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Earliest Hebrew Bible Sells For $38M at Sotheby’s Auction
Sotheby’s auction house sold a 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible for $38 million in New York. It’s one of the world’s oldest surviving biblical manuscripts and brought the second-most highest price for a historical document at auction.
The 26-pound book, whose five-inch stack of parchment has 396 pages, sold after a five-minute battle between two bidders competing over the phone. According to the Wall Street Journal, the final price, including Sotheby’s fees, fell short of breaking the record held by a $43.2 million copy of the U.S. Constitution bought two years ago by billionaire Ken Griffin. In 1994, Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester sold for $31 million or around $60 million in today’s dollars.
In a statement, Sotheby’s said the Codex Sasson, a leather-bound, handwritten volume with an almost complete Hebrew Bible, was purchased by former U.S. Ambassador to Romania Alfred H. Moses for the American Friends of ANU and donated to the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, where it’ll join the museum’s collection.
Continue readingWhy I believe the Bible
The most important question any Christian should be able to answer is why we choose to believe the Bible. The standard fallback answer given by many is “I was raised that way”. The problem with this sentiment is that many things that we were raised to believe turned out to be false. For example, our parents told us if we went outside with wet hair, we would catch a cold. As adults we learned that a cold is a virus.
Another answer often given is “I tried the Bible and it worked for me.” This answer certainly opens up a huge logical hole when based on a personal experience. Malcolm X changed his life, he tried the Nation of Islam and it “worked for him”. He later denounced his beliefs in Islam and was killed for it. What about the changed life of a Mormon or a Jehovah Witness.
Our response, as Christians, should sound something like this…
“I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses, reporting supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claimed their writings are Divine in nature and not of human origin.”
Dr. Voddie T. Baucham, Jr., Dean of the School of Divinity at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia
What Are the Five Solas?
The five solas were not exactly Reformation slogans, but they serve as a good summary of the Reformed faith. Neither Martin Luther nor John Calvin nor any other Protestant Reformer summarized his teachings in a tidy list including Scripture alone, Christ alone, faith alone, grace alone, to the glory of God alone. Taking flight in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this fivefold summary became the shorthand version of what is known as Reformed theology. While this description of the Reformed faith came later, it still captures well the core of the gospel in all its graciousness and Christ-centeredness, just as it is revealed in the Scriptures. These five solas show the glory of God’s gracious way of salvation in a way that sets the tone for true theology, resounding in how we think and live in this world.
Continue readingOrlando rent is still unaffordable for low-income renters, even with a housing voucher
In Orlando and other Florida metro areas, the value of housing vouchers hasn’t kept up with surging rent prices.
Finding an affordable place to live in the Orlando metro area has become increasingly difficult for the average person, with average rent climbing over 30% in the last two years in what’s become one of the nation’s most in-demand rental markets.
Rental assistance — through the local government or the federal housing choice voucher program — has been made available for some of those in the greatest need, to help prevent families from being displaced or evicted. But new research shows that even if you receive government assistance, it’s still not enough.
Continue readingPulse memorial now won’t be built at the former nightclub property
A proposed memorial for the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre will not be on the grounds of the former club.
The OnePulse Foundation released a statement on Tuesday confirming that negotiations had broken down between the Foundation and the Orange Avenue property owners over housing the memorial there.
The statement read in part:
The onePULSE Foundation is disappointed to report that after months of negotiation an agreement could not be reached with Barbara Poma (the Founder of onePULSE Foundation), her husband, Rosario Poma, and their business partner, Michael Panaggio, for the full donation of the Pulse nightclub property. The Foundation had previously planned to build a permanent national memorial at the site to commemorate the 49 lives taken, survivors, first responders, and all those impacted by the June 12, 2016, tragedy.
