Craig Groeschel

Craig Groeschel (born December 2, 1967) is the founder and main pastor ofLifeChurch.tv with locations in Arizona, Florida, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and a Global Internet Campus.

Lifechurch.tv is the largest Christian church in Oklahoma, and an American multi-site church with multiple locations in six states. Groeschel is known for his casual, humorous and personable style of communication of Christian belief. He is married with six children and lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City, where LifeChurch.tv is based.

At the second day of the WillowCreek Association Leadership Summitt 2008, Craig said,

"In order to reach those who no one else is reaching, we'll have to do things that no one else is doing."

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The Western Wall

The Western Wall (Hebrew: הכותל המערבי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi), or simply The Kotel, is a retaining wall from the time of the Jewish Second Temple of Jerusalem (see also Temple of Herod). It is sometimes referred to as the Wailing Wall, or as the al-Buraq Wall, in a mix of English and Arabic . The Temple was the most sacred building in Judaism. Herod the Great built vast retaining walls around Mount Moriah, expanding the small, quasi-natural plateau on which the First and Second Temples stood into the wide open spaces of the Temple Mount seen today.

In recent centuries, Jews were allowed little or no access to the site, such as when Turkey (the Ottoman Empire) ruled over it for 400 years (1515-1917), followed by the British Mandate of Palestine (1917-1948) and the Jordanian rule of Jerusalem (1948-1967).

Only when the Israel Defense Forces won a victory in the 1967 Six-Day War were Jews finally able to gain free access to the site.

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Jordan River

The Jordan River (Hebrew: נהר הירדן nehar hayarden, Arabic: نهر الأردن nahr al-urdun,) is a river in Southwest Asia flowing through the Great Rift Valley into the Dead Sea. It is 251 kilometers (156 miles) long. Its tributaries are the Hasbani (Hebrew: שניר senir, Arabic: الحاصباني hasbani), which flows from Lebanon, Banias (Hebrew: חרמון hermon, Arabic: بانياس banias), arising from a spring at Banias at the base of Mount Hermon, and Dan (Hebrew: דן dan, Arabic: اللدان leddan), whose source is also at the base of Mount Hermon. The three merge to form the Jordan in northern Israel, near Kibbutz Sede Nehemya. The Jordan drops rapidly in a 75 kilometer run to swampy Lake Hula, which is slightly below sea level in the Rift Valley. Exiting the lake, it drops much more in about 25 kilometers to the Sea of Galilee.

The last section has less gradient, and the river begins to meander before it enters the Dead Sea, which is about 400 meters below sea level and has no outlet. Two major tributaries enter from the east during this last phase, the Yarmouk River and Jabbok River.

Its section north of the Sea of Galilee (Hebrew: כינרת kinneret, Arabic: Bohayrat Tabaraya, meaning Lake of Tiberias) is within the boundaries of Israel (disputed by Syria), and forms the western boundary of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (Hebrew: רמת-הגולן).

South of the lake, it forms the border between the kingdom of Jordan (to the east) and Palestine/Israel (to the west). Further south, it forms the border between Jordan and the West Bank.

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Joseph Lister

Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, OM , FRS (5 April 1827 – 10 February 1912) was an English surgeon who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. He successfully introduced carbolic acid (phenol) to sterilize surgical instruments and to clean wounds.

Early Life and College

Joseph Lister came from a prosperous Quaker home in Upton, Essex, a son of Joseph Jackson Lister, the pioneer of the compound microscope, and Isabella Harris.

He attended the University of London, one of only a few institutions which was open to Quakers at that time. He initially studied the Arts but at the age of 25 became a Bachelor of Medicine and entered the Royal College of Surgeons.

In 1854, Lister became first assistant surgeon to James Syme, at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The two became close friends and Lister ended up marrying Syme's daughter Agnes, a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church, leaving the Quakers, perhaps because his religion did not permit marriages with non-members. He once stated,

“I am a believer in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity.”

Discovery of Antiseptic Treatment of Wounds

After six years he got a professorship of surgery at the University of Glasgow. At the time the usual explanation for wound infection was that the exposed tissues were damaged by chemicals in the air or via a stinking "miasma" in the air. The sick wards actually smelled bad, not due to a "miasma" but due to the rotting of wounds. Hospital wards were occasionally aired out at midday, but Florence Nightingale's doctrine of fresh air was still seen as science fiction. Facilities for washing hands or the patient's wounds did not exist and it was even considered unnecessary for the surgeon to wash his hands before he saw a patient. The work of Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis and Oliver Wendell Holmes were not heeded.

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Judas Iscariot

Judas Iscariot (died April AD 29–33) was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original apostles of Jesus, and the one who is said to have betrayed him.

Biblical narrative

Mark also states that the chief priests were looking for a "sly" way to arrest Jesus. They determine not to do so during the feast because they were afraid that the people would riot. It is after the feast that they do end up arresting him.

According to the account given in the gospels, he carried the disciples' money box and betrayed Jesus for a bribe of "thirty pieces of silver" by identifying him with a kiss—the "kiss of Judas"— to arresting soldiers of the High Priest Caiphas, who then turned Jesus over to Pontius Pilate's soldiers. These "pieces of silver" were most likely intended to be understood as silver Tyrian shekels.

Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, should not be confused with Jude Thomas (more commonly known as Saint Thomas the Apostle), or with Saint Jude who was also one of the twelve disciples and a brother of James the Less.

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Daniel

Daniel (Hebrew: דָּנִיֵּאל) is a figure appearing in the Hebrew Bible and the central protagonist of the Book of Daniel. The name "Daniel" means "God is my judge" or "God's judge."

Daniel was a young man of the upper crust of Jewish society who was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon and the Chaldean dynasty. Nebudchadnezzar endeavored to remove all traces of Daniel's nationality and religion. For this reason they strove to change Daniel's name to Belteshazzar:

⁷ And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. (Dan. 1:7 ESV)

At the first deportation of the Jews by Nebuchadnezzar II (the kingdom of Israel had come to an end nearly a century before at the hands of the Assyrians), or immediately after his victory over the Egyptians at the second battle of Carchemish, in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim (B.C. 606), Daniel and three other noble youths named Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were among the Jewish young nobility carried off to Babylon (probably as hostages to ensure the loyalty of Judah's king and advisors), along with some of the vessels of the temple.

Daniel and his three Jewish companions were subsequently evaluated and chosen for their intellect and beauty, to be trained as Chaldeans, who constituted the ranks of the advisors to the Babylonian court.

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seraphim

Angels of the highest order.

A seraph (Hebrew שׂרף, plural שׂרפים Seraphim) is one of a class of celestial beings mentioned once in the Old Testament (Tanakh), in Isaiah.

Later Jewish imagery perceived them as having human form, and in that way they passed into the ranks of Christian angels.

In the Christian angelic hierarchy, seraphim represent the highest known rank of angels.

