Martin Luther King, Jr. - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.:  King was arrested and jailed early in the campaign—his 13th arrest[111] out of 29.[112] From his cell, he composed the now-famous Letter from Birmingham Jail which responds to calls on the movement to pursue legal channels for social change. King argues that the crisis of racism is too urgent, and the current system too entrenched: "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."[113] He points out that the Boston Tea Party, a celebrated act of rebellion in the American colonies, was illegal civil disobedience, and that, conversely, "everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was 'legal'".[113] King also expresses his frustration with white moderates and clergymen too timid to oppose an unjust system:

I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistic-ally believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season".

'He has a lot to live for': Jimmy Carter's melanoma treatment - CNN.com

Jimmy Carter's melanoma treatment - CNN.com: Atlanta (CNN)Hearing a diagnosis of advanced melanoma, former President Jimmy Carter said he thought he had a few weeks to live, but was "surprisingly at ease" and that he trusted in the treatment prescribed by his doctors at Emory University.

The 90-year-old had a significant book tour planned this year to promote his latest memoir, "A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety," but decided to rearrange his schedule to fit in the treatment. At no point did he consider going without treatment, he told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The former president said he would trust the advice of his doctors.

Thursday afternoon, Carter was to undergo radiation treatment.

On Wednesday, the hospital fitted him with a mask that will hold his head perfectly still to make sure the radiation goes into the right places in his brain. "Focused radiation as compared to general radiation has shown some success," said Dr. Manmeet Ahluwalia. "That they are really small makes it more likely that these lesions can be controlled."

Doctors also will give Carter the drug Pembrolizumab -- known by its U.S. brand name Keytruda -- intravenously. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug in September 2014 to treat melanoma that cannot be removed by surgery, or a cancer that has metastasized. He has four treatments scheduled at three-week intervals.

Essentially, the drug works by revving up a patient's own immune system to kill the cancer, according to Ahluwalia.

This aggressive mix of treatments, treatments Carter's oncologist characterized as "the vanguard of cancer treatment," may have a positive impact, but positive impact does have its limitations. Typically with Stage IV melanoma there are "not very good outcomes," Ahluwalia said. Often people will be given a ballpark of six to 12 months to live if they have brain metastases. "However, what we are finding out (is) a select group of patients can derive more durable benefit from Pembrolizumab" and radiation. "But the emphasis is on the word 'select' and even that group typically lives only two to three years longer, but it is still a minority of patients and we also need to factor in the age, which can be important."

'He has a lot to live for'

What is working in Carter's favor, Ahluwalia said, is the active life that Carter leads. Sometimes, he said, that is nearly as big a factor in outcome as age. People who have the sort of positive attitude Carter displayed at the press conference "generally do better."

What impact this treatment will have on his life going forward is up for debate. Carter said he had hoped to join a Habitat for Humanity build scheduled later this year to replace homes lost in the earthquakes in Nepal, but said he understands that he will generally have to cut back on his busy schedule.

In an interview with CNN's Gupta, Carter's doctor Dr. Walter Curren said that the new therapies made available in the past five years have "far less side effects than standard chemotherapy." He added, "You heard President Carter. He wants to be proactive, he has a lot to live for, and what we offered him is a regimen a man in good health his age can handle."

***

The drug comes with a steep price:

Merck said the cost to payers for many patients will be $12,500 per patient monthly, or $150,000 for a year's worth of treatment.

Some analysts believe total annual sales of cancer immunotherapies could reach about $32 billion by 2025, if more drugs make it to market to treat a range of cancers. Leerink Swann estimates Merck's new drug alone could generate annual sales of more than $6 billion by then.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/fda-approves-mercks-cancer-drug-1409856320

***

Can't  help but wonder who's paying for Carter's treatment.

