7.18.10 MAY YOU LIVE FOREVER!

i love you. this week read the biography of uncle cam townsend (?), the beginner of wycliffe bible translators. the main thing that struck me in this was that if a person is nothing and if they have a childlike faith in God, God is most clearly seen and loved. cam eagerly went to honduras to sell spanish bibles and at a conference there, right after he arrived, the speaker asked all the people if they had ever told anyone about Jesus' love. cam was dumbfounded as he had never done that. he was mortified that here he was a missionary and never had done that. he went right out and had some very embarrassing and mortifying situations and gave up as a failure. one of the men however came to him later and his life was changed radically...by God. cam wrote in his diary that it was amazing how God could do this...through his humble and humbling attempt to obey. he met an indian to whom he offered a spanish tract and the man after finding out he didn't have a tract in his (indian) language said, 'if your God is so great why can't He speak my language?' God used that to set cam on the goal of translating the new testament into every language on earth. as of 2000 (he started around 1916 1000 were completed, another 1500 (?) were in process and the goal was to translate the remaining 2000 by 2025. i found myself constantly weeping at the power and goodness of God thruout the book and hardly noticed cam at all. i don't know if it was the way it was written or if it was cam but it was special.

read practical modern basketball (parts) written by john wooden after reading they call me coach. even though it was more technical than interested me wooden's style of writing was so good that i found myself reading with pleasure and an increasing knowledge of basketball. as encouraged as i was seeing God use cam i was definitely set back reading this. wooden is the model of discipline. i the model of undiscipline. he is so far above that i do not even have any inclination toward becoming more disciplined...i'm not even on the map.

basic documents in medieval history a compilation by norton downs of little revealing snippets was helpful.
persecution of christians in the roman empire ended in the early 300s
at this time heresy was checked by churchwide councils
roman empire overrun by germanic peoples toward the end of 300s
english church was organized around 600
charlemagne named holy roman emperor 800
revival of learning at this time
beginnings of russia 860
swedes and russia 922 since i am .5 swede and i have not yet died utterly to ethnic pride i reprint what was written under this head, which i found enlightening, interesting and entertaining...as part of the general expansion of scandinavian peoples in the ninth century, the swedes sailed down the rivers of western russia. they extablished the russian state based on kiev and by their contacts with the byzantine and moslem empires developed a wealthy and cosmopolitan realm. they were active traders, as the quantity of arabic and greek gold coins found in sweden indicates. the following account is by a moslem sent out from bagdad..
'i saw how the northmen had arrived with their wares, and pitched their camp beside the volga. never did i see people so gigantic; they are as tall as palm trees and florid and ruddy of complexion. the men among them wear a garment of rough cloth, which is thrown over one side, so that one hand remains free. every one carries an axe, a dagger and a sword and with these weapons they are never seen. their swords are broad, withwavy lines and of frankish make. from the tip of the fingernails ato the neck, each man of them is tattooed with pictures of trees, living beings and other things. the women carry vastened to their breast, a little case of iron, copper, silver or gold, according to the wealth and resources of their husbands. fastened to the case they wear a ring and upon that a dagger, all attached to their breast. about their necks they wear gold and silver chains...(account of a norse funeral culminating in the cremation of the body)..the pile was soon aflame, then the ship, finally the tent, the man and the girl and everything else in the ship a terrible storm began to blow up and thus intensified the flames and gave wings to the blaze.
at my side stood one of the northmen and i heard him talking with the interpreter, who stood near him. i asked the interpreter what the northman had said and received this answer: 'you arabs, he said, must be a stupid set! you take him who is to you the most revered and beloved of men and cast him to the ground, to be devoured by creeping things and worms. we, on the other hand, burn him in a twinkling, so that he instantly, without a moment's delay, enters into paradise.' at this he burst into uncontrollable laughter, and then continued, 'it is the love of the master (God) that causes the wind to blow and snatch him away in an instant'...
therupon they heaped over the place where the ship had stood something like a rounded hill, and , erecting on the center of it a large birchen post, wrote on it the name of the deceased, along with that of the king of the northmen. having done this, they left the spot.
in rereading this i am helped. pride, criticism of others, a big mouth...i am right in the line.

