow. It was settled with veterans who fought in the victorious legions. Other foreign colonists immigrated there as well.

Trajan became the emperor of Rome in 98. Trajan is remembered as a soldier-emperor who presided over the largest military expansion in Roman history. The empire attained its maximum territorial extent by the time of his death (117).

Emperor Hadrian (r.117-138) built a grand theater in Neapolis that could seat up to 7,000 people in the 2nd century CE.

Coins found in Nablus dating to this period depict Roman military emblems and gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon such as Zeus, Artemis, Serapis, and Asklepios. Neapolis was entirely pagan at this time.

He is also known for his philanthropic rule. He had public building programs and implemented social welfare policies. He was the second of the Five Good Emperors who presided over an era of peace and prosperity in the Mediterranean world.

Justin

Justin was born into a pagan family in Flavius Neapolis, Samaria (now Nables) in 100. He defined himself as a Gentile. His grandfather, Bacchius, had a Greek name, while his father, Priscus, bore a Latin name.

The names support the speculation that his ancestors settled in Neapolis soon after its establishment. They may have been descended from a Roman "diplomatic" community that had been sent there.

He sought to find life's meaning in the philosophies of his day. This brought a series of disappointments, but he established a connection between Christian and Greek apologetic.

His first teacher was a Stoic who "knew nothing of God and did not even think knowledge of him to be necessary." There followed a Peripatetic (itinerant philosopher), who seemed most interested in getting his fees.

Then came a Pythagorean, but his required course of music, astronomy and geometry seemed far too slow. Finally, Platonism, though intellectually demanding, proved unfulfilling for Justin's hungry heart.

His life was transformed at last after a conversation with an old man around 130: "A fire was suddenly kindled in my soul. I fell in love with the prophets and these men who had loved Christ; I reflected on all their words and found that this philosophy alone was true and profitable. That is how and why I became a philosopher. And I wish that everyone felt the same way that I do."

Justin continued to wear his philosopher's cloak. He sought to reconcile faith and reason. His teaching ministry took him first to Ephesus (c. 132) where he held a disputation with Trypho, a Jew, about the true interpretation of Scripture.

The Dialogue with Trypho teaches three main points. The Old Covenant is passing away to make place for the New. The Logos is the God of the Old Testament and the Gentiles are the new Israel.

These points were conceptually clear with respect for Christian reason, but they presented a problem to the status of the Jewish homeland. Jerusalem had been destroyed in 70. Jews were forbidden to live there.

The Jewish and Roman cultures began to overlap in the centuries just before the Christian Era.
Jews migrated to Rome and Roman Europe from the Land of Israel, Asia Minor, Babylon and Alexandria as part of the diaspora. The migration was stimulated by economic hardship and incessant warfare over the land of Israel between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires.

The Roman general Pompey in his eastern campaign established the Roman province of Syria in 64 BCE and conquered Jerusalem in 63. Julius Caesar conquered Alexandria c. 47 and defeated Pompey in 45. Judaism was officially recognized as a legal religion under Julius Caesar. The policy was followed by the first Roman emperor, Augustus.

Herod the Great was designated 'King of the Jews' by the Roman Senate in c. 40. The Roman province of Egypt was established in 30. Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea (biblical Edom) were converted to the Roman province of Iudaea in 6 CE.

Jewish–Roman tensions resulted in several Jewish–Roman wars from 66–135. These battles resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple. The Jewish Tax was instituted in 70. Hadrian's attempted to create a new Roman colony named Aelia Capitolina c. 130.

Christianity was being developed from Second Temple Judaism by this time.

Jewish communities enjoyed privileges and thrived economically in Rome. They became a significant part of the Empire's population. The size may have grown to as much as ten percent. The Roman Twelve tables were a summary of the law. The Romans had seen that the Jews had a respect for law. They were educated enough to see that the ten commandments represented a better summary.

They also knew that they were willing to modify the code that had been established in Sumeria, Assyria, Babylon and Persia. 

It is difficult to say when the plan to convert Roman culture to monotheism was formed, but it is conceivable that Vespasian and Josephus agreed to formulate a biblical canon for a Gentile monotheism after Vespasian had adopted Josephus as his historian.

