text:
Tetyana Obukhanych, PhD
Dr. Tetyana's Perspective
on Vaccination and Natural Immunity
SHOULD YOU BE AFRAID THAT MEASLES CAN GIVE YOU IMMUNE AMNESIA?
By Tetyana Obukhanych, Ph.D.
Does measles suppress your immune system via immune amnesia? Let's do some 'fact-checking.'
In 2002, Dr. Peter Aaby and co-authors published a study conducted in rural Senegal, in the area that had an outbreak of measles. According to the study: "No index or secondary case of measles died in the acute phase of infection nor did any of the children exposed to measles die in the first 2 months after exposure." (And given what we know from the 2015 Lancet Global Health publication, identifying vitamin A deficiency as a risk factor for mortality from measles, we can safely assume that perhaps children in this area were not as deficient in vitamin A, as children in other parts of Africa and Asia, where measles infection is known to result in high mortality.)
Dr. Aaby and co-authors were testing a commonly held assumption that after surviving measles, children would have a higher mortality rate from other infections due to long-term immune-suppression, which is thought to follow measles. But they got the opposite results. In fact, they found that "exposed children developing clinical measles had lower age-adjusted mortality over the next 4 years than exposed children who did not develop clinical measles."
The outcome of their 2002 study was consistent with prior studies: "No long-term excess mortality after measles infection: a community study from Senegal" and "No persistent T lymphocyte immunosuppression or increased mortality after measles infection: a community study from Guinea-Bissau."
Then in 2003, they did a similar study, this time in rural Bangladesh, to assess the long-term effects of measles by comparing the survival of unvaccinated children after measles with those who have not yet contracted measles. Again, they found that "post-measles cases had significantly lower mortality than uninfected, non-immunized children in the following 9 months."
Why then all this recent hysteria about measles resulting in immune amnesia, as if that's going to kill you?
There are a few research publications that have been picked up by the media or referenced by other research publications to unnecessarily feed these fears.
Let's first look at the PLoS Pathogens 2012 publication titled "Measles immune suppression: lessons from the macaque model."
Researchers state: "Here we show that MV preferentially infects CD45RA(-) memory T-lymphocytes and follicular B-lymphocytes, resulting in high infection levels in these populations. After the peak of viremia MV-infected lymphocytes were cleared within days... Our findings indicate an immune-mediated clearance of MV-infected CD45RA(-) memory T-lymphocytes and follicular B-lymphocytes, which causes temporary immunological amnesia."
OK, here we have a preferential infection of memory lymphocytes by the measles virus resulting in a temporary loss of immunologic memory. So what? When was it ever proven that immunologic memory has anything to do with protection from re-infection? In fact, the opposite has been demonstrated by the research conducted in the lab of Swiss scientist (and a Nobel Prize winner in 1996) Dr. Rolf Zinkernagel. In the title of his 2012 critical review, he clearly states: "Immunologic memory does not equal protective immunity."
Furthermore, the varicella (chickenpox) virus does exactly the same thing as the measles virus – infects memory lymphocytes – as reported by another research paper published in PLoS Pathogens in 2013: "During viremia the virus preferentially infected memory T-cells, initially central memory T-cells and subsequently effector memory T-cells."
Yet, no one is screaming from rooftops that chickenpox will make you die from the next common cold you contract, because that would be too obvious a lie to the current generation of chickenpox survivors who do not remember suffering from any type of immune-suppression, despite the fact that the varicella virus infected their memory T cells. But because it is only the older generation that has had natural measles, the media can get away with spreading such fears without common sense to stop them.
Another paper published recently in Science is titled "Measles virus infection diminishes preexisting antibodies that offer protection from other pathogens."
'Antibodies that offer protection'? Let's pause right here. When was it ever proven that antibodies offer protection? In fact, the opposite has been observed. Don't we remember another prominent scientist (and a Nobel Prize winner in 1960) Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet telling us the following regarding the role of antibodies (or rather lack thereof) for immunity in children who lacked antibody production due to a genetic condition called agammaglobulinemia:
"To everyone's surprise [children with agammaglobulinemia] showed a normal measles course with a typical rash which faded at the normal time and was followed by just as substantial immunity against reinfection as would be shown by any other convalescent. Antibody production is therefore not necessary either for recovery from or for the development of immunity to measles." (Burnet and White. Natural History of Infectious Disease. Cambridge University Press, 1940)
And don't we know of a modern-day paper showing that medical professionals with positive antibody titers for measles can still develop measles:
"Hospital employees working in patient care areas from July through November 1990 were screened for measles antibody levels using a commercially available enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Four healthcare workers vaccinated in the past developed measles. All had positive pre-illness measles antibody levels."
Then who cares what is temporarily happening with antibodies that bind to other pathogens after the measles infection?
A true correlate of protection is not the level of antibodies that bind to pathogens but virus- neutralizing serum titers. Those are measured by a technique called plaque-reduction neutralization, which is quite distinct from how antibodies are detected. When measured side- by-side using the same serum samples from research animals, virus-neutralizing measurements and antibody-binding titers do not follow the same pattern over time and therefore do not measure the same entity.
Before we start panicking over the demonstrated effects of the measles infection on the temporary loss of immunologic memory or diminished levels of virus-binding antibodies, let's ask ourselves: do we even fully understand the biological basis of immunity from viral re-infection? Is the science really settled here? Because it doesn't appear so to me.
Over the past century, the immunologic theory has been vacillating back and forth between holding a cell-based vs. humoral-based view of immunity. That debate was futile, because the majority of immunologic research has been done with non-infectious immunogenic substances that couldn't really test the theory in action.
In 1942, Merrill Chase postulated that immunity could be transferred with immune cells from immunized animals to naïve animals.
In 1995, Zinkernagel's research disproved that, showing that immunologic transfer of memory cells didn't confer protection, when animals were then challenged with a virus. But the transfer of serum from immune animals did confer protection, which to Dr. Zinkernagel implied that protective immunity is mediated by antibodies that can neutralize the virus.
Yet, back in the 1940s, Burnet already knew that it could not be antibodies, based on his clinical observations in agammaglobulinemic patients who lacked them, yet could generate robust immunity to a viral disease, like measles.
So, which is it: cell-based, antibody-based, or neither? And what is missing from the picture?
And what is missing from the picture is immune cell-derived factor called Transfer Factor. TF was discovered in the 1950s by Henry Sherwood Lawrence.
In 1980, a seminal clinical research paper was published in The New England Journal of Medicine, showing that TF administered to children with leukemia in a double-blind saline placebo-controlled trial protected them from chickenpox during 12-30 months of the follow-up.
In this clinical trial, TF was prepared by extracting (dialyzing) it from leukocytes of donors who had a history of chickenpox. Researchers had to kill those leukocytes in order to extract TF out of them. And most likely, those were memory lymphocytes that contained TF, since it had to be obtained from people who already had chickenpox.
Let's get back to the known propensity of the measles virus to infect and kill memory lymphocytes. Could it be that rather than making you less immune by killing your memory lymphocytes, the measles infection would make you more immune by killing your memory lymphocytes—due to releasing TF from all of those killed memory lymphocytes into your bloodstream? Did scientists measure the levels of serum TF to previously encountered infections before and after measles, the way they did for antibodies? I bet, no. Because that would put an end to the spread of the panic. And that wouldn't be good for vaccine industry business and for vaccine mandates.
Now, let's address yet another facet of memory lymphocytes. A subset of them (memory Th2) is known to be an immunologic reservoir for allergic diseases, including asthma. In fact, it was even proposed in a 2006 publication in Pharmacology & Therapeutics that drugs are needed to target and eliminate these pesky memory Th2 cells, in order to reduce their contribution to allergic asthma.
And if the measles and chickenpox viruses already do just that – kill memory T cells – shouldn't that lead to a reduced risk of asthma and other allergic diseases following these childhood diseases? Indeed, it should. And there are publications documenting such effects for measles in Africa and Europe, and for chickenpox in the USA.
Let's re-read the summary of Dr. Aaby's 2002 study findings and let it sink in: 'Exposed children developing clinical measles had lower age-adjusted mortality over the next 4 years than exposed children who did not develop clinical measles."
Are you still afraid?
Tetyana Obukhanych, PhD is a Founding Member and Immune Science Educator at BBCH (Building Bridges in Children's Health), an online community of parents, health advocates, and doctors dedicated to learning the science that impacts healthy immunity and children's health.
GO TO BBCH WEBSITE
PubMed links used in this article:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8629610
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12690020
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC27213/figure/F1/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC188883/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16081161
Copyright © 2019 by Tetyana Obukhanych, Ph.D. All rights reserved.
This post may be shared on social media. Re-publishing by other websites or blogs is not permitted.
Vaccine Illusion
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Vacation's over and I'm back in class. I didn't follow through on everything I said I was going to do over the break (i.e.never opened my textbook to review), but on the whole I'm pretty happy with how it went. I decided to do a photo documentary of my week and the places I went to see, and since this will make posts a little longer, I'm dividing it up into 3 parts so you won't want to poke your eyes out after 5 minutes.
I figured having been here almost two months, it was about that time. It's a fact: come to Asia and at one point or another, you'll have to squat while going to the bathroom. I'm fortunate enough to live in a Western-styled dorm, so I rarely have to use that "other kind of toilet", but I do use them and with a good amount of success. I realize I'm not the first person to write on the subject – Marco Polo probably did back during Mongol rule when squat toilets were just dirt holes (still primitive when compared to the outhouse). However, his description didn't have the colorful pictures, translated signs, and detailed diagrams that mine does. There's more to it than just the perfect squat angle you know. Take a read, you won't regret it when your bowels are relieved and pants are dry. And in case you were worried, it's relatively clean for a post about toilets. So here's Everything You Need To Know Before Going To The Bathroom In China.
This was originally part of "Beijing Bites Back: A Little Adversity Abroad ", but I realized that not only was it put-you-to sleep-long, but also that Jingju is so awesome, I was doing it a disservice by not giving it it's own post. So here it is. Last Friday, CET took us to see Beijing Opera at the Liyuan Theater. Word around China is that Beijing Opera is like nothing you've seen before; you either love it or hate it (you'll see why). Luckily, I loved it.
It happened. This week, for the first time since I've been here, there were actually a few days when I didn't feel like I was on that ecstatic high caused by the drug known as "loving everything about China". I had to tango with Customs and Fedex a few weeks back, but that doesn't really count. Granted, this is the exact time when you're supposed to start feeling the affects of culture shock, but I'm going to say that wasn't it.
Nothing about China or Beijing actually bothered me: not the trash problem, the horn honking, the awful air quality, the constant stench of festering dirty toilet paper tugging at my gag reflex every time I walk near the bathroom. No, in all seriousness, I really did accept all of that the first week I was here. But a few things did happen, and I came to a few realizations that really made me think about exactly what I'm doing and what I actually want to accomplish here.
I'm not entirely happy with my progress in Chinese. There's no question it's improved by leaps and bounds, I mean, that's what happens when you're not allowed to speak English for a semester. My grades and my ability to actually communicate on a real level with the people in Beijing is evidence of this. But I know I can do better. I still find myself searching for vocab words and grammar structures that I already learned but managed to forget just as quickly. It's what I should expect when I attempt to learn 40 or 50 new characters and 5 or 10 new grammar structures every morning in the hour and a half before class, i.e. my cram session.
This by no means a bad thing, but the other week I had to take a cab all the way across the city, a 45 minute ride, and I discovered not only how awesomely big Beijing is, but also how little of it I've actually seen. It's no one's fault – I've been busy almost every weekend going on trips and doing CET sponsored activities, and due to the nature of the program I'm in, I haven't had much time to get out during the week either.
And lastly, my lack of time management has definitely added a little stress to my life. At this point, I pretty much have a system for everything from doing homework and keeping my schoolwork organized, to doing my laundry and keeping track of when I need more toilet paper and bottled water. Yet somehow I still find myself going to bed between midnight and 1:00 am every morning and waking up that same morning at 6:00 to shower and study new vocab, all while wondering, 我的时间去哪儿? (grammatically speaking, that is definitely incorrect Chinese, but if you translate it character for character, the English comes out as "My time went where?") CET is hard, but not that hard…it's just time for me to get my act together.
So considering all of that, I made the executive decision to stay in Beijing over the course of our break instead of traveling around China. It was definitely a hard one. If you know me, you know my favorite part of studying abroad is traveling, but in the long run, this is easily the best idea. I'm going to explore a bit and actually see the city I live in, and finally have a chance to catch up on my life.
In the long term, I've also decided to stay in Beijing and continue studying Chinese indefinitely (as in I'm definitely staying here next semester with zero plan as to what I'll be doing afterwards), so when I truly am caught up on life, I'll have all the time in the world to trek around this country.
As far as improving my Chinese, I think I'll be amazed at how much I can accomplish in a week during which I have no other work to do. As part of my plan I'm going to force myself to spend one hour everyday at either a park, restaurant, or if I get desperate, the subway station, just chatting with people in Chinese.
Extremely comfortable topics (insert sarcastic tone) when you're talking with someone who was probably alive during both the Communist and Cultural Revolutions, may or may not have mixed feelings about U.S. culture/ customs and government policy, and might not want to be seen with a white foreigner who only speaks Chinese at the level of his/ her infant granddaughter…all so we could then go and prepare an oral report for that afternoon's class.
The park just happened to be the place where every morning, every loa nian ren 老年人 (slightly more euphemistic term for old people) in China decides to dance and mingle on these giant concrete areas that I'm assuming were intentionally constructed for that purpose. It wasn't that big of a park, but there were hundreds of people there, both men and women. I knew I really needed to find the right person if I didn't want to be stuck talking for an hour with someone I couldn't understand and who didn't actually have anything to say, and so I searched.
I ended up spotting this woman, about 65 to 70 I'd say, reading a book by herself on a bench and figured she would be great. On the whole, I find women's speech much easier to understand, they're less intimidated by a 22 year-old study abroad student than most men are, and she was reading a book which obviously meant she wasn't going anywhere fast. To cut this already ridiculously long story a bit shorter, we spoke for 45 minutes, there were no problems with either the conversation or my oral report, and the whole thing boosted my own self confidence – which is why I'll be attempting to do that for an hour a day every day over break.
And of course, a quick closing.
I realize this post was a bit on the not so optimistic side, and I did that for three reasons. 1) I'm trying to better reflect actual life here. 2) This week gave me the unique opportunity to reveal that life here or anywhere abroad isn't always perfect. And 3) To explain that my life actually has some substance here (as opposed to being bored back home), and therefore any obstacles or problems that do arise are microscopic dots when compared to my overall experience.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below and I'll get back to you!
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While last week was pretty ordinary, the first ordinary week I've had, the previous two weekends were exactly the opposite. If China was an adjective, I think this is the most China I've been since landing in Beijing. All the English majors out there just take a second and breathe, I know the adjective is "Chinese", but I wasn't being Chinese (e.g. I have a feeling most Chinese people don't get as excited as I was about spending the weekend climbing THE GREAT WALL). No, these past two weekends, I was being China, and it was awesome.
Actually, every week is still a week of firsts in Beijing, but I had no other good title to use, so I'll go with it this time. Most of the firsts actually centered on a hike we did last Saturday, including buying my first pair of knock off shoes, but I also had a first experience that was an indication of how far I've come in just one month in Beijing. So here it is, my week of firsts.