Poma left the Foundation back in April, which has been planning and fundraising for years with the intent of building a memorial site to the 49 lives lost at the LGBTQ+ nightclub during a mass shooting on June 12, 2016,
Poma had floated an asking price of $2.25 million for the property to the Foundation. The Foundation, on the other hand, pushed for a donation of the property. Interestingly, back in late 2016 negotiations were in advanced stages for the City of Orlando to buy the Pulse property for $2.25 million, though that fell through when the Pomas and co. decided to hold on to it.
OnePulse also promised an update in mid-May regarding a new location.
Canadian small-dog breeder wants to build a ‘commercial kennel’ in northeast Orlando
Apparently, an Orange County ordinance passed in 2021 banning puppy mills didn’t send a strong enough message. A proposed “commercial kennel” in Orlando has raised suspicions among neighbors that the facility might house a dog breeding and puppy selling operation, if built.
The proposal is set for a public hearing on May 4 in the Orange County Board of Zoning Adjustment. The kennel’s location is in northeast Orlando near the border of — no joke — the town of Taintsville. Looking at the cover letter description written by the property owner, listed as Juan David Valencia, people in the area have reason to be wary of the project.
At first glance, some of its details seem admirable. The owner wants to build a “state-of-the-art commercial kennel” with 44 dog runs and a 1,250-square-foot indoor playground. Note, in this case, that we’re not talking about a traditional kennel where people bring their dogs. The facility will only include dogs owned by Valencia. And much less appealing in the kennel’s description is the “nursery room with 10 dog runs (8’ x 3’) [and] a puppy room with 5 runs (8’ x 3’)”. Valencia says he keeps about 80 dogs at a time but wants to build this kennel to host up to 100 dogs. Hoist the red flags.
My years of volunteer work as a foster for special needs rescue dogs gives me a unique insight to this travesty. There have been many a time where a breeder has taken dogs to near death and called our rescue to announce, “come and get them or they will die”. Ironically, my wife and I are fostering a little chihuahua named corona. Corona was part of an owner surrender after a man died who was running a breeding operation out of this house. The surviving wife called us and surrendered 4 dogs that were in terrible shape.
Here is sweet little Qorona who sadly had to spend 6 days and nights in an oxygen tank while our rescue held our collective breath to see if she would even survive.
Thankfully, after a stint at the vet, she is doing well. Unfortunately, our rescue is saddled with a vet bill that is quite large.
If only for modern medicine, Qorona survived and is living in the lap of luxury at the Lilley Pad. The word of the day is recovery comfort and lots of love. Here are a few pics a few days after we brought her home…
Controversial Director Roman Polanski and His 1977 Victim, Samantha Geimer, Pose for Smiling Picture Together in Paris
Roman Polanski is hated around the world for his encounter in 1977 with 13 year old Samantha Geimer in Hollywood. He was arrested for rape, spent time in jail, and then fled the US when the judge was about to renege on his release.
Forty five years later, Geimer and her husband, David, met with Polanski and his wife, Emmanuelle Seigner, in Paris. The two men interviewed each other for a French magazine cover in which Geimer and Seigner agreed that Polanski was not to blame for anything. Geimer has always maintained her support of Polanski.
Why this man is celebrated is beyond me. Sure, I like the Movie “China Town” with Jack Nicholson and I love the movie “The Two Jakes” but I am NOT too young to remember that this pedophile is a rapist whether or not the victim says it’s ok. Stay in France as far as I am concerned..
GAFCON 2023 – Kigali, Rwanda
The Global Anglican Communion meets for the 4th time since 2009. Conservative primates gathered in Kigali and withdrew their recognition of Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as the “first among equals.” The chair of St Augustine is now empty, as far as leaders representing an estimated 85 percent of the Anglican Communion are concerned. The primates gathered at the fourth Gafcon conference stated:
We have no confidence that the Archbishop of Canterbury nor the other Instruments of Communion led by him (the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council, and the Primates’ Meetings) are able to provide a godly way forward that will be acceptable to those who are committed to the truthfulness, clarity, sufficiency, and authority of Scripture. The Instruments of Communion have failed to maintain true communion based on the Word of God and shared faith in Christ…
Successive Archbishops of Canterbury have failed to guard the faith by inviting bishops to Lambeth who have embraced or promoted practices contrary to Scripture. This failure of church discipline has been compounded by the current Archbishop of Canterbury who has himself welcomed the provision of liturgical resources to bless these practices contrary to Scripture. This renders his leadership role in the Anglican Communion entirely indefensible.
