From Gary... A different kind of "signing"

Signed copy? Autographed? Well, not since the ten commandments were given to Moses on mount Sinai has there been a signed copy. These things brought a flood of verses to mind, but here are a select few...

Exodus, Chapter 31

Exo 31:18  When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God. 

Jeremiah, Chapter 31

Jer 31:31  "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
Jer 31:32  not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.
Jer 31:33  "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Jer 31:34  "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

2 Corinthians, Chapter 3

2Co 3:1  Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?
2Co 3:2  You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;
2Co 3:3  being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Rules and regulations are good things; without them our society would degenerate into anarchy. But, the problem with laws is that it is human nature to want to S-T-R-E-T-C-H or even BREAK them. What is needed is an understanding of the author, in order to get the spirit of the desire of God. In a sense, every Christian is a living Bible, having the thoughts and intents of a living God inscribed on their hearts.  Think about that one, the next time you look in the mirror!!!

From Gary... Bible Reading May 21

Bible Reading 

May 21

The World English Bible

 

May 21

Joshua 23, 24

Jos 23:1 It happened after many days, when Yahweh had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years,

Jos 23:2 that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and for their heads, and for their judges and for their officers, and said to them, "I am old and well advanced in years.

Jos 23:3 You have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations because of you; for it is Yahweh your God who has fought for you.

Jos 23:4 Behold, I have allotted to you these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even to the great sea toward the going down of the sun.

Jos 23:5 Yahweh your God will thrust them out from before you, and drive them from out of your sight. You shall possess their land, as Yahweh your God spoke to you.

Jos 23:6 Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left;

Jos 23:7 that you not come among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow down yourselves to them;

Jos 23:8 but hold fast to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day.

Jos 23:9 For Yahweh has driven great and strong nations out from before you. But as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.

Jos 23:10 One man of you shall chase a thousand; for it is Yahweh your God who fights for you, as he spoke to you.

Jos 23:11 Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love Yahweh your God.

Jos 23:12 Else if you do at all go back, and hold fast to the remnant of these nations, even these who remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you;

Jos 23:13 know for a certainty that Yahweh your God will no longer drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, a scourge in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you.

Jos 23:14 Behold, today I am going the way of all the earth. You know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which Yahweh your God spoke concerning you. All have happened to you. Not one thing has failed of it.

Jos 23:15 It shall happen that as all the good things have come on you of which Yahweh your God spoke to you, so Yahweh will bring on you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you,

Jos 23:16 when you disobey the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down yourselves to them. Then the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which he has given to you."

Jos 24:1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

Jos 24:2 Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.

Jos 24:3 I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

Jos 24:4 I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

Jos 24:5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did in its midst: and afterward I brought you out.

Jos 24:6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Red Sea.

Jos 24:7 When they cried out to Yahweh, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt: and you lived in the wilderness many days.

Jos 24:8 I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived beyond the Jordan: and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand. You possessed their land; and I destroyed them from before you.

Jos 24:9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. He sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you;

Jos 24:10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still. So I delivered you out of his hand.

Jos 24:11 You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand.

Jos 24:12 I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow.

Jos 24:13 I gave you a land whereon you had not labored, and cities which you didn't build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn't plant.'

Jos 24:14 Now therefore fear Yahweh, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve Yahweh.

Jos 24:15 If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh."

Jos 24:16 The people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh, to serve other gods;

Jos 24:17 for it is Yahweh our God who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way in which we went, and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we passed.

Jos 24:18 Yahweh drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve Yahweh; for he is our God."

Jos 24:19 Joshua said to the people, "You can't serve Yahweh; for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins.

Jos 24:20 If you forsake Yahweh, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after he has done you good."

Jos 24:21 The people said to Joshua, "No; but we will serve Yahweh."

Jos 24:22 Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Yahweh yourselves, to serve him." They said, "We are witnesses."

Jos 24:23 "Now therefore put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to Yahweh, the God of Israel."

Jos 24:24 The people said to Joshua, "We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice."

Jos 24:25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

Jos 24:26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Yahweh.

Jos 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of Yahweh which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God."

Jos 24:28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

Jos 24:29 It happened after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred and ten years old.

Jos 24:30 They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.

Jos 24:31 Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of Yahweh, that he had worked for Israel.