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Jeremiah

Jeremiah or Yirmiyáhu (יִרְמְיָהוּ) His writings are collected in the book of Jeremiah, and the Book of Lamentations. Jeremiah is considered by some modern scholars (as well as some Ancient Rabbis) to have written, or redacted much of the Old Testament, as we have it today. His language in "Jeremiah" and "Lamentations" is quite similar to that in Deuteronomy and the "Deuteronomic history" of Joshua, Judges, the Books of Samuel, and the Books of Kings. Jeremiah is also famous as "the broken-hearted prophet" (who wrote or dictated a "broken book", which has been difficult for scholars to put into chronological order), whose heart-rending life, and true prophecies of dire warning went largely-unheeded by the people of Judah. YHWH told Jeremiah, "You will go to them; but for their part, they will not listen to you".

According to the Book of Jeremiah, he was called to the prophetical office when still young; in the thirteenth year of Josiah (628 BC). He left his native place, Anatoth, (where Jeremiah was perhaps a member of the priesthood) and went to reside in Jerusalem; where he assisted Josiah in his work of reformation.

Jeremiah was a Kohen (member of the priestly family, see also: Kohen Gadol) called to the prophetical office when still young; in the thirteenth year of Josiah (628 BC). He left his native place, Anathoth, to reside in Jerusalem, where he assisted Josiah in his work of reformation. Jeremiah wrote a lamentation upon the death of this pious king (2 Chr. 35:25).

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codex

A codex (Latin for block of wood, book; plural codices) is a book in the format used for modern books, with separate pages normally bound together and given a cover. It was a Roman invention that replaced the scroll, which was the first form of book in all Eurasian cultures.

Although technically any modern paperback is a codex, the term is only used for manuscript (hand-written) books, produced from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages. The scholarly study of manuscripts from the point of view of the bookmaking craft is called codicology. The study of ancient documents in general is called paleography.

New World codices were written as late as the sixteenth century. Those written before the Spanish conquests seem all to have been single long sheets folded concertina-style, sometimes written on both sides of the local amatl paper. They are therefore strictly speaking not actually in codex format, although they more consistently have "Codex" in their usual names than other types of manuscript.

The codex was an improvement upon the scroll, which it gradually replaced, first in the West, and much later in Asia. The codex in turn became the printed book, for which the term is not used. In China, because books were already printed, but only on one side of the paper, there were intermediate stages, such as scrolls folded concertina-style and pasted together at the back.

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Tribe of Judah

The Tribe of Judah (hebrew: יְהוּדָה, "praise";) is one of the Hebrew tribes of Israel, founded by Judah, son of Jacob. (see also sons of Jacob)

Together with the Tribe of Benjamin, descendants of Judah eventually formed the southern kingdom of Judah in the ancient land of Israel, when the kingdom of Israel was divided. These two tribes were thus not carried into captivity with the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel when it fell. This started the tradition (some say myth) of the ten lost tribes of Israel.

As the Tribe of Benjamin was always very much the minor partner, in time the tribe of Judah became identified with the entire Israelite nation, and even the entire Hebrew nation, and gave their name to the Jews.

Judah and his three surviving sons went down with Jacob into Ancient Egypt (Gen. 46:12; Ex. 1:2). At the time of the Exodus, when we meet with the family of Judah again, they have increased to the number of 74,600 males (Num. 1:26-27).

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Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great (in Greek Μέγας Αλέξανδρος, transliterated Megas Alexandros) (Alexander III of Macedon) was born in Pella, Macedon, in July, 356 BC, died in Babylon, on June 10, 323 BC, King of Macedon 336–323 BC, is considered one of the most successful military commanders in world history (if not the greatest), conquering most of the known world before his death.

Alexander is also known in the Zoroastrian Middle Persian work Arda Wiraz Nāmag as "the accursed Alexander" due to his conquest of the Persian Empire and the destruction of its capital Persepolis.

He is also known in Middle Eastern traditions as Dhul-Qarnayn in Arabic and Dul-Qarnayim in Hebrew and Aramaic (the two-horned one) (see also: Aramaic of Jesus), apparently due to an image on coins minted during his rule that seemingly depicted him with the two ram's horns of the Egyptian god Ammon.

He is known as Sikandar in Hindi; in fact in India, the term Sikandar is used as a synonym for "expert" or "extremely skilled"; in the Malay Language he is known as Iskandar Zulkarnain.

Following the unification of the multiple city-states of ancient Greece under the rule of his father, Philip II of Macedon, (a labor Alexander had to repeat twice because the southern Greeks rebelled after Philip's death), Alexander conquered the Persian Empire, including Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Gaza, Egypt, Bactria and Mesopotamia and extended the boundaries of his own empire as far as the Punjab. Alexander integrated foreigners (non-Macedonians, non-Greeks1) into his army and administration, leading some scholars to credit him with a "policy of fusion." He encouraged marriage between his army and foreigners, and practiced it himself. After twelve years of constant military campaigning, Alexander died, possibly of malaria, typhoid, or even viral encephalitis. His conquests ushered in centuries of Greek settlement and rule over foreign areas, a period known as the Hellenistic Age. Alexander himself lived on in the history and myth of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. Already during his lifetime, and especially after his death, his exploits inspired a literary tradition in which he appears as a towering legendary hero in the tradition of Achilles.

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the 95 theses

The Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, known as the 95 Theses, (from 31 October 1517) challenged the teachings of the Church on the nature of penance, the authority of the pope and the usefulness of indulgences. They sparked a theological debate that would result in the Reformation and the birth of the Lutheran, Reformed, and Anabaptist traditions within Christianity.

The background for Luther's Theses centers on particular disputes with the Church dealing with the offering of indulgences—the granting of penance for sin. In short, the practice of giving indulgences became somewhat commoditized (with relics) and then commercialized, contributing to what Luther felt was an offense to Holy salvation among Catholics who felt they could find absolution through purchase rather than merit or grace.

The Castle Church in Wittenberg in the Roman Empire held one of Europe's largest collections of religious artifacts, accumulated by Frederick III.

At that time viewing relics was purported to allow the viewer to receive relief from temporal punishment for sins in purgatory. By 1509 Frederick had over 5,000 relics, "including vials of the milk of the Virgin Mary, straw from the manger [of Jesus], and the body of one of the innocents massacred by King Herod."

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Polycarp

Polycarp of Smyrna (martyred in his 87th year, ca. 155–167) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna (now Izmir in Turkey) in the 2nd century He died a martyr when he was stabbed and his corpse burned at the stake in Smyrna, and is recognized as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. "He had been a disciple of John, and opinions differ as to whether this John was the son of Zebedee, or John the Presbyter" (Lake 1912). Traditional advocates follow Eusebius in insisting that the apostolic connection was with John the Evangelist, and that the author of the Gospel of John was the Apostle. Polycarp never quotes from the Gospel of John in his own writings, which may be an indication that whichever John he knew was not the author of that gospel, or that that gospel was not finished during Polycarp's discipleship with John.

