National Geographic has a beautiful seven-shot photo gallery of King Herod’s tomb, including good information about the recent discoveries. The Book and the Spade discusses the tomb in its current radio broadcast (direct link from this page).
Leon Mauldin has posted a beautiful aerial photograph of Aphek/Antipatris.
No, I didn’t watch the 60 Minutes piece on the excavations in the City of David. After a while, dishonest reporting is no longer even entertaining.
The Jerusalem Post has a short article on the stones of Jerusalem, including mention of the British
Mandate law requiring that buildings in the city be faced with it.
Logos 4 was released a year ago, but I waited until recently before installing it on my computer. I’ll add my voice to the chorus praising the program. If you didn’t already know, each of the base packages includes a module entitled “BiblePlaces.com Image Library,” which features 350 selected photographs from our collection.
The new Holman Christian Standard Bible Study Bible arrived in the mail Saturday. I am impressed by the attractiveness of the pages (full color) and the selection of writers for the notes. I like the appropriately chosen photos of biblical sites and artifacts, and I was usually pleased with what was written about the controversial issues I checked. Apparently the whole Bible is online at mystudybible.com, but it was a bit slow when I tried.
Last week my family welcomed another son into our home. He missed the 10-10-10 date by one day, but otherwise he is perfect.
13 thoughts on “Weekend Roundup”
Congratulations on the birth of your son! I'm sure he is a"10" blessing.
I used some of your slides from the Pictorial Library yesterday in an adult SS class following viewing The Bible and the Land: Israel in Context. They were exceptionally well-received as background studies for the book of Joshua. And I used the same combination with 30+ 5th graders in our VBS last June. . . . and got a strong round of applause! Thanks! I did credit you.
Our church, Central Baptist Church of Bearden in Knoxville, TN, 4000 members strong, will purchase the collection soon, as well as The Bible and the Land videos if they are still available from you. We are methodically (and slowly) equipping classrooms with screens, sound systems and ceiling projectors.
Our new pastor, Dr. Wade Bibb, formerly with Carson Newman College, has met you and greatly appreciates your work; as we improve our sanctuary projection system I am sure he will use selections of your collection from time to time in his sermons.
I'm planning to start a series in January using selected ppts and the video collection. The working title is "Free Trips to Israel."
Keep up the good work with your blogs. You have blessed and challenged me to continue using my eyes for His glory.
Our church is already richer spiritually because of your visual gifts; I truly expect our teachers to amplify this early usage greatly.
Tom Minter
How astounding that you're willing to telegraph to the world that the 60 Minutes piece contains "dishonest reporting" — when you didn't even see it! Really, Todd, how do you do it??
TOM POWERS / Jerusalem
PS – This one's probably full of irresponsible bunk as well, so no need to watch it either: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7XtT91yO6g
Congratulations!
If the article here is a full transcript of the 60 Minutes segment, I can see why you would avoid it. Why is it that we're expected to listen to what ignorant journalists say about anything?
I just wasted 13 minutes of my life watching the video recommended by Tom Powers, & can confirm that what he said is true: It is full of irresponsible bunk.
Example #1) The reason there is no peace in the West Bank is because Jewish settlers have settled amongst Palestinians. Not a single example of any Jews killing the Palestinians they're living among, nor any report of the Israeli military firing rockets into the West Bank territory (I suppose because they wouldn't want to kill/injure any of the Jewish settlers there, so the Palestinians should be glad; the settlers are acting as human shields).
Example #2) Jews tear down Palestinian homes because Jews have guns, & Palestinians apparently have no modern weaponry. This portion of the video really tugged at my heart strings.
Example #3) The reason Jewish settlements appear so lush & green while the Palestinian villages are so dirty & barren is that Israel provides water to the settlers. Apparently it has nothing to do with the irresponsibility and/or technological inferiority of the Palestinians.
Example #4) There can never be any peace in Israel because the Jews are stubborn, & have vowed to never give up prospering & making the most of their skills & resources. How dare they.
OK, well, it seems that sarcasm and hyperbole are just lost on some people — time-honored modes of expression which my parents raised to an art form and passsed on to me…
JUST FOR THE RECORD: Yes, I did recommend the Bob Schaeffer 60 Minutes piece (URL above), as I do the Leslie Stahl segment Todd mentioned (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3V_0_2xW2U). However, I do not think either represents "dishonest reporting" (Todd's words) or "irresponsible bunk" (my sarcasm). Indeed, I think both pieces contain useful pespectives on the complex realities in this troubled, shared land. Of course, people who already have all the answers and don't want their preconceived notions challenged need not bother [disclosure: this sentence is, once again, an example of sarcasm]. Todd, I know, does not wish to turn this into a political forum, even though he occasionally throws out the bait — and someone like me is silly enough to go for it…
TOM POWERS / Jerusalem
Tom Minter – thank you very much for your encouragement.
Kevin – exactly.
Tom Powers – I don't think GM missed the sarcasm; I think he took it as a case of dramatic irony.
Knowing the content of a 60 Minutes piece before watching it is no more difficult than knowing that an unopened Sports Illustrated will be filled with stories about football.
As for "preconceived notions," at what point does one have enough knowledge and experience that they are no longer "preconceived"?
Oh, I see. Journalists are "ignorant" and we should avoid all messages we are likely to disagree with. Very intellectually honest [ALERT: Sarcasm!]. Good night, everybody…
Todd,
Congratulations on the birth of your son!!
First, I think it's funny that there are 2 Toms, a Todd, & a Tim commenting. Thank God for a new Jonathan in the world!
Second, good morning, Tom Powers!
Sarcasm is usually characterized by stating the opposite of what you mean (like I'm sure Hezekiah dug the entire tunnel with his own 2 hands). Tom Powers said the 60 Minutes piece was "probably full of irresponsible bunk", & was sarcasm for him because he does not believe it qualifies as such. I perceived that as sarcasm (Todd is so smart), but since I found it hard to believe, I thought it would be interesting (as a novelty) to view a 60M segment that reflected responsible journalism. What I saw was quintessential junior high school political fluff (example #5: expecting on-duty soldiers to participate in an unscheduled TV interview).
60 Minutes is to objective journalism what WWE is to competitive sports: a source of entertainment for people smart enough to know it's mostly fake.
Warmest congratulations to you on the birth of Jonathan. Wonderfully named! Our second son is called Nathaniel and it recently worked out that his birthday fell on 10-10-10. May your little boy bring you and your wife much joy.
Best regards
Leen and Kathleen
Yes, Tom Powers, it is undeniably the case that journalists are very often ignorant. Thus what is the value of their reportage? When it is merely opinion supported by selective presentation of facts, why should their opinion be priveleged? Why should I or anyone else who is vastly more informed on the subject respect or even countenance it as anything other than, say, the drunken ravings of a cousin at a wedding banquet? Because they are paid to present their opinion? Because they went to journalism school? Because they say so? It is laughable!
Hey, the more the merrier. This link to OneJerusalem DotOrg refers to the same segment Todd didn't watch last week, not the one Tom Powers recommended.
Sorry for this 2nd posting today, but after reading Todd's post for this weekend, I saw the link to the CAMERA site, & there discovered a review of the "peace" piece Tom Powers had recommended. They call their review, "Simon's Smear".
Sample: "Never is there a good time for shoddy reporting … Simon’s biased, inaccurate blast at Israel is especially reprehensible and deserving of public protest."
It's far more informative than what I wrote off the top of my head, plus it includes a complete transcript.