Wednesday, December 3, 2008

An Interesting Timeline of Holy Week

Here is another chart, showing that the triumphal entry is on the
first day of the last week of Jesus' earthly ministry.:

Timeline of Holy Week
The Last Week

A.D. 30
Sunday
Jerusalem
The Triumphal Entry
Mt 21:1-11
Mk 11:1-10
Lk 19:29-44
Jn 12:12-19

A.D. 30
Monday
Jerusalem
Jesus curses the fig tree
Mt 21:18-19
Mk 11:12-14
Jesus cleanses the temple
Mt 21:12-13
Mk 11:15-18

A.D. 30
Tuesday
Jerusalem
The authority of Jesus questioned
Mt 21:23-27
Mk 11:27-33
Lk 20:1-8
Jesus teaches in the temple
Mt 21:28-23:29
Mk 12:1-44
Lk 20:9-21:4
Bethany
Jesus anointed
Mt 26:6-13
Mk 14:3-9
Jn 12:2-11

A.D. 30
Wednesday
Bethany
The plot against Jesus
Mt 26:14-16
Mk 14:10-11
Lk 23:3-61

A.D. 30
Thursday
Bethany
The Last Supper
Mt 26:17-29
Mk 14:12-25
Lk 22:7-20
Jn 13:1-38
Bethany
Jesus comforts the disciples
Jn 14:1-16:33
Bethany
Gethsemane
Mt 26:36-46
Mk 14:32-42
Lk 22:40-46

A.D. 30
Thursday night & Friday
Bethany
Jesus' arrest and trial
Mt 26:47-27:26
Mk 14:43-15:15
Lk 22:47-23:25
Jn 18:2-19:16

A.D. 30
Friday
Golgotha
Jesus' crucifixion and death
Mt 27:27-56
Mk 15:16-41
Lk 23:26-49
Jn 19:17-30
Josheph's Tomb
The burial of Jesus
Mt 27:57-66
Mk 15:42-47
Lk 23:50-56
Jn 19:31-42

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 - Yevgeny Mravinsky



"Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47, between April and July 1937. It was premiered in Leningrad by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky, on November 21, 1937. The work was a huge success, and is said to have received an ovation of at least 40 minutes, according to Mstislav Rostropovich.[1] It is still one of his most popular works."

- Wikipedia

Here is a good paper written about the 5th Symphony. I have included a brief quote from that paper.


Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor

"The third movement is one of the most despairing pieces of music ever written, a memorial for Mother Russia and all those sent to the labor camps. And of the finale, Shostakovich wrote in his memoirs (smuggled out of Russia after the composer's death):


What exultation could there be? I think it is clear to everyone what happens in the Fifth. The rejoicing is forced, created under threat... It's as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying ``Your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing,'' and you rise, shaky, and go marching off, muttering, ``Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing.'' What kind of apotheosis is that? You have to be a complete oaf not to hear that."

- Geoff Kuenning

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Voices Against Slavery

This is the review I posted at Amazon.:

This book is a great resources for anyone who wishes to find out more about the Atlantic Slave Trade and the Abolitionist movement both in England and the United States. There is also an entry for a woman who uses her position of influence to resist modern-day slave traders.


It is a book that is inspiring for any Christian, not just for children or for young people.


Voices Against Slavery - Anthony Benezet
Voices Against Slavery - Olaudah Equiano
Voices Against Slavery - Granville Sharp
Voices Against Slavery - William Wilberforce
Voices Against Slavery - Elizabeth Heyrick
Voices Against Slavery - Samuel Sharpe
Voices Against Slavery - Harriet Tubman
Voices Against Slavery - Harriet Beecher Stowe
Voices Against Slavery - David Livingstone
Voices Against Slavery - Baroness Cox

The voices against slavery include well-known ones like William Wilberforce, Harriet Beacher Stowe, and Harriet Tubman. There are also lesser known individuals who played key roles in bringing about the abolition of slavery in their countries. All of these were strong Christian people who took stands that were unpopular in their time.

Some were political leaders, others housewives, and still others merchants.


This book should inspire all to follow Christ even into the dark places of this world and make a difference for the Gospel as it touches the issues of liberty and justice. It has a strong message for those who may be weary in fighting the just cause of the rights of the unborn and the aged, too - people who are often dehumanized by liberalized abortion or so-called "death with dignity" laws. We must not give up the fight for the rights of those who are unable to defend themselves.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Voices Against Slavery - Anthony Benezet

Voices Against Slavery - Part 1
Here is another book on the subject of slavery.



Voices Against Slavery - Ten Christians who spoke out for freedom
Catherine House
2006


Anthony Benezet


"I believe that all persons, but more especially the youth, ought to know by what wicked and corrupt views and methods the slave trade is carried on, and the curse that will attend those who, for selfish ends, engage in it in any degree whatever."

- Anthony Benezet
December 1757


John Benezet was a Heugenot - a Protestant Christian in France. He was able to escape from France with his family and resettle in England. Anthony was one of his sons.

After a few years in England, the family decided to emigrate to the new world colonies in America. There, the family continued to prosper as merchants.