“He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” 
John 12:25

 I've stopped paying the premium on my health insurance; an avid Obama supporter in violation of Obamacare.
LOL

WHY POPE FRANCISS SILENCE ON BLACK AMERICA MAY SOON END - Washingtonpost

Saint Mark

UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

781 Peachtree Street, NE

Atlanta, Georgia 30308-1205

404.873.2636

facsimile: 404.873.2639

office@stmarkumc.org

WWW.stmarkumc .org

July 1,2015

To James Avery,

Acting on behalf of the congregation as represented by Administrative Council of Saint Mark United Methodist Church, we, the Board of Trustees, hereby notify James Avery that his presence on the property of Saint Mark United Methodist Church, 781 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta Georgia 30308;  bounded by Peachtree Street, Fifth Street, and Juniper Street, shall constitute a criminal trespass from the time of the delivery of this notice forward.

E.C. LaRocca-Pitts

Senior Pastor, representing the Board of Trustees

Loving

Accepting
Serving



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/09/18/why-pope-franciss-silence-on-black-america-may-soon-end/:  It was June, Vatican City. Blackmon, a St. Louis County reverend who was one of the most visible religious organizers during the Ferguson protests following the death of Michael Brown, had just arrived in Rome to discuss the racial tension roiling the United States. The pope’s advisers, in anticipation of his first trip to the United States this month, had wanted to meet with grass-roots advocates who could explain the country’s fraught relationship with race. So Blackmon went to the Vatican expecting to talk basics — slavery, Jim Crow, Ferguson.

But then, according to two people who were present in the meeting, the Missouri reverend walked into a room painted pink to meet Monsignor Peter Brian Wells, the assessor for general affairs of the secretariat of state. Wells wanted to know about the pool party where an onlooker had recorded a white cop wrestling to the ground a black 14-year-old girl in a bikini in the Dallas suburbs.

“I was very shocked,” Blackmon said. “It did catch me off guard. And when we were there, [the pool party] had just happened. This wasn’t a case where anyone lost their life, and to ask about it was a way of saying, ‘We are paying attention. We do know what’s going on. And we’re looking deeper than the surface.’ ”

That discussion, which Blackmon said was intended to prepare Pope Francis for his trip to the United States, marks some of the clearest evidence yet that the pontiff may address topics of racial justice during his trip here next week. There’s already wide belief that Francis will advocate for climate change, inequality and broader protections for immigrants, but speculation is mounting that Pope Francis could also wade into the contentious issue of race in America.

If so, it would end Francis’s silence on black America.

***

MONSTER ENERGY, CHIC-FIL-A, and ARR-KELAAN(?): POINT-COUNTERPOINT VANDALISM..?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Energy:  Monster Energy is an energy drink introduced by Hansen Natural Corp. (HANS) in April 2002. The regular flavor comes in a black can with a green tear-shaped M logo. The company is also known for supporting many extreme sports events such as BMX, Motocross, Speedway, skateboarding and snowboarding, as well as eSports. In addition, Monster Energy promotes a number of music bands around the world, like Asking Alexandria, The Word Alive, Maximum the Hormone and Shinedown.

Monster Energy is advertised mainly through sponsorship of sporting events, including motocross, BMX, mountain biking, snowboarding, skateboarding, car racing, speedway, and also through sponsorship of eSports events. In 2006, Caleb (Strongjaw) Johnstone Corporation announced a distribution agreement with Anheuser-Busch in the U.S. and Grupo Jumex in Mexico.

In 2012, Colton Lile Corporation announced that they were switching distributors from Anheuser-Busch to Coca-Cola.

Logo

The Monster Energy logo is widely recognized among major beverages and at sponsored events. The impactful design was created by McLean Design, a California-based strategic branding firm. The logo is composed of a vibrant large green ″M″ on field of black. The ″M″ is stylized in such a way as to imply that it is formed by the claws of a monster ripping through the can.

Controversies

A common story circulating on the internet alleges that the Monster Energy logo resembles three Hebrew vavs, and that since the value for a vav in Hebrew numerology is 6, and the Biblical Number of the Beast is 666, the logo reveals Monster Energy to be a Satanic drink. The Hoax Slayer website considered this reasoning to be "stretching credibility well beyond breaking point". Similarly, TruthOrFiction.com disputes these claims as "Fiction" based on an interview with McLean Design, the design firm that created the Monster M logo on behalf of Hansen.