text:
Meridian rallies to 20-12 win
Published 4:41 pm Saturday, October 19, 2002
By By Patrick Jones/special to The Star
NATCHEZ Behind the arm of quarterback Ken Mitts and leg of kicker Andrew Gambrell, the Meridian Wildcats erased a five-point halftime deficit to defeat the Natchez High Bulldogs 20-12 at Tom F. Williams Memorial Stadium.
The win got the Wildcats, who for years was one of the best teams in the state, out of the cellar in Region 3-5A as they improved to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in region play.
The Bulldogs, who had a chance to pick up their first win of the season, dropped to 0-8 overall and 0-4 in region play with a road trip to No. 6 Oak Grove looming next Friday.
Meridian trailed Natchez 12-7 at halftime, but the Wildcats took the lead for good when Mitts connected with D. J. Lloyd on a 27-yard touchdown pass. Gambrell's extra point gave the visiting team a 14-12 lead.
Mitts finished 11-for-19 for 118 yards and one interception. He was also sacked four times. Gambrell then added field goals of 35 and 26 yards to give Meridian the 20-12 lead.
Meridian went to the run to start the game, going 54 yards in eight plays, with the scoring drive capped by a 1-yard run on 4th and goal from the Bulldogs' 1-yard line with 5:47 to go in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.
Natchez cut into the lead on a 16-yard pass from quarterback Leon Stewart to Richard Blanton. The extra point was no good and Meridian held a 7-6 lead.
The Bulldogs then took a 12-7 lead with 58 seconds to go until halftime when Stewart found Jeremiah Green for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion fell a couple of inches short.
Stewart was 10-for-13 for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. "Give Natchez a lot of credit. They've got a lot of great athletes," Stanley said. "We're just happy to come away with a win.
Anthony Strauder then recovered a Meridian fumble at the Wildcats' 14-yard line with eight seconds left until the break.
After a nine-yard run by Brian Williams, Denson elected to go for a field goal that would have given the Bulldogs an 8-point halftime lead. Instead, Williams' 22-yard attempt was just off the mark.
Another thing that preserved the win for Meridian was an adjustment defensive coordinator Malcom Jones made at halftime, which was to put more pressure on Stewart.
The strategy worked, as Stewart was just 4-for-12 for just 25 yards in the second half.


text:
Q: Почему нету вывода в консоль?
Почему нету вывода в консоль?!

A: Этот исходный код для досовского com файла. Нужно убрать include 'win64ax.inc', тогда скомпилируется в файл gnom.com, который нужно запускать с помощью эмулятора DOS (например, DOSBox). Под современными версиями windows не запустится, т.к. из windows с некоторых пор выпилен эмулятор для запуска dos-овских исполняемых файлов.
Вывод в консоль под Windows - например варианты 2 и 3 из этого ответа: https://ru.stackoverflow.com/a/109848/1365

