Double-Dip Recession May Already Be a Fact in Some Countries

Worries about a double-dip global recession have been rising in recent weeks. They began with the surprise report a month ago that GDP growth in the 16 Eurozone countries had declined to just 0.1% in the fourth quarter.

In recent days Sweden reported its economy did slide back into recession in the fourth quarter, its GDP growth coming in at minus 0.6%, (compared to its central bank's forecast of 0.5% GDP growth), while Sweden, Denmark, and Norway reported unexpectedly slower fourth quarter growth.

With the additional problems in global economies so far this quarter related to the debt crises in Dubai, Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, etc., it doesn't seem that conditions are improving this quarter.

The double-dip worry has spread to the U.S. on recent negative economic reports. New home sales plunged 11% in January. Existing home sales fell 7.2%. Durable Goods Orders ex-aircraft fell 0.6%. Consumer incomes grew only 0.1% in January, the smallest rise in four months. Construction spending fell again in January, down 0.6%. Reports for February have continued the trend with Consumer Confidence plunging sharply in February, while the ISM manufacturing index fell to 56.5 in February from 58.4 in January.

Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman has been saying since December that the possibility of the U.S. economy sliding back into a double-dip recession in 2010 is "not a low probability event. Odds are about 30% to 40% of it happening." He believes the catalysts will be the wind down of government stimulus programs, and businesses having completed the inventory rebuilding that boosted 4th quarter GDP.

It's not just academics who are concerned.

Jamie Dimon, chairman of JP MorganChase, says a double dip in the economy is quite possible. Dimon adds that he believes a larger problem than the debt crisis in Greece and other European countries might be the debt crisis in California if it worsens, given the size of California's economy and the potential for a ripple effect across the country.

We really need to see some positive surprises in economic reports fairly quickly to counter these worries about a double-dip.

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Anger of God (Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan)

Anger of God (Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan) Review

This is the fourth book in the Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan series. This novel combined with the early books in the Hugh Corbett series is one of Paul Doherty's earlier offerings and he has since written many more books and is now an established author of medieval novels and has also added a number of novels on Egypt to his ever growing list of titles. Having said that it is one of his earlier offerings does not mean that it is inferior to his current books, quite the opposite. The Hugh Corbett mysteries were and are extremely popular and Paul Doherty has found another winner with the Brother Athelstan series.

The year is 1379, England is a seething mass of discontent. John of Gaunt has the English crown and the English are less than happy with this hard and domineering man who has grabbed at the opportunity to rule as Regent. So much so that the peasants are planning a revolt. The revolt is being organised through a network of go betweens and Brother Athelstan is worried that some of his parishioners may have been ill advised and secretly joined those who wish to bring John of Gaunt down.

When some of Gaunt's plans are foiled by a series of murders the Regent is incensed and calls on the services of Sir John Cranston and his friend and secretary Brother Athelstan to assist in solving the crimes.

Anger of God (Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan) Overview

In autumn 1379, the power of the British crown is invested in John of Gaunt, and the kingdom is seething with discontent. The French are attacking the southern ports and peasants are planning a revolt organized by a mysterious leader who proclaims himself “IRA DEI,” the anger of God. Meanwhile Gaunt's tenuous plans are plunged into chaos by a series of bloody murders in London. In desperation, Gaunt turns to Sir John Cranston to catch the killer and recover a vanished king’s ransom in gold. Together with his ally Brother Athelstan, Cranston must face threats from the most powerful classes as well as attacks from the seedy underworld—along with a chilling exorcism—in order to bring a subtle murderer to justice.

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Responses to Suffering

INTRODUCTION

Generally, people have responded differently to suffering. Torrents of ink will continue to flow on the responses to suffering. Some pray for suffering. There are others who don't seek for it but accept it as from God with patient endurance, believing that it is for a purpose; for instance, the comfort of others. Some believe that one should seek deliverance as suffering comes but also patiently endure it until deliverance comes or God directs one to accept it. The popular view in Christianity today is that suffering is from the devil and one is to resist it and pray for deliverance.
Negative response to suffering.

A common response to suffering is to utterly reject it. Many contemporary pastors teach their congregations to pray that suffering will not be their portion. Some writers don't regard anything noble to come out of suffering. The researcher believes that this is the error of Driscoll, Richard and Lloyd (1983) who argue that to uphold the view that some noble qualities could come out of suffering reveals a fundamental misconception of the nature and meaning of suffering.