Anthony became increasingly restless, feeling that God had something else for him, a different calling on his life. He wished to become a teacher, and at the age of 25 was finally able to follow that call.


He made many reforms at the local school, including throwing away the sticks that were used to punish the children if they got out of line. He used such means of correction as staying after school to work, rather than the usual beatings that were common in most schools.


He then started an evening school for the children of freed African slaves.

At some point - the book doesn't give the year - a group of Acadian refugees from Nova Scotia arrived in Philadelphia where the Benezets lived. John took action to help these people. They had been forced off their lands by the British.


There was a breakout of smallpox on the ships, so the people were not allowed to leave the ships until the illenss had run its course. Anthony got them clothing, blankets, and coffins.


Others who arrived by ship in Philadelphia were slaves or freed slaves from Africa and the West Indies. He began to study the issue of slavery, and was shocked at what he discovered.


During the 1750s, he began to write pamphlets exposing the evils of the slave trade and the cruel treatment that these people were subjected to.


He said, "And who are these people whom the planters are treating with such cruelty? They are his brothers! His neighbors! They are the children of our heavenly Father, for whom Christ died. One day each slave owner will have to give an account to God. How will they explain what they have done?"

p. 22

The Quakers became the first Christian group that outlawed slavery among their church members.

In 1780, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania passed the Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act, largely because of the efforts of the Quakers like Benezet. In Britain, Benezet's writings were having an impact, too.


He died in 1784 at the age of 71, and many of those African Americans he taught to read came to pay homage to this man. His wife of many years, Joyce, was at his side when he died.


Another patriarch of liberty passed to his reward...

Voices Against Slavery - Olaudah Equiano


Voices Against Slavery - Part 2
Olaudah Equiano


Olaudah Equiano was an African man, born in what is now Nigeria in 1745. He was taken as a slave when he was 11 years old; sold in Barbados and taken to Virginia, where he was then sold to a British naval officer, Michael Henry Pascal.


He was able, eventually, to purchase his freedom at the age of 21 years.

He became a Christian in his teens, and joined the Methodist church. He gained a deeper understanding of the God's love and forgiveness.


In 1789 he published his life story. It was called The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, The African. This book had an impact on many lives as people gained a greater understanding of the horrors of the slave trade.


The following Bible verse was printed at the front of his autobiography.


Isaiah 12:2,4

2 See, God has come to save me.
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
The Lord God is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.”


4 In that wonderful day you will sing:
“Thank the Lord! Praise his name!
Tell the nations what he has done.
Let them know how mighty he is!

Voices Against Slavery - Granville Sharp

Voices Against Slavery - Part 3
Granville Sharp

"Granville Sharp, who was born in 1735, is remembered as the 'father' of the abolition movement in Britain. He started his fight against slavery by helping enslaved black people living in London claim their freedom and to fight being sent back to the West Indies by their owners.

....

In 1778 the committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was formed. Sharp was the chairperson for this committee. William Wilberforce was to become its main spokesperson in parliament."





p. 50 of Voices Against Slavery

Voices Against Slavery - William Wilberforce

Voices Against Slavery - Part 4
William Wilberforce

When William Wilberforce, a member of the British parliament, began to speak out against the slave trade, slavery was already illegal in Great Britain itself. It continued in the British West Indies and in the newly formed nation of the United States - as well as in Brasil, even until 1888 - and illegally in England, since the laws were unclear.


Strong parliamentary action needed to be taken to clearly define the freedom status of former slaves within Great Briatain, to stop the slave trade, and also to make laws abolishing slavery in all the British colonies.


Wilberforce was the one who became the spokesman for the abolitionists. He believed that God had called him to this task. A strong, persuasive, respected voice in government was what Wilberforce became, by the grace of God.


He and his committe gathered information, and then presented it to Parliament. It was a matter of time before public sentiment swung in favor of abolition, and the laws had to change.


Every year for many years Wilberforce introduced a bill to Parliament for the abolition of slavery. Every year the bill was voted down. He gained some supporters along the way, and also many cruel enemies who said all kinds of unkind things about him.


John Newton, the famous ex-slave ship captain now minister of the Gospel, encouraged Wilberforce with these words.:

"The God you serve will preserve and deliver you. Remember the story of Daniel in the lion's den. He trusted God and God delivered him. You, too, are facing many enemies. Follow Daniel's example and stay faithful to the task that God has given you."


Wilberforce did, until his death. One great victory came in February of 1807, when the slave trade was finally made illegal. However, slavery itself had not been abolished, and those who were currently slaves still did not have their freedom.

Wilberforce had to retire from public life in 1825. In 1833, as Wilberforce lay on his deathbed, the greatest news of all came to him. His friend Tom Macaulay came to give him the news of what had happened on the floor of Parliament that day.


The Bill to abolish slavery had been passed and Parliament had agreed to pay slave owners compensation for freeing their slaves.


Wilberforce replied,"Thank God for this wonderful news. I never thought I would live to see the day when England would be willing to pay millions of pounds to end slavery."


Three days later, Wilberforce died.