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
In die Skriflig
In Skriflig (Online) vol.54 n.2 Pretoria 2020
http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ids.v54i2.2545
The book of Hebrews and the Reformed view of Scripture: Hebrews echoed in Belgic Confession Articles 2-7
Albert J. Coetsee
Unit for Reformed Theology and the Development of the SA society, School of Christian Ministry and Leadership, Faculty of Theology, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
This article argues that the view of Scripture found in the book of Hebrews is echoed in Belgic Confession (BC) Articles 2-7. The article endeavours to prove this hypothesis by indicating how Hebrews and BC Article 2-7 overlap. Articles 2-7 of the BC are discussed successively by summarising what each article says, investigating the conviction of the writer of Hebrews concerning the specific topic and comparing the two. The article finds that the view of Scripture found in BC Articles 2-7 can indeed be traced to the book of Hebrews. The article concludes by drawing some implications from this comparison for the (reformed) church today.
Keywords: Hebrews; Belgic Confession; Belgic Confession Articles 2-7; Reformed view of Scripture; Reformed Confessions.
The book of Hebrews is a sermon with the Old Testament as the primary background. Such a bold statement, of course, requires nuanced elaboration. Nonetheless, finding your way through the quagmire of questions regarding the precise genre of the book of Hebrews leads to the conclusion that a considerable amount of scholars view Hebrews as some form of oral address, most probably a sermon with a letter ending (Coetsee 2014:32-38; cf. Cockerill 2012:15; Koester 2001:80). Moreover, while various backgrounds for the book of Hebrews have been proposed throughout its scholarly investigation (cf. Hurst 1990; Punt 1997), almost all scholars agree: the numerous quotations and references to the Old Testament leave no doubt that it is the primary background of the book (cf. Cockerill 2012:41; Lane 1991:cxv).
This conclusion makes it possible to deduce various matters concerning the unknown author's view of Scripture, specifically the Old Testament. A number of excellent studies on this topic have been conducted (e.g. Griffiths 2014; Lewicki 2004; Wider 1997; cf. Coetsee 2014). This article would like to add to this array of studies by arguing that the view of Scripture found in the book of Hebrews is echoed in the Reformed Confessions, especially the Belgic Confession (BC) Articles 2-7.
The BC (or Confessio Belgica), which originated in Belgium in 1561 with Guido de Brès as the chief author, is one of the oldest Reformed Confessions, accepted and used by many Reformed churches around the world.1 Originally written in French, it was soon translated into Dutch and, in the centuries that followed, into various languages of the world (cf. Gootjes 2007:161; Heyns 1988:38).2 The confession was written in a time of persecution, aiming to give a clear and comprehensive statement of Reformed faith.3
One of the first subjects the BC touches on is the Reformed view of Scripture. Articles 2-7 (of 37 in total) contain succinct statements about the means by which we know God, focusing on the Bible. It is these articles that this article wants to focus on.
Of course, the argument that BC Articles 2-7 echo the view of Scripture found in the book of Hebrews would not and should not be strange, because the confessions of the church are written to echo or summarise what Scripture says. The argument, however, that the nucleus of BC Articles 2-7 can be found in a single biblical book, namely, the book of Hebrews, is striking.4
This article endeavours to prove this hypothesis by indicating how Hebrews and BC Articles 2-7 overlap. For the sake of structure, the successive articles of the BC are used as departure point for the comparison. Each section starts by quoting the words of the specific article of the BC and briefly summarising what the article says.5 This is followed by stating the conviction of the writer of Hebrews concerning the specific theme or topic, which is deduced by tracing the theme or topic throughout the 13 chapters of the book. After this, the writer's conviction and the content of the relevant article of the BC are compared, indicating how the two overlap and what the difference in nuance is.
The article concludes by drawing some implications from this comparison for the (reformed) church today.6
God makes himself known by Scripture (Belgic Confession Article 2b)
We know him by two means: Firstly, by the creation, preservation and government of the universe, because that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: his eternal power and his divinity, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20. All these things are enough to convict men and to leave them without excuse. Secondly, he makes himself known to us more openly by his holy and divine Word, as much as we need in this life, for his glory and for the salvation of his own. (BC Article 2)
Belgic Confession Article 2 discusses two means by which we know God: (1) the creation, preservation and government of the universe and (2) his holy and divine Word. While the word 'revelation' is not used here, it is implied by the phrases 'we know' and 'he makes himself known' (cf. Heyns 1988:62). Although not part of the wording of the BC Article 2, various systematic theologians refer to the universe as God's 'general revelation' and his Word as his 'special revelation' (cf. Bavinck & Bolt 2011:68-81; Beeke & Smalley 2019:185-189; Van Genderen & Velema 2008:42-56).7
The scope of the current article draws our attention to the second part of Article 2. However, this focus should not create the impression that Hebrews does not touch on the issues found in the first part of Article 2. In fact, Hebrews contains evidence of the writer's theological convictions regarding the creation, preservation and government of the universe (cf. Coetsee 2018):
Creation: The writer's conviction is that God created the universe by his word (Heb 11:3), which refers to God's creative words in Genesis 1. This is indirectly supported by the writer's references to God or Christ8 laying the foundation of the earth in the beginning (Heb 1:10 = Ps 102:25), God's creation of man (Heb 2:6-8 = Ps 8:4-6), God as the builder of all things (Heb 3:4), 'the foundation of the world' (Heb 4:3; 9:26) and God's rest on the seventh day (Heb 4:4 = Gen 2:2). More specifically, the writer's conviction is that God created the universe through his Son (Heb 1:2), namely that the Son was God's agent of creation.
Preservation: The writer of Hebrews is also convinced that God preserves the universe, as evidenced in his theologically rich reference to the Son continually 'upholding' (or 'sustaining', 'maintaining') 'all things', namely the universe, 'by his powerful word' (Heb 1:3). God's preservation of the universe is further underscored by the doxological reference to God as the one 'for whom and by whom all things exist' (Heb 2:10; cf. Ellingworth 1993:159).
Government: Various references throughout Hebrews reveal the writer's conviction of God's sovereignty, especially evidenced through Christ. Apart from the reference to God's preservation of creation in Hebrews 1:3, references to God's government of creation can be found in two texts that refer to God's consummation of all things: God will 'roll up' the earth and heavens like a robe (Heb 1:12), and he will shake the earth and the heavens (Heb 12:26 = Hag 2:6) at Christ's return.9
Putting it all together, it seems like the writer of Hebrews was convinced that God created, sustains and will consummate the universe through or because of his word (cf. Coetsee 2018:12).
Coming back to the scope of this article, our attention is drawn to the second part of Article 2, which states that God makes himself known to us 'more openly by his holy and divine Word'. The comparison between the universe and the Word as means of revelation emphasises that the Word is God's 'clearer', 'fuller' or 'more complete' revelation. However, God's 'holy and divine Word' does not merely refer to the Bible, as indicated by the distinction between the spoken and written Word of God in BC Article 3 (Van Bruggen 1980:24).
Belgic Confession Article 2's confession that God makes himself known 'by his holy and divine Word' can be traced to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews contains numerous references to God's speech. In fact, God's speech could be considered as one of the primary themes of the book (Lane 1991:cxxvii; cf. Coetsee 2014:281; Guthrie 1994:91-92). These references reveal that it was the writer's conviction that God makes himself known, especially through Scripture.
Unlike the Pauline or General Epistles of the New Testament (excluding 1 Jn), Hebrews does not start with the standard indication of author and addressees, and benediction. Scholars argue that this was a common way to start an oral address, namely with the main theme the speaker wants to emphasise (Guthrie 1994:45; cf. Cockerill 2012:86; Lane 1991:lxx). Hebrews 1 starts with a profound statement about God's speech:
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…. (w. 1-2a)10
Focusing on the verbs of these verses, the writer's conviction becomes clear: God speaks! He spoke in the past, and he continued to speak recently (relative to the writer's position) through his Son. God reveals himself.
Elsewhere I have argued that these words reveal the writer's conviction of the unfolding of God's revelation (cf. Coetsee 2016). These words contain a striking parallelism, as shown in Table 1.
The writer's argument in Hebrews 1:1-2a is as follows (Coetsee 2016:6): while God has revealed himself in segments and by a variety of means ('at many times and in many ways') over a long period of time ('long ago') to several believers in previous generations ('to our fathers') through various agents ('by the prophets'), he recently, during the transitional period from the old to the new era ('in these last days'), revealed himself personally to the addressees ('to us') through his Son.
The parallelism in Hebrews 1:1-2a has elements of both continuity and discontinuity. The writer's primary argument is one of continuity: the same God who spoke in the past has now spoken by his Son. Moreover, this parallelism makes it clear that God's revelation is progressive; his revelation progressed from his Old Testament revelation to his New Testament revelation in his Son.11 Although the writer's primary argument is one of continuity, the contrasts between verse 1 and verse 2a emphasise that God's revelation through his Son is superior, climactic, final, personal and urgent (Coetsee 2016:7).
Taking the above into account, BC Article 2b correlates with the opening words of Hebrews: God makes himself known to us by his holy and divine Word; God speaks through Scripture.
In my view, Hebrews makes more of the progression of God's revelation than BC Articles 2-7. Although it is clear that the BC agrees with the progression of God's revelation in Scripture (see, e.g., Article 25 on the fulfilment of the law), this departure point is much clearer in Hebrews. This is also the case when it comes to Hebrews' conviction that the Old Testament witnesses to Christ. Although it is clear from the BC as a whole that this is also the conviction of the Confession, it is not emphasised nearly as strongly as in Hebrews. This is made clear in Hebrews by the fact that the writer confirms his Christological assumptions by quoting from and referring to the Old Testament, especially the Psalms (Guthrie 2007:921). In quoting these words, the writer sometimes makes smaller stylistic and theological changes to emphasise the greater meaning of the text as fulfilled in Christ (Docherty 2009:196). Even the writer's use of the 1st century exegetical techniques implements and gives legitimacy to his Christological interpretation of the Old Testament Scriptures (Cockerill 2012:56-57). Throughout the sermon it becomes clear that the writer was convinced that the Old Testament witnesses to Christ. In a sense, the writer of Hebrews viewed the Old Testament as one great prophecy that shows to the Christ that was to come (Peterson 2002:123). The writer interprets Christ in the light of the Old Testament and the Old Testament in the light of Christ.
Coming to the final clause of BC Article 2b, the parallels between the BC and Hebrews are clear once more. Belgic Confession Article 2b's emphasis on God making known to us 'as much as we need in this life', namely (1) 'for his glory' and (2) 'for the salvation of his own', is clearly found in Hebrews. The primary concern of the writer of Hebrews was to warn his addressees against flirting with apostasy in the midst of hardship and persecution. For this reason, he once more reminds them of the essence of their faith. He refers to salvation throughout his sermon (Heb 1:3; 2:3, 9, 17; 5:9; 6:9; 8:1; 9:12, 24, 26, 28; 10:17-18), especially the magnitude and wonder of salvation in Christ, and how the addressees should take the utmost care not to neglect and despise this salvation. In the same breath, the writer refers to time and again to the glory of God (Heb 2:9; 9:14; 10:7, 31; 11:5-7; 12:29; 13:21). While Hebrews does not explicitly say that God reveals to us what is necessary for his glory, reading the sermon as a whole makes it clear that it is implied (see especially Heb 13:21).
The divine inspiration of Scripture (Belgic Confession Article 3)
We confess that this Word of God was not sent nor delivered by the will of men, but that holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit, as Peter says. Afterwards our God - because of the special care he has for us and our salvation - commanded his servants, the prophets and apostles, to commit this revealed Word to writing. He himself wrote with his own finger the two tables of the law. Therefore we call such writings holy and divine Scriptures. (BC Article 3)