Justin moved to Rome and founded a Christian school. He engaged the Cynic philosopher Crescens in debate. He was arrested on the charge of practicing an unauthorized religion.

He wrote two bold apologies (i.e., defenses—from the Greek apologia). Justin's First Apology, addressed to Emperor Antoninus Pius, was published in 155. It attempted to explain the faith.

Christianity was not a threat to the state. It should be treated as a legal religion. He wrote "on behalf of men of every nation who are unjustly hated and reviled."

Antoninus Pius was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. Hadrian (r.117-138) adopted him as his son and successor shortly before his death. His reign is notable for the peaceful state of the Empire with no major revolts or military incursions during this time. He governed the empire without ever leaving Italy.

Antoninus portrayed himself as a magistrate of the res publica. He is credited with the splitting of the imperial treasury, the Fiscus. This splitting had to do with the division of imperial properties into two parts. The patrimonium were the properties of the "Crown."

The hereditary properties of each succeeding person that sat on the throne were transmitted to his successors in office regardless of their membership in the imperial family. Secondly, the res privata were the "private" properties tied to the personal maintenance of the Emperor and his family.

The res privata lands could be sold and/or given away. The patrimonium properties were regarded as public. It was a way of declaring that the Imperial function and most properties attached to it was public. It was formally subject to the authority of the Senate and the Roman people.

Antoninus introduced the important principle that accused persons are not to be treated as guilty before trial. It was to Antonius that the Christian apologist Justin Martyr addressed his defense of the Christian faith. Justin reminded him of his father's (Emperor Hadrian's) rule that accusations against Christians required proof.

He also asserted the principle that the trial was to be held and the punishment inflicted in the place where the crime had been committed. He mitigated the use of torture in examining slaves by stipulating certain limitations.

He prohibited the application of torture to children under 14 years though this rule had exceptions. Other limitations were applied to the use of torture and slavery.

Antoninus favored the principle of favor libertatis. This principle gave the putative freedman the benefit of the doubt when the claim to freedom was not clearcut.

Justin defended Christianity as a rational creed. He included an account of the Christian ceremonies of Baptism and the Eucharist.

Justin discussed the principal criticisms of contemporary Christians. These criticisms were presented as charges. The charges were atheism, immorality and disloyalty to the Empire.

He first argued that “the name” of Christianity by itself was not reason enough to punish or persecute. He urged the Empire to only punish evil actions instead. He wrote, “For from a name neither approval nor punishment could fairly come, unless something excellent or evil in action can be shown about it.”

He then addressed the charges more directly. He argued that they were “atheists” toward Roman gods, but not to the “most true God.” He acknowledged that some Christians had performed immoral acts, but urged officials to punish the individuals as evildoers rather than Christians.

Justin demonstrated his desire to separate the Christian name from the evil acts performed by certain individuals with this claim. He lamented how criminals tarnished the name of Christianity and were not true “Christians.”

He addressed the alleged disloyalty to the Empire. Christians do seek to be members of another kingdom, but this kingdom is “of that with God” rather than a “human one.”

He remarked that Christianity provides moral teaching for its followers. Many of the Christian teachings paralleled similar stories in pagan mythology. It was irrational for contemporary pagans to persecute Christians.

One of Justin’s most important themes involved his description of the logos. The word was a philosophical concept of order in reason with knowledge expressed by Heraclitus. Justin argued that Jesus Christ is the incarnation of the Logos.

This led him to the proof that any individual who had spoken with reason even those who lived before Christ are connected with the logos in the form of Christ are Christian in fact.

This theme was paramount to understanding Justin’s defense of Christianity. It was a groundbreaking statement in Christian apologetic. The use of the term “logos” indicated the use of prior philosophical teachings, but these teachings represented partial truth. They possessed and were connected with part of the overall logos.

Christianity represented the full truth (logos). Faith was not only a meaningful philosophy, it also completed and corrected prior thought to achieve the highest level of knowledge with reason.

The Second Apology was addressed to the Roman Senate. It was chiefly concerned with the rebuttal to specific charges of immorality that had been made against the Christians. He argued that good Christians make good citizens. The notion that Christianity undermined the foundations of a good society was based on slander.

Justin recounted the story of a certain woman who on hearing the teaching of Jesus and having become a Christian refused to comply with the immoral practices of her husband. The disagreements were so severe that she desired to be divorced. She was not encouraged to do so.