This they believe is apparently based on the following:

Selective interpretations of Old Testament passages, on a misunderstanding of Jesus based on an overemphasis on the crucifixion and on a failure to distinguish between intentions and unintended secondary consequences; and on tendencies perhaps inherent in human nature to want to appear noble without doing all it takes actually to be noble. The misconception is that there is an inherent worth in suffering; one who holds this misconception has reason therefore to suffer in order to be more worthy.

(Driscoll, Richard and Lloyd 1983, 45).

Paul's attitude to suffering is not in consonance with Catholic monks who would inflict torture on themselves with the firm conviction that this would give them favour or merit with God. The researcher doubts whether they received the desired favour from God.

Perhaps a very negative response to suffering is the view that Christians should not suffer. This is a popular contemporary view of the concept. Christians who are suffering financially are regarded as possessing little faith, a position challenged by Awoniyi when he observes that "while faith can effect major changes in the life of a Christian, some changes are contingent on God's will" (2004,

The researcher would like to add that Awoniyi's presentation is not necessarily against the use of prosperity phrases such as 'your miracle is on the way', 'positive confession', 'seed faith', confession through action', 'miracle seed' and 'name it and claim', but rather their overuse. Paul would have thought that his miracle was on the way when he prayed several times for God to remove Satan's buffeting messenger in II Corinthians 12:7-10. Since God chose not to remove this suffering from Paul, Keller (1981) got it right in his analysis that "those who in the contemporary church... claim that Christians need not suffer are speaking out of sheer ignorance" (83).
The negative response of the prosperity teaching on suffering cannot be overemphasized.

A pastor is reported to have declared in one of his prosperity messages that: "Poverty should be under our feet, amen! Fear should end, amen! I don't care if you had no food when you woke up this morning. You cannot go back there, amen! Reach out and accept what is coming. You deserve wealth! Yes, amen (Robinson 2000, 28).

This "gospel of the now" (Okereafor 2000, 2), is a very clear indication that contemporary Christians are not willing to undergo suffering.

Heath identifies complacency as another negative response. He dismisses it as "the tendency to remain in our suffering, to exaggerate the injustice (and) to pout" (1966, 93). Expressions like 'if you only knew how much I am suffering' can have a genuine meaning. Often they express wounded pomposity. Men have spent their lifetime brooding, unable to shake off a blow of fate, nursing their wounds.

Positive response to suffering

As Madugba rightly observes "if we respond properly to suffering, God turns it into something that will feed the nations" (Madugba 2002, 78). If God, who is all perfection, suffered much abuse at the hands of His adversaries when He was on earth in bodily form, how can we expect less? Down the ages, God had indeed called out certain people who had gone through immeasurable suffering and endured appalling persecution. It is argued that not all of them were restored to prestige and prominence like Joseph, Elijah, and Daniel. There have been those who have perished and died terrible deaths like Peter, Paul, Watchman Nee and ten thousands upon ten thousand other righteous martyrs (Keller 1981, 82).

James explains that trials are a reason for rejoicing because of the effects produced (1:.2-4). One must hasten to note that James did not say 'if troubles come your way' but rather 'when troubles come your way' which implies that that they would inevitably come. It is not merely the coming of a single trial that is described by the author. "Trials of many kinds" (v.2) suggests that one is surrounded by people, objects, or circumstances that try one's faith. But why can trials be considered grounds for genuine rejoicing? If a person has true faith, those trials are capable of developing true perseverance.

Repetition of the word "lack" (v.5) suggests that the author is still discussing the subject of trials. Though nothing in God prevents Him from giving wisdom to His people, the latter have an internal problem. When one doubts, he is graphically described or illustrated by "a wave of the sea..." (1:6). This doubter (1:7), compared by the author, to the tossing wave (1:6) will receive nothing from the Lord (1:7) because he is unstable (1:8). The use of the conjunction (but) in 1:9 points or returns to the point of view in 1:2. Even though there is no clear connection with verses 5-8, the theme of trials of verses 2-4 is continued.

Some encourage Christians not to be discouraged with the temporal cares throughout the remaining days in this life. Circumstances must be accepted as they are presented. One should therefore expect periods of hardship to occur, and should not be dismayed when they arrive. Others suggest that one should lean into the pain knowing that God will use the difficulty for His purposes for own good. The researcher doubts whether this is not overstretching when it is noted that one should lean on the pain, something that is almost impossible to do.

Yancey upholds the idea that Christians must follow Jesus' example as they live in this world as His body and emotional response. According to him, "some of us will not see pain as a gift; some always accuse God of being unfair for allowing it. But the fact is, pain and suffering are here among us, and we need to respond in some way" (1996, 325).

