Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

Grover Shouldn’t Work Blue

GroverSigh.

EXCEPTS:

The creators of The Muppets and Sesame Street are staging a puppet show that is strictly for adults only.

Miss Piggy would blush over the antics in "Jim Henson’s Puppet Improv" which spearheads a renaissance of puppet shows for grown-ups at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe arts festival.

Every afternoon at the Fringe, an anarchic troupe of puppeteers led by the late Jim Henson’s son Brian do an improvisational show for kids.

Every evening the air turns blue as the show takes off into surreal flights of fancy dictated by the audience.

But would Brian’s father have approved?

"I think he would have loved it because of how outrageous I get. My Dad really believed in community and sweetness but the other side of him was incredibly naughty."

Based on my (limited) knowledge, I also suspect that Brian is correct.

I have to question this, though:

So does Henson, director of the Muppet Christmas Carol and Treasure Island movies, feel puppeteers around the world are trying to redress the balance so adults get a look in?

"Yes, absolutely," he said.

"The Americans are more action-oriented. They want to see the puppets beating each other up.

"British audiences are more intellectual. They like to see it sick and twisted, but in an intellectual way."

A lot of British humor doesn’t strike me as all that intellectual (some is, sure, but then so is some American humor). I find this particular juxtaposition ironic given the prominence in British culture of

PUNCH AND JUDY.

Anyway,

GET THE STORY.

Oh, and

THAT’S NOT THE ONLY MISCHIEF AT THE EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL.

I don’t find it in myself to write about the latter at the moment.

Logos Libronix Lack Of Catholic Works

A reader writes:

I own a Logos Libronix (LDLS) collection of ebooks and love the many of the functions of the LDLS system especially the search functions. However there are few Catholic titles available. I know Harmony Media has a great selection of Catholic titles but I would love to be able to search the Catechism, and Papal Encyclicals, and Vatican II documents in LDLS.

Recently another Catholic user has posed the question in their newsgroups as to why there are so few Catholic titles. The response was the following:

"The Libronix Digital Library System is just that – a library system with many books by many publishers. And many of those books disagree with each other in one way or another. For comparative study this is a very good thing. It means you can compare multiple theologies and a variety of doctrinal positions. Yet for many Catholic publishers, that’s where the problem lies. Most love the idea of their books being searchable in the LDLS, but when they find out that other non-Catholic books can be added to the system by users, they stop loving the idea. It’s the commingling of books on Catholicm and perhaps, books on Calvinism that stops them short. For many specific reasons, they cannot and will not allow this to happen. Yet, if Logos were to build a special product that effectively put a wall around Catholic material, our Library system representing many books by many publishers would cease to be a Library system, at least in the way the LDLS is constructed. "

Are Catholic publishers not allowed to publish their books with Nihil Obstats and Imprimaturs in a system that allows the use of non-Catholic material? That seems to be the answer we are getting. But in a normal library all kinds of books are in one place, it doesn’t make sense that the Church would have such a restriction.

We have no responses fro any Catholic publisher on the subject.

Do you know of any other electronic versions of Catholic titles besides Harmony?

Harmony is a leading producer of Catholic e-books, though there are other companies that have put them out. To date many of the results have not been that impressive (the USCCB, for example, put out an electronic edition of the Catechism a few years ago that was simply awful; you had to click seven different things before you could get to your first screen of Catechism text). I’m sure this is something that will be solved with time and–to a significant extent–can be done at home using online resources. IntraText also has critical editions of certain key Catholic works available online.

As far as your question about what Catholic publishers are allowed to do, nothing in canon law prevents them from allowing their works to be placed in a particular storage medium as long as it is made clear that any imprimaturs that their works carry apply only to their works and not to other works also placed in the storage medium. This is the principle, for example, by which the Vatican allows the Catechism and the Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches to be placed in the IntraText archive, which also contains many non-imprimatured works.