She continued in that relationship until it became ethically unlivable. She gave him a bill of divorce. The husband retaliated by bringing accusations against her before the Emperor. When he couldn't do anything to have her punished, he turned against the Christian leaders. The prefect Urbicus began a persecution.

It was the fallen angels and demons who incited such hatred and evil against the people of God. This view was in accord with the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch), which Justin viewed as scripture.

These demons are the spirits of those offspring born through the union of fallen angels and women before the Flood. They control humans through magic arts, libations and intimidating systems that hold people in bondage. They are exorcised by the Christians in the name of Jesus. All those in whom the Word dwells have been hated. Heraclitus and Musonius are examples.

The Christians were being accused of cannibalism and sexual immorality. Justin asked that if the Christians were pleasure-mongers, then why would they be fearless in the face of death for faithfulness to what they believe. Their faithfulness to Christ when threatened with torture or death proved that they are not pleasure seekers.

It was the accusers who had a system of religion in which humans were sacrificed to gods such as Saturn. Sexual immorality was openly practiced by them without shame.

Justin argued that if any group were to be persecuted, it should be the homosexuals that should be charged with sexual immorality. The replacement group argument for persecution was morally misdirected. It was implemented for centuries whenever the Roman government felt the people needed a group from whom to draw material wealth for the 'empire.' 

He was confident that his teaching was that of the Church at large. He knows of a division among the orthodox only on the question of the millennium and on the attitude toward the milder Jewish Christianity.

He personally was willing to tolerate the division as long as its professors in their turn did not interfere with the liberty of the Gentile converts. His millenarianism seems to have no connection with Judaism, but he believes firmly in a millennium in the Christian eschatology.

Justin saw himself as a scholar, but his skills in Hebrew were either non-existent or minimal. He published an attack on Judaism after collaborating with a Jewish convert to assist him with Hebrew. The criticism was based upon a no-longer-extant text of a Midrash.

Opposition to Judaism was typical of church leaders in his day. Justin was particularly antagonistic towards Jews and regarded them as a cursed people. His anti-Judaic polemics have been cited as an origin of Christian antisemitism. He was the first to argue that the Romans had no responsibility for the death of Jesus. He supported the idea of Jewish deicide.

Justin referred to written sources consisting of narratives of the life of Jesus and quotations of the sayings of Jesus as "memoirs of the apostles" and less frequently as gospels. He said the texts were read every Sunday in the church at Rome. The "memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are being read as long as it is allowable." (1 Apol. 67.3)

He was denounced by the cynic philosopher Crescens to the authorities after a debate with him in the reign of Marcus Aurelius according to Tatian (Address to the Greeks 19) and Eusebius (HE IV 16.7–8). Justin was tried together with six companions by Junius Rusticus the urban prefect from 163–167. His execution can reasonably be dated by the prefectoral term of Rusticus.

The prefect told the accused to approach to make a sacrifice to the gods. Justin said, "No one in his right mind gives up piety for impiety." The prefect warned them that they would be tortured without mercy if they did not obey.

Justin replied that it was their desire  to be tortured for Jesus Christ. Sacrifice for him would result in salvation. They would be given firm confidence at the more terrible universal tribunal of their Lord and Savior. All the martyrs said, "Do as you wish." They were Christians. They did not sacrifice to idols.

Rusticus read the sentence, "Those who do not wish to sacrifice to the gods and to obey the emperor will be scourged and beheaded according to the laws."

The martyrs were beheaded to consummate their confession of faith in their Savior.

Justin Martyr
S. 贾斯汀殉道者
T. 賈斯汀殉道者

贾 Jia      trade                    賈  ko      buy                            Ja   じゃ       ジャ      Jeo  저  moth     
斯 si        this                      斯  shi    this                             su   す          ス           seu  스  switch 
汀 ting   sandbank              汀   tei    water's edge               tin  てぃん  ティン   tin   틴   tin         
殉 Xun   martyr                  殉   jun   resignation                Jun  殉         殉           Sun  순  the       
道 dao    way                      道   do    road-way                   kyo  教         教           gyo  교  school 
者 zhe    he who                 者   sha   someone                  mono  者        者           ja     자  character                     
--------------------------

The water's edge reached up onto the sand
in resignation to the limit allowed by gravity and land.