Visit to Anicetus, Bishop of Rome

Polycarp visited Rome during the time of his fellow Syrian, Anicetus, Bishop of Rome, in the 150s or 160s, and they might have found their customs for observing the Christian Passover differed, Polycarp following the eastern practice of celebrating Passover on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week it falls.

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The AIDS Crisis

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The late stage of the condition leaves individuals prone to opportunistic infections and tumors. Although treatments for AIDS and HIV exist to slow the virus's progression, there is no known cure.

HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid, and breast milk.

This transmission can come in the form of anal, vaginal or oral sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding, or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids.

Most researchers believe that HIV originated in sub-Saharan Africa during the twentieth century; it is now a pandemic, with an estimated 38.6 million people now living with the disease worldwide.

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anointing

To anoint is to grease with perfumed oil, milk, water, melted butter or other substances, a process employed ritually by many religions and races. It also means to be in the presence of God. People and things are anointed to symbolize the introduction of a sacramental or divine influence, a holy emanation, spirit or power. It can also be seen as a spiritual mode of ridding persons and things of dangerous influences and diseases, especially of the demons (Persian drug, Greek κηρες, Armenian dev) which are believed to be or cause those diseases.

Unction is another term for anointing. The oil may be called chrism.

The word is known in English since c. 1303, deriving from Old French enoint "smeared on," pp. of enoindre "smear on," itself from Latin inunguere, from in- "on" + unguere "to smear." Originally it only referred to grease or oil smeared on for medicinal purposes; its use in the Coverdale Bible in reference to Christ (cf. The Lord's Anointed, see Chrism) has spiritualized the sense of it.

Because of its "smeared on" root, the word is also used for the unique practice by hedgehogs of coating their quills with a froth when encountering new smells or tastes in their environment.

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Temple of Herod

Herod's Temple (The Temple of Herod) in Jerusalem was a massive expansion of the Second Temple along with renovations of the entire Temple Mount. Herod the Great's expansion project began around 19 BCE. The renovation by Herod began with the building of giant underground vaults upon which the temple would be built so it could be larger than the small flat area on top of Mount Moriah. Ground level at the time was at least 20 ft. (6m) below the current level, as can be seen by walking the Western Wall tunnels. The edge of this platform remains everywhere; part of it forms the Western Wall.

In 1948, Jordan destroyed the Jewish Quarter and much more of the wall was revealed along the southern side. Although we have no biblical information regarding this enormous temple, we do know that in the 49th year of its building program, Jesus' body ("His Temple") was destroyed, (John 2:20). 49-years is 7 x 7, which is a Jubilee.

¹⁵ And making a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade." ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."

¹⁸ So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?" ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." ²⁰ The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" (John 20:15-20 ESV)

The literal temple was destroyed 40 years later, in AD 70.

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Ishmael

Ishmael or Yishma'el (יִשְׁמָעֵאל "God hears or obeys") is Abraham's eldest son, born by his servant Hagar. Ishmael the son of Abraham, is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis as the eldest son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah's female Egyptian maid-servant or slave.

In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), Ishmael's life is described in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 16, 17, 21, 25) and later texts. In Genesis 16 Sarai (Abram's wife) gives him her maid-servant Hagar to bear him children, since she believed that God had kept her from having children (Genesis 16:2).

Hagar became pregnant and despised Sarai (Genesis 16:4) who then expelled Hagar from the home of Abraham in retaliation.

Hagar fled from Sarai and ran into the desert, where an angel found her near a spring. Here the prophecy of Ishmael is recorded in Genesis 16:

¹¹ "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael ("God hears"), for the Lord has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."

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Exodus

The (Greek: "departure") book of Exodus is the second book of the Torah (the Pentateuch Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy;) and also the Tanakh (the Hebrew bible), and Christian old testament. The major events of the book concern the exodus, a departure of Hebrew slaves from Egypt, through the wilderness, under the leadership of Moses to the Mountain of God (Mount Sinai). Jews call the book by its first words ve-eleh shemoth (i.e., "and these are the names") or simply "shemoth" שמות. The septuagint designates the second book of the Pentateuch as "exodus", meaning "departure" or "out-going".

The Latin translation adopted the name, which thence passed into other languages. As a result of the theme of the first half of the book, the term "an exodus" has come to mean a departure of a great number of people.

The book is generally broken into six sections:

1. The account of the growth of the Israelites into a peoples, their enslavement in Egypt, and eventual escape (Chapters 1-12);
2. The journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai (Chapters 13-18);
3. The formation of a covenant between Yahweh and the people, and its associated laws (Chapters 19-24);
4. Intricate instructions for the construction of a tabernacle, priestly robes, and other ritual objects (Chapters 25-31);
5. The episode of the golden calf, and the regiving of the law (Chapters 32-34);
6. The construction of the tabernacle, priestly robes, and other ritual objects (Chapters 35-40).

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A New Theory of the Earth

A New Theory of the Earth was a book written by William Whiston, in which he presented a description of the divine creation of the Earth and a posited global flood. He also postulated that the earth originated from the atmosphere of a comet and that all major changes in earth's history could be attributed to the action of comets. It was published in 1696 and was well-received by intellectuals of the day such as Isaac Newton and John Locke.

Summary of the book

The book is organized as follows:

• Introduction, discussing the text of Creation according to Genesis
• Book I: Lematta, discussing the premises and assumptions on which his argument is based;
• Book II: Hypotheses, discussing his model for the origin of the Earth;
• Book III: Phaenomena, discussing evidence predicted by his model;
• Book IV: Solutions, discussing how his model explains the evidence;
• Appendix: An abstract of his theory drawn from various sources.

Introduction

In the introduction, Whiston discusses the Mosaic account of creation. He argues for a literal interpretation of Genesis, writing:

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historicity of Jesus

The historicity of Jesus (i.e., his existence as an actual historical figure), is accepted as a theological axiom by three world religions, Christianity, Islam and the Bahá’í Faith, based on their respective scriptures.

The earliest known sources are Christian writings - the New Testament - which, according to modern historians, were written only 20-30 years after Jesus died.

However, while Christianity considers Jesus to be the Christ (Messiah) and Son of God, and Islam views him only as a prophet, secular historians and followers of most other world religions (including Judaism) tend to regard him as an ordinary human. Messianic Judaism, however, also considers Jesus (Yeshua HaMashiach) to be the Jewish Messiah.

Most scholars, however, agree that Jesus was an historical figure regardless of their perspectives on His teaching, His message of salvation, or statements about Himself.

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Messianic Judaism

Messianic Judaism is a religious movement of Jews and non-Jews whose adherents believe that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they call by the Hebrew name Yeshua, is both the resurrected Jewish Messiah and their divine savior.