Jos 24:32 They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. They became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

Jos 24:33 Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

From Mark Copeland... The Conversion Of The Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-40)

                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

               The Conversion Of The Ethiopian (8:26-40)

INTRODUCTION

1. The conversions we have noted so far have involved large numbers of
   people...
   a. The 3000 at Pentecost - Ac 2:1-41
   b. The 2000 on Solomon's Porch - Ac 3:1-4:4
   c. The multitudes in Samaria - Ac 8:5-13

2. In each case, the gospel message was basically the same...
   a. Christ is proclaimed
   b. Responses called for included faith, repentance and baptism

3. Now we have the opportunity to examine the conversion of just one
   person...
   a. A queen's treasurer, a eunuch from Ethiopia
   b. A very religious man, who had traveled a great distance to
      worship God

4. With the account of the conversion of "The Ethiopian"...
   a. We not only have the opportunity to confirm what we have already
      learned
   b. We can also glean a few more points regarding Biblical conversions

[Let's start with a reading and review of the basic facts related to this
conversion...]

I. THE CONVERSION OF THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH

   A. PHILIP IS SENT TO THE EUNUCH...
      1. An angel of the Lord tells Philip to go toward Gaza - Ac 8:26
      2. On the way there is a man sitting in his chariot - Ac 8:27-28
         a. A eunuch of Ethiopia, in charge of the treasury of Queen
            Candace
         b. Returning home from having gone to worship in Jerusalem
         c. Reading from the prophet Isaiah
      3. The Spirit tells Philip to overtake the chariot - Ac 8:29

   B. PHILIP PREACHES JESUS TO HIM...
      1. Hearing the eunuch reading Isaiah, Philip asks if he understands
         - Ac 8:30
      2. The eunuch asks Philip to help him - Ac 8:31-34
         a. He expresses a need for someone to guide him, and invites
            Philip to sit with him
         b. The scripture under consideration is Isa 53:7-8
            1) Which speaks of one led as a sheep to the slaughter
            2) Which describes one whose life is taken from the earth
         c. The eunuch asks if Isaiah was speaking of himself, or of
            someone else
      3. Beginning with that Scripture, Philip preaches Jesus to him 
         - Ac 8:35

   C. THE EUNUCH IS BAPTIZED...
      1. The eunuch expresses a desire to be baptized - Ac 8:36-37
         a. Seeing some water along the way, he wonders what would hinder
            him from being baptized
         b. Philip replies that if he believes with all his heart, he may
         c. The eunuch confesses his faith in Jesus as the Son of God
      2. Philip baptizes the eunuch - Ac 8:38-40
         a. Stopping the chariot, both Philip and the eunuch go down into
            the water
         b. Philip then baptizes him
         c. When they come up out of the water, the Spirit catches Philip
            away
         d. Though seeing Philip no more, the eunuch goes on his way
            rejoicing
         e. Philip is found at Azotus, and continues preaching in the
            cities until he arrives at Caesarea

[One might wonder why the Spirit led Luke to spend so much time
describing the conversion of just one person.  Clearly there must be
important lessons or principles that we can glean from this historical
account.  With that in mind, let me offer..]

II. SOME OBSERVATIONS

   A. PROSPECTS FOR THE GOSPEL...
      1. The Ethiopian eunuch was a very religious man
         a. He had traveled a great distance to worship in Jerusalem
         b. He was reading from the Scriptures when Philip found him
      2. In fact, most examples of conversions involved very devout
         people
         a. The 3000 at Pentecost, who had traveled to observe the feast
         b. Later, we will study the conversions of such people as:
            1) Paul, the Pharisee zealous for the Law
            2) Cornelius, the devout Gentile who feared God and prayed
               always
            3) Lydia, a woman who met every Sabbath to pray with others
      3. From this we can glean the following...
         a. Just because one is religious does not mean they are saved!
         b. Religious people are often good prospects for the gospel!
            1) They already fear God and respect His authority
            2) As such, they simply need to be shown "the way of God
               more accurately" - cf. Ac 18:26
         c. Those who are truly seeking God's will, will one day have
            an opportunity to hear the gospel and obey it! - Mt 5:6
      -- This does not discount the fact that rank sinners are often
         receptive (cf. the Corinthians, 1Co 6:9-11), but good people 
         are usually more open to the Word        