===============

Lectionary Justin M
wiki Justin M
wiki Nablus Flavius Neapolis
Christianity Today Justin M

Take

Brittany Anne Pirtle
Power Rangers
RangerWiki

Take
Refuge
避難所を取る 
Hinansho o toru
ps 31

Take refuge.
Safety is your due.

I have taken refuge in you.
You keep me from feeling blue.

Don't make me regret my trust.
I feel like this will last beyond the dust.

Bring me civility.
Civility cultivates fertility.

Please listen.
My sweat glistens.

The clock is ticking.
My pulse quickens.

Time is escaping.
Reality is quaking.

Be my defense.
Let me see what is sure about sense.

You are my rock.
You walked the walk.

My foundation is sure.
My intention is pure.

Lead me in love.
Love me until I've won
time for fun.

Limit weapon use to defense.
Offense is not what's meant.

Let defense be defensive
Non-violence isn't offensive
but it doesn't rule out aggression.
Aggression isn't an excuse for violence,
cruelty in punishment or violet silence.

Deliver me from the trap they have set.
I won't enter into something I have to regret.

They have been exploiting trust.
They promised protection that would not rust.

You are my strength.
The measure extends beyond length.

I commend my spirit to your care.
Your love has led me to dare
to share.

You have redeemed me with truth.
Meaning gives trust that soothes.

My time is yours.
Design divined cures.

Help me to find independence.
Freedom in the law is sent from heaven.
Deliver me from deception and oppression.
The state created is not worthy of leaven.

Let your light shine through me.
Your joy in my face will be seen.
Your kindness will redeem me.
Your redemption will be believed.

I have taken refuge in you.
You kept me from feeling blue.

Safety is your due.
Take refuge.

Jeremiah 26:4-5
You shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5and to heed the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently—though you have not heeded— 6then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.

Acts 7:51-3
‘You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. 52Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. 53You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.’

Matt. 23:34-5
Therefore I send you prophets, sages and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, 35so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

Friday, December 26
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/weeks-sky-glance-dec-26-jan-3/
This is the time of year when Orion shines in the east-southeast after dinnertime. Although he's well up now, his three-star Belt is still nearly vertical. The Belt points up toward Aldebaran and, beyond Aldebaran, the Pleiades. In the other direction, the Belt points down to where bright Sirius is about to rise and twinkle furiously.

Saturday, December 27
The Moon is almost first-quarter this evening. Look above it at dusk, or to its upper right after dinnertime, for the Great Square of Pegasus. At dusk the Square is upright, as shown here. Later in the evening it turns to balance on one corner.

Win

David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson: The Fans Are Still Out There

Win
Direction.
勝つ方向 
Katsu Hoko
ps99

Win the detection of direction.

Who wins what, when?
Let the people assemble
to organize for public benefit.

What wins when for how many?
Consider the future for our children.

The right to life reduces strife.
It is the first principle for the rule of law.
The confession of profession decreases tension.

It is awesome to declare your own path; to proclaim
the detection of your direction with the help of instruction
is not an infection or an insurrection. It is affection 
for the people with whom you will work.

O mighty lover of equity, you have established 
justice as the goal for law in society.

Competition has helped to develop affinity for direction.
If you don't like the contest, you can find another area
to work as your arena.

Proclaim the greatness of your faith.
Stay with that which is right about your choices.

Don't hold on to the error of false beliefs. 
Delusion prevents learning from false statements.

Education looks for other affirmations to test.
Inference and deduction are tools for reason.
Observation tests knowledge for perspective.
Assimilation re-structures and adjusts 
paradigms for new information.

Reason speaks through each season.

The awesome stretch of the tornado's 
towering pillar of power tells us 
about atmospheric disturbance
of cloud.

The raging sage is in time but,
outside of imagined mind. It is caused 
by the change in temperature from coldness
to warmth. Our behavior has to adjust 
to the season for our protection.

We are not being told to destroy other people 
as a threat to our security. We are being directed
to build better shelters with plans for protection
based on knowledge known for our safety.

When we lived in the wilderness the pathways
of destruction were observed and avoided.

The land said something about the path
for the great spiral's pillage. Nooks and crannies
among rocks, in ditches or in places away 
from the destruction provided 
refuge from the storm.