As of 1993 there were 160,000 adherents of Messianic Judaism in the United States and 350,000 worldwide. As of 2003, there were at least 150 Messianic synagogues in the U.S. and over 400 worldwide.

Messianic Jews practice their faith in a way they consider to be authentically Torah-observant and culturally Jewish. However, Jews of all denominations and many Christians do not consider Messianic Judaism to be a form of Judaism, but a form of Christianity.

Self identity

Although words used to identify aspects of Messianic Judaism are frequently disputed and sometimes contradictory, the term itself generally describes a belief that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and that obedience of the Scriptures is the proper expression of faith. Adherents are described as Messianic believers or Messianics for short. Messianic Judaism is a relatively new term, coined as recently as 1895 to help separate the practices of its followers from those of common Christianity as a whole, and in order to more closely align its faith with that of biblical and historical Judaism.

Messianics believe that the first followers of Jesus of Nazareth were called Nazarenes (in Hebrew, Notzrim; "נצרים") or simply the Way.

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William F. Albright

William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891–September 19/September 20, 1971) was an American Orientalist, pioneer archaeologist, biblical scholar, linguist and expert on ceramics. From the early twentieth century until his death, he was the dean of biblical archaeologists and the universally acknowledged founder of the Biblical archaeology movement. His student George Ernest Wright followed in his footsteps as the leader of that movement, while others, notably Frank Moore Cross and David Noel Freedman, became international leaders in the study of the Bible and the ancient Near East, including Northwest Semitic epigraphy and paleography. Nevertheless, although Albright is assured of a place in the history of the development of Middle Eastern archaeology, his concepts and conclusions, especially those relating to biblical archaeology, have been overturned by developments after his death.

Albright argued that the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were real historical figures, and he believed that Joshua's exploits were historical as well. He insisted that "as a whole, the picture in Genesis is historical, and there is no reason to doubt the general accuracy of the biographical details."

In 1923 he made the first significant excavation of a tumulus near Jerusalem--possibly the site where an ancient king of Judah was memorialized. Another noteworthy contribution he made to the field of Biblical archaeology was his study of the LMLK seals and the impact it had on other researchers from 1925-1960 (Grena, 2004, pp. 149-78).

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Solomon

Solomon (Latin name) or Shlomo (Hebrew: שְׁלֹמֹה, Arabic: سليمان, Sulayman; "peace") was Israel's third king, son of King David, who's

³⁰ "...wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt." (1 Kings 4:30)

The names "Shlomo" and "Solomon" are usually associated with the Biblical account of his life.

The First Temple

Solomon's Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Beit HaMikdash), also known as the First Temple, was, according to the Bible, the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. It functioned as a religious focal point for worship and the sacrifices known as the korbanot (see korban) in ancient Judaism. Completed in the 10th century BCE, it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE.

Before his death King David had provided materials in great abundance for the building of the temple on the summit of Mount Moriah (1 Chronicles 22:14; 29:4; 2 Chronicles 3:1), where he had purchased a threshing floor from Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam. 24:21 et seq.), on which he offered sacrifice.

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Joshua

Joshua or Yehoshúa (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ "The LORD of/is help/court") is a Biblical character, much of whose life is described in the biblical Book of Joshua. The lack of a vav after the shin would normally indicate a pronunciation of Yehoshēa`, and in three places he is actually called Hoshēa. In Greek he is called Ιησούς (Iēsoûs) του Ναυή, the same as the name of Jesus of Nazareth and others bearing the Hebrew name Yēshua`. He is a historical figure, and would have lived sometime between the 18th century BC and the late 13th century BC.

Joshua was the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim and the successor to Moses as the leader of Israel. See also History of ancient Israel and Judah. He is called Jehoshua in Num. 13:16 (A.V.), and Jesus in Acts 7:45 and Heb. 4:8 (R.V., Joshua).

He was born in Egypt, and was probably of the age of Caleb, with whom he is generally associated. He shared in all the events of the Exodus, and held the place of commander of the host of the Israelites at their great battle against the Amalekites in Rephidim (Ex. 17:8-16).

He became Moses' minister, and accompanied him part of the way when he ascended Mount Sinai to receive the (Exodus 32:17). He was also one of the twelve spies who were sent on by Moses to explore the land of Canaan (Num. 13:16, 17), and only he and Caleb gave an encouraging report.

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Kabbalah

Kabbalah (Hebrew: קַבָּלָה; standard vocalization: Qabbala; Tiberian vocalization: Qabbālāh; literally a "receiving" in the sense of a "received tradition") is an esoteric form of Jewish mysticism, which attempts to reveal hidden mystical insights in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). It offers mystical insight into divine nature.

The term "Kabbalah" was originally used in Talmudic texts (see Talmud), among the Geonim (early medieval rabbis) and by Rishonim (later medieval rabbis) as a reference to the full body of the oral tradition of Jewish teaching, which was publicly available.

Even the works of Prophets were referred to as Kabbalah, before they were cannonized (see biblical canon) as part of the written tradition. In this sense Kabbalah was used in referring to all of Judaism's oral law. Over time, the oral law was recorded, but the esoteric teachings remained an oral tradition. Thus, this term became connected with doctrines of esoteric knowledge concerning God, God's creation of the universe and the laws of nature, reasons for the commandments in the Torah and the ways by which God administers the existence of the universe. Now, even the esoteric teachings of the Torah are recorded, but it is still known as Kabbalah.

According to Jewish tradition Kabbalah dates from Adam, although modern liberal rabbis date its origins in the 13th century. This knowledge has come down as a revelation to elect saints from a remote past, and for the most part, was preserved only by a privileged few. The proper protocol for teaching this wisdom, as well as many of its concepts, are recorded in the Talmud (second chapter of tractate Haggiga). It is considered part of the Jewish oral law by the majority of religious Jews in modern times, although this is not agreed upon by many modern liberal rabbis and a minority of Orthodox rabbis.

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The Word

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3 ESV)

Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/CE) is the central figure of Christianity. He is also called Jesus Christ, where "Jesus" is an Anglicization of the Greek: Ίησους (Iēsous), itself a Hellenization of the Hebrew יהושע (Yehoshua) or Aramaic ישוע (Yeshua), meaning "YHVH is salvation"; and where "Christ" is a title derived from the Greek christós, meaning the "Anointed One," which corresponds to the Hebrew-derived "Messiah." Jesus is the incarnate Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, and the prophesied Hebrew Messiah (Anointed One, deliverer of Israel). Jesus is also known as "Jesus Christ", "Jesus of Nazareth", and "Jesus the Nazarene."

Christian views of Jesus (known as Christology) are both diverse and complex. Most Christians are Trinitarian and affirm the Nicene Creed, believing that Jesus is both the Son of God and God made incarnate1, sent to provide salvation and reconciliation with God by atoning for the sins of humanity (see also Christian worldview).

