It seems to me the purpose of the 3rd epistle of John was primarily to combat the error of Diotrephes, the error of the idea of one leader being supreme over the other leaders. He “wants to be the leader over them,” and disallows the visiting brothers to have any authority in his church. This is contrary to the teachings of the apostles. First of all, the apostles were co-equal to each other. Secondly, they were careful to appoint multiple, co-equal elders in each church. The wisdom of disallowing one human being to have all the power, is confirmed by the wise men and wise cultures and wise political systems of many or all eras.
Life Among the Piutes, Sarah Winnemucca
Sarah Winnemucca
“When I think of my past life, and the bitter trials I have endured, I can scarcely believe I live, and yet I do; and, with the help of Him who notes the sparrow’s fall, I mean to fight for my down-trodden race while life lasts.” –Sarah Winnemucca, in her book “Life Among the Piutes.”
Sarah Winnemucca became famous as a lecturer, on the topic of her people’s plight, as she had some clever things to say. For example, she noted that the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor said “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me…” So she said perhaps she ought to conduct her people out to San Francisco, put them on ships, and sail them around to bring them in through New York harbor, and maybe perhaps then America would treat her people like the statue promised.
I highly recommend this book. It has some very interesting opinions about the Donner Party, among other things. Some people dispute the recollections of Sarah Winnemucca, but were they present there, like she was?
I have formatted Sarah Winnemucca’s book in PDF, and you can download it here or on my downloads page.
Insights into Islam
I have added many new insights into the religion of Islam on my Birth of Islam page. One of the most important things to understand is that the countries and kings that the Messiah makes war against in the Old Testament prophetic books, those are all Islamic nations today. Turkey will become one of the main enemies of Israel it looks like. They already look bad by not really joining in the battle against ISIS. The Islamic Caliphate used to exist, in the form of the Ottoman Empire, based in Turkey, but it received a death blow in 1924. Will that beast rise again from its seemingly mortal head wound? This is the theory of Walid Shoebat, an ex-Palestinian terrorist who became a Christian. His insights are important I think, and I recommend that we all consider them.
Please share this post about insights into Islam, and also read again my Birth of Islam page.
Collations of MSS 65 and 115
I have been adding manuscripts, minuscules, to my chart of the Pericope of the Adulteress and the Pericope of the angel bathing in John. The latest are GA 65, Harley MS 5776, XI century, and GA 115, Harley MS 5559, X century.
Interesting that 65 has asterisks next to the angel in the pool of Bethesda pericope. In minuscule 115, on folio 260 verso, the text goes from John 7:52 skipping the Pericope, right to 8:12. But then it goes back to John 7:53 and the Pericope! It’s as if the copyist had an exemplar without the Pericope, then saw the Pericope in another exemplar, and proceeded to insert the Pericope. I have added this data to the chart.
Pericope of the Adulteress data updated
I have updated and uploaded the updates of all my documents that contain TC manuscript data for the Pericope of the Adulteress in the Gospel of John. This includes the line by line Swanson-style chart of John 5:3b-4, and the Pericope. I have changed the designations for some minuscules which recently were assigned Gregory-Aland numbers, including minuscule 2253, formerly only known as ANA 10, (a.k.a. Albania National Archive, Kod. Vl. 10), IX-XII century. In addition, I have included in the critical apparatuses, the readings of the Byzantine Greek New Testament, which is essentially the reading of minuscule 35.
First Epistle of Peter PDFs uploaded
I have uploaded my pdf edition of the First Epistle of Peter with alternating Greek and English text. It also shows the readings of 9 Greek New Testament editions, including the newly released Byzantine Greek New Testament, which is essentially the readings of Family 35. To download the pdf edition without the Greek text interlinear, use this link for 1 Peter. Or go here to just read the main English text online of 1 Peter.
Number 2 Mistake of Wives
The number 2 mistake of wives is asking her husband to do or allow something she already knows he does not like, and convincing him to do it or allow it, and he later “changes his mind” back to what he really is, and she gets mad at him, and says she “can’t trust him.”
As one wise man said, “Him convinced against his will, is unconvince-ed still.”
The Sun Began to Rain Larry Norman
A thief fell out of heaven with some loaded dice
But the lamb rolled a seven back to paradise.
The bread was finally leavened so I had a slice
And the sun began to rain.
Water swelled from fountains and then turned to wine,
Rocks fell from the mountains in a chorus line;
He came in tails and top hat and He looked so fine,
Yes the Son began to reign.
A fox snuck in to steal away the grapes,
But the man who ran the vineyard shut the gate,
So he could not escape.
And now we’ll live forever in another land,
Everything is ending like it first was planned.
Did you get your invitation to come play in the band
And let the Son begin to reign.
Song and singing by Larry Norman
Piano played by actor Dudley Moore