Their Kigali Commitment calls for repentance by progressives within the Anglican Communion. “Despite 25 years of persistent warnings by most Anglican Primates, repeated departures from the authority of God’s Word have torn the fabric of the Communion,” stated the primates. “These warnings were blatantly and deliberately disregarded and now without repentance this tear cannot be mended.”
Gafcon will provide support for evangelicals in and out of the Church of England.
“In view of the current crisis, we reiterate our support for those who are unable to remain in the Church of England because of the failure of its leadership. We rejoice in the growth of the ANiE [Anglican Network in Europe] and other Gafcon-aligned networks,” stated the primates. “We also continue to stand with and pray for those faithful Anglicans who remain within the Church of England. We support their efforts to uphold biblical orthodoxy and to resist breaches of [Lambeth 1998] Resolution I.10.”
The primates echoed the provisions of the 1998 resolution, noting that LGBT people should be treated with dignity.
“We affirm that every person is loved by God and we are determined to love as God loves. As Resolution I.10 affirms, we oppose the vilification or demeaning of any person including those who do not follow God’s ways, since all human beings are created in God’s image,” stated the primates. “We are thankful to God for all those who seek to live a life of faithfulness to God’s Word in the face of all forms of sexual temptation.”
The statement endorses the continued existence of two conservative movements in Anglicanism, but recognises a need to have a single conservative point of identity—in essence, a reordered communion.
“The leadership of both groups affirmed and celebrated their complementary roles in the Anglican Communion…,” stated the primates. “The goal is that orthodox Anglicans worldwide will have a clear identity, a global ‘spiritual home’ of which they can be proud, and a strong leadership structure that gives them stability and direction as Global Anglicans.
“We therefore commit to pray that God will guide this process of resetting, and that Gafcon and GSFA will keep in step with the Spirit.”
Why does God allow evil in the world?
The Bible describes God as holy (Isaiah 6:3), righteous (Psalm 7:11), just (Deut 32:4), and sovereign (Daniel 4:17-25). These passages tell us two things about the nature of God. (1) God is capable of preventing evil and (2) God desires to rid the universe of evil. So it goes, if these two attributes are true, why does God allow evil?
God designed the world to have consequences. Our actions affect others. Because of Adam’s choice to sin, the world now lives under the curse and we are all born with a sinful nature (Romans5:12). One day God will judge the sin in the world and makes things new. When He created the Old Testament laws, one of His goals was to discourage and punish evil. He judges nations and rulers who disregard justice and pursue evil. Likewise in the New Testament, God states that it is the government’s responsibility to provide justice in order to protect the innocent from evil. (Romans 13). He also promises severe consequences for those who commit evil acts, especia;;y against the innocent (Mark 9:36-48).
We live in a real world where good and evil have consequences. God’s desire is that for all of our sakes we would obey Him that it might be well with us (Deut 5:29). Instead, what happens is that we choose our own way, and then blame God for not doing anything about it. Such is the heart of the sinful man. Thankfully, Jesus came to change men’s hearts through the power of the holy spirit. He does this for those who will turn from evil and call on Him to save them from the sin and its consequences (2 Corinthians 5:17).
God does prevent and restrain some acts of evil. This world would be MUCH WORSE were God not in control. At the same time, God has given us the ability to choose good and evil, and when we choose evil, He allows us, and those around us, to suffer the consequences. Rather than blame God for evil we should focus on the the cure for evil and its consequences – Salvation through Jesus Christ.