Stuff Michael Meeks is doing
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This is my (in)activity log. You might like to visit
Collabora
Productivity a subsidiary of Collabora focusing on LibreOffice support and
services for whom I work.
Also if you have the time to read this sort of stuff you could enlighten
yourself by going to Unraveling Wittgenstein's net or if
you are feeling objectionable perhaps here.
Failing that, there are all manner of interesting things to read on
the LibreOffice Planet news
feed.
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legacy html
- St. Lukes in the morning, good to see Ali / Guy and various
others, back home. Robert & Marie Claire arrived, returned from
Stockholm good to see them again.
- Lunch, out for a walk around the park - played tag amusingly,
packed everything in the car, drove home; the Economist subscription just
started - nice.
- Gordon sermon again on
Daniel 1 - The storm after the calm.
- Daniel very different book of the OT - not life within
the theocracy of Israel, with the King answerable to God,
and his messangers the prophets; instead living as a minority
in an ambivalent or hostile culture.
- The 2nd lesson, God's involvement in circumstances;
each time; vs. 2 - the Lord gave Jehoakim king of Judah into
Nebuchadnezzar's hands vs 9. - God gave Daniel favour and
compassion in the sight of the official vs. 15 - to these
four men God gave knowledge and undersatnding; 3 gifts,
each astonishing.
- The opening verse; people claim there are several errors
in verse 1:
- Nebuchadnezzar was not (quite) King then, but only
crown prince - leading general; totally pedantic, prolethic
references: eg. writing a modern history "in 1975 President Bush
earned his MBA at Harvard" - "he wasn't a president then!?".
Not misleading, not an error.
- Secondly, it's claimed he didn't get their or besiege
the city - not enough detail in the documents; the word
translated besieged often means opposed, cf. elsewhere.
- Thirdly - a blatant contradiction ? this huge error
celebrated since the French revolution - took place in the
3rd year of Jehoiachim but in Jeremiha 25 / 36 we read the
fourth year. Mid 1960s the D.J.Wiseman keeper of antiquities
professer of Assyriology, in his research discovered the
answer. Used inclusive reconing; ie. reigned 2 monthe in 2003
counted as your first year; Jeremiah writing from Judah -
inclusive reconing - counted the 4th year. Daniel forcibly
enrolled in the University of Babyolon, you have the
accessional (partial) year + 3 years. So - ultimately when
you look at it and do your homework - it's a great proof of
the veracity of scripture & it's transmission. If written
later & made up, - it would agree.
- The big point - the disaster that year; Lamentations,
Jeremiah lamenting over the ruins of Jerusalem; Nebuchadnezzar
beseigned it - people reduced to canibalism inside; he broke
down the walls, entered the city, levelled it and the temple.
- If you were to describe it - how would you; Historians:
Nebuchadnezzar outnumbered them 1000 to 1; but faithful Israelites
know it's not numbers that count. Not an accident - it's God's
doing. God gave Jerusalem into his hands.
- How could Jehoiachim not see the crisis and repent in
time ? he can save by few or many; his father was Josiah, one
of only 2 (of 41) that were faithful from beginning to end,
2 Kings: neither before nor after him was there a king like him who
turned to the Lord like him - with all his heart - a
privileged upbringing; Jeremiah - his teacher, the inspired
prophet. I the Lord have spoken to you again and again, but
you have not listened. Jehoiachim wilfully shut his eyes, dug
his heels in and refused to repent.
- God gave Daniel favour - doesn't often give us
favour; Jesus: if the world hates you - it hated me first.
the candour of the officer - scared of death; civil and constructive.
- God intervenes by giving Daniel wisdom. To think
that God let Daniel get an A+ in this harmful literature, filled
with diviniation, sorcery - an A+ in comparitive religion; to win
them he had to fully understand them. Augustine: Wherever
Christians find truth - it is the Lord's - he even plants
truth in the hearts of our enemies.
- Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam, stop the
discussion before an argument breaks out. He finds common ground
with a guard that doesn't share his point of view; no stridency,
proposes an empirical test - treat us the way you think
best. The anti-atkins diet; Daniel on the carbs get
pleasingly fat, the others on the protein diet waste away. 10
days not long enough - 10: just a substantial amount of time.
Similarity '10 times better' - just substantially better.
- Solomon - warns strenuously against prostitution in
Proverbs; But in 2 kings 3, proof of his wisdom allowed 2
prostitutes the dignity of their case being heard in a maternity
dispute. It takes great wisdom to distinguish moral vs. civil
law. But in fact Christianity should not try to legislate morality,
we don't campaign against the greatest sin: idolatory - people
can worship money around us with impunity.
My content in this blog and associated images / data under
images/ and data/ directories are (usually)
created by me and (unless obviously labelled otherwise) are licensed under
the public domain, and/or if that doesn't float your boat a CC0
license. I encourage linking back (of course) to help people decide for
themselves, in context, in the battle for ideas, and I love fixes /
improvements / corrections by private mail.
In case it's not painfully obvious: the reflections reflected here are my
own; mine, all mine ! and don't reflect the views of Collabora, SUSE,
Novell, The Document Foundation, Spaghetti Hurlers (International),
or anyone else.
It's also important to realise that I'm not in on the Swedish Conspiracy.
Occasionally people ask for formal photos for conferences
or fun.
Michael Meeks (michael.meeks@collabora.com)