Now we have radar vision 
and meters for electronic measure to tell us
when we have to go out there to watch 
for the funnel cloud as destroyer.

When shelter won't work, 
escape to safer ground will.

Insight is our height. Height still lends perspective
regarding the lay of the land, but insight gives us wings
for flight or cover for our protection.

Organization for safety from the destructiveness 
of the elements is our greatest protection, 
but salvation is the resurrection 
of good goals in political direction. 

99 Dominus regnavit

1 The Lord is King;
let the people tremble; *
he is enthroned upon the cherubim;
let the earth shake.
2 The Lord is great in Zion; *
he is high above all peoples.
3 Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *
he is the Holy One.
4 "O mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established equity; *
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob."
5 Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God
and fall down before his footstool; *
he is the Holy One.
6 Moses and Aaron among his priests,
and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *
they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *
they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.
8 "O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; *
you were a God who forgave them,
yet punished them for their evil deeds."
9 Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God
and worship him upon his holy hill; *
for the Lord our God is the Holy One.

Teach

Kate Upton: SI Swimsuit Fame

Teach
Love
愛を教えます 
Ai o oshiemasu
ps71

I have taken refuge in you.
Don't let me down.

Deliver me and set me free.
Listen to my petition. Help me.

Be my shelter, 
a house to keep me safe. 

You are the strength for my safety;
the sanctuary known as home.

Deliver me from harm 
from excessive competition
or adverse circumstance.

You are my hope, my faith,
my deliverance; the confidence
from my youth.

I have been sustained by you since birth.
You protected me when I was in the womb.

I will always be grateful 
for what you have done for me.

I have become a warning sign
to those who are against me,
but you are my refuge and strength.

I will sing praise for your glory
until the sun no longer shines.

Do not cast me off because of my age.
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

False statements are enemies to good thought. 
They are conceptions about perception 
that distract attention 
from perspective 
on true conceptual 
perception.

The enormity of conformity to personal authority
against anybody but me says, "Don't make the effort."

"Don't even try to make a statement for a quality product.

"Don't even think about relations for justice
with mercy."

Faith says, "Stay on task. Remember your goals.
Complete actions that build trust in your reliability
with responsibility. Build relations for trust."

Let those statements that are against me be disproved.
May they be so disgraced that the makers feel shame 
for attempting to shift the blame to my name.

I will work with due diligence
to establish constitutional authority 
for reliable responsibility. 

I will wait with patience.
Redemption by reform
is the means to help others 
to find providence and avoid harm.

I will recount the profound power of the law
for the right to life. The law against murder and slavery
will defend the limitation of spending on national security
to defense. 

Mercy has guarded me from violence and cruelty in punishment
since my youth. Compassion will not fail me when I am old and gray.

The righteousness of truth reaches beyond the sky 
to speak about the wonders of gravity and force 
for the harmony of the celestial spheres.

What keeps the planets in their orbits? 
What pushes the galaxy  on the path
to the dark reaches of unknown space? 

Who can not wonder at the divine design
for the cosmos as the order for production? 

I have seen deliverance from greater adversity
in every close encounter with death.

I have been brought up from the deep places
of the earth. I have been strengthened beyond 
my lack of strength. I have been enfolded 
and comforted by renewal  in life.

I will sing praises with joy 
for the happiness that singing 
brings with the ring of the resounding
pound of sound from the depths of my soul.

My speech will teach the value
of learning from the re-constitution 
of conception for perspective 
on perception. 