Wow! What a powerful story! Someone should make a movie out of it. ;-)


Voices Against Slavery - Samuel Sharpe

Voices Against Slavery - Part 6
Samuel Sharpe


"Sam Sharpe was born into slavery on Jamaica in 1901. He was educated and became a deacon at the Burchell Baptist Church in Montego Bay. By reading newspapers, Sharpe learnt about the abolition movement in Britain so he organised a general strike to demand that all slaves should be paid for their work. However, the rebellion quickly led to voilence with the burning of sugar plantations and property. Sam Sharpe was captured and executed in 1832.

As a result of this uprising, missionaries from Jamaica went to Britain to campaign for the end of slavery, which happened in 1833. One week after the death of Sam Sharpe, the British government set up a committee to plan for the end of slavery. today Sam Sharpe is one of Jamaica's National Heroes."


p. 88 of Voices Against Slavery by Catherine House

Voices Against Slavery - Harriet Tubman

Voices Against Slavery - Part 7
Harriet Tubman

"In 1849, Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in the American state of Maryland. The next year she became a conductor for the Underground Railroad and helped other slaves to escape to freedom. Over the next ten years she made about nineteen rescue trips and rescued over 300 people. Many of these people were her friends and members of her family. She helped more people escape by giving them practical advice and encouragement.

Tubman supported the abolition movement and its leaders. She was a favourite speaker at antislavery meetings. During the American Civil War, Tubman worked as a nurse, scout and spy for the Union. During this time she helped to liberate slaves during military raids on southern plantations.

After the war, she lived in Auburn, New York, and was an active member of the American Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. She worked for the voting rights of black people and founded the Harriet Tubman Home for Aged Negroes. Harriet Tubman died in 1913."


p. 104 of Voices Against Slavery by Catherine House

Voices Against Slavery - Harriet Beecher Stowe

Voices Against Slavery - Part 8
Harriet Beecher Stowe


"Harriet Beecher Stowe was the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. It was originally published in 1851 as a swerial story for the Washington anti-slavery newspaper, the National Era. Uncle Tom's Cabin was a story that described the physical and emotional abuse of enslaved people. It also showed the bravery, resistance to slavery and Christian faith of many enslaved African Americans. The book was an instant best seller, and made Beecher Stowe a celebrity. She was invited to Britain and other European countries to speak against slavery.

Harriet was heavily criticised for this book. Some people said that she had lied about the condition of enslaved people in the South. She wrote another book A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin to show that her story was based on fact.

When Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1862 he said, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this Great War!" Uncle tom's Cabin inspired people to demand freedom for all Americans."


p. 118 of Voices Against Slavery - by Catherine House

-------------

DL:
Mrs. Stowe was a housewife with 6 children to care for. Yet, God put it on her heart to use her writing skills to make public the plight of slaves in America. She had the support of her husband, her brother, her sister, and all of her family.


Here is a bit of what she said:

"It matters little what service He has for me. I do not mean to live in vain. He has given me talents, and I will lay them at his feet, well satisfied, if He will accept them."


May these words inspire all of us to devote our lives to God and His service.

Voices Against Slavery - David Livingstone




Voices Against Slavery - Part 9
David Livingstone

"David Livingstone was a missionary and explorer in Africa. He hoped to bring Christianity and new sources of trade to African people. He believed that this would help wipe out the slave trade.

Born in Scotland in 1813, he worked as a child in a cotton mill, whilst studying at night. He bacame a Christian and decided to devote his life to relieving human suffering. As a result he trained to be a doctor and became a missionary.


Livingstone first worked as a missionary in South Africa and it was here that he bagan to see slavery for hims4elf. One group of people in South Africa called Boers, considered black people to be inferior to white people. Many Boers used black people as slave labour.

Livingstone began to explore the central parts of Africa. Here he saw the awful effects of the slave trade. He began to write about what he saw to inform the general public and the British government.

On his visits back home, Livingstone wrote books about his travels and also spoke at meetings. He described the horrors of the slave trade and criticised the Portuguese for allowing the slave trade to continue in their territories.


After Livingstone's death, other people such as Sir John Kirk continued to fight for the end of the slave trade in East Africa."


p. 134 - Voices Against Slavery - Catherine House

Voices Against Slavery - Baroness Cox

Voices Against Slavery - Part 10
Baroness Cox

"Caroline Cox was born in 1937 and started her career as a nurse. She became a member of the House of Lords in 1982.

The House of Lords is part of the British parliament and is responsible for approving new laws put forward by the government.

In the House of Lords, she is well known as someone who speaks out about people suffering in countries where they are denied their human rights or are victims of war and injustice.

Baroness Cox has worked to improve human rights in many countries including Poland, Russia, Burma, and Sudan. She is President of Christian Solidarity Worldwide - U.K., a charity that works on behalf of Christians suffering because of their beliefs. CSW also promotes religious freedom for all.

In January 1995 she received the annual Wilberforce Forum Award in Washington. This award is given to people who show the principles and commitment of William Wilberforce by their actions."


p. 148 - Voices Against Slavery - Catherine House