The most detailed accounts of Jesus' birth are contained in the Gospel of Matthew (probably written between 60 and 85 AD/CE) and the Gospel of Luke (probably written between 60 and 100 AD/CE). There is considerable debate about the details of Jesus' birth even among Christian scholars, and few scholars claim to know either the year or the date of his birth or of his death.

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imputation

Imputation is a concept in Christian theology which proposes that righteousness of Jesus Christ satisfies all criteria necessary to share in God's grace. Those who trust in the promise that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross atones for their sins believe in this type of righteousness as opposed to imparted righteousness and sanctification. The teaching of imputed righteousness is a signature doctrine of the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Christianity.

The case for imputed righteousness

Imputed righteousness is the Protestant solution to a "divine predicament." On the one hand, God is infinitely merciful, "not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9). On the other, God is infinitely holy and just, which means that he cannot approve of or even look upon evil (Habakkuk 1:13), neither can he justify a wicked person (Prov. 17:15). Because the Bible describes all men as sinners and says that there are none who are righteous (Rom. 3:23, 10), these two "competing" traits in God's nature appear to put him in a dilemma.

1. The imputation of Adam's sin to his descendants
2. The imputation of the believer's sin to Christ
3. The imputation of Christ's righteousness to the believer.

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substitutionary atonement

Substitutionary atonement is a doctrine in Christian theology which states that Jesus died on the cross as a substitute for sinners. It stresses the vicarious nature of the crucifixion being "for us" and representational Christ representing humanity through the Incarnation.

Atonement is a doctrine found within both Christianity and Judaism. It describes how sin can be forgiven by God. In Judaism, Atonement is said to be the process of forgiving or pardoning a transgression. This was originally accomplished through rituals performed by a High Priest on the holiest day of the Jewish year: Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). In Christian theology the atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ which made possible the reconciliation between God and creation, thus substitutionary atonement.

Within Christianity there are numerous technical theories for how such atonement might work, including:

• the ransom theory,
• the Abelardian theory, and
• the Anselmian satisfaction theory.

A distinction must be made between substitutionary atonement (Christ suffers for us), and penal substitution (Christ punished instead of us) which is a subset of substitutionary atonement. Both affirm the substitutionary and vicarious nature of the atonement, but penal substitution offers a specific explanation as to what the suffering is for: punishment.

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Tribes of Israel

Israel had 12 sons, as follows:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. (Jacob was renamed Israel Gen. 32:27-29)

The Tribe of Levi was set apart from the others in the sense that, the members of the Tribe of Levi were to be in charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony. (see: Num. 1).

The Tribe of Joseph is not usually listed with the Hebrew tribes although Joseph is one of Jacobs twelve sons, the eldest of Rachel. It is sometimes referred to as the House of Joseph. Rather, the two tribes founded by his sons Ephraim and Manasseh are listed separately.

Tribal Divisions

Politically, the Israelites were composed of thirteen tribes: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin. In parts of the Bible, Ephraim and Manasseh are treated as together constituting the House of Joseph, while the Levi have a special religious role and had only scattered cities as territory; whence traditionally either Ephraim and Manasseh were counted as one tribe, or Levi wasn't counted, so that together the tribes were the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

The division into Tribes was geographical, as well as genealogical; each tribe held a distinct territory, though there are a few peculiarities. Levi's territory was very discontinuous, consisting entirely of towns and cities scattered as enclaves within the territory of the other tribes, Simeon's territory was entirely inside the territory of Judah, and Manasseh was split between the half tribe west of the Jordan, and the other half tribe on the eastern side. The Kingdom of Judah consisted of Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, and the parts of Levi within those lands, while the Kingdom of Israel contained Reuben, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Manasseh, Ephraim, and the remainder of Levi.

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Apostolic Fathers

The Apostolic Fathers are a small collection of Early Christian authors who lived and wrote in the second half of the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century. These authors are acknowledged as leaders in the early church, but their writings were not included in the New Testament biblical canon.

The apostolic fathers include St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch, and St. Polycarp of Smyrna.

The Roman Catholic label “Apostolic Fathers” has been used since the 17th century to emphasize that these authors were thought of as being of the generation that had personal contact with The Twelve Apostles. Thus they provide a link between the Apostles who knew Jesus of Nazareth and the later generation of Christian apologists, defenders of orthodoxy, and developers of doctrine known as the Church Fathers.

Apostolic fathers and their works

Famous Apostolic Fathers include St. Clement of Rome (c 30 - c 100), St. Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna. In addition, The Didache and The Shepherd of Hermas are usually placed among the writings of the Apostolic Fathers although their authors are unknown.

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John Piper

John Stephen Piper (born January 11, 1946, Chattanooga, Tennessee) is a Reformed Baptist minister, author, and theologian, currently serving as senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He oversees the evangelical organization Desiring God, which is named after his book Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (1986).

Biography

Piper was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Bill and Ruth Piper. When he and his older sister were still young, the Pipers moved to Greenville, South Carolina, where he spent the rest of his youth and graduated from Wade Hampton High School.

His father was an itinerant evangelist who actively ministered through international radio and Bible courses until his death in March 6, 2007.Things I Have Learned Piper has written a tribute to his mother, who died in 1974, in the booklet, What's the Difference? (Crossway Books, 1990) which is also chapter one of the book, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Crossway Books, 1991).

On January 11, 2006, Piper announced that the month beforehand, he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. According to a letter sent to his church, he and his doctors believe that the cancer is fully treatable. Piper's reaction to his diagnosis was:

"This news has, of course, been good for me. The most dangerous thing in the world is the sin of self-reliance and the stupor of worldliness. The news of cancer has a wonderfully blasting effect on both. I thank God for that. The times with Christ in these days have been unusually sweet."

He married Noël Henry in 1968, and together they have four sons, a daughter, and several grandchildren.

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History of Jerusalem

The earliest traces of human occupation in Jerusalem go back to the late Chalcolithic Period and Early Bronze Age (c. 3000 BC). The Egyptian Execration Texts (c. 1900-1800 BC) and the Amarna letters (14th century BCE) show that the city was under the power of Ancient Egypt. In one of the Amarna letters the city's governor, Abdi-Heba, asks for help from Egypt to fight the Habiru (possibly identical to the Hebrews).

This city has known many wars, and various periods of occupation. According to Genesis 14:18-20, the city (named as Salem) was ruled by king Melchizedek, a priest of God. According to one Jewish tradition reported by the midrash, it was founded by Abraham's forefathers Shem and Eber.

Later, according to the Biblical narrative of the Books of Samuel, it was controlled by the Jebusites, a group that scholars generally believe to have been Hittite.