treaty between alfred and guthrum 886 the danes had invaded england , but the tide was turned when king alfred of wessex defeated the danish king guthrum in 878 and retreated to the area thereafter called the danelaw. alfred was recognized by the english outside the danelaw as their king and thus the beginning of english political unity

norse sea adventures 1000 the destruction that the norse and danes wrought on europe and england was enormous. but it must be admitted that they were singularly daring sailors and competent navigators as their sailing across the north atlantic testify. they settled in iceland about 874, about 986 some settled in greenland and about 1000 leif eriksson found vinland the good (cape cod?_)

under the merovingian kings , a BENEFICE was usually a grant of land to a church or monastery by which the grantor held life use (usufruct) of the property in return for some pious service by the grantee. in about 732 charles martel, looking for means to provide for a cavalry force to repel moslem raiders, compelled the curch to grant benefices to laymen in return for their agreement to fight with him. kings and powerful laymen granted benefices to those woo served them as a formof payment. after the collapse of the carolingian empire, benefices held by individuals tended to become hereditary because the monarch was too weak.

grant of immunity, seventh century as was the case with benefices, grants of immunity were probably first received by the church. it is evident that they would be much sought after by laymen, because they brought freedom from much royal interference.

formula of commendation, seventh century germans had a custom whereby lesser men would voluntarily place themselves under the protectyion of stronger men. the former would receive protection and in return would perform certain duties for the latter.

charters of homage and fealty show the mutual obligations of lord and bvassal in feudalism.
dependency of the papacy - the papacy held vast amounts of land throughout europe from which it received income and services . it needed and developed an elaborate organization to collect its due..

services due a villein.. john of cayworth held his land from battle abbey and it was part of the manor of bernehorn in sussex, england the manor consisted of over 682 acres, of which 489 acres were in the demesne and the remaining 193 were divided among eight free tenants, 7 villeins and 18 cotters. the services and status of hjohn were about those of the typical serf..some of the services produced a loss for the lord; as thses instances increased, the land lord tended to fee his serfs. they would then be available for work at daily wages, which would cost him less than servilde labor.

dictatus papae, 1075 from(?) pope gregory 7th
the roman church was founded by god alone
the roman pontiff alone can with right be called universal
he alone can depose of reinstate bishops
in a council, his legate, even if a lower grade, is above all bishops and can pass sentence of deposition against them.
the pope may depose the absent
among other things, we ought not to remain in the same house with those excommunicated by him
for him alone is it lawful, accoring to the needs of the time, to make nes laws, to assemble together new congregations, to make an abbey of a canonry and, on the other hand, to divide a rich bishopric and unite the poor ones
he alone may use the imperial insignia
of the pope alone all princes shall kiss the feet
his name alone shall be spoken in the churches
this is the only name in the world
it may permitted to him to depose emperors
he may be permitted to transfer bishops if need be
he has power to ordain a clerk of any church he may wish
he who is ordained by him may preside over another church, but may not hold a suborinate position and that such a one may not receive a higher grade from any bishop
no synod shall be called a general one without his order
no chapter and no book shall be considered canonical without his authority a sentence passed by him may be retracted by no one and he himself, alone of all, may retract it
he himself may be judged by no one
no one shall dare to condemn one who appeals to the apostolic chair
to the latter should be referred the more important cases of every church
the roman church has never erred; nor will it err to all eternity, the scriptures bearing witness
the roman pontiff, if he have been canonically ordained, is undoubtedly made a saint...
by his command and consent, it may be lawful for subordinates to bring accusations
he may depose and reinstated bishops without assembling a synod
he who is not at peace with the roman church shallnot be considered catholic
he may absolve subjects from their fealty to wicked men
the above represent the extreme claims of the papacy

letter of henry 4th 1076 challenges pope gregory and the latter excommunicates him with the result that he does penence at canossa in 1077...'there, having laid aside all the belongings of royalty, wretchedly, with bare feet and clad in wool, he continued for three days to stand before the gate of the castle (in january)'...where the pope and his entourage were at the time

concorday of worms, 1122 this is the settlement of the investiture quarred between the emperors and popes both sides gave in a little, but it would seem that in germany the emperor had managed to keep the upper hand

coronation oath of king henry 1st, 1100 (son of william the conqueror)..which followed the ancient wording..in the name of Christ i promi9se these three things to the christian people subject to me. in the first place, i will devote my rule and power to all men in order that all christian people and the church of God may serve the true peace according to our command for all times; again, i forbid all rapacity and injustice to all classes of men; thirdly, i command that there be mercy and fairness in all judgments, so that a compassionate and clement God may grant mercy to me and to you.
henry made some 'campaign promises' in 11o1, which never being kept, resurfaced when the discontented barons