Belgic Confession Article 3 is about the written Word of tha God. The article starts with a reference to the 'spoken' Word of God, and how God later ('afterwards') commanded his servants to write it down. The article's emphasis concerning both the spoken and written Word falls on its origin or inspiration: God through his Spirit 'moved' (inspired) the 'holy men' (agents of his revelation in Scripture) to say what he wanted to say (the spoken Word; made clear by the quotation of 2 Pet 1:21),12 and God commanded his servants to write it down (the written Word).13 Neither the act of speaking God's Word nor writing it down is the result of human doing; God initiated it (cf. Heyns 1988:82). Although the content of BC Article 3 does not contain the word 'inspiration', it is clearly implied.
Reading through the book of Hebrews, it becomes apparent that the writer was convinced that the Old Testament was divinely inspired. This is evident when one takes a closer look at the way the writer quotes from the Old Testament. In an article on the theme of God's speech in the introductory formulae of Hebrews, Jordaan and I indicate the following (Coetsee & Jordaan 2015):
Hebrews has 38 direct quotations from the Old Testament which the writer introduces with some form of introductory formula. In 37 of these, the writer introduces the direct quotation with a form of a verb of 'saying'. This means that, with the exception of the introductory formula in Hebrews 10:37 (which contains no verb), the writer of Hebrews does not introduce any Old Testament quotation without using a verb of 'saying'.
When the grammatical subjects of the introductory formulae are coupled with this, it produces even more striking results. In 34 of the 38 introductory formulae (±89%), a person of the Trinity is the subject and subsequent speaker of the Old Testament words.
When one investigates the original Old Testament context of the quoted words, it becomes clear that the writer of Hebrews does not hesitate to place the words of poets or prophets in the mouth of God or Jesus. Consequently, the writer's first interest was not with the human writers; he deliberately avoids them in his introductory formulae to indicate the Old Testament as the words of God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, there is only one reference in Hebrews to the original author or source of an Old Testament quotation, namely the writer's reference to David in Hebrews 4:7. But even this reference to David is not without reason. The writer of Hebrews refers to David to substantiate his argument of elapsed time. Moreover, the reference emphasises the fact that David was merely the agent through whom God spoke. In addition to this, the writer's placement of the words of Genesis 2:2 (which is a narrative) into the mouth of God indicates his conviction that God speaks through the events recorded in the Old Testament (Heb 4:4).
From this, it is clear that the writer of Hebrews emphasises the verbal nature of the Old Testament throughout his sermon. The writer is convinced that the whole Old Testament comes from the mouth of God and is divinely inspired. This links closely to the words of BC Article 3, which states that the 'Word of God was not sent or delivered by the will of men'.
This conviction is not limited to the writer of Hebrews himself; his hearers share his conviction. This is clear from the scope of the sermon as a whole. The writer exhorts his hearers from the Old Testament in such a way that one cannot but conclude that they shared his conviction. He expected them to submit themselves completely to the authority of the Old Testament (cf. Ellingworth 1993:23). He also claims that the only source of the previous leaders of the congregation's authority was the fact that they preached the (inspired) Word of God to the hearers (Heb 13:7a), exemplifying its content (Heb 13:7b).
All of this explains why the writer could convincingly affirm his Christological assumptions from the Old Testament (Isaacs 1992:69). As his hearers have the same conviction regarding the divine inspiration of the Old Testament, and consequently the same Messianic hope, the writer had no trouble to show from the Old Testament that Jesus is the Christ.
The conviction of the divine inspiration of the Old Testament probably also explains why the writer remains anonymous throughout his sermon. The writer deliberately remains anonymous in order to emphasise the fact that he is not the main speaker in his sermon - God is (Lewicki 2004:124).
To conclude, BC Article 3 and Hebrews share the conviction that the Old Testament is divinely inspired. The inspiration of the New Testament, however, which is clearly assumed in BC Article 3 (as elaborated in BC Article 4), cannot be traced to Hebrews for the simple reason that the New Testament canon was still in the making. However, as the writer viewed his preaching of Christ, which has numerous parallels with the Christian tradition reflected in the New Testament books, as authoritative, one can argue that the heart of a New Testament canon can be seen in Hebrews.
The concluding words of BC Article 3, namely that God had his Word written down 'because of the special care he has for us and our salvation', can once more (as in the case of BC Article 2b) be found in the overall message of Hebrews.
The canonical books of Scripture (Belgic Confession Article 4)
We include in the Holy Scripture the two volumes of the Old and New Testaments. They are canonical books with which there can be no quarrel at all. In the church of God the list is as follows: In the Old Testament, the five books of Moses - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth; the two books of Samuel, and two of Kings; the two books of Chronicles, called Paralipomenon; the first book of Ezra; Nehemiah, Esther, Job; the Psalms of David; the three books of Solomon - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song; the four major prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel; and then the other twelve minor prophets - Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. In the New Testament, the four gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; the Acts of the Apostles; the fourteen letters of Paul - to the Romans; the two letters to the Corinthians; to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians; the two letters to the Thessalonians; the two letters to Timothy; to Titus, Philemon, and to the Hebrews; the seven letters of the other apostles - one of James; two of Peter; three of John; one of Jude; and the Revelation of the apostle John. (BC Article 4)
Belgic Confession Article 4 gives a list of the 66 canonical books of the Reformed canon. These books are viewed as the divinely inspired written Word of God referred to in BC Article 3. The reference to the two parts of Scripture, namely the Old Testament and New Testament, is aimed against the Anabaptists who tended to neglect or downplay the Old Testament, and the reference to the 66 books of the canon is against the Roman Catholic Church that includes the apocrypha in their canon (Bosman 1987:55; Van Bruggen 1980:28).
A number of critical comments can be made regarding the words of Article 4 (Bosman 1987:55):
Modern scholarship doubts that Moses was the (sole) author of the Pentateuch, David of (most of) the Psalms,14 Solomon of (all of) Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs, while some scholars doubt that Paul was the author of all of the letters attributed to him.
In the Jewish canon and in modern scholarship, Daniel is viewed as part of the Writings (Ketuvim), and not as one of the Major Prophets.
Belgic Confession Article 4 refers to the books of Chronicles as 'Paralipomenon', which could be translated as 'omission' or 'supplement', referring to the view that the books of Chronicles supplement what is left out, skipped or omitted from the books of Samuel and Kings (cf. Heyns 1988:95). This view is correctly rejected by modern scholarship, which views Chronicles as an independent source which re-interprets the history of Israel after the Exile.15
Belgic Confession Article 4 includes Hebrews as one of the 'fourteen' letters of Paul. Except for a handful of scholars, most modern scholars are convinced that the book of Hebrews was written by someone other than Paul (cf. Coetsee 2014:14-15).16
The book of Lamentations is not mentioned in BC Article 4. It is probably not deliberate (i.e. saying that the book is not canonical). The book is probably included in the reference to the book of Jeremiah (see Christian Reformed Church 2011).17
These critical observations, however, should be read in the light of the time in which the BC was composed. All of the above was the generally accepted view of the time (Heyns 1988:95). Moreover, these smaller details concerning the authorship or categorisation of certain books do not influence the core message of the article, namely that this is a list of the canonical books of Scripture.
Coming to the book of Hebrews, it is striking to make a list of the sources the writer quotes. The 38 quotations in Hebrews come from the following corpora of the Old Testament (cf. Coetsee 2014:86-87):
The Torah: 10 quotations are from the Pentateuch: three from Genesis (2:2 [Heb 4:4]; 21:12 [Heb 11:18]; 22:17 [Heb 6:14]), two from Exodus (24:8 [Heb 9:20]; 25:40 [Heb 8:5]) and five from Deuteronomy (9:19 [Heb 12:21]; 31:6 [Heb 13:5]; 32:35a [Heb 10:30a], 36a [Heb 10:30b], 43b [Heb 1:6]).
The Prophets: Eight quotations are from the prophets - one from the Former Prophets (2 Sam 7:14 [Heb 1:5b]), five from the Major Prophets (Is 8:17 [Heb 2:13a], 18 [Heb 2:13b]; 26:20 [Heb 10:37-38]; Jr 31:31-34 [Heb 8:8-12], 33-34 [Heb 10:16-17]) and two from the Minor Prophets (Hab 2:3-4 [Heb 10:37-38]18; Hag 2:6 [Heb 12:26]).
The Writings: By far the most quotations in Hebrews are from the writings, especially the Psalms. The writer quotes Proverbs once (3:11-12 [Heb 12:5-6]) and the Psalms 20 times (Ps 2:7 [Heb 1:5a; 5:5], 8:5-7 [Heb 2:6-8a], 22:23 [Heb 2:12], 40:7-9 [Heb 10:5-7, 8, 9], 45:7-8 [Heb 1:8-9], 95:7b-11 [Heb 3:7-11, 15; 4:3, 5, 7], 102:26-28 [Heb 1:10-12], 104:4 [Heb 1:7], 110:1 [Heb 1:13], 110:4 [Heb 5:6; 7:17, 21], 118:6 [Heb 13:6]).
The writer of Hebrews clearly quotes from a wide range of books and from each of the three divisions of the Jewish canon (Steyn 2011:4). For the purposes of this article, however, it is striking that all of the quotations in Hebrews come from the books found in the Jewish canon, which is accepted in BC Article 4 as the Old Testament canon. Hebrews does not quote from the Old Testament apocryphal books (cf. Cockerill 2012:43; Karrer 2006:335; Peterson 2002:120). Although this cannot be used as evidence to conclude that the writer of Hebrews did not view the Old Testament apocrypha as canonical, it is interesting, and possibly even suggestive.
As could be expected, there are no New Testament quotations in the book of Hebrews. There are, however, some possible allusions:
Hebrews refers to Jesus' temptation, humiliation and crucifixion, which some scholars trace to the Gospels.
Some link Hebrews' reference to the priestly ministry of Christ to the Gospel of John.
Based on a number of parallels, a few scholars view Stephen's speech in Acts 7 as the background of Hebrews (cf. Hurst 1990:131-133).
There are various parallels between Hebrews and the letters of Paul (cf. Ellingworth 1993:3-12) and Peter (cf. Koester 2001:57-58).
However, none of these parallels indicate literary dependence. Most parallels can be explained as the result of the same milieu within which the various writings arose, namely the influence of the same Christian tradition. It is, however, impossible to link the list of New Testament canonical books found in BC Article 4 to the book of Hebrews or to prove which New Testament books the writer of Hebrews viewed as canonical. While the dating of the books of the New Testament remains a matter of scholarly debate, some of the New Testament books were probably not written yet by the time Hebrews was composed.19
Coming back to the Old Testament canonical books, it is clear that the writer of Hebrews viewed the Old Testament books he quoted from as authoritative. He clearly expected his hearers to agree with the content of his quotations and to obey what it says. This could be linked to the words of BC Article 4 which states that 'there can be no quarrel at all' with these books.
Finally, the question can be asked whether the author of Hebrews viewed his own composition as canonical. While this is impossible to prove, the scope of the sermon gives the impression that the writer viewed his interpretation and preaching of the Old Testament as a vehicle of divine communication (Smillie 2004:275-276; cf. Peterson 2002:127) and 'that he believes his interpretation of the OT is the Word of God' (Smillie 2004:292-293; emphasis original).
The authority of Scripture (Belgic Confession Article 5)
We receive all these books and these only as holy and canonical, for the regulating, founding, and establishing of our faith. And we believe without a doubt all things contained in them - not so much because the church receives and approves them as such but above all because the Holy Spirit testifies in our hearts that they are from God, and also because they prove themselves to be from God. For even the blind themselves are able to see that the things predicted in them do happen. (BC Article 5)
Belgic Confession Article 5 contains the Reformed confession regarding the authority of Scripture and why these books are viewed as authoritative (Van Bruggen 1980:31). It starts by stating that 'these books and these only', namely the books listed in BC Article 4, are 'holy and canonical', namely that they are divinely inspired. As such, these books alone form the foundation of Reformed faith, and regulate and establish it. These books alone are authoritative.
The article continues by giving the reasons why these books are viewed as authoritative. Three reasons are given, of which the first is not a reason in a sense, but the foundation of the remaining two. The church is not the deepest and most decisive warranty for the authority of Scripture, but the Holy Spirit is (Heyns 1988:99). He convinces man that these books are from God. Moreover, these books have self-convincing (or 'obvious') authority in themselves (autopistia).