It is probable that Melchizedek was himself a Jebusite; the -zedek part of the name occurring in other rulers such as Adonizedek, and in some biblical references to Jerusalem itself, such as neweh zedek (Jeremiah 31:23, where it is often translated as home of righteousness).

Kingdoms of Judah and Israel (1000 BC - 580 BC)

According to the Books of Samuel, the Jebusites managed to resist attempts by the Israelites to capture the city, and by the time of King David were mocking such attempts, claiming that even the blind and lame could defeat the Israelite army. Nevertheless, the masoretic text for the Books of Samuel states that David managed to capture the city by stealth, sending his forces through a water shaft and attacking the city from the inside; archaeologists now view this as implausible as the Gihon spring - the only known location from which water shafts lead into the city - is now known to have been heavily defended (and hence an attack via this route would have been obvious rather than secretive). The Septuagint text, however, suggests that rather than by a water shaft, David's forces defeated the Jebusites by using daggers.

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Karl Barth

Karl Barth (May 10, 1886 – December 10, 1968) (pronounced "bart") a Swiss Reformed theologian, was one of the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas. Beginning with his experience as a pastor, he rejected the predominant liberal theology typical of 19th-century Protestantism, especially German, and instead embarked on a unique theological path, often called neo-orthodoxy by critics (a label emphatically rejected by Barth himself) that emphasized the sovereignty of God particularly through his innovative doctrine of election. Barth's theology swept through Europe and Britain.

Early life and education

Born in Basel, Barth spent his childhood years in Bern. From 1911 to 1921 he served as a Reformed pastor in the village of Safenwil in the canton Aargau. In 1913 he married Nelly Hoffmann, a talented violinist. They would have four sons and a daughter. Later he was professor of theology in Göttingen (1921–1925), Münster (1925–1930) and Bonn (1930–1935) (Germany). While serving at Göttingen he met Charlotte von Kirschbaum, who became his long-time secretary and assistant and played a large role in the writing of his epic the Church Dogmatics. He had to leave Germany in 1935 after he refused to swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler. Barth went back to Switzerland and became professor in Basel (1935–1962).

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Qumran

Qumran (Hebrew: חירבת קומראן‎, Khirbet Qumran) is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank, just next to the Israeli Kibbutz of Kalia. The site was most likely constructed sometime during or before the reign of John Hyrcanus, 134-104 BCE and saw various phases of occupation until, probably after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE, Titus and his Legio X Fretensis destroyed it. It is best known as the settlement nearest to the hiding place of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves of the sheer desert cliffs.

The Dead Sea scrolls comprise roughly 825-870 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea).

Since the discovery in the middle of the last century of almost 900 scrolls in various states of completeness, mostly written on parchment, extensive excavations of the settlement have been undertaken. Jewish ritual baths and cemeteries have been found, a large cistern, a large dining or assembly room, an alleged scriptorium, and a guard tower.

Most scholars consider it to have been home to a Jewish sect, often said to be Essenes; others have proposed that it was a villa for a single wealthy family, or even that it was a Roman fort. The large cemetery nearby may contain some answers, if women are buried there in great numbers. It would tell what the occupants of the settlement were like and who lived there; but under Jewish law (Halakha) excavating cemeteries is forbidden.

The scrolls were found in a series of caves just to the west of the settlement. Some of the caves seem to have been permanent libraries with built in shelves. The texts found in them represent the beliefs and practices of different Jewish religious orientations. A number of them appear to have been selected for the library there, when Qumran is thought to have become the asylum for supporters of the traditional priestly family of the Zadokites against the Hasmonean priest/kings. A letter found in the 1990s expresses the reasons for creating a community, some of which mirror Sadducean arguments in the Talmud. But most of the scrolls seem to have been dumped in the caves only during the turmoil of the First Jewish Revolt, at a time when Jericho and Jerusalem were facing the sack, or had already been sacked, but Qumran was still standing and secretly accessible from Jerusalem via the Kidron Valley.

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G.W.F. Hegel

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (August 27, 1770 – November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher and, with Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, one of the representatives of German idealism.

Hegel influenced writers of widely varying positions, including both his admirers (Bauer, Marx, Bradley, Sartre, Küng), and his detractors (Schelling, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Russell). Hegel discussed a relation between nature and freedom, immanence and transcendence, and the unification of these dualities without eliminating either pole or reducing it to the other. His influential conceptions are of speculative logic or "dialectic," "absolute idealism," "Spirit," the "Master/Slave" dialectic, "ethical life," and the importance of history.

According to M. James Sawyer, Hegel's Philosophy of History gave the structure adopted by the emerging schools of biblical criticism, as well as the mental cast to the entire century.

Paul Tillich, in his A History of Christian Thought, says that it is nonsensical for people to say that it was first Martin Luther then Hegel who produced Nazism.

It is nonsense, because even if Hegel said that the state is God on earth, he did not mean the the power state. He meant the cultural unity of religion and social life organized in a state. In this sense Hegel could say there is a unity of church and state. But for him "state" is not the party movement of the Nazis, or a relapse to a tribal system. State for him is organized society, repressing sin.

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spiritual formation

Spiritual formation is the growth and development of the whole person by an intentional focus on one’s (1) spiritual and interior life, (2) interactions with others in ordinary life, and (3) the spiritual practices (prayer, the study of scripture, fasting, simplicity, solitude, confession, worship, etc.). In Care of Mind, Care of Spirit, Gerald G. May has written, “Spiritual formation is a rather general term referring to all attempts, means, instruction, and disciplines intended towards deepening of faith and furtherance of spiritual growth. It includes educational endeavors as well as the more intimate and in-depth process of spiritual direction.”

Spiritual formation is a universal experience. Dallas Willard writes that “it is a process that happens to everyone…. Terrorists as well as saints are the outcome of spiritual formation. Their spirits or hearts have been formed.”

A study of various world religions such as:

• Judaism,
• Islam,
• Hinduism,
• Buddhism,
• Confucianism, and
  
• Taoism

and others would enable one to understand specifically how each religion views spiritual formation or spiritual growth within its unique belief system.

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Centurion

A centurion (Latin: centuriō; Greek: hekatontarchos) was a professional officer of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Most centurions commanded a century (centuria) of 80 men, but senior centurions commanded cohorts, or took senior staff roles in their legion.

Centurions took their title from the fact that they commanded a century. Centuries were so-called because they originally numbered roughly 100 men. Early in Roman history, the standard establishment was set at 80 men, although by the Imperial period, the establishment of a century in a first cohort — but not others — had grown to 160 men.

Role

In the Roman infantry, centurions initially commanded a centuria or "century" of theoretically 80 men, depending on force strength and whether or not the unit was part of the First Cohort. Centurions gradually rose in seniority in their cohort, commanding centuries with higher precedence, until commanding the senior century (of six) and therefore the whole cohort. The very best centurions were then promoted to become centurions in the First Cohort, called Primi Ordines, commanding one of the five centuries of 120 men and also taking on a staff role. The most senior centurion of the legion was the Primus Pilus who commanded the first century.

