The minor prophets

The minor prophets The twelve books of the minor prophets is the name given to the last twelve books of the Old Testament. The twelve books of the minor prophets are in the Prophets section of the Hebrew Bible, which is divided into three sections, the Law, Prophets, and Writings. These books were all written at different times over a period of three hundred years, starting from the reign of Jeroboam II. All of these books, except for the Book of Jonah, record messages from God that were delivered to the people of Israel and Judah. The Book of Jonah was primarily biographical, and told his story, rather than hortatory. The name minor refers to their length, rather than their importance. The underlying theme of all of these Books is Israels relationship with God. There is a wide variety of views written in these books but the main questions that keep appearing throughout these prophecies are, What does God demand of humans, and how do historical events signify Gods word. The order of these books in the English Bible are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habukkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Hosea is the first book and was written during the rule of Jeroboam II. It is written to demonstrate Gods unfailing love for his people, even though they choose to follow their unfaithful Kings in their sinful ways. There were 6 other Kings after Jeroboam II that ruled, however, they were never mentioned by Hosea, probably because of their insignificance as well as their sinful practices. Amos prophesied around the same time as Hosea, and both served their ministry in Northern Israel when Jeroboam II ruled over Israel and Uzziah ruled over Judah. Amos was not a prophet by profession, but was a herdsman and vinedresser, who the Lord commissioned to travel to Northern Israel to warn them of impending judgment (Amos 7:15). Amoss famous prophesy was when he warned Israel of an earthquake at Hazor, which came true a couple of years later and authenticated Amoss message. The earthquake was viewed by the people, at that time, as an omen of judgment. Joels ministry is placed historically between Hosea and Amos. During Joels ministry, the Lord announced that he would punish the nations for the way in which they had scattered His people, divided up His land, and sold His children into slavery (Joel 3: 2-3). The Book of Joel has two major sections. In the first section, Joel urges the people to mourn over the devastating effects of the locust invasion (Joel 1: 2-20), and to repent (Joel 2: 12-17). The second section of Joel, he notes that the Lord does take pity on his people (Joel 2:18), the Lord promises to call off the locust invasion, restore the nations crops, and vindicates his people (Joel 2: 19-3: 21). Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah all prophesied around the same time, around the time of the destruction of Judah. They prophesied in the same period, however, they all prophesied on different issues. Obadiah is the shortest book in the Hebrew Scriptures, consisting of only one single chapter. His ministry was directed at the Edomites, who lived south of Israel and were a constant source of conflict for the Israelites. The Edomites took pleasure over the destruction of Israel by different foreign invaders, however, Obadiah prophesied that Jehovah (God) would rebuke the Edomites and destroy them, while promising Israel deliverance and peace (Obadiah 1: 1-21). Finally, Obadiah prophesied that God, or Christ ( is the Great Warrior) will come to judge all nations and restore the land of Edom back to Israel (Revelation 19: 11-19; 20: 7-10). Nahums prophecy is about the fall of Nineveh, which was eventually conquered by the Babylonians. Nahum calls the people of Nineveh (the Assyrians) to repent and that God is the ruler of all nations (Nahum 1: 1ff). Nahums ministry also involved notifying the Assyrians that God was going to punish them for their transgressions against Israel. Habakkuk: The Book of Habakkuk consists of conversations between God and himself. Habakkuk questions God on how His Holiness can allow the lawlessness and violence that was overtaking Judah, Habakkuk lament (Habb 1: 2-4): How long must the unjust triumph? The Lords response (Habb 1: 5-11): Justice is on the way. Habakkuks message to his people is that God will not allow evil to continue (Habb 2: 1-17). God promises his people that despite evil men prospering, God will exalt his people one day (Habb 3: 1-7). The Lords response (Habb 2: 2-20): Justice will indeed prevail in due time. Habakkuks response (3: 1-19): I have heardI will rejoice! Habakkuk basically questions Gods allowing evil to overtake Judah and after God responds to Habakkuk, he concludes that he can trust God to punish the people wisely and justly. Zephaniah was a contemporary of Habakkuk and Jeremiah. He prophesied during the reign of Josiah and preceded the fall of Nineveh. He prophesied in Judah, specifically in Jerusalem, during the time when the people of Judahs moral and spiritual life had been corrupted by the evil reign of Manasseh and Amon (Zephaniah 3: 1-7). The people have been drawn away from God and idolatry and corruption was the main theme in Jerusalem (Zephaniah 1: 7). Because of this, Zephaniahs prophecy came true when Judah was invaded and taken over by the Babylonians. The Book of Zephaniah is divided into three sections: retribution or judgment for sin, a call for repentance, and a promise of future redemption and blessing. Zephaniah prophesied that despite the impending exile God promised to Israel that he would judge the nation and rescue his people. He also tells of a day when God will purge creation of sin and redeem his people (Zephaniah 1: 18; 3: 8, 12-20). Gods promise of deliverance will extend past the burdens of Israel and include all those who are outcasts and lame. Paul clarifies these promises in the New Testament to show in Christ, both Jew and Gentile comprise the people of God (Eph 2: 11-3: 21). These promises, however, were not meant foe every Jew regardless of belief in Christ, but only for those Jews who trusted in Jesus (Rom 9: 1ff). Micahs ministry was primarily to Jerusalem and the rest of the Southern Kingdom. Micahs ministry criticizes the leaders of Judah for their corruption as well as their insensitivity to the poor. He was a contemporary of Isaiah and their messages were very similar. He prophesied the destruction of Samaria and Northern Israel, followed by similar destruction to Judah. Micah announces the coming of the Messiah, from Bethlehem (Micah 5: 1-5), and with the coming of this future King, will come a future Kingdom (Micah 4: 1-8). Jonah, unlike all of the other 11 books of the minor prophets, is the only one that is biographical. Jonah is called on by God to call on the Assyrians (specifically the people of Nineveh) to repent of their sin (Jonah 1: 2). The problem is that Jonah hated the Assyrians, who had caused his people (the people of Israel) many hardships. He felt that if his ministry was successful and the Assyrians repented, then God might forgive them and spare them from destruction. The main theme of the Book of Jonah is not about Jonah running away and hiding from God, even though this is an important lesson for everyone, it is that Gods purpose is to save people of all nations (Jonah 3: 1ff), not just the people of Israel. Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi is the last group of the Twelve Minor Prophets. They all prophesied after the Babylonian exile. Haggai was the first prophet to minister to the first people of Israel who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonians decided to release them from captivity. He inspired the Jews who returned back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. During the first 15 years after their return to Jerusalem from Babylonia, the people had built fine houses for themselves, and only the foundations of the temple had been laid. However, after Haggais rebuke, construction of the temple restarted and within 4 years, the temple was finished. Zechariahs message was of hope and encouragement. Through Zechariah, God tells of a day when hw will bring the office of king and priest together as one, who will build the temple of the Lord (Zech 3: 8-10; 6: 11-15). This future individual is Jesus, who will make atonement for his people and rules as King on Davids throne (Acts 2: 1ff; 15: 1ff; Heb 2-9). Malachis message to the people of Israel was that if the people return to God, then God will bless them greatly. God announces (through Malachi) that he will send a messenger who will pave the way for the Messiah. Malachi 4: 5-6 refers to John the Baptist as that person (Mal 3: 1; 4: 5-6). Chisholm, Robert B. Jr. (2002). Handbook on The Prophets, p. 335-477. Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287: Baker Academic Retrieved from: http://theroadtoemmaus.wordpress.com/2007/08/17/the-message-of-the-minor-prophets/ 2/1/2010 Retrieved from: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Bible/Prophets/Latter_Prophets/The_12_Minor_Pr 2/1/2010 Retrieved from: http://bible.org/seriespage/minor-prophets 2/1/2010 Retrieved from: http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_otb5.htm 2/1/2010 Retrieved from: http://www.biblestudy.org/prophecy/minor-prophets.html 2/1/2010