The writer of Hebrews' conviction of the divine inspiration of Scripture naturally leads to his conviction of the authority of Scripture. In his view, Scripture remains God's always relevant words; God still speaks from Scripture. That which God previously said in the Old Testament, he continues to say with equal authority today to each new generation (Lewicki 2004:141). This conviction is confirmed by the following (Coetsee & Jordaan 2015:5-7):
The tense of the verbs of 'saying' that the writer uses in his introductory formulae: The writer introduces the vast majority of his Old Testament quotations as statements of the past expressed lively in the present, as statements of which the effects still persist in the present, or as statements made at this very moment. God spoke in the Old Testament in the past (aorist tense), but from the Old Testament he now speaks in the present (present tense), or the consequences of his words in the Old Testament are now a reality (perfect tense).
The writer's choice of Old Testament quotations: The writer deliberately chose Old Testament quotations that consist of direct speech. Of the writer's 38 direct quotations, 37 are part of direct or quoted speech in the Old Testament. This deliberate choice of direct speech quotations gives the impression that God is saying these words at this very moment to the hearers (cf. Koester 2001:116). In their new context, these quotations speak with the same immediate impact it had in its original context. To this can be added a small number of Old Testament quotations that contain explicit references to God's speech (e.g. Ps 40:7-9 [Heb 10:5-9]; 95:7b-11 [Heb 3-4]; Jr 31:31-34 [Heb 8:8-12; 10:16-17]).
The writer of Hebrews' conviction of the authority of Scripture leads to another conviction, namely that man should listen obediently and reverently to (God speaking from) Scripture. From the beginning to the end of the sermon, it is clear that the writer of Hebrews expected his hearers to submit themselves completely to the authority of Scripture. This conviction is seen especially in the paraenetic material of Hebrews, in which the writer repeatedly warns and exhorts his hearers to listen faithfully and obediently to God's superior revelation in his Son (cf. Heb 2:1-4; 3:7-4:13; 5:11-6:12; 10:19-39; 12:14-29). This he urges them to do with the greatest urgency imaginable. The reason for this urgent call has to do with the background of the sermon. The addressees were beginning to be apathetic towards God's revelation in his Son. Through their negligence, they ran the risk of becoming apostate. In order to counter this behaviour, the writer sketches in horrifying detail what the catastrophic consequences of their reckless rejection of God's Word entails. This warning increases in intensity throughout the sermon and reaches its climax in 12:25 where the writer explicitly exhorts his hearers not to reject God's final revelation openly and deliberately (Coetsee 2014:279). The unfolding of God's Old Testament revelation to his New Testament revelation in his Son implies that the hearers have a greater responsibility to respond with obedience to God's superior speech through his Son.
Consequently, the words of BC Article 5 which state that the books of Scripture are 'holy and canonical', and that they are 'for the regulating, founding and establishing of our faith', nicely link on to the writer of Hebrews' conviction of the authority of Scripture and the necessity of man to listen to God's Word with the greatest reverence possible. While it is safe to say that Hebrews and BC Article 5 share this conviction, the necessity of submission to God's authoritative Word is expressed much more urgently in Hebrews.
As stated above, the second part of BC Article 5 gives various reasons why the canonical books are viewed as authoritative. Both primary reasons given in the Confession can indirectly be linked to Hebrews:
The Holy Spirit testifies that these books are from God: Hebrews contains three introductory formulae where the Holy Spirit is indicated as the speaker (Heb 3:7, 15; 10:15). An analysis of these introductory formulae makes it clear that according to the writer of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit takes the existing words of Scripture (as fulfilled in Christ) and directs it dynamically and relevantly to the addressees in their concrete situation at the present moment (Coetsee & Jordaan 2015:7). Moreover, in all three cases, the Holy Spirit's speech has to do with man's responsibility to respond correctly to God's superior revelation in his Son (Coetsee & Jordaan 2015:7:8). This conviction of the work of the Holy Spirit is also supported by the words of Hebrews 9:8, in which the writer argues that the Holy Spirit explains to the addressees the inability of the Old Testament cult to provide access to the presence of God (Coetsee 2014:228). While these references to the Holy Spirit in Hebrews do not explicitly say that the Holy Spirit convinces man that the books of Scripture 'are from God', it supports the conviction that Scripture is authoritative and that the Holy Spirit still 'speaks' from Scripture, which indirectly supports the confession that the Holy Spirit testifies that these books are from God.
These books prove themselves to be from God: Both the writer of Hebrews and the addressees view the books of Scripture the writer quotes from as divinely inspired and authoritative. While the date for the formalisation of the Jewish canon is a matter of scholarly debate,20 it was probably after Hebrews was composed. Even if it was before the writing of Hebrews, it is quite probable that the addressees did not have a specific canon list. Rather, it is likely that they viewed the books of Scripture the writer quoted from as authoritative because of tradition and the conviction that these books were from God. If this is correct, it could be argued that these books 'proved themselves' to the addressees 'to be from God'.
The difference between canonical and apocryphal books (Belgic Confession Article 6)
We distinguish between these holy books and the apocryphal ones, which are: the third and fourth books of Esdras; the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Jesus Sirach, Baruch; what was added to the Story of Esther; the Song of the Three Children in the Furnace; the Story of Susannah; the Story of Bel and the Dragon; the Prayer of Manasseh; and the two books of Maccabees. The church may certainly read these books and learn from them as far as they agree with the canonical books. But they do not have such power and virtue that one could confirm from their testimony any point of faith or of the Christian religion. Much less can they detract from the authority of the other holy books. (BC Article 6)
Belgic Confession Article 6 distinguishes between canonical and apocryphal books by first listing the (Old Testament) apocrypha21 and then explaining their value and worth. The list of apocrypha contains books that are not found in the Jewish canon, but in the Septuagint, and eventually in the Roman Catholic canon. During the Reformation, the inspiration and authority of these books were doubted, and a unanimous return to the Jewish canon for the Old Testament was advocated (Heyns 1988:103).
Regarding their value, BC Article 6 says that the apocryphal books may be read by the church and that the church may even learn from them as far as they agree with the canonical books. But, according to BC Article 6, they are clearly not on the same level as the canonical books. Despite the confession's qualified description of the value of the apocrypha, in practice few Reformed churches make any use of them (cf. Bosman 1987:56).
As indicated above (see the discussion of BC Article 4), Hebrews contains no quotations from the Old Testament apocrypha, which is suggestive of the writer's possible non-canonical view of these books. However, the writer alludes to the Old Testament apocrypha. The clearest example is his summary of the hardship and persecution of some heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:35b-38, which various scholars correctly view as an allusion to 2 Maccabees 6:18-7:42 (cf. Cockerill 2012:591). Although some scholars argue that the writer of Hebrews alludes to the apocrypha elsewhere in his sermon (e.g. Wis 7:25-26 in Heb 1:2-3), the question whether the writer deliberately alludes to these texts is a matter of debate.
It would probably be going too far to argue that the fact that the writer of Hebrews never quotes from the apocrypha, but only alludes to it, found its way into the formulation of BC Article 6, namely that the apocryphal books may be read and learnt from, but that they are not on the same level of inspiration and authority as the canonical books. However, as with the discussion of BC Article 4 above, the fact that the writer only alludes to the apocryphal books is suggestive of his view of these books.
The sufficiency of Scripture (Belgic Confession Article 7)
We believe that this Holy Scripture contains the will of God completely and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently taught in it. For since the entire manner of service which God requires of us is described in it at great length, no one - even an apostle or an angel from heaven, as Paul says - ought to teach other than what the Holy Scriptures have already taught us. For since it is forbidden to add to or subtract from the Word of God, this plainly demonstrates that the teaching is perfect and complete in all respects. Therefore we must not consider human writings - no matter how holy their authors may have been - equal to the divine writings; nor may we put custom, nor the majority, nor age, nor the passage of time or persons, nor councils, decrees, or official decisions above the truth of God, for truth is above everything else. For all human beings are liars by nature and more vain than vanity itself. Therefore we reject with all our hearts everything that does not agree with this infallible rule, as we are taught to do by the apostles when they say, 'Test the spirits to see if they are of God', and also, 'If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house'. (BC Article 7)
The main thrust of BC Article 7 is found in its opening sentences: Scripture contains the will of God completely, includes everything one must believe to be saved and describes in length how God should be served. These departure points explain what Article 7 means with the 'sufficiency' of Scripture: Scripture is sufficient not because it provides in-depth answers on every possible subject, but because it contains everything that one needs to believe for salvation (Heyns 1988:107). This links on to the final words of BC Article 2, which states that God reveals himself in his Word 'as much as we need in this life, for his glory and for the salvation of his own'.
The second part of BC Article 7 argues that because Scripture is sufficient, no one should teach the church anything which is not contained in Scripture (alluding to Gl 1:8), add or subtract from Scripture (alluding to Dt 4:12, 12:32 and/or Rv 22:18-19) or consider any human writings, customs or decisions as equal to Scripture (as was done by the Roman Catholic Church during the time of the Reformation). The church, concludes Article 7, is to reject everything that does not agree with Scripture (supporting the argument with quotations from 1 Jn 4:1 and 2 Jn 10).
In brief, BC Article 7 confesses that Scripture is sufficient for knowing three things: the will of God, the way of salvation and how to serve God.
A number of themes in Hebrews allude to the sufficiency of Scripture:
God's revelation in his Son is final: As stated above, Hebrews starts with a statement that the same God who spoke in the Old Testament times continued to speak in his Son. The reference to God speaking 'in these last days' has an eschatological ring to it. Elsewhere I argued that the writer of Hebrews indicates with this phrase that a new era within God's plan of salvation has dawned with Christ's life, death, resurrection and exaltation and that his revelation in his Son is final (Coetsee 2016:4-5, 7; cf. Bruce 1990:46; Peterson 2002:123-124). If this is the case, God's revelation in his Son is sufficient, and no additional revelation is needed.
Christ's sacrifice is sufficient for salvation: Hebrews insists that Christ's sacrifice was sufficient for the salvation of man. This is especially emphasised in the central chapters of Hebrews which elaborate on Christ's high priestly ministry (Heb 7:1-10:18). It states that Christ was sacrificed 'once' or 'once for all' (Heb 7:27; 9:12, 26, 28; 10:10; cf. 10:12, 14), meaning that no other sacrifice will ever be needed (Heb 9:25-26; 10:18). Through his sacrifice, Christ secured 'an eternal redemption' (Heb 9:12). He is able 'save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him' (Heb 7:25).
Through Christ man can approach God with confidence: Taking the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice as a departure point, the writer of Hebrews emphasises to his addressees that they may now approach God with 'confidence' (Heb 4:16; 10:19; cf. 7:19). The writer argues that because of the perfect sacrifice of Christ, his addressees have fearless access to God.
Man must heed God's revelation and salvation in his Son: The sufficiency of God's revelation in his Son and the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice explain why the writer urgently and continually warns his addressees against neglecting God's speech (cf. Heb 2:1-4; 3:7-4:13; 5:11-6:12; 10:26-31; 12:14-29). This was a real danger that the community faced. Because the addressees were apathetic towards God's revelation and salvation in his Son, the writer warns them that if they were to become apostate, it is impossible for them to be saved (cf. Heb 6:4-6; 10:26). This once more underlines the sufficiency of God's revelation and salvation in his Son. Rather than being apathetic, the addressees should serve God by offering 'acceptable worship, with reverence and awe' (Heb 12:28).