Nkwoemezie believes that Christians must suffer and further notes that the solace lies in the fact that they never suffer alone. However, the researcher disagrees with his assessment of the concept of suffering in the Old Testament when he observed that "it is remarkable with all their experiences of terrible sufferings, the Israelites were never moved to take a pessimistic view of life. Since God is Lord, even Ecclesiastes, the gloomiest of the Old Testament writers, counsels the readers to enjoy life" (1998, 35). Firstly, Ecclesiastes is not a writer, but rather a writing of Solomon. Secondly, the use of the word never in the above quotation is an overstatement. The Old Testament is checkered with instances in which they were pessimistic.

Bruce (1999) discusses a part of I Peter in which it is evident that suffering for criminal activity will indubitably be disgraceful but would be an honor if one is reproached for the name of Christ. In his observation, "it is recognized that suffering may well be a Christian's lot" (92). Since Christ himself suffered, his people, called upon to suffer for Him must 'arm themselves' with this in mind (I Pet. 4:1).

Berner presents a view of suffering that is not popular today. Painful though it may appear, the account clearly portrays the ideal positive biblical response. This is the immediate impression Myrus Knutson's quoted testimony creates: "I remember the first thoughts that came to me when the doctors broke the news. At once I felt myself in God's hands. He had given me a rich and beautiful life. He didn't owe me even a minute more. I felt no resentment or rebellion. I felt myself lifted by the Holy Spirit into a new kind of world (1973, 15).

Grudem (1999) believes that "we should see all the hardship and suffering that comes to us in life as something that God brings to us to do good, strengthening our trust in Him and our obedience, and ultimately increasing our ability to glorify Him" (349). Jesus, though without sin, "learned obedience through what he suffered" (Heb. 5:8) and was made perfect through suffering (Heb. 2:10).

REFERENCE LIST

Awoniyi, H.O. 2003. Curriculum Response as Antidote to the Prosperity Gospel: a Proposal. Paper presented at the Intellectual Forum of West Africa Theological Seminary, Lagos, Nigeria on February 5, 2004.

Balz, Horst and Gerhard Schneider, eds. 1981. Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 2. Grand Rapids, Michigan : William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Berner, Carl W. 1973. Why me, Lord? : Meaning and Comfort in Times of Trouble. Minneapolis, Minnesota : Augsburg Publishing House.

Bruce, F.F. 1999. New Testament Documents : are they Reliable? Illinois: Intervarsity Press.

Driscoll, A., Richard M. and E. Lloyd. 1983. The Misconception of Christian Suffering. In Pastoral Psychology, 32: 34-48.

Grudem, Wayne. 1999. Bible Doctrine : Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith. Grand Rapids, Michigan : Zondervan Publishing House.

Heath, Thomas R. 1966. In the Face of Anguish. New York : Sheed and Ward.

Keller, W. Phillip. 1981. Salt for Society. Waco, Texas : Word Book Publisher.

Kreft, Peter. 1986. Making Sense Out of Suffering. Ann Harbor, Michigan: Servant Books.

Madugba, Chinyere G. 2002. Brokenness : an Inevitable Experience for Spiritual Significance. Port Harcourt : Spiritual Life Outreach Publications.

Nkwoemezie, John. 1998. Suffering : Biblical Perspective. Onitsha : George-Mary Press and Publishers Ltd.

Okereafor, Humphrey I. 2000. A Critique of Prosperity Theology from a Biblical Perspective. B.A. project, West Africa Theological Seminary.

Robinson, Simon. Christianity is Booming in Africa with Drums, Guitars and Promises of Health and Prosperity. In Time magazine, 20(3) : 28-30.

Yancey, Philip. 1996. Where is God When it Hurts. Grand Rapids : Zondervan Publishing House.

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Vine and Branches - Exegesis of Verses V-XII of John 15

TRANSLATION OF JOHN 15:5-12 FROM THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE (GREEK)

5 I am the vine, you are the branches. The one that remains in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, that branch may be cut off and withers and the same are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my sayings remain in you, ask and it shall be done to you. 8By this is my Father been glorified that you bear much fruit and shall be my disciples. 9As the

Father loved me, so also I loved you- remain in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love. 11These things I have spoken to you in order that my joy may be in you and your joy may be full. 12This is my commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you.