Charles Darwin Essay -- Biography Biographies

Charles Robert Darwin was a man of many hats. He was a friend, colleague, son, father, husband; but above all, he was a naturalist. Through his dedication and perseverance did he manage to, in less than a generation, establish the theory of evolution as a fact in peoples' minds. In fact, "[t]oday it is almost impossible for us to return, even momentarily, to the pre-Darwinian atmosphere and attitude" (West 323). Darwin formed the basis of his theory during the voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle, on which vessel he was posted as it travelled around the globe. During that five-year span, this young man saw foliage, creatures, cultures that he had never known first-hand before. He was exposed to environments that not many of his contemporaries saw and lived the life that few did. Was his epic journey merely a series of trips to strange and exotic lands, or was Darwin affected by his experiences in more profound ways? Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809; the same day that another great man, Abraham Lincoln, was born. He was no child prodigy; he "was considered by all [his] masters and by [his] Father as a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard in intellect" (Barlow Voyage 28). The one trait in him that stands out in his formative years is a taste for the outdoors; he loved to gather shells, seals, franks, coins, and minerals. The passion for collecting, which leads a man to be a systemic naturalist, a virtuoso, or a miser, was very strong in [him] and was clearly innate, as none of [his] sisters and brother ever had this taste. (Barlow Autobiography 23) He grew up in Shrewsbury, and attended the local grammar-school there. After graduating, he entered Edinburgh University with the intent of studying medicine, but he found anatomy boring a nd his lack of sketching skills hampered him. It was decided between Darwin and his father that he should pursue ecclesiasticalstudies at Cambridge. Those subjects did not enthuse him either, but he discovered a "spontaneous and exceptional interest in natural history" (Moorehead 25). Academically, "he scraped through...with a pass" (Moorehead, 25) but socially, he enjoyed himself greatly, as he had fallen in with a crowd of sportsmen and naturalists. As well, he developed strong ties with his botany and geology teachers, Professors Adam Sedgwick and John Henslow. Henslow was indeed a true friend; he did ... ... bloom; his zeal sharpened his eyes and ears, and opend up his mind to "new ideas, new books, new friends, new observations, new hypotheses, new laws" (Dorsey 79). His spirit of adventure led him to far-off lands where obscure fauna and flora were living and breathing, and not just names in some book. "The discipline of the trip taught him an eternal lesson in good-humoured patience, freedom from selfishness, the habit of acting for himself and making the best of every occurrence" (Dorsey 71). While he eventually found himself to be at odds with the religion that he once wholeheartedly embraced, never did he attempt to derogate people's beliefs; it was with rare and noble calmness with which he expound[ed] his own views, undisturbed by the heats of polemical agitation which those views...excited, and persistently refus[ed] to retort on his antagonists by ridicule, by indignation, or by contempt. (Dorsey 270) So it was through hard work, flexibility and openmindedness that this gr eat man, whom his colleague and friend Wallace termed "the Newton of Natural History" (West 325), came to develop his trademark values of integrity and dedication as he sailed the shores of distant lands.

Fun Home

About the book: Alison Bechdel’s father Bruce was a high school English teacher, a funeral home operator, and a man who worked tirelessly to restore his Victorian-era home to its original glory. He was a husband and father of three children. On the outside, the Bechdels were a functional nuclear family. However, soon after Bechdel came out to her parents, she learned her father was also gay and that he had sexual relationships with his students. Months after her announcement, her mother filed for divorce – and two weeks after that, her father got run over by a truck. Was it an accident? Was it suicide?Bechdel thinks it was the latter, and in Fun Home, she analyzes her memories, books, and family letters in an attempt to understand who Bruce was and why he chose a life that dissatisfied him so deeply. What I liked: Bechdel’s analysis of her and her father’s lives, and her ability to wed it to distinct visuals, was inventive and involving. I remember one pag e in particular where she mapped out the places where her father was born, lived, and died, and circumscribed the area within one tidy circle to reveal that all of these important things happened within one mile’s distance of each other.The narrative loops back and forth upon itself, and parcels out new information at a measured pace, showing the readers new facets of the same story as it progresses. I appreciated Bechdel’s depth of focus in both her writing and her visuals – nearly everything is in its right place. I admire how much effort went into writing