Although it is once more impossible to argue that the writer of Hebrews supports the sufficiency of the 66 books of the Reformed canon, it is clear that he was convinced of the sufficiency of God's revelation and salvation in his Son, which forms the heart of BC Article 7.
Some implications for the (reformed) church today
This article set out to prove that the view of Scripture found in the book of Hebrews is echoed in BC Articles 2-7. By means of summarising BC Articles 2-7 and comparing the nucleus of each article with the book of Hebrews, the article found grounds for its hypothesis. The Reformed view of Scripture can indeed be traced to the book of Hebrews. The writer of Hebrews had the conviction that God makes himself known by Scripture (BC Article 2b), that Scripture is divinely inspired (BC Article 3), that there is a difference between the canonical and apocryphal books (BC Articles 4 and 6), that Scripture is authoritative (BC Article 5) and that Scripture is sufficient for knowing the will of God, the way of salvation and the way in which to serve God (BC Article 7).
Consequently, BC Articles 2-7 can boldly be confessed by the church with the conviction that it is based on Scripture. The implications of this for the (reformed) church in the 21st century are quite simple:
1. Scripture is God's revelation.
2. Christ is the climax of God's revelation.
3. Man should urgently heed God's revelation in Scripture.
When the above is taken as the departure point of the church, it has a profound impact on the church's preaching, catechesis, pastoral work, missions and training of ministers. In fact, it has a profound impact on the ministry of the church as a whole. The church's confession concerning Scripture is the foundation for all its convictions and, consequently, its actions. Although not referring to BC Articles 2-7 in the first place, the words of Hebrews 4:14 summarise the church's calling in this regard: '[s]ince then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession' (Heb 4:14; cf. 10:23).
Competing interest
The author declares that he has no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.
Author's contributions
A.J.C. is the sole author of this research article.
This article followed all ethical standards for a research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the author.
Bacon, F., 2010, The advancement of learning, First published in 1605, The Floating Press, Auckland. [ Links ]
Barrera, J.T., 1998, The Jewish Bible and the Christian Bible: An introduction to the history of the Bible, transl. W.G.E. Watson, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI. [ Links ]
Bavinck, H. & Bolt, J. (ed.), 2011, Reformed Dogmatics: Abridged in one volume, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI. [ Links ]
Beeke, J.R. & Smalley, P.M., 2019, Reformed systematic theology: Volume 1: Revelation and God, Crossway, Wheaton, IL. [ Links ]
Bosman, H.L., 1987, 'Die gebruik van die Ou Testament in die Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis', in H.L. Bosman, J.W. Hofmeyr, E.H. Scheffler, I.J. van Eeden & E. van Niekerk (eds.), Die Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis - ontstaan, Skrifgebruik en gebruik, pp. 53-69, Universiteit van Pretoria, Pretoria. [ Links ]
Bruce, F.F., 1990, The Epistle to the Hebrews: The new international commentary on the New Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI. [ Links ]
Christian Reformed Church, 2011, Belgic Confession, viewed 16 September 2019, from https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions/belgic-confession. [ Links ]
Cockerill, G.L., 2012, The Epistle to the Hebrews: The new international commentary on the New Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI. [ Links ]
Coetsee, A.J., 2014, 'Die sprekende God in die boek Hebreërs: 'n Openbaringshistoriese studie', PhD thesis, North-West University, Potchefstroom. [ Links ]
Coetsee, A.J., 2016, 'The unfolding of God's revelation in Hebrews 1:1-2a', HTS Theological Studies 72(3), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v72i3.3221 [ Links ]
Coetsee, A.J., 2018, 'By his word'? Creation, preservation and consummation in the book of Hebrews', HTS Theological Studies 74(4), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v74i4.4894 [ Links ]
Coetsee, A.J. & Jordaan, G.J.C., 2015, 'Die tema van God se spraak in Hebreërs se inleidingsformules', In die Skriflig 49(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v49i1.1852 [ Links ]
Docherty, S.E., 2009, The use of the Old Testament in Hebrews: A case study in early Jewish Bible interpretation, Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 260, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen. [ Links ]
Ellingworth, P., 1993, The Epistle to the Hebrews: The new international Greek Testament commentary, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI. [ Links ]
Gootjes, N.H., 2007, The Belgic Confession: Its history and sources, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI. [ Links ]
Griffiths, J.I., 2014, Hebrews and divine speech, Library of New Testament Studies 507, T&T Clark, London. [ Links ]
Guthrie, G.H., 1994, The structure of Hebrews: A text-linguistic analysis, Supplements to Novum Testamentum 73, Brill, Leiden. [ Links ]
Guthrie, G.H., 2007, 'Hebrews', in G.K. Beale & D.A. Carson (eds.), Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament, pp. 919-995, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI. [ Links ]
Heyns, J.A., 1988, Inleiding tot die Dogmatiek aan die hand van die Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis, NG Kerkboekhandel, Johannesburg. [ Links ]
Hurst, L.D., 1990, The Epistle to the Hebrews: Its background of thought, Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 65, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [ Links ]
Isaacs, M.E., 1992, Sacred space: An approach to the theology of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 73, JSOT Press, Sheffield. [ Links ]
Karrer, M., 2006, 'The Epistle to the Hebrews and the Septuagint', in W. Kraus & R.G. Wooden (eds.), Septuagint research: Issues and challenges in the study of the Greek Jewish Scriptures, Society of Biblical Literature: Septuagint and Cognate Studies 53, pp. 335-353, Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, GA. [ Links ]
Koester, C.R., 2001, Hebrews: A new translation with introduction and commentary, The Anchor Bible, vol. 36, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. [ Links ]
Lane, W.L., 1991, Hebrews 1-8: Word Biblical commentary, vol. 47A, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN. [ Links ]
Lewicki, T., 2004, 'Weist nicht ab den Sprechenden!': Wort Gottes und Paraklese im Hebräerbrief, Paderbornes theologische Studien 41, Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn. [ Links ]
Peterson, D., 2002, 'God and scripture in Hebrews', in P. Helm & C.R. Trueman (eds.), The trustworthiness of God: Perspectives on the nature of Scripture, pp. 118-138, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI. [ Links ]
Punt, J., 1997, 'Hebrews, thought-patterns and context: Aspects of the background of Hebrews', Neotestamentica 31(1), 119-158. [ Links ]
Reformed Churches of South Africa, n.d., The Belgic Confession, viewed 16 September 2019, from http://gksa.org.za/pdf/Eng%20documents/belgic%20confession.pdf. [ Links ]
Scheffler, E., 1987, 'Die gebruik van die Nuwe Testament in die Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis', in H.L. Bosman, J.W. Hofmeyr, E.H. Scheffler, I.J. van Eeden & E. van Niekerk (eds.), Die Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis - ontstaan, Skrifgebruik en gebruik, pp. 70-88, Universiteit van Pretoria, Pretoria. [ Links ]
Smillie, G.R., 2004, '"The one who is speaking" in Hebrews 12:25', Tyndale Bulletin 55(2), 275-294. [ Links ]
Steyn, G.J., 2011, A quest for the assumed LXX Vorlage of the explicit quotations in Hebrews, Forschungen zur Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments 235, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen. [ Links ]
United Reformed Churches in North America, 2019, The Belgic Confession, viewed 16 September 2019, from https://threeforms.org/the-belgic-confession/. [ Links ]
Van Bruggen, J., 1980, Het amen der kerk: de Nederlandse Geloofsbelijdenis toegelicht, Zevende druk, Uitgeverij Ton Bolland, Amsterdam. [ Links ]
Van Genderen, J. & Velema, W.H., 2008, Concise Reformed dogmatics, transl. G. Bilkes & M. Van der Maas, P&R Publishing Company, Phillipsburg, NJ. [ Links ]
Wider, D., 1997, Theozentrik und Bekenntnis: Untersuchungen zur Theologie des Redens Gottes im Hebräerbrief, Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 87, De Gruyter, Berlin. [ Links ]
Albert Coetsee
albert.coetsee@nwu.ac.za
Received: 08 Oct. 2019
Accepted: 07 Feb. 2020
Published: 24 Mar. 2020
1 . Together with the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort, these confessions are generally referred to in Reformed circles as the 'Three Forms of Unity'. The BC is the oldest of the three.
2 . For the early history of the BC, its author, authority and revision (and also its adoption at the Synod of Dort in 1618-1619), see Gootjes (2007).
3 . The Christian Reformed Church (2011:n.p.) aptly summarises the BC's context of origin on its webpage by stating that the confession 'takes pains to point out the continuity of Reformed belief with that of the ancient Christian creeds, as well as to differentiate it from Catholic belief (on the one hand), and from Anabaptist teaching (on the other)'.
4 . I do not suggest that the BC is based on the book of Hebrews solely. Various quotations and references to Scripture in the Confession make this clear. My argument is rather that traces of what is confessed in BC Articles 2-7 can be found in Hebrews. I would go as far as to argue that the heart of all of the articles of the BC could in some way be traced to the book of Hebrews. In my view, this argument is not untenable because the book of Hebrews is such a rich and diverse book of theology.
5 . The English translation of the BC used in this article is the one used by the Reformed Churches of South Africa (RCSA n.d.) and the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA 2019), which is based upon the official French text approved by the Synod of Dort. The only difference in wording of BC Articles 2-7 between these two are found in Article 4, which is discussed below. In the case of Article 4, the words of the RCSA are followed.
6 . This article is gratefully and thankfully written for the 150 year jubilee of theological training by the RCSA (1869-2019), celebrated with an academic conference on 18-20 September 2019 in Potchefstroom.
7 . By means of wordplay, Francis Bacon (2010:22) refers to 'the book of God's word' and 'the book of God's works'.
8 . By introducing this quotation of Psalm 102:25-27 in such a way that God says these specific words 'of the Son', the writer is affirming that Jesus is both the Lord and the Creator.
9 . See Coetsee (2018:8-12) for a more detailed discussion of these images.
10 . All quotations from Scripture are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
11 . The writer's conviction of the unfolding of God's revelation is also evidenced in other statements in Hebrews (e.g. Heb 7:11-12; 8:13; 10:1; 11:39-40).
12 . Strictly speaking, 2 Peter 1:21 says that the prophecies in Scripture are inspired by God, and not the Old Testament as a whole or the New Testament. Consequently, some argue that BC Article 3 does not take the process of the formation of the canon into consideration, and runs the danger of reading Scripture anachronistically (cf. Scheffler 1987:72). In the Reformed view of Scripture, however, the words of 2 Peter 1:21 can be applied to Scripture as a whole by means of synecdoche.
13 . Various commentators correctly stress that the scope of God's spoken Word is much bigger than his written Word (cf. Heyns 1988:79; Van Bruggen 1980:27), as is evidenced by references in Scripture (e.g. 1 Ki 4:32; Jn 20:38; 21:25).
14 . The amended version of BC Article 4 used by the URCNA does not refer to 'the Psalms of David', but 'the Psalms'.
15 . This is probably why the amended version of BC Article 4 used by the URCNA leaves out the reference to 'Paralipomenon'. In any case, the use of the name 'Paralipomenon' in the years that followed after the publication of the BC did not stick (Heyns 1988:95).
16 . This is also reflected in the amended version of BC Article 4 used by the URCNA, which refers to the 'thirteen' letters of Paul, listing Hebrews separately.
17 . The amended version of BC Article 4 used by the URCNA includes a reference to Lamentations directly after the reference to Jeremiah.
18 . The quotation of Habakkuk 2:3-4 is in combination with Isaiah 26:20, which explains why the number of quotations in this list is 39 and not 38 (see the section 'The divine inspiration of Scripture' above).
19 . In my view, Hebrews was probably written before 70 AD (more specifically 60-64 AD).
20 . The traditional view is that the Jewish canon was formalised at the Council of Jamnia or Synod of Yavneh (c. 70-90 AD). This view, however, has been challenged by modern scholarship. For a discussion of the history of formation of the Jewish canon, see Barrera (1998:148-207).
21 . New Testament apocrypha were never as popular in the canon of the church as their Old Testament counterparts. For a discussion on the history of formation of the New Testament canon, see Barrera (1998:236-257).
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My dad ordered a custom-built Plymouth in these colors--1955, the first year for two-tone cars as I recall. What a beauty! No seat belts in the back, and that's why coupes were popular. Theoretically the kids would be safer in a coupe, for they couldn't open the doors while the car was moving. Nice capture, Mike. Great memories.
They don't build them like this anymore! Good thing too, you would break your face on that metal dashboard. When I think of the 50's, this is the item I think about.