EXEGESIS

It is so easy to misinterpret the above passage. Jesus clearly shows the relationship between himself and the Father in the first verse and that between himself and his disciples in the fifth verse. It would be a misleading oversimplification to assume that we are merely commanded here to bear fruit. The focus is rather to remain in him. When one remains in him, it is certain that he will bear fruit. Prof. Turaki preached a message in the chapel at West Africa Theological Seminary in Lagos in 2004 that echoed this point. If the branch is not a part of the vine (if it is not attached), how can it bear fruit? It will run dry and wither. One can only bear fruit by abiding. The song writer clearly expresses it thus: "change and decay all around I see, O Thou who changest not, abide with me". He is ready to abide with us if we remain in him.

Christians must be taught to realize that the weight placed on the 'prosperity' doctrine (though biblical) is the result of the erroneous interpretation of this passage to mean that we are merely commanded to bear fruit. When people suffer, it is often believed that they are always living in sin and can't be in such a state if they remain in him.

Paul elsewhere in Scripture observed "in him we live and move and have our being". This is the strategic position of the Christian. God wants to show forth His glory in us through Jesus. The righteous will shine forth like the sun in their Father's kingdom. But how? - By remaining as part of this vineyard that is dressed by the ultimate vinedresser.

Prof. Turaki further observed that one would soon burn out if s/he tries to do something repeatedly. Why? - Because he is drawing from a very limited source. When Jesus says that one can do nothing without him, he is on other words saying we can do all things with him or in him.

Grammatically, one should further observe that fruit bearing (which is not commanded) is conditional if verses six and seven are carefully considered. Jesus did not use any other tense to reveal his identity as the true vine but the present. When he noted elsewhere that "before Abraham was, I am", they wanted to stone him. He did not say that if anyone associates with him, he can ask anything but deliberately uses the word 'remain'. This connotes a sense of continuity.

The preceding imagery of the vinedresser is obvious. Since the vine is constantly been cared for by the vinedresser, the branch is assured of a constant flow. The water is brought to the brim again and again whenever any amount is removed.

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Harding Fight

DJ fights Adam at Harding in the lunch room

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ROCKY BALBOA, (parody) ~~spoof~~

This is the training of rocky in "Rocky I" which is probily the beast rocky movie i think. But part 6 was good too. And as you may have noticed rocky isn't me, it is my friends tristan s. who is in a couple of my videos. So this is just a short little parody or spoof whateva you wanna call it. Inthe end of this video you can see me trying to give rocky pizza but .....well you can watch what happens but i think it was pretty funny. And if you guys liked this video next will be the rocky fight against the russian parody. stevester solon. they better make a rocky 7!!! =] extra tags =P wildy owns1 wildyowns1 runescape bs bh pking bounty hunter pking bountyhunter bs bh rs runescape jagex ltd upload videos p hat purple hat clan purple hats bh clans runescape di rs elvemage kids ranqe soz owned defil3d elf mage pka i ayzee i joshinator48 eazy e369 runescape rs rs i ayzee i wildy owns1 spanjol 91 rs elvewatford runescape pking p2p f2p member bh bounty hunter team cape rs jagex range of ish pk vid 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 20 21 22 23 24 25 16 17 20 18 19 jagex rs 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91 90 85 70 magic mage str strength ranging range magic hp hitpoints josh rs max andrew goner rune wildyowns1 tupac ignore this rs dis jagex songs music rock rap hiphop bs bh bounty hunter pking bh pking runescape wild gone wildy gone never coming back jagex dueling vid range of ish dueling vid i vmser ii ayzee man utd has dominated for basically all of the 1990's,,now that we've brought ...

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Witnesses of the Way, The Interior Life of Some Famous Christians - A Book Report

AUTHOR

George Allen Turner, a distinguished and erudite Bible scholar, also author of The Vision Which Transforms and Christian Holiness in Scripture, in History, in Life, has creditably served as the esteemed Professor of Biblical literature at Asbury Theological Seminary and is eminently equipped with the mature insights to write this book. We are indubitably indebted to him for presenting facts from the unique experiences of so many Christians from different ages.

TYPE

Biography

SUMMARY

This study is a gallery of one hundred witnesses from many continents and diverse walks of life sharing their experiences of Christ's work in their lives. These witnesses are divided into six groups namely ancient witnesses (c.AD67-499), medieval witnesses (500-1500), witnesses of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, eighteenth century witnesses, nineteenth century witnesses and twentieth century witnesses. For the devout, the pursuit of perfection in love became a lifelong task. It was not until Wesley's day that the church rediscovered the biblical doctrine that we are sanctified as well as justified by faith. They provide supportive or convincing evidence that they obtained Christian perfection, perfect love, entire sanctification or the fullness of the Holy Spirit. This book is a must in the personal library of every Christian.

