Well, we're five years closer to the Mayan calendar's predicted doomsday date of Dec 21, 2012, which also marks the completion of the galactic alignment when the earth aligns with the galactic equator which is the center-line of the milky way. This happens once every 26,000 years. This also marks the completion of the earth wobbling very slowly on its axis--when it shifts the position of the equinoxes and solstices one degree every 71.5 years--- two events predicted by the Mayan calendar and incidentally, is also when their calendar ends. I'll be close to 56 years old then. I hope I'd have lost 40 pounds. I slept through New Year's Eve---a definite sign of the times---though I think my kids had a great time together. I was just exhausted.
We had the CEO of Mountain View Hospital and his wife as our dinner guests last Saturday. We had a great time. Mark Howard was the 11th LDS missionary in the Philippines who taught and baptized my step-father and his family. He is a delightful man full of enthusiasm, vim and vigor. He loves Filipino culture and...food! His favorite drink is "cosmos" so, as a surprise, I had a 2 liter bottle of Sarsi, formerly known as "cosmos". He drank the whole bottle. I had pork adobo, chicken pastel, guinisang sitaw at kalabasa (squash and long beans), pansit palabok and lumpia. For dessert, I served samplings of mango and jackfruit with cashew ice creams on my green depression glass bowls and saucers. I had quite an elegant spread. I worked the whole day to make the house look spectacular with the kids help, of course. Kurt was his usual charming self. My mom and step-father were here too. It was a fabulous affair. He promised to help Leland land a summer internship with the hospital. I hope that happens. It was great to reminisce the early days of the church in the Philippines.
We completed the study of the Old Testament in church yesterday. Next Sunday, we start the New Testament. I have to say that I fully enjoyed this year of study because I decided to really 'feast' on the scriptures. I've studied the scriptures in various ways through the years---by topic, by elaborate marking strategies, by outlining, cross referencing, etc. This year, I decided to study the Old Testament by reading up about the history of the times on the side. This was a great idea.
To fully understand the Old Testmant which is told mostly from the point of view of Judaic writers, one must understand the culture and times and as much of the language as possible. This casts a wider and brighter light on the text and detail of the scriptures. For example, most people read the Old Testament as if it were a mystical or mythical book that happened in some far away place and time that we can't really relate to. But when you realize that Alexander the Great, Tiberius, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were alive during the times of the Old Testament, that puts a different spin on the way you perceive things.
I was especially fascinated by the history of the Israelites---how they were dominated and conquered by several kingdoms starting with the Assyrians, the Babylonians and Chaldeans, the Persians, the Greeks and then the Romans who ruled until nearly 500 years after Christ. Another fascinating spin is the fact that great battles recorded by ancient historians such as Josephus actually coincide with battles described in the Old Testament. The battle of Thermopolae for example, happened 500 years before Christ---during the reign of King Darius. Before him, King Cyrus, a Persian ruler who overthrew the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, ordered the enslaved Israelites to return to their ancestral land of Judah, including Jerusalem, and actually insisted on putting this decree to writing. Included in this decree is the charge to build a temple on the site now known as Temple Mount. This same decree is still being used to this very day when Israel, as late as 2002, used this decree to underscore their right to the land of Jerusalem, specifically, the Temple Mount which is, in large degree under Muslim possession as a "spoil of war". Two Judaic temples have been built on this site, starting with that of King Solomon which was destroyed by the Babylonians. The 2nd temple was built after King Cyrus' decree which was eventually destroyed by the Romans after the death of Christ. The third temple is yet to be built and the anticipation of this event is formally included in the thrice daily Jewish prayer services. This third and last temple will precede the coming of the Messiah. There is actually a movement by many Jewish and non-Jewish groups to expedite this event. I myself am anxious for this to happen. But the political implications are grim as prophesied in the Old Testament and we know now that for this to happen, a great war will have to be fought against the Muslims....which in fact, is already happening.
Another detail that is so lost to the world is the fact that Christ was a practicing Jewish rabbi. He was in fact, a Jew and observed the Jewish traditions as they are meant to be observed. In a fit of righteous indignation, he was mortified that the holy temple (the 2nd one built after King Cyrus' decree...) was being used as a "den of thieves". Temples were and are still an important part of Jewish tradition and should still be important. This gives the building of the 3rd temple on Temple Mount in Jerusalem great urgency. It is part of Biblical prophecy. While many may view this as only a Jewish "problem", if you think about it, it really should be every Christian's dream if we are to be looking forward to the coming of Christ. Anyway, I am looking forward to studying the New Testament and will start my studies immediately. Jordan will be going to London and Scotland for the spring term to study the works of English writers. I am thinking of meeting him in Barcelona when the term ends mid-June. I hope I can manage that since it coincides with Hannah's graduation date. We'll have to do a lot of planning. This summer will be Hannah's last summer before she goes to college. I can't even think about it.