and drawing something so emotionally painful, and how much more effort went into making it all look seamless. Summary: Alison Bechdel grew up with a father who was alternatingly distant and angry, an English teacher and director of the local funeral home (or â€Å"Fun Home†, as Alison and her siblings called it).Their relationship grew more and more complex until Alison was in college. Shortly after A lison had come out to her parents, she learned that her father was also gay†¦ but before she had more than a brief chance to process that news, he was dead. Whether the accident that killed him had been truly an accident or a suicide, Alison would never know, just one of the many mysteries left by her father for Alison to slowly and painfully unravel here. Review:The â€Å"look at my terrible childhood† flavor of memoir is my least favorite flavor, and is responsible for me thinking I didn’t like memoirs in general until relatively recently. I’ll happily grant Fun Home an exception, however, even though it technically does fall into that category. There are several reasons that it sets itself apart from the rest of its peers, but I think the primary reason is that Bechdel is not using her the trauma of childhood for laughs (although there are some humorous touches throughout) or for dramatic potential (although there’s certainly plenty of that as wel l).Instead, there’s a very palpable sense that she’s writing this memoir because she’s really trying to figure out her relationship with her father, and what it meant, and that putting her memories down on paper is the best way she can hope to make sense of it all. The narrative flow does jump backwards and forwards through time, repeating some parts of the story from different angles as they come to bear on different topics, giving it a feeling of â€Å"thinking out loud,† but even so, it doesn’t come across as feeling scattered or unpolished.It also helps that her analysis, both of her father and of herself, is extremely penetrating, with enough emotion to make it powerful but enough age and maturity to make it thoughtful. Bechdel’s prose is similarly both elevated and immediate, verbose and vocabulary-ridden, but still clear and forceful. The book is rife with literary allusions and direct textual comparisons, some of which I got, some of which surely went over my head, but which certainly set the intellectual tone of the book.Bechdel’s art is also great, and I really liked the juxtaposition of her own detailed drawings with the drawn reproduction of photographs, printed text, and her own diary entries. Overall, this was a very thoughtful and penetrating book. I’m sure that there are layers of meaning about homosexuality and the process of coming out that I, as a straight person, didn’t latch on to. But I think there’s also a message that’s applicable to everyone, about the secrets that our parents keep, and about who they really are, and how we, as children of our parents, can manifest those secrets without ever truly understanding them. out of 5 stars.Summary The entire story is present from the first few pages, in the antique decadence that contrasts peculiarly against father Bruce’s strict, volatile perimeters; his cut-off jean shorts; his nose stuck in The Nude by Kenne th Clark; and in Alison’s tomboyish supplication as a child for his affection, channeled instead into the house’s restoration, a House of Usher in reverse. â€Å"It was his passion. And I do mean passion. Libidinal. Manic. Martyred,† writes Bechdel, showing Bruce carrying a porch column bent over his back, wearing only shorts that would make the Village People blush.After Alison types and mails a letter from college telling her parents she is gay, her mother informs her that Bruce, a high school English teacher and part-time funeral home director, had been with men throughout their marriage. The first had been a farmhand at 14; one was even her babysitter, Roy. â€Å"I had imagined my confession as an emancipation from my parents, but instead I was pulled back into their orbit†¦ Why had I told them? I hadn’t even had sex with anyone yet. Conversely, my father had been having sex with men for years and not telling anyone. Four months later, Bruce die d in puzzling (read: suicidal) conditions. Alison impulsively links his death to her sexual revelation — â€Å"the end of his life coincided with the beginning of my truth. † Bechdel traces the fear of this correlation back and forth in time through bizarre, coded interactions with her parents. Watching her narrate cyclonically around this traumatic core — â€Å"a sort of inverted Oedipal complex,† the assertion of her â€Å"erotic truth† destroying her repressed father’s life — is a devastating, bittersweet head-trip.It is the reading equivalent of a photo mosaic: hundreds of tiny images of Alison forming an inescapably dominating image of Bruce. Fun Home also pulls off a portrait of how the invisible histories and private lives of parents impress unwittingly upon children emotionally and psychologically. Plenty of books attempt that, but fewer pull it off without connect-the-dots associations or posturing, fewer still with Fun House ’s effortless juggling of past, present and future.

