how now brownpau
It’s hot. It’s so frigging hot. The temperature yesterday hit 40 degrees Celsius. FORTY. That’s almost halfway to boiling.
I don’t really like touching anything right now, because the heat has worked its way into everything. The wood of the desk I’m typing on is warm under my arms. When I lie down on my bed, my sheets and pillows are so warm I feel like I’m lying down on a hot plate. Ugh.
Perfect weather for a nice cold Quickly Taro Ice with sago, nata de coco, and Taro pudding. Mmmm.
I accidentally deleted this entry a few days ago, but here it is again: a response from Roger to an earlier post on biblical literalism…
How about this – the Bible is infallible and true in everything about which it talks. Yet, we still have to interpret it. We need to develop sound hermeneutical principles with which to interpret the Bible. One thing I try to keep in mind when I’m reading the Bible is to try to discern the author’s intent. This means studying the historical context of the writings itself (involves understanding the culture of the author, the audience to which the author is writing, as well as the culturally formed genre in which the author is writing), as well as the grammatical context (where the word fits within the sentence; where the sentence within the paragraph; where the paragraph within the letter/narrative/poem, etc.). Each book of the Bible has to be approaches somewhat differently, depending on (for instance) the genre being used. I read Paul’s letters much differently than, say, Psalm 1 or Lamentations. Paul’s letters usually require understanding what was going on within the churches to whom he is writing.
These are just basic hermeneutical principles, but necessary nonetheless. And I think they allow us to gain fairly certain assurance of what the authors of the books in the Bible were trying to say at certain points. Hence, Solomon when he says things like, “Everything is meaningless” may not necessarily be written to persuade the reader to adopt that same stance. For instance, what do we do when the Pharisees say certain things? Do we jump to the conclusion that when the Pharisees reject Christ, that because the Bible is written by God, that God wants us to reject Christ? You see where I’m going. The question we ask is what is the author trying to communicate to us. Certain genres will force us to adopt a different mode of interpretation to answer that question (narrative as opposed to epistle as opposed to poetry).
The last hermeneutical principle, though, is found in the book of Luke when the resurrected Messiah is talking with the two disciples on a road. He tells them that the Law and the prophets all spoke of Him, and Christ then commenced to unfold the meaning of the Scriptures to the two men – the meaning being Christ Himself. This last hermeneutical principle, I think, can’t be forgotten. The primary message the authors are trying to communicate has to do with Christ. Usually about His redemption, usually typological in some way.
That last paragraph is something I take so much for granted I often forget the concept in my readings of the Old Testament: the Law and the Prophets unequivocably point to Jesus as Lord and Savior!
But then, go to PEX and try telling this guy that.
Check out this troll on Pex. This is the first time I’ve heard communism defined as “as being full of hot air, making noise, and carping up crap.” It’s a standard political tactic adopted by Ferdinand Marcos and other despots like him: labelling any political opposition as “communist” and having them executed, imprisoned, or defamed for it.
Man, the Local and Foreign Issues forum is going wild! It always does in times of socio-political turmoil.
We’re under a state of rebellion in Manila right now, with increased powers for the police and military to conduct arrests. I’m pleased to see that President Gloria is using it to the hilt. The pro-Erap conspirators who plotted a coup against her during the rally at Edsa are wanted for rebellion and inciting to sedition, most notably Enrile, Honasan, Santiago, Lacson, and Maceda, among others. Honasan, Lacson, (and I think Miriam) are still at large; the others have been arrested and taken into custody.
Others fear that this might be a precursor to Martial Law, but I seriously doubt it. I trust Gloria’s sense of integrity in a matter like this.
While chaos rages in the streets of Manila, I have been uploading and debugging my new and redesigned site. Everything has been recoded, and most layouts were changed where improvements in functionality and design were called for. Here’s some of what’s new:
* CSS is now used on all pages, rather than HTML tables. This makes the markup process a lot faster and a lot easier, provides more potential for creative design, and makes the site more accessible, both to standards-compliant browsers and lower-end web-browsing devices. My reasons for doing this can be found in Zeldman’s article, A Web Designer’s Journey.
* Frames in a few sections. Being on a banner-free host really helps, and this is the first time I’m able to use frames in a useful and judicious manner.
* New Respond section. I’m using the Megabook script now, heavily tweaked for use on Digitalrice. Old Respond entries are archived.
* My updated resume is now up for your perusal. Some new downloads and a lot of new pictures, too.
* A few new random blog-index pages. The number of blog pages remains the same, but I changed the layouts of those I didn’t like.
By the way, this layout will no longer display properly in Netscape 4.x or earlier browsers; it will instead display linear content. To view the layout, you need a standards-compliant browser, preferably IE5+.
Hope you like the new site! If you find any problems (e.g. broken links, bad CSS), don’t hesitate to leave me a note.
The crowd of pro-Erap rabble attempting to invade Malacañang is now being very effectively dispersed by police forces. Erap has called for peace, claiming that those marching in his support are unarmed. Untrue: one policeman has already been killed, shot in the chest with a cheap shotgun. Other pro-Erap rallyists in the march carry firearms, teargas cans, pipes, rocks, and other material. Right now, they are scattering in the streets, destroying and burning stores, cars, and other public property in their wake. In response, President Gloria has declared a state of rebellion.
The prominent pro-Erap Puwersa ng Masa senators, who earlier goaded the crowd to violence at Edsa with their calls for a class war, are now claiming they did not incite the crowd. I say that they are two-faced liars who should be arrested for their sedition and shameless abuse of the masses’ ignorance.
Another day of waking up to news of violence in the streets. The so-called “masses” are marching on Malacañang, goaded on by their Erap-loyalist leaders. Tear gas, guns, bombs, sticks, stones, and pain aplenty around there right now.
It turns out that events last night may have formed a crucial node in this national drama. Pro-Erap conspirators in high places tried, by bribery, to provoke defections in the Philippine military and start an armed revolt against President Macapagal-Arroyo’s government. They failed; not one general defected, and the military still stands firm with Gloria. She is confident that she will be able to overcome any attempt to unseat her.
The Iglesia ni Cristo sect, after a meeting with President Arroyo, has shifted loyalties. Their previously pro-Erap-biased radio and TV stations have stopped favorable round-the-clock coverage of Edsa 3, and the sect leaders may instruct their members to stop going to the rally.
Inq7 has a live updates page with the latest info on the Philippine situation.
Argh. Digitalrice sure is screwy these days. I personally am okay with the long URL, as long as fast and reliable service is offered. There have been a lot of server timeouts, and my site has to constantly live on two different URL’s. I would use a URL-shortcut service, but that messes up my stats and referrals. Now, DR says they might return the old URL’s if they get enough donations. Which means I might have to change my address again.
Hmph. Never mind the short URL’s, darn it, what I want is consistent quality service!
Well, for now, it seems to be settled at digitalrice.com/members/pau. Please adjust your links accordingly.
A contingent of proErap loyalists has set out for Makati, amid incitements from JV Ejercito to occupy the Paseo-Ayala intersection and “take on the rich.”
This is too much. This deliberate instigation of class war is going to cost our country valuable investment, precious business, and ultimately, jobs for everyone. Good God, it may even cost lives.
I don’t know if I should still go to work tomorrow.