President Muhammadu Buhari said Nigerians now enjoy better and improved power supply across the country.
He said Nigerians have continued to report that they now use less generators under his administration, which he attributed to his administration commitment to improving power supply.
In a nationwide broadcast, Buhari said, "Nigerians from all parts of the country continue to report better power supply and less use of generators.
"This underscores the effectiveness of the methodical plan to deliver incremental and uninterrupted power supply to our homes, markets, offices and factories," he said.
He said his administration had been able to achieve 5, 222.3 MW "representing the highest peak of power generated onto the national grid and delivered to customers in December, 2017.
President Buhari said his administration would continue to work tirelessly to ensure Nigerians get more and stable power supply.
How is power supply in your area in the last three years compared to power supply under PDP administration?


text:
Q: E finite galois extension over Q of order pq^m, show irreducible f that splits in E is solvable by radicals Let $E$ be a finite Galois extension of $\mathbb{Q}$ of degree $pq^m$, where p and q are prime such that $p<q$.  I need to prove that every irreducible polynomial over $\mathbb{Q}$ that splits in $E$ is solvable by radicals.
For a given $f$ that's irreducible and splits in $E$, we know that $f(x)=0$ is solvable by radicals if and only if its Galois group is solvable.  Since $E/\mathbb{Q}$ is of degree $pq^m$ and Galois, we know $|Gal(E/\mathbb{Q})|=pq^m$, and its easily shown that any group of such order is solvable.  Is this problem really that simple or am I forgetting something?