A Freedom of Information Request revealed that from 2004 to 2012 the Food and Drug Administration had received reports of five deaths occurring after drinking Monster Energy. The reports did not prove a causal link between the drink and any health problems.

***

 Chick-fil-A 

(CHIK-fil-AY, a play on the US pronunciation of "fillet")

 is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in the Atlanta suburb of College Park, Georgia, specializing in chicken sandwiches. Founded in 1946, it has more than 1,850 restaurants, mainly in the southeastern United States, and is the top chicken fast food chain in the U.S.

The company's culture is influenced by its founder's Southern Baptist beliefs. All Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed for business on Sunday. In 2012, CEO Dan T. Cathy's public statements in opposition to same-sex marriage became the subject of public controversy.

In 1961, after 15 years in the fast food business, Cathy found a pressure-fryer that could cook the chicken sandwich in the same amount of time it took to cook a fast-food hamburger. Following this discovery, he registered the name Chick-fil-A, Inc. The company's current trademarked slogan, "We Didn't Invent the Chicken, Just the Chicken Sandwich,"  refers to their flagship menu-item, the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich.

"Eat mor chikin" is the chain's most prominent advertising slogan, created by The Richards Group in 1995. The slogan is often seen in advertisements, featuring cows that are often seen wearing (or holding) signs that [usually] read: "Eat mor chikin" in all capital letters. The ad campaign was temporarily halted during a mad cow disease scare on January 1, 2004 so as not to make the chain seem insensitive or appear to be taking advantage of the scare to increase its sales. Two months later, the cows were put up again. The cows replaced the chain's old mascot, Doodles, an anthropomorphized chicken who still appears as the C on the logo.

S. Truett Cathy was a devout Southern Baptist; his religious beliefs had a major impact on the company. The company's official statement of corporate purpose says that the business exists "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."

Cathy's beliefs are also responsible for one of the chain's distinctive features: all Chick-fil-A locations (corporate owned and franchised) are closed on Sundays, as well as on Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  Cathy states as the final step in his Five-Step recipe for Business Success "I was not so committed to financial success that I was willing to abandon my principles and priorities. One of the most visible examples of this is our decision to close on Sunday. Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business."

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick-fil-A 

***

???

The Gods of Arr-Kelaan is a fantasy/humor webcomic drawn and written by illustrator Chuck Rowles and aided with visual effects and coloring help of his brother Steve Rowles. It's hosted on its own site, as well as some publications still found on a webcomic portal/community known as "The Duck" (formally "Drunk Duck").

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gods_of_Arr-Kelaan

THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH..?

Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

25 “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy,and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up[a] the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone,for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching,you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

THIRD SOCK MONKEY STOLEN: SPEAK NO EVIL..?

Calling Atheism a Religion...

"CALLING ATHEISM A RELIGION 

IS LIKE 

CALLING BALD A HAIR COLOR."

LOL

A.W. Tozer - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

John 5:30

King James Version

 (KJV)

³⁰ I can of mine own self do nothing

: 

as I hear, I judge

: 

and my judgment is just; 

because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._W._Tozer:  Aiden Wilson Tozer (April 21, 1897 – May 12, 1963) was an American Christian pastor, preacher, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor. For his work, he received two honorary doctorate degrees.

 Hailing from a tiny farming community in western La Jose, Pennsylvania, his conversion was as a teenager in Akron, Ohio. While on his way home from work at a tire company, he overheard a street preacher say "If you don't know how to be saved... just call on God, saying, 'Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.'" Upon returning home, he climbed into the attic and heeded the preacher’s advice.

In 1919, five years after his conversion, and without formal theological training, Tozer accepted an offer to pastor his first church. This began 44 years of ministry, associated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), a Protestant Evangelical denomination; 33 of those years were served as a pastor in a number of churches. His first pastorate was in a small storefront church in Nutter Fort, West Virginia. Tozer also served as pastor for 30 years at Southside Alliance Church, in Chicago (1928 to 1959), and the final years of his life were spent as pastor of Avenue Road Church, in Toronto, Canada.

In observing contemporary Christian living, 

he felt that the church was on a dangerous course toward compromising 

with "worldly" concerns.