All centurions, however senior, had their own allocated century.

²¹ Peter went down and said to the men, "I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?"

²² The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say." ²³ Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. (Acts 10:21-23)

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Pascal's Wager

Pascal's Wager (or Pascal's Gambit) is the application by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal of decision theory to the belief in God. It was set out in the Pensées, a posthumous collection of notes made by Pascal towards his unfinished treatise on Christian apologetics.

The Wager posits that it is a better "bet" to believe that God exists than not to believe, because the expected value of believing (which Pascal assessed as infinite) is always greater than the expected value of not believing. In Pascal's assessment, it is inexcusable not to investigate this issue:

Before entering into the proofs of the Christian religion, I find it necessary to point out the sinfulness of those men who live in indifference to the search for truth in a matter which is so important to them, and which touches them so nearly.

Variations of this argument may be found in other religious philosophies, such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Pascal's Wager is also similar in structure to the precautionary principle.

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Didache

The Didache (Διδαχὴ, Koine Greek for "Teaching") is the common name of a brief early Christian treatise (c. 70–160 CE), containing instructions for Christian communities. The text is possibly the first written catechism, with three main sections dealing with Christian lessons, rituals such as baptism and eucharist, and Church organization. It was considered by some of the Church Fathers as part of the New Testament but rejected as spurious by others, eventually not accepted into the New Testament canon with the exception of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church "broader canon". The Roman Catholic Church has accepted it as part of the collection of Apostolic Fathers. It is the only rediscovered Christian text during the last 150 years of discoveries in libraries or in papyri to receive wide acceptance by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Discovery

Considered lost, the Didache was rediscovered in 1883 by Philotheos Bryennios, a Greek Orthodox metropolitan bishop of Nicomedia, in the Greek Codex Hierosolymitanus written in 1053, from which he had already published the full text of the Epistles of Clement in 1875.

Shortly after Bryennios' initial publication, the scholar Otto von Gebhardt identified a Latin manuscript in the Abbey of Melk in Austria as containing a translation of the first part of the Didache.; later scholars now believe that to be an independent witness to the tradition of the Two Ways section.

Dr. J. Schlecht found in 1900 another Latin translation of chapters 1 through 5, with the longer title, omitting "twelve", and with the rubric De doctrina Apostolorum. Coptic and Ethiopian translations have also been discovered since Bryennios' original publication.

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N.T. Wright

Tom (N.T.) Wright is the Bishop of Durham of the Anglican Church and a leading British New Testament scholar. Ordinarily he is known as "Tom Wright", although his academic work has always been published under the name "NT Wright" (Nicholas Thomas). He is generally perceived as coming from a moderately evangelical perspective. He is associated with the so-called Third Quest for the Historical Jesus, and the New Perspective on Paul (a complex movement with many unique positions, originating from the probing works of James Dunn and E. P. Sanders). He argues that the current understanding of Jesus must be connected with what is known to be true about him from the historical perspective of first century Judaism and Christianity.

Wright has written over 30 books.

He has completed three books in a projected six-volume scholarly series Christian Origins and the Question of God. These are:

1. The New Testament and the People of God,
2. Jesus and the Victory of God and
3. The Resurrection of the Son of God.

He has also written books on a popular level, including The Challenge of Jesus and the projected twelve volume For Everyone Bible commentary series in a similar vein to William Barclay's Daily Study Bible series.

His work has been praised by scholars from a wide range of views, such as Professor James DG Dunn, Richard B. Hays and Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury. However, critics of his work are also found across the broad range of theological camps, from conservatives such as J. Ligon Duncan to liberals like Robert J. Miller.

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Arab-Israeli War (1948)

The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, referred to as the "War of Independence" (Hebrew: מלחמת העצמאות) or as the "War of Liberation" (Hebrew: מלחמת השחרור) by Israelis, is the first in a series of armed conflicts fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors in the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. For Palestinians, the war marked the beginning of the events they refer to as "The Catastrophe" ("al Nakba", Arabic: النكبة‎). After the United Nations proposed to partition the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine into two states, Jewish and Arab, the Arabs refused to accept it and the armies of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq (see also: Iraq Maps), supported by others, attacked the newly established State of Israel which they refused to recognize. As a result, the region was divided between Israel, Egypt and Transjordan.

Background

Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the League of Nations granted the British and the French temporary colonial administration over former Ottoman provinces south of present day Turkey. These regions had been called vilayets under the Ottomans, but were referred to as mandates at the time, after the process that allocated them. The two powers drew arbitrary borders, dividing the area into four sections. Three of these — Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon — survive to this day as states.

The fourth section was created from what had been known as "southern Syria". The region was officially named the British Mandate of Palestine, and was called "Falastin" in Arabic and "Palestina (E.I.)" in Hebrew. The British revised its borders repeatedly, but under the direction of Winston Churchill the region was divided along the Jordan River, forming two administrative regions.

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Jonathan (son of Saul)

David and Jonathan were heroic figures of the Kingdom of Israel, whose intimate relationship was recorded favorably in the Old Testament books of Samuel.

According to the Bible, true friendship involves loyalty, sacrifice, compromise, and yes, emotional attachment.

12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God.
(Psalm 55:12-14)

24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
(Proverbs 18:24)

13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."
(John 15:13-15)

7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:7-8)

That is what we should learn from David and Jonathan.

Jonathan, the eldest son of Saul, is immediately struck with David on their first meeting: "When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." (1 Sam. 18:1) That same day, "And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself" (1 Sam. 18:3). Jonathan removes and offers David the rich garments he is wearing, and shares with him his worldly possessions: "Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt" (1 Sam. 18:4) .

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rationalism

Rationalism, also known as the rationalist movement, is a philosophical doctrine that asserts that the truth can best be discovered by reason and factual analysis, rather than faith, dogma or religious teaching. Rationalism has some similarities in ideology and intent to humanism, secular humanism, and atheism, in that it aims to provide a framework for social and philosophical discourse outside of religious or supernatural beliefs; however, rationalism differs from both of these, in that:

• As its name suggests, humanism is centered on the dignity and worth of people. While rationalism is a key component of humanism, there is also a strong ethical component in humanism that rationalism does not require. As a result, being a rationalist does not necessarily mean being a humanist.


• Atheism, a disbelief or lack of belief in God, can be on any basis, or none at all, so it doesn't require rationalism. Furthermore, rationalism does not, in itself, affirm or deny atheism, although it does reject any belief based on faith alone. Historically, many rationalists were not atheists. Presumably, people who are rationalists today generally do not believe that theism can be rationally justified, because modern-day rationalism is strongly correlated with atheism. As a result, most—if not all—prominent rationalists today, including scientists such as Richard Dawkins and activists such as Sanal Edamaruku are atheists.