We had the CEO of Mountain View Hospital and his wife as our dinner guests last Saturday. We had a great time. Mark Howard was the 11th LDS missionary in the Philippines who taught and baptized my step-father and his family. He is a delightful man full of enthusiasm, vim and vigor. He loves Filipino culture and...food! His favorite drink is "cosmos" so, as a surprise, I had a 2 liter bottle of Sarsi, formerly known as "cosmos". He drank the whole bottle. I had pork adobo, chicken pastel, guinisang sitaw at kalabasa (squash and long beans), pansit palabok and lumpia. For dessert, I served samplings of mango and jackfruit with cashew ice creams on my green depression glass bowls and saucers. I had quite an elegant spread. I worked the whole day to make the house look spectacular with the kids help, of course. Kurt was his usual charming self. My mom and step-father were here too. It was a fabulous affair. He promised to help Leland land a summer internship with the hospital. I hope that happens. It was great to reminisce the early days of the church in the Philippines.
We completed the study of the Old Testament in church yesterday. Next Sunday, we start the New Testament. I have to say that I fully enjoyed this year of study because I decided to really 'feast' on the scriptures. I've studied the scriptures in various ways through the years---by topic, by elaborate marking strategies, by outlining, cross referencing, etc. This year, I decided to study the Old Testament by reading up about the history of the times on the side. This was a great idea.
To fully understand the Old Testmant which is told mostly from the point of view of Judaic writers, one must understand the culture and times and as much of the language as possible. This casts a wider and brighter light on the text and detail of the scriptures. For example, most people read the Old Testament as if it were a mystical or mythical book that happened in some far away place and time that we can't really relate to. But when you realize that Alexander the Great, Tiberius, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were alive during the times of the Old Testament, that puts a different spin on the way you perceive things.
I was especially fascinated by the history of the Israelites---how they were dominated and conquered by several kingdoms starting with the Assyrians, the Babylonians and Chaldeans, the Persians, the Greeks and then the Romans who ruled until nearly 500 years after Christ. Another fascinating spin is the fact that great battles recorded by ancient historians such as Josephus actually coincide with battles described in the Old Testament. The battle of Thermopolae for example, happened 500 years before Christ---during the reign of King Darius. Before him, King Cyrus, a Persian ruler who overthrew the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, ordered the enslaved Israelites to return to their ancestral land of Judah, including Jerusalem, and actually insisted on putting this decree to writing. Included in this decree is the charge to build a temple on the site now known as Temple Mount. This same decree is still being used to this very day when Israel, as late as 2002, used this decree to underscore their right to the land of Jerusalem, specifically, the Temple Mount which is, in large degree under Muslim possession as a "spoil of war". Two Judaic temples have been built on this site, starting with that of King Solomon which was destroyed by the Babylonians. The 2nd temple was built after King Cyrus' decree which was eventually destroyed by the Romans after the death of Christ. The third temple is yet to be built and the anticipation of this event is formally included in the thrice daily Jewish prayer services. This third and last temple will precede the coming of the Messiah. There is actually a movement by many Jewish and non-Jewish groups to expedite this event. I myself am anxious for this to happen. But the political implications are grim as prophesied in the Old Testament and we know now that for this to happen, a great war will have to be fought against the Muslims....which in fact, is already happening.
Another detail that is so lost to the world is the fact that Christ was a practicing Jewish rabbi. He was in fact, a Jew and observed the Jewish traditions as they are meant to be observed. In a fit of righteous indignation, he was mortified that the holy temple (the 2nd one built after King Cyrus' decree...) was being used as a "den of thieves". Temples were and are still an important part of Jewish tradition and should still be important. This gives the building of the 3rd temple on Temple Mount in Jerusalem great urgency. It is part of Biblical prophecy. While many may view this as only a Jewish "problem", if you think about it, it really should be every Christian's dream if we are to be looking forward to the coming of Christ. Anyway, I am looking forward to studying the New Testament and will start my studies immediately. Jordan will be going to London and Scotland for the spring term to study the works of English writers. I am thinking of meeting him in Barcelona when the term ends mid-June. I hope I can manage that since it coincides with Hannah's graduation date. We'll have to do a lot of planning. This summer will be Hannah's last summer before she goes to college. I can't even think about it.
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