   B. WHAT IT MEANS TO PREACH JESUS...
      1. From Isaiah's "quotation" (Isa 52:13-53:11), we know it involves
         teaching:
         a. How Jesus died for our sins - cf. 1Co 15:1-3
         b. How Jesus has been exalted by God - cf. Ac 2:36; 3:13; 
            5:30-31
      2. From the Eunuch's "question" (Ac 8:36), we know it includes
         stressing:
         a. The importance of baptism 
            1) Why did the eunuch ask, "What hinders me from being
               baptized?"
            2) Perhaps because Philip told him...
               a) What the Lord had said - Mk 16:15-16
               b) The purpose of baptism, as expressed by Peter and Paul
                  - Ac 2:38; Ro 6:3-4; 1Pe 3:21
            -- As we have seen and will see, baptism is the expected
               response when one believes in Jesus
         b. The immediacy of baptism
            1) Why did the eunuch asked to be baptized right then ("See,
               here is water.")?
            2) Perhaps because baptism's purpose is such that one does
               not want to delay
               a) It is "for the remission of sins" - Ac 2:38
               b) It is to have one's sins "washed away" - Ac 22:16
               c) It is an appeal for a clear conscience - 1Pe 3:21
            -- Indeed, in every example of conversion found in Acts,
               people were baptized immediately, after just one lesson!
      3. From Philip's "qualification" (Ac 8:37), we know it requires
         explaining:
         a. The necessity of faith in Jesus 
            1) One must believe in Jesus as the Son of God - Jn 8:24;
               20:30-31
            2) Without faith, God won't do His work in our baptism - cf.
               Col 2:12
         b. The necessity of whole-heartedness in our faithThe Conversion Of The Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-40)
            1) God has always required whole-heartedness - cf. Mt 22:37
            2) Without it, even those saved are in danger of falling away
               - cf. He 3:12-14
         -- Unless "you believe with all your heart", you are not a
            proper subject for baptism!
            
   C. BAPTISM...
      1. Baptism involves water
         a. When the eunuch was baptized...
            1) "...both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water"
               - Ac 8:38
            2) "...he baptized him" - Ac 8:38
            3) "...they came up out of the water" - Ac 8:39
         b. Later, we see the same truth expressed by Peter - cf. Ac 10:47-48
      2. Baptism involves a burial in water
         a. Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water - Ac 8:38
            1) If sprinkling satisfies the meaning of baptism, it seems
               strange that Philip would need to go down into the water
            2) Why get wet, when all he needed to do was get a handful
               of water?
         b. Baptism means "to immerse", and such requires the baptizer
            to get in the water with the one being baptized
         c. Later, Paul describes baptism as a "burial" - cf. Ro 6:3-4;
            Col 2:12
      3. Baptism is NOT a public confession of one's faith
         a. Some say that the purpose of baptism is to publicly confess
            one's faith in Christ
            1) Especially those who deny that baptism is for the 
               remission of sins
            2) Seeking to provide a reason for baptism, they offer this
               as an alternative
            3) But the Bible nowhere says this is the purpose for 
               baptism!
         b. If the purpose of baptism is to publicly confess one's
            faith...
            1) Why did Philip baptize the eunuch?
               a) There was no one else around to witness the baptism
               b) They were all alone in the desert
            2) Why didn't Philip answer the eunuch's question 
               differently?
               a) He wanted to know what would hinder him from being
                  baptized
               b) If baptism is a public confession of one's faith, we
                  would expect Philip to say he must wait until they get
                  to town, find a church, etc.
         c. But the purpose of baptism is such that it can be done...
            1) In public or in private
            2) With thousands present, or with just the one doing the
               baptizing
         -- Later, we will see that the conversion of the Philippian
            Jailor also involved a baptism in relative privacy
         
CONCLUSION

1. With the conversion of "The Ethiopian", we are impressed with the
   simplicity of salvation... 
   a. With a simple presentation of the gospel, one can be saved after
      just one lesson
   b. Whether it is preached to large crowds or to just one person, the
      gospel is indeed God's power to save! - cf. Ro 1:16

2. When the gospel of Jesus is truly preached...
   a. The death of Jesus for our sins will be stressed
   b. The importance of baptism as commanded by Jesus will be mentioned
      as well
      1) Such that people will want to know "what hinders me from being
         baptized?"
      2) Such that people will want to baptized immediately
   c. The purpose of baptism will be properly understood, knowing that
      one can be baptized in private just as well as in public
   d. The necessity for a wholehearted faith in Jesus will be emphasized,
      otherwise one simply gets wet in baptism!