71 In te, Domine, speravi

1 In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; *
let me never be ashamed.
2 In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; *
incline your ear to me and save me.
3 Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; *
you are my crag and my stronghold.
4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, *
from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.
5 For you are my hope, O Lord God, *
my confidence since I was young.
6 I have been sustained by you ever since I was born;
from my mother's womb you have been my strength; *
my praise shall be always of you.
7 I have become a portent to many; *
but you are my refuge and my strength.
8 `Let my mouth be full of your praise *
and your glory all the day long.
9 Do not cast me off in my old age; *
forsake me not when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies are talking against me, *
and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together.
11 They say, "God has forsaken him;
go after him and seize him; *
because there is none who will save."
12 O God, be not far from me; *
come quickly to help me, O my God.
13 Let those who set themselves against me be put to shame and be disgraced; *
let those who seek to do me evil be covered with scorn and reproach.
14 But I shall always wait in patience, *
and shall praise you more and more.
15 My mouth shall recount your mighty acts
and saving deeds all day long; *
though I cannot know the number of them.
16 I will begin with the mighty works of the Lord God; *
I will recall your righteousness, yours alone.
17 O God, you have taught me since I was young, *
and to this day I tell of your wonderful works.
18 And now that I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not forsake me, *
till I make known your strength to this generation
and your power to all who are to come.
19 Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens; *
you have done great things;
who is like you, O God?
20 You have showed me great troubles and adversities, *
but you will restore my life
and bring me up again from the deep places of the earth.
21 You strengthen me more and more; *
you enfold and comfort me,
22 Therefore I will praise you upon the lyre for your
faithfulness, O my God; *
I will sing to you with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will sing with joy when I play to you, *
and so will my soul, which you have redeemed.
24 My tongue will proclaim your righteousness all day long, *
for they are ashamed and disgraced who sought to do me harm.

Resurrected Love

Others,

Spring is liberated from winter each year. The equinox of the elliptical journey of the earth around the sun sees the earth at the mid-point in the progression to its hottest, yet most distant relation at the summer solstice. 

Warmth increases. Plant growth returns. The land becomes fertile for planting. Planting requires sensitivity to the cycles of the moon. The gravity of the moon effects the flow of tides and related rain cycles.

Spring has sprung. Love is in the air, but there are certain events that accompany the change from coldness to warmth. Heat is a catalyst. Increased warmth causes change. Change happens at the elemental level, but it also has climatic effect that can be larger than life.

Even some of the larger constructs that we make can be thrown around toys in a tornado.

Semi-Trailers in Texas Tornado: (That’s at least 7.5 tons of trailer twirling in the air like a toy!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN5Izcf-z9k&feature=related

Faith has looked at natural disaster with a mixture of fear and respect throughout recorded history. The threat of destruction has been treated as part of the dialog between Divine and human being.

The raging flood, the dark funnel cloud during the day, the roaring column of fire at night, the tremendous wind, the earthquake that makes the mountains run like rams, the drought that deprives crops, plants and us of life giving water are all fear-inspiring events that are regarded with respect and awe for the manifestation of creation.

Nevertheless, Elijah’s warning retains its relevance. God is not the wind, the fire, the flood, (the drought) or any life threatening element in nature. God speaks to us through that voice that calls us to show our love for others. It is a call to seek safety during the storm and to build shelters that can withstand the strength of violent force. It is the call to save provisions for times of adversity.

Government is to govern for the people with informed consent according to the history of faith. This government is to be characterized by resource management.

Adam and Eve left paradise to give life to labor in the new world. Noah built an ark to survive the flood.

Abraham and Sarah had a son who became a source for belief in the power and truth of God’s will for many nations. The Judges led the way to building community. Joseph planned to save provisions for the drought with pharaoh. Moses led the people to preserve health with cleanliness during the plagues.

Samuel respected the call to honor the costs of government. Elijah and Elisha conserved limited resources during a rule of vapid consumption and all too rapid expansion.

Isaiah called for peace by faith when the world was being ruled by war. Jeremiah regarded the truth of political events as an indicator of outcomes.

Ezra led the charge to re-build in relation to empire. Nehemiah governed with respect for cultural identity. Esther insisted that mercy be shown to minorities. Daniel warned about the danger of imperial expansion. Jesus called for the reform of law based on the rule of cruelty.  Women led the way into the resurrected life by providing goods and services with faith, love and resource conservation.

Faith has a history of belief in resurrection. The resurrection of Christ restores faith in a loving God. This resurrection is celebrated in the re-write of Psalm 114.

Resurrection fm Psalm 114

When Work had outlawed Slavery
the house of Labor had abandoned
a strange language;
Courage directed exploration.
Duty occupied the house.

The sea saw the new law and fled.
The day turned to night.
The mountains ran like rams;
the hills leaped like lambs.
The downward flow turned back.
The cloud touched the ground.
The forest left the trees.
The mountain kissed the sky with fire.
What ails the elements of constancy?