1204 fall of constantinople by the combined forces of the venetians and crusaders meant that the richest city in the christian world was open to plunder by the victors

twelth century, the ordeal - fire, hot and cold water, hot iron and combat - was an appeal to the judgment of God. the verdict was often absolute, that is to say, in ordeal by combat there was no such thing as being partially defeated: somebody won and somebody lost. on the other hand there was considerable leeway available to those who prescribed an ordeal..say, by fire, had size of the fire, distance apart of the two piles, speed at which the accused must pass between them. finally how long must the person survive the ordeal in order to prove his innocence?

the inquisition, to searching out of heretics - those whose faith took them outside the framework of the roman church - in order to get them to confess their errors and reenter the church or be tortured to death in a variety of ways was common from the 1100s and lasted several centuries. several targets were the albigensians, who flourished especially in southern france and were the victims of a crusade and the waldensians, founded about 1174 by peter waldo, a merchant of lyons. this latter group somehow survived the inquisition and is still in existence in northwest italy. this group was interesting in that it finally took to defending itself from slaughter and the near universal practice of its adherents of memorizing the new testament and large portions of the old.

st. thomas aquinas (1225-74) on the inquisition..article 3 whether heretics should be tolerated. i reply that, with regard to heretics, two considerations are to be kept in mind: 1. on their side, 2 on the side of the church.

1 there is the sin, whereby they deserve not only to be separated from the church by excommunication, but also to be shut off from the world by death. for it is a much more serious matter to corrupt faith, thru which comes the soul's life, than to forge money, thu which ctemporal life is supported. hence if forgers of money or other malefactors are straightway fustly put to death by secular princes, with much more justice can heretics, immediately upon conviction be not only excommunicated but also put to death.
2 but on the side of the church there is mercy, with a view to the conversion of them that are in error; and therefore the chuch coes not straightway condemn, but after a first and second admonition (titus 3.10) after that, if he be found still stubborn, the church gives up hope of his conversion and takes thought for the safety of others, by separatin him from the church by sentence of excommunication; and further, leaves him to the secular court, to be exterminated from the world by death...

1200 france is placed under the interdict by innocent III..the reason for this interdict was the refusal by king philip II augustus of france to put aside agnes of meran for his wife ingeburg of denmark whom he had married and separated from in 1193...in effect the interdect accomplished for a territory what excommunication did for an individual. it begins...'let all the churches be closed' and ends ...'extreme unction, which is a holy sacrament, may not be given.

1215 magna carta while the 'freeman' of article 39 is usually held to mean a baron, the idea slowly developed that this document provided fundamental rights for all people and not one class.

1200 charter by king philip augustus to the university of paris

1223 rule of st. francis..'observe the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience, without personal posessions and in chastity

1253 the alliance of german towns to protect their merchants who were subject to perils and inconveniences. such associations were quite common and they even obtained privileges from monarchs

1279 the statute of mortmain. the purpose of this act of edwardI of england was to prevent lords from fraudulently garanting land to the church in order to escape their feudal obligations. the church was often successful in evading feudal dues to the detriment of the sovereign, and so it is to receive land only with his permission.

1296 bull clericis laicos for several centuries princes had received money from the clergy under various arrangements and compromises; during the crusades they had combined their resources. but by the end of the thirteenth century the kings of england and france were more hard pressed for funds than ever and in 1295 edward I and philip IV asked for contributions from their clergy for the war they planned in gascony. pope boniface VIII, a fiery and ambitious old italian noble, for bade the clergy to give usch funds by this bull

1345 venetian trade with the mongols christian merchants in italy and southern france maintained commercial relations for the greater part of the medieval period with the infidel.

1348 the black death in which on the average one-third to one-half of the population died in two years...sheep and cattle wandered thru fields and among crops and there was no one who was concerned to drive and collect them, but an unknown number died in ditches and hedges throughout every region for lack of herders. for there was such a lack of servants and helpers that there was no one who knew what he ought to do...

the workers, nevertheless, were so elated and contrary that they did not heed the mandate of the king (prohibiting higher wages) but if anyone wanted to hire them, he had to give them as they desired; either lose their crops and fruit or grant the selfish and lofty wishes of the workers...

after the aforesaid pestilence, many large and small buildings in all the cities, boroughs and villages collapsed and were levelled with the earth for lack of inhabitants; likewise many villages and hamlets were deserted. no house was left in them for every

one who had lived in them had died and it was probable that many such villages were never to be inhabited again..

1356 the golden bull... in the century following the death of frederick Ii in 1250, the princes, lay and ecclesiastical, of germany had gathered to themselves practically all the powers of the german crown that he had not laready granted away. the imperial and royal title remained as an anachronism. of all the pronces and nobles, the seven who elected the holy roman emperor were in many ways pre-eminent. emporer chrles IV undertook to define this group, ascribe certain functions to it, and obtain privileges for his kingdom of bohemia in the golden bull, which is a kind of fundamental law.

john wycliffe (1324-1384) on confession. he is best known for his translation of the bible into english, yet this was not as serious to his contemporaries as his ideas on the doctrine of the church. among others, his view of confession was considered heretical. like the later reformers in the early 1500s he went back to the practices of the early church.