Was your conversion anything like that of "The Ethiopian"?  When someone
"preached Jesus" to you, were you compelled to ask:

 "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" - Acts 8:36

If not, have you considered why not?  Could it be that the gospel of
Jesus Christ was not shared with you in its fullness...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2012

From Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A. ... The Design's in the Details

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1338

The Design's in the Details

by	Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A.

Michael J. Behe (1996), Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution (New York: The Free Press), hardbound, 307 pages, $25.00.
Hailed by some as a coup for the cause of creation, this eagerly-awaited book does not disappoint. Michael Behe, associate professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University, unabashedly argues a case for intelligent design in life. Others have tackled this same argument, but Behe breaks new ground in having his book printed by a division of a major publishing company (Simon & Schuster).
Behe presents three major points. First, he argues that evolution has to go further in explaining the origin of complete structures or organs. Currently, evolutionary speculations involve nothing more than arranging or rearranging a stockpile of preexisting components. Perhaps, following the most vociferous opponents of design such as Richard Dawkins, evolutionists could argue that the nerve cell, retina, cornea, and other parts of the eye came together accidentally. They may even offer a seemingly persuasive scenario whereby this occurred in gradual, successive steps. But this is woefully inadequate, Behe argues.
Following the title motif, the author likens the eye to a kind of black box, and its components to a series of smaller black boxes. A “black box” is a term drawn from the world of modern machines. It is something very complicated that an average mechanic will not touch. He will unplug it, send it away to the factory for repair, and replace it, but he will never open it up to fix anything inside. Someone could go to an airplane, for example, remove the black boxes, put them together with some fresh aluminum sheets and parts from other airplanes, and create a whole “new” design. But he will get nowhere without those preexisting, highly complicated black boxes. When special kinds of scientists—people such as biochemists—open up the black boxes of molecular machines, blood coagulation, and the metabolic pathway (to mention some of Behe’s favorite examples), they fail to find still smaller black boxes. At some point they run into “irreducible complexity”—a single system which, if any part were removed or crippled, would cease to perform its obvious function. But Behe does not merely throw down the gauntlet and walk away. He devotes considerable space to describing the irreducible complexity of the preceding examples, and shows the difficulty in explaining these systems by any sort of blind, unthinking, natural process.
In the second part of the book, Behe takes an unusual approach. He starts out by trying to find the evolutionists’ explanations for any complex biochemical system. A comprehensive search in a seemingly promising source, the Journal of Molecular Evolution, turns up very few attempts to explain the evolution of such systems. Some papers offer very imaginative, or very simplistic, solutions, but none offers a detailed Darwinian model. Behe broadens his search to other likely journals and textbooks, with the same result. He concludes that molecular evolution has not published and, therefore, it should perish.
Finally, Behe tries to establish that the search for intelligent design is possible without ruining science. He eliminates a couple of non-Darwinian, but naturalistic, proposals, and concludes that intelligent design is the only explanation for the irreducible complexity he observes. But the author also draws a distinction between the claims for design or evolution, and scientific proof for such claims. Presumably, Behe would expect to find many examples of design throughout nature, but he urges fellow scientists to look at each organism, part of an organism, or intricate system within the living world, on a case-by-case basis.
Overall, the book is very well-written and presented. Technical descriptions not crucial to the argument are set aside in specially-marked sections, and Behe (with some good editors, no doubt) has done a good job at writing on as popular a level as possible. The author does not hide his belief in God, but a few brief, sporadic comments indicate a desire to distance himself from young-Earth creationism. Perhaps these were intended to make the book more marketable, but they were unnecessary because Behe’s arguments stand without any reference to the age issue. Nonetheless, everyone should catch this glimpse of a design argument for the new millennium.
[For a somewhat objective critique of Darwin's Black Box by an evolutionist, with responses, see The Boston Review. For further reactions from evolutionists (especially ultra-Darwinists), see the (unofficial) Richard Dawkins site.]

From Jim McGuiggan... A greater fear than death

A greater fear than death

I mentioned (click) that Pip, in Great Expectations, had shown himself fickle and self-serving but was now trying to right great wrongs and was balancing a number of things that had to come together if he was to manage the complex situation. At a critical moment and in an isolated place he was captured by Orlick, a long time enemy, and the drunken man swore he was going to end Pip's life. Not only would he kill him, but since they were at a limekiln he would dispose of Pip entirely so that absolutely nothing of him would ever be found.