A: Ah, I believe I was one step in logic short.  To show that $f$ is solvable by radicals, I need the splitting field of $f$ over $\mathbb{Q}$, let's call it $K$, to be solvable by radicals.  So we have the tower of power $\mathbb{Q}\subset K\subset E$.  Now we know that $E/\mathbb{Q}$ is Galois, and the Galois group is solvable.  Furthermore, since our prime field is char $0$, and $K$ is the splitting field over $\mathbb{Q}$, then $K/\mathbb{Q}$ is Galois.  Since $[E:\mathbb{Q}]=[K:\mathbb{Q}][E:K]$, one can see that regardless of the degree $[E:K]$, the resulting group $Gal(K/\mathbb{Q})$ has order $p^iq^n$, where $i\in \{0,1\}$ and $n\leq m$.  This will still be solvable however, so we're done.


The links below will connect you to the official website or the student contact for student-led service organizations at Boston College. Check out their sites, or contact the student leaders, or stop by the VSLC in McElroy 114 for more information.
If you are interested in creating a student service initiative or program, please make an appointment with Dan or Kate at the Volunteer & Service Learning Center.
If you are already a Registered Student Organization with a service mission and you would like to be listed on our page, please email volunteer@bc.edu.


This painted cow is the first release of our barnyard friends! Our in-house artist hand painted the layers of this bovine beauty! The waterbased inks are beautifully rich in the colors barn red, midnight indigo, and metallic gold star.
This design is screen printed on a raglan tee and is a unisex fit so you may wish to size down or wear your regular size for an extra relaxed fit.
Please allow up to two weeks for this item to ship as some items are made to order and not all sizes are kept on hand at all times.


Hone your critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills. Core courses will provide you with a strong foundation in all aspects of human communication. Design a program of study that meets your personal learning objectives and career goals when you choose elective courses within the major.
have a greater understanding of the role that communication plays in shaping culture and identity.
look at the ways in which the process of meaning-making — whether through the use of words, images, symbols or technology — is used strategically to influence human judgment and actions.
sharpen your critical thinking abilities, allowing you to become an ethical producer and consumer of messages.
Immerse yourself in one or more internships either on campus, in the Cortland community or in neighboring cities such as Ithaca or Syracuse.
"Having an internship is one of the more important things to do while in college. It gives you the hands-on experience of what the real world will be like after graduation."
Write for the newspaper, host your own radio show, produce TV programs or edit a magazine.
The Dragon Chronicle has been published for more than 135 years.


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Nemiri - 33 life is too short quotes motivationalwellbeing. "life is way too short to continue thinking you're not worthy or good enough regardless of what others have told you, you are enough and are worthy of love and belonging " kevin ngo "life is too short to be reading quotes about life being too short stop reading and go live your life!" ? kevin ngo. Life is too short quotes brainyquote. Life is too short quotes from brainyquote, an extensive collection of quotations by famous authors, celebrities, and newsmakers live honestly to a higher note life is too short so, do the best you can and live your life to a higher note kimora lee simmons life best live you. Is life too long or too short? quora. Life is such a beautiful gift given by god to us, but many people fail to understand the actual real beauty of life life is too short to waste your time of assuming things which has nothing to do with reality life is too short to live on other expectations. Life is too short quotes and sayings to make you appreciate it. "life is too short to worry life to short to be sad life is too short to ponder on things you will never have life is too short for sadness life is too short for tears never count the day, never count the years life is too short for falling out life is too short for war life is a gift, don't waste it life is so much more " john f. Life too short to live youtube. Provided to youtube by music video distributors inc life too short to live � sonny burgess sonny burgess essential rockabilly 50s masters ? burning fire rel. Life is too short quotes, quotations & sayings 2019. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff we have to choose to live our lives in the present and for the future, instead of trying to live in the past we must also live our lives doing the things and for the people that we are passionate about living a life without passion, and without hope for the future is not really living your life at all. 20 things life is too short to worry about how to ditch. If life is too short to worry about death, it's certainly too short to beat yourself up over being human and having a natural reaction 17 the pricetag when i was a kid, i loved pop tarts, but my parents were poor which came hand in hand with cheapness , so we'd get the generic version, which taste like cough syrup. Life's too short tv series 2011 2013 imdb. Life's too short is basically an amalgamation of both "the office" and "extras" but sadly not as good as either that's not to say it isn't good there are some underlying problems, one being the character warwick davis this isn't going to be a scathing attack on his capabilities as an actor because i believe his performance is really quite good. Life's too short quotes. Life's too short to not live life to the fullest that's not to say that you can completely eliminate tedium from your daily life even if you win the lottery, or sell your business and retire, you will still have responsibilities and obligations that you don't want to do but we shouldn't use our obligations as an excuse not to chase. Is life too short to live or too long to survive? quora. Is life too short to live or too long to survive? it depends on your state of happiness 222 views � view 2 upvoters s p o n s o r e d b y c o m p a r e c a r d s c o m do you live under a mountain of card debt? you don't have to take advantage of 0 apr for up to 21 months, up to 5% cash back, $150 sign up bonus or no annual fee.


Sometimes, we want to watch some details by slow motion, it may be supported by high-end smartphones, right now we share a good way to help you record slow motion video on your any android smartphones including Xiaomi. Because there is a slow motion video camera app to help you record motion video.
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In my last post, I argued that critics of Indonesian military (TNI) reform are taking too narrow a view of its progress. For most critics, the primary yardstick for measuring the success of TNI's reform agenda has been a 2004 law, which laid out a roadmap and a timetable for recasting the military in line with modern liberal democratic norms. This is considered by many the 'be all and end all' metric for TNI reform.
Onews,-- The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL) representatives based in Vanuatu met with Fijian Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, Wednesday last week lobbying for full membership status in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).
Those who met Bainimarama included Vice Chairman, Dr Otto Ondawame, Secretary General, Mr Rex Rumakiek, and former Vanuatu Prime Minister, Barak Sope.
These WPNCL members met with Bainimarama because he is currently the Chairman of the MSG.


text:
Woman Reported Missing Is Found at Friend's Home
LAKE FOREST —
A 23-year-old woman who had been missing for the past 11 days was discovered at a friend's house in Mission Viejo, sheriff's deputies said Thursday.
Angeline Felicidad Muego, who authorities say has limited mental capacity, was reported missing by her uncle on April 17.
Although authorities did not believe foul play was involved, they issued a precautionary media alert Wednesday in hopes that the woman would turn up.
"All we know at the moment is that we got a call from the woman's mother, who said (Muego) had been staying with a friend," said Sheriff's Lt. Dick Olson. "We were obligated to do everything we could to make sure she was safe."
Adam Schiff takes on Trump, calling him an 'erratic hothead.' Now he's feeling the heat
Once described as "more labradoodle than Doberman," Adam Schiff got tough on President Trump. That's made him a both hero and a pariah.
Alan Dershowitz, marred by ties to Jeffrey Epstein, will defend Trump at impeachment trial
He built his 20-foot-wide house over a secret brook in the middle of L.A.
In Mid-Wilshire's enchanting eight-street enclave of Brookside, the tree-lined community is set apart by the flowing water feature that is believed to run from the Hollywood Hills through the neighborhood and out to Ballona Creek. Most of the classical homes in this neighborhood celebrate the creek with garden features and backyard bridges, but architect Dan Brunn chose to do something radically different.
Hernandez: Damaged by its scandals, MLB faces an even bigger threat that it can't control
From the sublime to the ridiculous: MLB commissioner is releasing official denials of unsubstantiated allegations started by unverified social media accounts.
Accusation that Angels' Mike Trout has exemption to use HGH shot down by MLB
A skier was killed and another seriously injured Friday in an avalanche at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort just west of Lake Tahoe, authorities said.


Home is a really valid place for any of us. It is our safe place in which we are hiding from all our difficulties and hard affairs. All of us must to feel there cozy and comfortable, even if we are not spending plenty of our time in there. That is why, you must to do everything, to make it presents charming, because if it would not be arranged nicely, you will be unhappy. Here are couple perfect idea to change it look, without spending to much money.
By the time you starting to buy a totally new furniture, would you consider to change colors of your wall? Some house painting should be great. There are plenty of another kinds of paints available on the market at the moment – latex, oil acrylic, everything depends od the result you wish to get. If you prefer to use it in your bathroom, nicer could be second type, cause it wouldn't get fade to easily. If you have a small babies, the best alternative would be latex, because in case of any stains, you could be able to wash it out. Instead of house painting, maybe any grasscloth wallpaper? it is a perfect alternative for all admirers of nature and environmental way of life. It looks great in any sort of room, does not matter if it is a living room our kitchen – it fit with everything.
If you don't like to change the appear of your walls, maybe few vanguard design? A small picture here and there will totally change the look of your wall. You may choose any canvas, or maybe poster with your favorite city on it? There are plenty of options, depending on what you really like. Different greatgood idea it is to buy any potted flowers. It is nice for your health, because it absorb all the toxins from the air, and also it looks great. It could be a perfect idea in room with grasscloth wallpaper. But remember to buy a flower which is appropriate for your conditions – if you have only a few sun in your room, you shouldn't buy tropical flower, otherwise it will fade away. If you are not an expert, ask your local florist, she would help you. Sometimes even some new, extraordinary pillow cases for your couch will do the work.
If you want to change anything in your flat, look for inspirations in the Internet or special magazines. New house painting in your dinning room? Grasscloth wallpaper, or just a new plant? You don't need to change your furniture, a little painting could be enough. There are several various options, everyone will find something for themselves.


Number of Engineering and Management seats fill through UPTU / AKTU / UPSEE 2016 Counselling, according to some Hindi newspaper only 13000 candidate take admission in private and government college of UP through UPSEE 2016 counselling where 1.73 lakh seat available for admission in B.Tech, MBA, MCA, B.Pharm etc courses. Only top 10 colleges get 80% seats filled and rest college which are more than 600 in number maximum seat are still empty.
After 3 round of counselling of AKTU UPSEE 2016, total 27982 seats are allotted and only 12917 candidate take admission. There some top private and government college in AKTU UPTU Lucknow Noida where candidate want to take admission at any cost and 80% seats are filled in these college but more than 90% college not even get 10% seats filled through counselling.