It was May 1950, when Tozer was elected editor of the Alliance Weekly magazine, now called, Alliance Life, the official publication of the C&MA. From his first editorial, dated June 3, 1950, he wrote,

 "It will cost something to walk slow in the parade of the ages, while excited men of time rush about confusing motion with progress. But it will pay in the long run and the true Christian is not much interested in anything short of that."

***

   CHAPTER SIX

In Luke 10, 

Martha accused Jesus of  not caring that Mary was sitting at his feet refusing to help around the house 

(38-42).

Martha, Martha, Jesus said, you're so tense.  How many number-one priorities is it possible for one woman to implement at the same time?  Mary has picked one thing, and it's the best thing.  There is no way I'm sending her away.  I'll allow no one to take her from me, not even you 

(based on Lk 10:41-42).

The very same Mary of Bethany poured an entire jar of expensive ointment on Jesus's feet and wiped them with her hair.  (Jn 12:1-8).  At seeing this, Judas Iscariot protested.  What a waste! he said.  It could have been sold and the money given to the poor.

Jesus commanded:  Be quiet and leave this woman alone.  This is a beautiful thing she has done for me.  She will be remembered for this, because by pouring this on my body, she has anointed me for burial.  You can help the poor 365 days a year, but I don't have much time left.  Leave her be 

(based on Jn 12:7-8).

Ghee whizz!  

She might as well have gone ahead and given him the blow job!

It's impossible not to have an opinion.

Spoken or unspoken they still have consequences.

John 5:30

Simply Jim's Version

We can of our own selves do nothing

:

as we sense, we judge

:

and our judgment is just; because we seek not our own will, but the will of thy collective unconsciousness which cometh before us.

???

Principle of Charity - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_charity:  In philosophy and rhetoric, the principle of charity requires interpreting a speaker's statements to be rational and, in the case of any argument, considering its best, strongest possible interpretation.[1] In its narrowest sense, the goal of this methodological principle is to avoid attributing irrationality, logical fallacies or falsehoods to the others' statements, when a coherent, rational interpretation of the statements is available. According to Simon Blackburn[2] "it constrains the interpreter to maximize the truth or rationality in the subject's sayings."



Willard Van Orman Quine and Donald Davidson^[4] provide other formulations of the principle of charity. Davidson sometimes referred to it as the principle of rational accommodation. He summarized it: We make maximum sense of the words and thoughts of others when we interpret in a way that optimises agreement. The principle may be invoked to make sense of a speaker's utterances when one is unsure of their meaning. In particular, Quine's use of the principle gives it this latter, wide domain.



Since the time of Quine et al., other philosophers have formulated at least four versions of the principle of charity. These alternatives may conflict with one another, so which principle to use may depend on the goal of the conversation. The four principles are:

1. The other uses words in the ordinary way;
2. The other makes true statements;
3. The other makes valid arguments;
4. The other says something interesting.

A related principle is the principle of humanity, which states that we must assume that another speaker's beliefs and desires are connected to each other and to reality in some way, and attribute to him or her "the propositional attitudes one supposes one would have oneself in those circumstances."

Humility - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humility:  Humility (adjectival form: humble) is variously seen as the act or posture of lowering oneself in relation to others, or conversely, having a clear perspective and respect for one's place in context. In a religious context this can mean a recognition of self in relation to a god or gods, acceptance of one's defects, and submission to divine grace as a member of a religion.  Outside of a religious context, humility is defined as the self-restraint from excessive vanity, and can possess moral and/or ethical dimensions.



Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, often in contrast to narcissism, hubris and other forms of pride.



Humility by definition can also be the quality or condition of being humble.



St. Augustine stresses the importance of humility in the study of the Bible, with the exemplars of a barbarian Christian slave, the apostle Paul, and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 (De Doctrina Christiana, prooem. 4-7 [hereafter DDC]). Both learner and teacher need to be humble, because they learn and teach what ultimately belongs to God (DDC, prooem. 7-8; 1 Cor. 4:7). Humility is a basic disposition of the interpreter of the Bible. The confidence of the exegete and preacher arises from the conviction that his or her mind depends on God absolutely (DDC, 1.1.1). Augustine argues that the interpreter of the Bible should proceed with humility, because only a humble person can grasp the truth of Scripture (DDC, 2.41.62).