Outside of religious discussion, the discipline of rationalism may be applied more generally, for example to political or social issues. In these cases it is the rejection of emotion, tradition or fashionable belief which is the defining feature of the rationalist perspective.

During the middle of the twentieth century there was a strong tradition of organized rationalism, which was particularly influenced by free thinkers and intellectuals. In the United Kingdom, rationalism is represented by the Rationalist Press Association, founded in 1899.

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William Whiston

William Whiston (December 9, 1667 - August 22, 1752), English divine and mathematician, was born at Norton in Leicestershire, of which village his father was rector. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism.

He was educated privately, partly on account of the delicacy of his health, and partly that he might act as amanuensis to his father, who had lost his sight. After his father's death, he entered at Clare College, Cambridge, where he applied himself to mathematical study, and obtained a fellowship in 1693. He next became chaplain to John Moore (1646-1714), the learned bishop of Ely, from whom he received the living of Lowestoft in 1698.

His A New Theory of the Earth (1696), an articulation of Creationism and flood geology which held that the global flood of Noah had been caused by a comet, obtained the praise of both Newton and Locke, the latter of whom classed the author among those who, if not adding much to our knowledge, "At least bring some new things to our thoughts." In 1701 he resigned his living to become deputy at Cambridge to Sir Isaac Newton, whom two years later he succeeded as Lucasian professor of mathematics. Here he engaged in joint research with his junior colleague Roger Cotes, appointed with Whiston's patronage to the Plumian chair of Astronomy in 1706.

In 1707 he was Boyle lecturer. For several years Whiston continued to write and preach both on mathematical and theological subjects with considerable success; but his study of the Apostolic Constitutions had convinced him that Arianism was the creed of the primitive church. For Whiston, to form an opinion and to publish it were things almost simultaneous. His heterodoxy soon became notorious, and in 1710 he was deprived of his professorship and expelled from the university. The rest of his life was spent in incessant controversy--theological, mathematical, chronological, and miscellaneous. He vindicated his estimate of the Apostolical Constitutions and the Arian views he had derived from them in his Primitive Christianity Revived (5 vols., 1711-1712).

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Pauline Christianity

Pauline Christianity is a term used to refer a branch of Early Christianity associated with the beliefs and doctrines espoused by Paul the Apostle through his writings. Most of mainstream Christianity relies heavily on these teachings and considers them to be amplifications and explanations of the teachings of Jesus. Others perceive in Paul's writings teachings that are radically different from the original teachings of Jesus documented in the canonical gospels, early Acts and the rest of the New Testament, such as the Epistle of James.

Proponents of the perceived Pauline distinctive include Marcion of Sinope, the 2nd century theologian who asserted that Paul was the only apostle who had rightly understood the new message of salvation as delivered by Christ.

Opponents of the same era include the Ebionites and Nazarenes, who rejected Paul for straying from "normative" Judaism.

Pauline Christianity, as an expression, first came into use in the twentieth century amongst those scholars who proposed different strands of thought within Early Christianity, wherein Paul was a powerful influence. It has come into widespread use amongst non-Christian scholars and depends on the claim, advanced in different ages, that the form of the faith found in the writings of Paul is radically different from that found elsewhere in the New Testament, but also that his influence came to predominate. Reference is also made to the large number of non-canonical texts, some of which have been discovered during the last hundred years, and which show the many movements and strands of thought emanating from Jesus's life and teaching or which may be contemporary with them, some of which can be contrasted with Paul's thought. Of the more significant are Ebionism and Gnosticism.

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Samuel

Samuel or Shmu'el (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל) is an important leader of ancient Israel in the Book(s) of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible.

His status, as viewed by rabbinical literature, is that he was the last of the Hebrew Judges and the first of the major prophets who began to prophesy inside the Land of Israel. He was thus at the cusp between two eras.

According to the text of the Book(s) of Samuel, he also selected/anointed the first two kings of the Kingdom of Israel: King Saul and King David.

Name

According to 1 Samuel 1:20, Hannah was the mother of Samuel and named him in memory of her requesting a child from God and God listening. However, this position is disputed by some textual scholars who consider that the passage originally referred to Saul, and was later doctored.

For the suggested etymology of the passage to work for the name Samuel requires it to be translated as Heard of God ('Shama', heard; 'El', god/El (a god)), or possibly as a sentence "God has heard", with "Shama" as the verb and "El" as the subject. Saul on the other hand means asked, and so certain scholars think an anti-monarchial editor changed the narrative so that Saul would no longer appear to have a divinely appointed birth.

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Golgotha

Calvary (Golgotha) is the English-language name given to the hill outside Jerusalem on which Jesus was crucified. Calvaria in Latin, Κρανιου Τοπος (Kraniou Topos) in Greek and Gûlgaltâ in Aramaic all mean 'skull', referring to a hill or plateau containing a pile of skulls or to a geographic feature resembling a skull.

Calvary is mentioned in all four of the accounts of Jesus' crucifixion in the Christian canonical Gospels:

And they took him up to the place Golgotha, which is translated Place of the Skull. -Mark 15:22

Then they came up to the place called Skull. -Luke 23:33

And carrying his cross by himself, he went out to the so-called Place of the Skull, which is called in 'Hebrew' Golgotha. -John 19:17

Luke's Gospel does not give the local, Aramaic name, Gûlgaltâ (Golgotha). John's Gospel somewhat misleadingly labels the name as 'Hebrew', indicating the 'language of the Hebrews', which was Aramaic at that time.

The New Testament describes Calvary as close to Jerusalem (John 19:20), and outside of its walls (Hebrews 13:12). This is in accordance with Jewish tradition, as Jesus was also buried near to the place of his execution.

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Philipp Melanchthon

Philipp Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerd) (February 16, 1497 - April 19, 1560) was a German theologian and writer of the Protestant Reformation and an associate of Martin Luther.

Melanchthon was born at Bretten, near Karlsruhe, where his father, Georg Schwarzerd, was armorer to Count Palatine Philip.

In 1507 he was sent to the Latin school at Pforzheim, the rector of which, Georg Simler of Wimpfen, introduced him to the study of the Latin and Greek poets and of the philosophy of Aristotle. But he was chiefly influenced by his great-uncle, Johann Reuchlin, the great representative of humanism, who advised him to change his family name, Schwarzerd (literally Black-earth), into the Greek equivalent Melanchthon.

Not yet thirteen years old, he entered in 1509 the University of Heidelberg where he studied philosophy, rhetoric, and astronomy/astrology, and was known as a good Greek scholar. Being refused the degree of master in 1512 on account of his youth, he went to Tübingen, where he pursued humanistic and philosophical studies, but devoted himself also to the study of jurisprudence, mathematics, astronomy/astrology, and even of medicine.

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