'..when a man is constrained by bodily pain to tell his guilt, he confesseth not; but confession must be wilful or else it is not helpful to man...(the question) whether privy confession made to priests be needful to sinful men and whether this confession is grounded. and it seemeth that it is not needful, byt brought in late by the devil; for omniscient Christ used it not, nor any of His apostles after. and if it wer needful to man, Christ would have used it or tught it...and thus it seemeth to many men that christian men might well be saved without such confession...'

1381 the great revolt by peasants and artisans in england

1417 council of constance condemns john hus of bohemia to be burned at the stake for heresy

1431 sentence of the church against joan of arc for heresy...joan, commonly called the maiden...various errors and diverse crimes of schism, idolatry, invocation of demons and several other misdeeds
1451 end of the 100 years' war...france drives england out of all areas but calais

1458 the merchant starts out ..'the dignity and offic of merchants is great and exalted in many respects...' this was written by a merchant in naples and was contemporary with the fall of constantinople and the end of the 100 years war. the status of merchants had changed appreciably in 400 years,..they rose to a position where they would dominate the feudal lords of europe..

c.s. lewis, mere christianity...christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. it therefore has nothing (as far as i know) to say to people who do not know they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness. it is after you have realized that there is a real moral law and a power behind the law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that power - it is after all this and not a moment sooner that christianity begins to talk. when you know you are sick, you will listen to the doctor. when you have realized that your position is nearly desperate you will begin to understand what the christians are talking about. they offer an explanation of how we got into our present state of both hating goodness and loving it. they offer an explanation of how God can be this impersonal mind at the back of the moral law and yet also a person. they tell you how the demands of this law, which you and i cannot meet, have been met on our behalf, how god Himself becomes a man to save man from the disapproval of God...i quite agree that the christian religion is, in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort. but it does not begin in comfort; it begins in the dismay i have been describing and it is no use at all trying to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay. in religion, as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. if you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth - only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair.

john wooden, they call me coach...webster partially defines faith as an unquestioning belief in God with complete trust, confidence and reliance. faith is not just waiting, hoping and wanting things to happen. rather it is working hard to make things happen and realizing that there are no failures - just disappointments - when you have done your best.

i have a whole georges tool rental booklet full of poop...oh it would be wonderful to share with you all that is happening in my heart but that is impossible. Jesus is so precious and i pray that He would be my love...that my heart and mind would be His alone...that every lull thot would go to Him...that more and more He would be...well that i would be in His presence..waiting, talking, quiet, petitioning, meditating on His words, praising, interceding, crying out, embracing...that His pleasure would be the goal of my life.

for lack of time i'll see how many thots from today i can share...carrying the oatmeal, eggs, etc. pot over to my morning memorization/meditation spot, my arm began to hurt. so i held the pot with both hands to bring relief. the mind went to persecution and began ruminating on a new model, one i had not considered before...refusing to allow any person to drive me...refusing to fear any person or what they could do to me..if put to labor slowing or stopping if necessary and REFUSING quietly and graciously, Christ being my master, refusing subservience...He showed the way on the way to the cross.

do you have a readiness to die? i think of paul..'when we heard these things, both we and they of that place, besought him not to go up to jerusalem. then paul answered, 'what mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for i am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus'...' oh Lord bring my heart to beat with Yours.

horrible things happen in churches constantly. one has several options i think of 1. judge Jesus by His professed followers and desert the place of His choosing and His working!...having loved this present world. 2. acclimate to it and become scummy and reprehensible yourself. 3. rebuke the darkness there and willingly be rejected and despised for speaking the truth and taking a stand with Jesus, 'outside the gates' if necessary.

today on a baking, sun-drenched deck my shirt becoming sopping wet as i scrape and sand. then at of nowhere the sun disappears, a cool breeze kicks up, a few drops of rain (will it be a downpour?)...keep working...rain stops..it has actually through its gentle moistening aided the scaping and i am refreshed and rejuvenated. the clouds cover me, the gentle wind blows moving me mysteriously out of the blast furnace until the sun goes far enough that when it returns i am in the shade of the house..a whisper-kiss from God.

hope you have a good week and that you can all be at 54 for aunt eileen's 62nd bday party on 8.14 at 6. love, dad