That being said, I do not know who at Logos wrote the reply that you quote or whether it would be endorsed by higher-ups at Logos. It also is not clear to me what the person means, but at first glance the person appears to be trying to blame Catholic publishers for not wanting to have their works put on CDs for Catholic publishers that also contain unlockable versions of non- or anti-Catholic works.

In the old days, Logos did not have a problem preparing special edition CDs for Catholic publishers. I know, because they did prepare a special edition CD for Catholic publishers at one time that omitted the anti-Catholic footnotes of the 38-volume Church Fathers set.

If Logos has now decided that they will no longer prepare special editions for Catholic publishers and they insist on putting unlockable non- or anti-Catholic works on CDs then that is entirely a marketing decision of the people at Logos and has nothing to do with a concept of a library.

A library can include whatever works the librarian wants, and if the librarians at Logos are insisting on putting unlockable non- or anti-Catholic works on proposed CDs for Catholic publishers then that is entirely their own choice. There is no reason in the world, assuming the economics of the deal would work, why an all-Catholic library CD cannot be produced except the choice of Logos management.

I’m also dubious of the broad-brush approach that the author of the statement applies to Catholic publishers. Catholic publishers are not monolithic, just as Protestant publishers are  not. They have different degrees of openness to non-Catholic ideas and different degrees of risk tolerance. As someone who works in Catholic publishing, I am leery of catchall statements about Catholic publishers saying that they (as a group) are not willing to do certain things.

I suspect that there are Protestant publishers who have resisted placing their works in Libronix format for the reason that they don’t want their works next to works hostile to their viewpoint, and I suspect that there are Catholic publishers who would not have a problem placing their works in Libronix, even on a CD containing non- or anti-Catholic works. The statement that you quote thus strikes me as taking a broadbrush approach that attempts to place blame on Catholic publishers, which is not good PR to my mind.

Knowing that a company is likely to make such statements as part of its public relations efforts is also the kind of thing that would make Catholic publishers leery of doing business with Logos. One could easily have said, "You know, we’ve talked to a number of Catholic publishers, but thus far we haven’t been able to put together any (or very many) deals, although we’d love to. If you’d like to see your favorite Catholic works available in Libronix format, contact the publishers and let them know that there’s a demand for this."

Trying to make it sound as if Catholic publishers are overcautious (or even paranoid) and thus to blame for not making their works available in this format is not the kind of thing likely to encourage them to make them available in this format.

This is the information age, and sooner or later a large number of Catholic works will be available in electronic format. Whether Logos wants its Libronix format to be the one that wins out in that regard is something that is principally Logos’ responsibility.

I’m also glad that you have had a good experience with Logos Libronix. Personally, I have had a bad experience with it. The Logos system was good when it was in the 1.6 version but when they made the jump to 2.0 they (in my opinion) overbuilt the thing so that it became so musclebound it was simply easier to use Google or CTRL-F to search html documents. Libronix, when it came out, crashed my system and I haven’t been able to use it, so they may have solved some of the overbuilt interface problems from version 2.0. Perhaps at some future point I’ll try it again and discover that the problems have been solved (something that would please me very much).

Hope this helps!

Public Safety Lawsuits Harming Public Safety?

Have seen those ads on TV–or gotten them in the mail–asking if you were harmed by some product or procedure because there are a bunch of lawyers somewhere preparing a class action suit to go after the makers of the product or the providers of the procedure?

They’re all over the place these days, reflecting the amazing litigiousness of contemporary American society.

Have you heard news stories about fantastically large awards being given to people as a result of such lawsuits?

Those are all over the place, too.

What’s the cumulative effect of such lawsuits?

No doubt, it makes manufacturers and service providers more careful in what they present to the market, knowing that they could get sued if someone gets hurt.

Good.

That needs to happen.

But might the cumulative effect of such lawsuits result in companies becoming too risk averse? If that were to happen then the public would be denied products and procedures that would make life better and that could even save lives.

John Stossel argues that this is what’s happening:

Union Carbide has invented a small portable kidney dialysis machine. It would make life much easier for people with kidney disease, but Union Carbide won’t sell it. With legal sharks circling, the risk of expensive lawsuits outweighs the possible profit.