SOME QUOTABLE QUOTES

"From Paul to Augustine to Luther to Wesley is a line of spiritual descent that stresses a religion of the heart. 'But' Wesley asked, 'who understood justification as clearly as Luther, yet who misunderstood sanctification as much as he?' In Luther, justification and sanctification were 'fused and confused', as historians have pointed out".

"When I began to make the Scriptures my chief study, I began to see that Christians are called to love God with all their heart, and to serve Him with all their strength; which is precisely what I apprehended to be meant by the Scriptural term, 'perfection'.

DISTINCTIVE FEATURE

Although the language of the witnesses varies as may be expected, it is evident that what is common to each is progress after their reception of the divine life in regeneration.

USEFULNESS

An inestimable treasure for all who are interested in vital Christian living. The short chapters make delightful reading for old or young - reading that will convince of fullness of life promised to every child of God through Jesus Christ and the sanctifying Holy Spirit.

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Fullness of Life in Christ - Exegesis of Verses IX-XIII of Colossians 2

TRANSLATION OF COLOSSIANS 2:9-13 FROM THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE (GREEK)

9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10and you are fulfilled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11Also in him you have been circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the putting off of the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12having being buried with him in baptism, in which you also have been raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raise him from the dead; 13and you being dead in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God has made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses.

EXEGESIS

In the preceding verses, Paul encourages the Colossians to live in Christ since they have already received him. He wants them in verse seven to be rooted and built up in him and established in the faith. This is very important if we are to put verses nine to thirteen in context. Is Christ not the vine and are we not the branches? We therefore need to be rooted in him for "in him we live and move and have our being". We also need to build on him for he is the only foundation. We have one church, one faith, one baptism and one Lord. The hymn writer realizes this when he observes that 'Christ is our corner stone, on him alone we build'. The Gnostic teachers need to bear this in mind. Paul, aware of the false teaching around, warns the Colossians that they should watch out lest no one makes a prey of them through philosophy or vain deceit according to human tradition and the elemental spirits of the universe. Jesus categorically attacks tradition in Matthew 15:3 when he observes, "Why do you transgress the word of God by your tradition?" What are the elemental spirits Paul is referring to in verse eight? One must admit that this passage bristles with exegetical difficulties. Maybe Paul is referring to the forces that attack us.

With this background, it is very easy to understand the passage in context. It is not surprising that in discussing the sufficiency of Christ, Paul repeatedly uses several related phrases or statements in the passage. Some worth mentioning include:

a. In him the whole fullness...

b. You are fulfilled in him...

c. Who is the head of the all...

d. In him you have been circumcised

e. Being buried with him

f. Being raised with him

Christ indeed is all sufficient. This reminds one of Colossians 1:24 where Paul uses the phrase 'panta anthropon' (every man) thrice to show that there is no spiritual aristocracy. The Gospel is for every man. Here Paul stresses the sufficiency of Christ. He was all the Colossians needed and, by implication, all Christians need today and will need in the future. There is no need to go through several stages the Gnostics believe one should use to reach perfection.

Verse nine clearly shows that Jesus is God. In 325, Constantine convoked the Council of Nicea to resolve the problem created by the Arian controversy. (Arianism teaches that Christ cannot be divine since he was created". Equality of the Son with the Father was however established. In Chalcedon (451), the dispute surrounded the nature of the person of Christ. He is fully God and fully man. Today, some revert to heresy but Paul categorically observes that the whole fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in him. He is indeed God's visible image.

Paul addresses another important theological issue when he observes that the Colossians have been circumcised with the circumcision of Christ. This is not like the physical one. In Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council was convoked to discuss the relationship between Jews and Gentiles. It decided that the law, impossible for Jews was not required for the Gentiles. This is a great lesson for Paul realizes the damage that the Jews or false teachers wanted to impose on other Christians. Interestingly, this is a very serious problem in Christianity today. We accuse the west of imposing its own brand of Christianity on Africans but it is sad to note that influential tribes also impose their own belief systems on others who embrace the Christian faith. We must realize that God has forgiven us like the Colossians, and has raised us with Christ, having forgiven our trespasses. Legalism, ascetism, worship of angels, to mention a few, cannot provide salvation for us. We are fulfilled and complete in Jesus.

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Iowa Writers' Workshop: Paul Harding (Part 1 of 4)

Author Paul Harding discusses his newest novel "Tinkers".

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