In John chapter 8, the Pharisees brought Mary Magdalene to Jesus and claimed she was caught in the act of adultery. They asked him what should be done, as the law says the penalty is to be stoned to death. Jesus tells them “let him who has not sinned cast the first stone.”
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
The Temple has been emptied of the Pharisees ( and scribes). They’re not present. But then…
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.
The Pharisees are not present, but they are. They were not visible to Mary and verse 9 states Jesus and Mary were alone. The Pharisees were there, but not in their bodies.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
While not in their bodies these Pharisees were able to throw stones. Who were these men who infiltrated the Jewish priesthood?
Jesus’ conversation with these pharisees he talked about their father. Note he’s referring to the father of these particular pharisees.
John 8:44 You are from your father, the devil, and you prefer to do what your father wants. He was a murderer from the start; he was never grounded in the truth; there is no truth in him at all. When he lies he is speaking true to his nature, because he is a liar, and the father of lies…
Then, in verse 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to think that he would see my Day; he saw it and was glad
Did you know? Abraham was from Ur. Genesis chapter 11
Another interesting verse in John 8 is 58.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
The interpretation is from the original Greek (see here) which has no commas. The last line could just as easily be translated as:
Jesus said unto them “Verily verily I say unto you Before Abraham was I am.“
That changes the meaning of Jesus’ statement. Consider the following verse from Bereshit 22:
Genesis 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God tested Abraham, and He said to him, “Abraham,” and he said, “Here I am.“
If we compare it to the original Hebrew:
It happened after these things the gods ran to find Abram and said to him, “Abraham” and he said “I am.”
Related The Name of the Game is Blame
Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuisen (Dec 31, 1846 – November 18,1919) was a Dutch socialist politician who later turned to social anarchism. He was one of the founders of the socialist movement in the Netherlands and started two political magazines.
Nieuwenhuisen was the son of Lutheran minister and professor of theology. He also became a minister and led congregations in Harlingen, Beverwijk and The Hague. He promoted a peace movement during the Franco – Prussian War. He had been married twice and both of his wives passed away ( he would marry again later). He began to question his faith and in 1879 declared himself an atheist and quit the church.
That same year received a substantial inheritance that gave him financial independence. He studied Proudhon, Marx (Case Study 26) and Engels (Case Study 34) and became a socialist. Leaders of the General Dutch Workers Association (ANWV) convinced him to join after he gave a rousing speech at one of their meetings. That he developed his oratory style while a minister was apparent.
Although he was mediocre as a writer, Domela Nieuwenhuis must have been a fascinating and engaging speaker. He made a great impression on the farm workers and farmers in Friesland and Groningen. He was frequently compared to Jesus: “s (our) ferlosser”, the Frisian farm workers called him. Domela himself stimulated that image. Through hair and beard growth he made a prophetic impression, and he cursed his speeches with biblical images, which must have appealed to his audience very much Wikipedia
Nieuwenhuis was jailed for publishing, as editor in chief, an article by Recht voor Allen that was critical of King Wilhelm III. The fame he gained for his imprisonment would propel him into a career of politics. He was pardoned after 7 months.
He won a seat in parliament representing the Frisian People’s Party (FVP). The Frisians are a Germanic people and the FVP supported independence and possibly secession from the Netherlands. His first speech was against Forced Shopping, a policy that forced workers to buy products from stores owned by the company they worked for. This brought the attention of socialist movements and he joined the Second International, an organization formed to create a one world socialist government.
Nieuwenhuisen won a second term in parliament but lost his third bid for a seat. He used anti-Semitic polemics, particularly in his conflict with Pieter Jelles Troelstra. Troelstra was another popular Frisian socialist and writer.
He wrote “that for the proletariat to improve lasting improvement on the basis of present-day society is not possible”. His stated goal became “revolution and the overthrow of the existing social order with all legal and unlawful means.” The Social Democratic League (SDB) was declared illegal because they supported this statement. They split into the Social Democrat Workers Party (SDAP) and the Socialist Union.
Nieuwenhuisen then became an anarchist. He spent the rest of his days editing The Free Socialist. He published his memoirs, “From Christ to Anarchist” (Van Christen tot Anarchist) in 1914.
Selected Quotes of Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuisen.
- “Those kaffirs are so lazy, the Christian-minded Peasants said, and they put the whip on the black ridges of the natives, who will certainly not bless the day, and they came into contact with the white men.” (“kaffir” is a derogatory and offensive Dutch term referring to black people)
- “The workers are completely indifferent whether they are slaves of the capitalists or the state.”
- “It is very conceivable that one obtains a communist dictatorship, which ensures that the needs of the stomach are met, but that therefore the freedom is not at all part. Therefore, the struggle must now be waged not only against private property, but also against authority.“
Father Lawrence C Murphy (Nov 11, 1925 – Aug 21, 1998) was a Catholic priest who taught at the former St John School for the Deaf in Milwaukee from 1950 to 1974. Authorities believe he molested up to 200 deaf boys before the mid 70s. Local police were informed of the abuse in 1974 by adult former students but did not pursue an investigation.
He was given a leave of absence by the church that same year. He retired as a priest in 1993. Later that year (1993) he admitted to a church appointed psychologist that he had been molesting boys until 1974. The church convened a canonical trial but halted it because of Murphy’s poor health. He died a few months later.
It is believe that he organized abuse and rape in the school; that is older boys would molest younger boys as part of a hierarchy. The abuse was used not only for sadistic gratification but as a system of control. See Case Study 10
Niewenhuisen’s only mistake: opposing authority. He was thus demoted and used to attack the church. If he hadn’t made a confession there would have been no blemish on the church. Then he died and on to the next mission. He is also not the boss.
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