Are you pregnant and nauseous? Bendectin would probably cure your morning sickness. For 27 years doctors prescribed the drug to 33 million women because it was so good at stopping nausea and vomiting. But you can’t buy Bendectin today because lawyers kept suing the manufacturer, Merrell Dow, claiming the drug caused birth defects.

Studies did not show that Bendectin caused birth defects, and Merrell Dow won most of the lawsuits. But after spending $100 million in legal fees and awards, the company gave up selling the drug. Bendectin has never been effectively replaced, and morning sickness is now a major contributor to dehydration during pregnancy.

Dr. Paul Offit, professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, says, "Within two years of discontinuing Bendectin, the incidence of hospitalization for dehydration during early pregnancy doubled; the incidence of birth defects was unchanged."

Those are just some of the life-enhancing products we know we must do without because America’s peculiar legal system makes it profitable for trial lawyers to pursue extortion — like litigation. What wonderful products will we never even hear about because the lawyers have created a climate of fear?

On the other hand:

Fear of being sued reduced the number of American companies researching contraceptives from 13 to two.

Whatever one ultimately concludes, it’s worthwhile to

GET THE STORY.

The Woman Caught In Adultery

A reader writes:

I read online recently (sorry, lost track of the link) that there was significant evidence that the story of the women caught in adultery in the Gospel of John was a late addition rather than part of John’s original Gospel.

I’d never heard this before, so I don’t know if this is some weird biblical scholarship theory or something moderately mainstream.  And if it is correct what, if anything, is the Church’s reaction to the question?  The article mentioned the story not appearing in a number of early manuscripts of the New Testament, and also said that although Augustine and later Fathers mentioned it, that earlier writers like Tertullian and Origin seemed not to be aware of its existence.

The claim that this passage in John’s Gospel–known as the pericope adulterae ("the passage of the adulterous woman"; John 7:53-8:11)–was not originally in this gospel is not at all fringe biblical scholarship. It is quite mainstream, and you’ll see it noted in the footnotes of some Bibles that the passage may not be in the original.

A good, brief summary of the reasons why it is so regarded is offered by Wikipedia:

The pericope is now viewed by critical scholars of the New Testament as an interpolation: it is argued that it disrupts the story told at the end of chapter 7 and in the remainder of chapter 8; it uses Greek more characteristic of the synoptic Gospels than of John; it appears in only one early Greek manuscript and sometimes appears in different places in later manuscripts, even interpolated in one case into the Gospel of Luke. B. M. Metzger writes that the evidence for the non-Johannine origin of the pericope of the adulteress is overwhelming.

So it’s not oddball scholarship that suggests this, which leaves the reader’s question of what–if anything–the Church’s reaction has been.

The Magisterium of the Church has not, to my knowledge, taken specific action regarding this passage, leaving us to apply the general principles that would be applied to any such manuscript discrepancy.

First, the passage is found in the Vulgate (including the Neo-Vulgate). Now, the Council of Trent issued a definition in which it said:

if any one receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said
books entire with all their parts, as they have been used to be read in the
Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin vulgate
edition; and knowingly and deliberately contemn the traditions aforesaid;
let him be anathema [SOURCE].

This has led some to suppose that if a passage is found in the Vulgate that it must, ipso facto, be sacred and canonical and thus in the original manuscripts, but this is not what Trent was saying. The Council was not attempting to address the question of what passages were in the originals. What it was doing was repudiating the Protestant claim that the deuterocanonicals were non-canonical. Among the deuterocanonicals are certain passages of Daniel and Esther that are not found in Protestant Bibles (e.g., Bel and the Dragon, the song of the three children). Trent’s reference to accepting "said books entire with all their parts" is meant to emphasize that not only the seven books that are wholly deuterocanonical are to be accepted as sacred and canonical but that the books that have deuterocanonical parts (i.e., Daniel and Esther) are to be accepted as wholly sacred and canonical as well.