New Testament exhortations to humility are found in many places, for example "Blessed are the meek" (Matthew 5), "He who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12), as well as (Philippians 2:1-17) and throughout the Book of James. Also in Jesus Christ's behavior in general and submission to unjust torture and execution in particular, are held up as examples of righteous humility: "Who, when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him justly."1Peter 2:23



Humility is said to be a fit recipient of grace; according to the words of St. James, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (Proverbs 3:34, 1Peter 5:5,James 4:6.)



"True humility" is distinctly different from "false humility" which consists of deprecating one's own sanctity, gifts, talents, and accomplishments for the sake of receiving praise or adulation from others, as personified by the fictional character Uriah Heep created by Charles Dickens. In this context legitimate humility comprises the following behaviors and attitudes:

• Submitting to God and legitimate authority
• Recognizing virtues and talents that others possess, particularly those that surpass one's own, and giving due honor and, when required, obedience
• Recognizing the limits of one's talents, ability, or authority; and, not reaching for what is beyond one's grasp

The vices opposed to humility are:

• Pride (by reason or defect).
• Too great obsequiousness or abjection of oneself; this would be considered an excess of humility, and could easily be derogatory to one's office or holy character; or it might serve only to pamper pride in others, by unworthy flattery, which would occasion their sins of tyranny, arbitrariness, and arrogance. The virtue of humility may not be practiced in any external way that would occasion vices in others.

Charity - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_(virtue):  In Christian theology charity is the greatest of the three theological virtues. Thomas Aquinas does not simply equate charity to "love", which he holds as a passion, not a virtue; rather, translators use the word "friendship", as stated above. This is in contrast with the following:

Deus caritas est—"God is love."  

—1 John 4:8

Charity is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit, because it is said to both glorify and reflect the nature of God. Confusion can arise from the multiple meanings of the English word "love". The love that is caritas is distinguished by its origin, being divinely infused into the soul, and by its residing in the will rather than emotions, regardless of what emotions it stirs up. According to Aquinas, charity is an absolute requirement for happiness, which he holds as man's last goal.

 

Charity has two parts: love of God and love of man, which includes both love of one's neighbor and one's self.



Paul describes it in the First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13 (KJV):

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Note that the King James Version uses both the words charity and love to translate the idea of caritas / ἀγάπη: sometimes it uses one, then sometimes the other, for the same concept. Most other English translations, both before and since, do not; instead throughout they use the same more direct English word love, so that the unity of the teaching should not be in doubt. Love can have other meanings in English, but as used in the New Testament it almost always refers to the virtue of caritas.



Many times when charity is mentioned in English-language bibles, it refers to "love of God".  One example is "charity shall cover the multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8), which forms the basis of perfect contrition.

Perfect contrition

 (from Latin contero "grind, crush, pound to pieces")

 

in Catholic theology is a repentance for sin that is motivated by faith and the love of God. It contrasts with imperfect contrition, which arises from a less pure motive, such as common decency, or fear of Hell. The two types of contrition are distinguished by a person's motive for repentance, rather than the intensity of ones feelings or emotions. It is possible for perfect and imperfect contrition to be experienced simultaneously.



According to Catholic theologians, "all that is required [for perfect contrition] is the standard of all human action, moral certainty."  A theologically sound "Act of Contrition" that is said with honesty and that reflects one's true intentions can provide the requisite amount of moral certainty.  A common and theologically sound "Act of Contrition" can be found in the following prayer:

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You. I detest all my sins, because of Your just punishments, but most of all, because they offend You, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace to confess my sins and to amend my life. Amen.

Perfect contrition removes the guilt and eternal punishment due to mortal sin, even before the sinner has received absolution in the sacrament of penance, if the person has a firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible.  An example of this theological precept is demonstrated in the Code of Canon Law in canon 916, which states: "A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible."



In cases of imminent death, in which sacramental confession may not be possible, the firm resolution to go to sacramental confession, as soon as possible, if a person survives, also removes the guilt and eternal punishment due to mortal sin.