Is Open Source Software - 740 Words

In fact, all the mottoes of free software development have their counterparts in the theory of democracy and open society; â€Å"with enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow† is merely the most obvious example. Karl Popper would have cheered.57 The importance of open-source software is not that it introduces us to a wholly new idea; it is that it makes us see clearly a very old idea. With open source the technology was novel, the production process was transparent, and the result of that process was a â€Å"product† which out-competed other products in the marketplace. â€Å"How can this have happened? What about the tragedy of the commons?† we asked in puzzlement, coming only slowly to the realization that other examples of commons-based, non-proprietary†¦show more content†¦These are all guesses, however. At the very least, there is some possibility, even hope, that we could have a world in which much more of intellectual and inventive production is free . â€Å"‘Free’ as in ‘free speech,’† Richard Stallman says, not â€Å"‘free’ as in ‘free beer.’†61 But we could hope that much of it would be both free of centralized control and low cost or no cost. When the marginal cost of production is zero, the marginal cost of transmission and storage approaches zero, the process of creation is additive, and much of the labor doesn’t charge—well, the world looks a little different.62 This is at least a possible future, or part of a possible future, and one that we should not foreclose without thinking twice. Yet that is what we are doing. The Database Protection Bills and Directives, which extend intellectual property rights to the layer of facts;63 the efflorescence of software patents;64 the UCITA-led validation of shrink wrap licenses that bind third parties;65 the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention provisions66 — the point of al l of these developments is not merely that they make the peer-to peer model difficult, but that in many cases they rule it out altogether. The free software and open-source software movements have produced software that rivals and, many would say, exceeds the capabilities of conventional proprietary, binary-only software. 52 Its adoption on the â€Å"enterprise level† is impressive, as is the number andShow MoreRelatedEssay On Open Source Software840 Words   |  4 PagesUsing Open Source Software as a Small Business Small businesses have to be smart with their money. 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