The Council was not attempting to determine–beyond this–the authenticity of particular passages. Indeed, there were minor variations in what passages were included in different editions of the Vulgate itself, and there was no edition of the Vulgate that could be appealed to to unambiguously settle such questions. What specific passages were in the originals thus has to be determined by textual criticism, using the best manuscripts and manuscript-evaluation techniques that we have available.

This point was made by Pope Pius XII in his encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu:

Nor should anyone think that this use of the original texts, in accordance with the methods of criticism, in any way derogates from those decrees so wisely enacted by the Council of Trent concerning the Latin Vulgate. It is historically certain that the Presidents of the Council received a commission, which they duly carried out, to beg, that is, the Sovereign Pontiff in the name of the Council that he should have corrected, as far as possible, first a Latin, and then a Greek, and Hebrew edition, which eventually would be published for the benefit of the Holy Church of God. If this desire could not then be fully realized owing to the difficulties of the times and other obstacles, at present it can, We earnestly hope, be more perfectly and entirely fulfilled by the united efforts of Catholic scholars [Divino Afflante Spiritu 20].

He went on to write:

And if the Tridentine Synod wished "that all should use as authentic" the Vulgate Latin version, this, as all know, applies only to the Latin Church and to the public use of the same Scriptures; nor does it, doubtless, in any way diminish the authority and value of the original texts. For there was no question then of these texts, but of the Latin versions, which were in circulation at that time, and of these the same Council rightly declared to be preferable that which "had been approved by its long-continued use for so many centuries in the Church." Hence this special authority or as they say, authenticity of the Vulgate was not affirmed by the Council particularly for critical reasons, but rather because of its legitimate use in the Churches throughout so many centuries; by which use indeed the same is shown, in the sense in which the Church has understood and understands it, to be free from any error whatsoever in matters of faith and morals; so that, as the Church herself testifies and affirms, it may be quoted safely and without fear of error in disputations, in lectures and in preaching; and so its authenticity is not specified primarily as critical, but rather as juridical [Divino Afflante Spiritu 21].

Here Pius XII articulates two points that are of use in assessing the pericope adulterae:

(1) the authenticity of the Vulgate is not critical but juridical, which means that Trent legally bound Catholics of the Latin Church of its day to use the Vulgate publicly but it did not attempt to set up the Vulgate as the official critical edition of the Bible so that we would no longer have to look at the original language manuscripts to determine what was supposed to be in a particular passage.

This means that whether the pericope adulterae was in the original manuscripts or not has to be settled by recourse to the original language manuscripts, not simply the Vulgate.

(2) The reason for the special juridical authenticity of the Vulgate is because its use through so many centuries had shown that "in the sense in which the Church has understood and understands it, [it is] free from any error whatsoever in matters of faith and morals."

This means that the pericope adulterae–by being included in the Vulgate–does not contain errors of faith or morals when properly understood.

And so those would be the two points that–in the absence of a current, binding statement from the Magisterium on the authenticity of the passage–one would naturally conclude regarding it: Critical scholarship must determine whether the passage was in the originals but, even if it was not, the passage does not contain errors of faith or morals when understood in a Catholic sense and so it may safely be appealed to as a passage from which Christians may learn.

MORE ON THE PERICOPE ADULTERAE.

George Washington Vs. Guy Fawkes Day

Arthur of the Ancient and Illuminated Seers of Bavaria writes:

Being the incredible history geek that I am, I have recently started
reading George Washington’s headquarters correspondence (there are
advantages to working at a university).

And I ws struck by something from his General Orders for November 5,
1775 (and Nov. 5 being Guy Fawkes Day in England):

"As the Commander in Chief has been apprized of a design form’d for
the observance of the ridiculous and chidish custom of burning the
Efficgy of the pope – He cannot help expressing his surprise that
there should be Officers and Soldiers in this army so void of common
sense, as not to see the impropriety of such a step at the Huncture;
at a Time when we are solliciting, and have really obtain’d, the
friendship and alliance of the people of Canada, whom we ought to
consider as Brethren embarked in the same Cause.  The defence of the
general Liberty of America: At such a juncture, and in such
Cirumstances, to be insulting their Religion, is so monstrous, as not
to be suffered or excused; indeed instead of offereng the most remote
insult, it is our duty to address public thanks to these our Brethren,
as to them we are so much indebted for every late happy Success over
the common Enemy in Canada."