Tremble at the presence of the LORD, dear Earth.
Hail the God of Liberation through Labor
Laud the One who turned the thirsty rock into water;
The flinty stone into the languid love for life.
This is the resurrection.
Live it with love for others.
Share your resources.

===================

Historically, liberation was celebrated most often as deliverance from the slavery of being owned by others. There is also the broad sense of liberation that can be celebrated in relation to the self-imposed slavery of being owned by ownership.

Rufus Wainwright (with Helena Bonham Carter) – Out of the Game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KvTDeHlIfI 

Own your responsibility without being owned by it. Being owned puts us out of the game of liberty with justice. Grow in the prosperity provided by your history of faith in the love of God.

Dictatorship seeks to own others by dictate. Elitism undermines the progression of human rights attained in the republic ruled by the law of constitutional democracy.

Occupy responsibility with love.
Occupy the resurrection of Christ.
Show your love for God by loving others
with respect for human rights,

Steve Kidde

Zion

Others,

Honey is a wonder food. It tastes sweet. It can be preserved indefinitely. It is a symbol for prosperity. It represents community producing value in cooperative harmony. The buzz is that it is made by bees. LOL.

Creating a product that has value for the community often takes the belief that the product will produce benefit. Tests measure the value of properties. Science counters excessive confidence.

Yolanda Adams – I Believe (fm. the movie “Honey")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pj4pRQXX_4&feature=related

"You keep creating pictures in your mind. Sometimes, maybe, they will come true in time.

“It will be fine. Leave all of your cares and stress behind.

“...and just start to believe."

 I believe in you...and me. LOL

Products that are beneficial have value because they serve a purpose for human being.  The following poem celebrates constructive production.

Zion

Fm. Ps. 111 & Ps.147

Totally awesome!
I will give thanks
with my whole heart;
in the assembly of faith;
in the administration of justice.

The works of creation are great!
They are to be studied by all
who delight in them.

How good it is to sing praises!
How pleasant it is to show honor with praise.

God is great!
LORD, you started the universe.
You counted the number of stars.
Earth was formed from star dust.
You formed the molecules for life
from matter.
You call them by their names.

Your creation is full of majesty.
Zion celebrates civilization!

You heal the brokenhearted.
You bind up their wounds.

The good will rise up.
The wicked will be cast down.

You are rebuilding a foundation for peace.
You are gathering the exiles from conflict.

Our God is awesome!
You are mighty in power.
There is no limit to your wisdom.

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
Make music to God with your instruments.

The heavens are covered with clouds.
Rain is prepared for the earth.
Life giving substance falls.
Water nurtures life.
The thirst of earth is quenched.
The quenching of thirst
replaces lost fluids.

Grass grows where the ground is fertile.
Green plants serve human being.

It is providence for herd animals.
Fiber from plant life absorbs fat.
Absorption prevents
hardening of the heart.

Food is given to those who will work for it.
Even young ravens eat when they cry.

The virility of life is liberty.
The strength of our being is justice.
Justice is not only for the majority;
the minority or the majority
of minorities.
It is designed to protect
safety and health.

It is for the well being of the people.
Well being is the guide
for taking risk.
Risk that produces harm
or destroys is wrong.
This kind of risk taking
requires correction.

The LORD takes pleasure in respect;
in those who live with grace.
It is a wonderful life!
It is simply fantastic!
Praise God!

==========================

Power is awesome in nature. It needs to be treated with respect.

Consider the case of Clara Lazen, the fifth grader who discovered a new molecule.

Ten Year Old Discovers a New Molecule
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/02/ten-year-old-discovers-chemistry-molecule-published_n_1250825.html

The molecule can be used to generate energy or cause destructive force.  Households need energy for maintenance. While households are the very foundation for peace, many have been destroyed for the sake of new war toys.   Sadly, the potential for civilization has been trashed for the sake of devotion to destruction. 

The world needs progress in development. Cultural evolution has to be cultivated with education, government, management and justice. 

Stop the world from turning into a monster!

Paramore – Monster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoTEnaAI9Fo

Civilization has seen enough damage from havoc. Cry, “No more havoc!” Care for the poor! Stand opposed to war! The drive to eliminate competition destroys long term improvement. When competition has been annihilated there is no motivation to perform with standards for excellence.

Show respect! Occupy democracy for civilization!

Steve K.