Category Archives: Bible Study

Jesus’ First Prophetic Proclamation: “Release To The Captives” —

Luke 4:16-21 King James Version

16  Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives . . .  

. . . and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[f]

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

[NOTES: Muslims regard Jesus as one of the great prophets who brought divine guidance to humanity before Prophet Muhammad.

Jews traditionally reject Christian theological claims about Jesus. However, “Considering the historical Jesus, some modern Jewish thinkers have come to hold a more positive view of Jesus, arguing that he himself did not abandon Judaism and/or that he benefited non-Jews.” (Wikipedia )]

A Cautionary Tale and an Inspiration? The “Life of Quaker Service” of Annice carter

Finishing the new book Annice Carter’s Life of Quaker Service, my first query was: What if Annice Carter had ever learned to make bagels? Could that have changed history in the Middle East?

Annice in Middle Eastern dress.

She had the training and experience. With her college degree in Home Economics, cooking, including for large groups, was one of her many skills. And she was well aware of the implications of food for building community in diverse cultural settings.

Besides being a cook, Annice was a teacher, then Jill-of-(almost) all-trades, and later Principal of the Friends Girls School in Ramallah Palestine (started by New England Friends in the 1880s, and established as an elite  school for Palestinian students).

Continue reading A Cautionary Tale and an Inspiration? The “Life of Quaker Service” of Annice carter

Another Quaker Breakup: Indiana YM “Quits” FUM (Sort of)- Wants to Take Africa Missions With It

 

Time for a sequel?

The total number of splits in American Quakerdom since 2000 has just gone from five to six. And signs of more trouble are on the horizon.

Indiana Yearly Meeting (IYM), which saw eighteen of its meetings expelled or withdraw in 2013, has now pushed its separatism further by leaving Friends United Meeting.

But IYM wants to maintain its involvement in FUM’s African mission programs. How this is going to work, inasmuch as IYM’s “gospel” is that FUM is too heretical and corrupt to associate with at home, remains to be seen. As is whether FUM officials are so gullible as to permit the open sowing of future division in their remaining turf. Continue reading Another Quaker Breakup: Indiana YM “Quits” FUM (Sort of)- Wants to Take Africa Missions With It

Air-Conditioned Cartoons

Too many indulgences for the carburetor??

 

 

More of the Texas Gospel According to Greg & Ron . . .

Just papering over our differences??

I hear the streaming version is a bomb . . .

I kept telling Grandpa to stay away from that recycling bin . . .