(Writings of Washington, Vol 4 Oct. 1775-Apr, 1776,  page 65, US
Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1931)

Now a cynic might point out this order is just a political ploy to
insure the support of the French Canadian Catholic population of
Quebec and there may be some justice to that.  But given the vehemence
with which this order is worded, I for one, get the impression that
Washington really had no truck with anti-Catholic sentiment despite
the fact ath he was personally a high church Anglican as well as a
Freemason.

Thought you might find it interesting.

Indeed. Thanks for passing it along!

I’m not one to underestimate the role that the necessities of wartime could play in such a declaration, but it is phrased with a vehemence suggesting that there is more here than cynical calculation in play. A general does not lightly refer to his own embattled troops’ behavior as "ridiculous," "childish," and "monstrous."

Washington also extended good will toward persons of other religions, writing affectiveto the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island that in America

All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my Administration, and fervent wishes for my felicity. May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy [SOURCE].

In The Mail

Threedaystonever2I’m reading Tim Powers’ new novel, Three Days to Never.

This is his first new novel in five years, the previous one being Declare (2001), so its release is an occasion among Tim Powers fans.

Whereas Declare was heavily Catholic themed, this one is more Jewish-themed and involves a secret history spy story involving time travel and ghosts and dybbuks.

So far, I’m enjoying it very much. Powersis his usual, hyperinventive self, and I’ll offer my comments after I’ve had a chance to finish it.

In the meantime, you can

READ A REVIEW OF IT BY JOHN SHIRLEY.

Here’s a taste:

Tim Powers is his own genre. There are a few other novelists who write urban fantasy — de Lint and Gaiman, perhaps one or two others who attempt to bind physics and metaphysics, the spy novel with the novel of the fantastic, but none who move us with such proficiency, such deceptive ease from the gritty to the transcendent; who so excel at making us feel we too, if we follow directions, can travel effortlessly from three dimensions, to four, to five.

Currently there are two editions of the book in print. One, an ordinary hardback

IS AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.

There is also a special edition (pictured above) that has cool illustrations and that comes with a chapbook of sonnets written by one of the characters in the novel.

IT’S AVAILABLE HERE.

Enjoy!

Little Greenhouse Of Horrors

Corpse_flowerA piece back I introduced y’all to the Vampire Squid From Hell.

Well, it turns out that the animal kingdom ain’t the only place that has morbidly-named, fascinating creatures in it. The plant kingdom does, too!

What you’re looking at here (left) is the blossom of a parasitic plant known as the "corpse flower."

It’s native to Indonesia and surrounding region, and it is so-named because . . .  well . . . because it smells like decaying meat.

The reason–apparently–is that the corpse flower wants to attract flies and other insects that like the smell of decaying meat and who then help with things like pollination.

The genus to which the corpse flower belongs contains a number of related species and include the largest known flowers in the world, with a bloom a meter wide and weighing up to 24 lbs (11 kg).

Recently a corpse flower bloomed (they only do that every few years) at a greenhouse in Virginia, causing not only a lot of hungry flies to be attracted but a lot of curious humans as well.

The Virginia Tech folks hosing the corpse flower even set up a web cam so curious humans could catch a glimpse (if not a whiff) of it at a distance.

Corpse_flower2They also posted a lot of other pictures of the corpse flower and its development, one of which I’ve included here (right).

All I can say is . . . I don’t want anyone laying one of these things by my bed at night, and not just because of the smell.

GET THE STORY.

LEARN MORE.

ABOUT THE WORLD’S BIGGEST FLOWER.