Having every reason to believe he was right on the brink of destruction Pip's mind raced through all the letters he had written, arrangements and promises he had made to make things right. Finally, when he had purposed to do what was right in the face of great danger and loss to himself, he was about to vanish and no one would know where he went.

He said he feared death but that he feared something worse and while the drunken murderer was rehearsing his threats to kill him here's what Pip was thinking:

"My mind with inconceivable rapidity, followed out all the consequences of such a death. Estella's father would believe I had deserted him, would be taken, would die accusing me; even Herbert [his intimate friend] would doubt me, when he compared the letter I had left for him, with the fact that I had called at Miss Havisham's gate for only a moment; Joe and Biddy would never know how sorry I had been that night, none would ever know what I had suffered, how true I had meant to be, what an agony I had passed through. The death close before me was terrible, but far more terrible than death was the dread of being misremembered after death. And so quick were my thoughts, that I saw myself despised by unborn generations—Estella's children, and their children—while the wretch's words [Orlick's words] were yet on his lips."

In his pride and new-found income Pip had developed into a 24-carat snob and became ashamed of Joe, his dearest and most faithful friend. This led to his misjudging Biddy (later Joe's wife) and avoiding both her and Joe and when he discovered that his devoted and extremely generous benefactor was a criminal Pip loathed him too, despite the fact that his benefactor risked a death sentence in order to come halfway round the world to see him. All this reprehensible behaviour and the spirit that fed it was in the past but no one would ever know it thanks to Orlick who was about to shut a door Pip could never reopen.

Death away from all those who had proved to be his friends was bad enough but worse still—worse than death—was the certainty that he would be "misremembered"—his shameful ways would have the last word.

Many of us fear the lies that will have the last word while others of us fear the truths that will have the last word. Pip's shameful treatment of Joe Gargery, his loathing of his once criminal but now selfless benefactor and his generally selfish approach to life were not fabrications; but in recent times Pip had seen himself for what he was, was working to make up for it all and now no one would know "how true he meant to be." Orlick would freeze Pip's life in that selfish and thankless mode; that would be the summary of his life and the stories—the truths, at least aspects of the truths—about his worst ways would be all that would be told about him. He knew he merited criticism but he feared that those who mattered most to him would think him "worse than he was." In his awful fear he believed that he would now die with his repentance and attempts at restitution unknown and no one would say of him with profound feeling what he would later say of his once-wicked and now "softened" benefactor, "O Lord, be merciful to him a sinner."

Some sin and have the good sense and strength to move on, to dismiss the past and pursue honour with all their might but others, for whatever reasons, have neither the sense nor the strength to leave the ugly past and move on. Their sin is ever before them, their agony robs them of peace though they try with all their might to do what is right and out-live what cannot be set right. And there are "Orlicks" who wouldn't lift a finger to do physical violence to anyone but who, finding "good reasons" to tell even ancient stories, kill any possibility of peace and endanger the possibility of usefulness in the life of sinful "Pips". In their sly ways they find it "necessary" to spread the word and freeze the life of a sinner in an ancient setting (always presuming that they really know what they're talking about).

I've sinned greatly here (and been sinned against) by taking a truth and shrinking a man's life until his crime is the sum total of it. I've done it by ignoring the length and breadth of his goodness and his avowed purpose to live openly and in honour before God and man.

To speak or look or act or raise an eyebrow to freeze someone's life in that way is to bring Orlick to life. To spread the news to people who will never know the now penitent "Pip" is to freeze him in their minds. They'll never know his agony or "how true he meant to be." All they will know is what "Orlick" allowed them to know.

How trivial this must appear to be to some readers but Dickens knew better. Noted Cambridge scholar, author and Dickens specialist, Peter Ackroyd, acknowledges Dickens' great psychological accuracy and understanding. Some of us don't need Ackroyd's opinion to see that in Dickens; we feel it in us, as if Dickens were inside our heads and hearts. This agony and absence of peace is all too real and is created by the Orlicks who feed those who are willing to eat the putrid. The fear that haunts some sinners is given a solid basis when many years later they're confronted by an often garbled horrible truth they wished they could forget. They realize a new generation is learning to despise them.

"The death close before me was terrible, but far more terrible than death was the dread of being misremembered after death."

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, theabidingword.com.