SEE THE PICTURES ON THE VIRGINIA TECH SITE.

The Guns Of August?

Okay, two scary stories from the terrorism front.

First (EXCERPTS),

Eleven Egyptian students who were supposed to travel to a Montana university after flying to JFK airport late last month disappeared in New York, spurring federal authorities to issue a nationwide alert, officials said yesterday.

Montana State University Provost David Dooley said 17 Mansoura University students signed up for a 32-day cultural-exchange program to intensively study English, learn about Montana history and go on several field trips.

They arrived at JFK on a flight from Egypt on July 29, but only one managed to clear immigration in time to make a connecting flight, Dooley said.

By July 31, five others had arrived in Bozeman, but the rest were unaccounted for.

Dooley said the ones who showed up "were not certain about the status of their fellow students and why they haven’t made it."

MSU alerted federal Homeland Security and Mansoura officials and notified the students via e-mail they had 24 hours to show up in Bozeman. None of them did, Dooley said.

And for the least credible line in the story:

[FBI Special Agent] Kolko said there is no reason to believe the missing students, all men around 20 years old, represent a threat.

I’m sorry, but I agree with the congressman from Long Island:

Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.), who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said the situation "has to be taken very seriously."

"Having a number of students from an Arab country arriving on student visas and disappearing is cause for concern," he said.

GET THE STORY.

Now for scary story #2:

Islam expert Bernard Lewis has an op ed in the Wall Street Jounral that forcefully makes the case why Iran must not be allowed to get The Bomb–if it doesn’t have it already. EXCERPTS:

There is a radical difference between the Islamic Republic of Iran and other governments with nuclear weapons. This difference is expressed in what can only be described as the apocalyptic worldview of Iran’s present rulers. This worldview and expectation, vividly expressed in speeches, articles and even schoolbooks, clearly shape the perception and therefore the policies of Ahmadinejad and his disciples.

Even in the past it was clear that terrorists claiming to act in the name of Islam had no compunction in slaughtering large numbers of fellow Muslims. A notable example was the blowing up of the American embassies in East Africa in 1998, killing a few American diplomats and a much larger number of uninvolved local passersby, many of them Muslims. There were numerous other Muslim victims in the various terrorist attacks of the last 15 years.

The phrase "Allah will know his own" is usually used to explain such apparently callous unconcern; it means that while infidel, i.e., non-Muslim, victims will go to a well-deserved punishment in hell, Muslims will be sent straight to heaven. According to this view, the bombers are in fact doing their Muslim victims a favor by giving them a quick pass to heaven and its delights–the rewards without the struggles of martyrdom. School textbooks tell young Iranians to be ready for a final global struggle against an evil enemy, named as the U.S., and to prepare themselves for the privileges of martyrdom.

A passage from the Ayatollah Khomeini, quoted in an 11th-grade Iranian schoolbook, is revealing. "I am decisively announcing to the whole world that if the world-devourers [i.e., the infidel powers] wish to stand against our religion, we will stand against their whole world and will not cease until the annihilation of all them. Either we all become free, or we will go to the greater freedom which is martyrdom. Either we shake one another’s hands in joy at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, victory and success are ours."

In this context, mutual assured destruction, the deterrent that worked so well during the Cold War, would have no meaning. At the end of time, there will be general destruction anyway. What will matter will be the final destination of the dead–hell for the infidels, and heaven for the believers. For people with this mindset, MAD is not a constraint; it is an inducement.

Now for the kicker:

Mr. Ahmadinejad and his followers clearly believe that this time [the end times] is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development by Aug. 22. This was at first reported as "by the end of August," but Mr. Ahmadinejad’s statement was more precise.

What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to "the farthest mosque," usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world.

GET THE STORY.

Operations Note

TypePad is currently having a problem with some combox totals not updating, which is why today’s posts are currently listed as having zero comments even though there ARE discussions going on in their comboxes.

TypePad is aware of the problem and trying to fix it.

In the meantime, to participate in the discussions, just click on the Comments link even though it says (0).