Review of Ashampoo SoftMaker Professional 2016

CORRECTION. I WAS NOTIFIED THAT THIS IS NOT ASHAMPOO'S OFFICE SUITE. SOFTMAKER IS A SEPARATE COMPANY. THIS OFFICE SUITE IS BY SOFTMAKER. THANKS

This is a review of Ashampoo's new office SoftMaker Professional Office 2016. Ashampoo
is a well-known software developer based in Germany. I have used and continue to use some of their software. I never have had issues with poor installs or uninstalls and generally like their software.

I was allowed to try the beta version of this software, for which I'm grateful.

Installing

1. No problems. It installed easily without any warnings or difficulties.


2. I unchecked all languages except for US English. There were many languages represented, so most people will find either their own language or one they can work with.


3. The proofing tools are similar. I choose just US English and Greek.

Opening

1. 
   
   TextMaker
   
   
   
   
   1. 
      
      odt
      
      
      
      
      1. There is an accurate preview.
      
      
      2. The document opens correctly.
      
      
      
      
   
   
   2. rtf—no issues
   
   
   3. docx/doc—no issues whatsoever. Both opened correctly even those with complex formatting as different fonts, different font colors, spacing, indentations, tabs, outlines, inline links, bullets, tables, columns, and tables.
   
   
   4. htm/html—again no issues. I was able to open all that I tried with correct formatting.
   
   
   5. "Recover text from any file" is interesting as Professional Office 2016 could read various strange extensions though without formatting. Sort of like Notepad can.
   
   
   6. It does not open xps or pdf
   
   
   
   


2. 
   
   Presentations
   
   
   
   
   1. ppt/pptx—all opened and carried out their shows correctly even those with animations.
   
   
   2. odp—does not open
   
   
   
   


3. 
   
   PlanMaker
   
   
   
   
   1. .xlsx—it does not read the dates correctly. There are only ####
   
   
   2. .xlr—it does not open
   
   
   3. .pmd—it does open and read everything correctly
   
   
   
   

Making

1. A new document is easy. You can use premade templates or make your own.


2. Copying and pasting is accurate.


3. Copying and pasting a web page is hit and miss, like most office type suites. Personally I use OneNote for saving pages.


4. Copying and pasting from a pdf has some of the formatting rendered incorrectly, just like most office suites. I use Nitro 10 and use that to convert to a docx or rft.


5. It handles tables and nested tables with various formatting. If you have an image, you can select it and right click, choose properties and apply things as "Layout, format, filling, lines, shadow, 3D, effects, properties, autoshapes, and picture effects as well.


6. 
   
   Columns and flowing text are easy to do. The image is from TextMaker 2012.
   
   

Save and Export

1. .pdf—There are various options for the user as page selection, generating a Table of Contents, preferences as to quality, options for initial view, and protection. It generates a pdf well. When I used TextMaker more, I never had issues with exporting to pdf and opening it. The formatting is correct. You'll be pleased.


2. .epub—It is OK for most purposes.

Screenshots

 

Presentation

You can do just everything you would want. I have used it a number of times in their Office 2010 and 2012 and found it to be very good.

Here is a screenshot. The link is active. Click on picture.

 

PlanMaker

Screenshot

It is your usual spreadsheet. I've used this in the past without any difficulty. I do know that the maximum number of columns has been increased greatly.

The welcome page on the help file-- Welcome to PlanMaker, the powerful and easy-to-use spreadsheet application.

We have made every effort in the development of PlanMaker to ensure its functions provide the maximum benefits while minimizing user time and effort.

Some of PlanMaker's features

Available for Windows, Linux, and Android

More than 330 built-in arithmetic functions

Integrated charting module that lets you present numbers vividly in charts

Makes creating attractive worksheets easy through numerous formatting options. Long, boring columns of numbers can be turned into attractive tables with the AutoFormat command. With cell styles and character styles, you apply frequently needed formatting with a key press.

The full range of PlanMaker functions is available through a well-designed, ergonomic user interface that includes user-configurable toolbars and keyboard mappings, as well as context menus for commonly used commands (accessible with the right mouse button).

...and much more!

PlanMaker is in continuing development, and we welcome comments and suggestions from our users. If, in the course of your work, you encounter a need for a feature that isn't present, or you have other suggestions, write to us – we want PlanMaker to measure up to the users' wishes!

Features of the Android versions

For Android devices, two different versions of PlanMaker are available:

PlanMaker HD for Android

This version contains practically all features of the Windows version. It is available only for tablets.

PlanMaker Mobile for Android

This version contains only parts of the features of the Windows version. It is available for tablets as well as smart phones.

All instructions in this manual refer to the HD version. (The Mobile version comes with its own user manual.)

I could have explored every detail and feature but it would take up too much space.

In summary Ashampoo has done a lot to improve their office line. I have used the 2010 version and liked it so much I bought the 2012 version. I now use Office 365 for business purposes, but if not for that I would buy this again. Even though there are free office suites out there. I believe everyone should at least try SoftMaker Professional Office 2016 when it becomes available soon. You will not be disappointed.

Sunday School—The Resurrection

The Resurrection


 




 

A1 Objectives

B1 Describe what happened a Jesus's tomb after His death.

B2 Explain why Jesus's Resurrection was necessary to secure our redemption.

A2 Scriptures

B1 Matthew 28:1-10 The Resurrection and the first ones to the tomb.

B2 John 11:25-26 Jesus speaks of the importance of His resurrection to Martha.

B3 John 14:19 The effect of the resurrection on His followers.

B4 1 Peter 1:3-9 The promise of a future life.

A3 Notes

B1 For objective #1 see A5

B2 Necessity of the Resurrection

C1 Proof of Jesus character ("...who was declared Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord," (Romans 1:4, EMTV)

C2 Proof of atonement. ("And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins!" (1 Corinthians 15:17, EMTV)

C3 Proof of our resurrection

D1 "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." (John 11:25, EMTV)

D2 "Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, and in which you stand, through which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Thereafter He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, of whom the majority remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. Thereafter He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. And last of all, as of one born out of due time, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than them all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain and your faith also is vain! And we are found to be false witnesses of God, because we bore witness concerning God, that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise—if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are to be pitied above all men." (1 Corinthians 15:1-19, EMTV)

C4 Proof of our justification ("Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was credited to him, but for us also, to whom it was going to be credited, those believing on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up for our transgressions, and was raised for our justification."

(Romans 4:23-25, EMTV)

C5 Proof for preaching Gospel, that is, that it is truth. ("And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain and your faith also is vain! And we are found to be false witnesses of God, because we bore witness concerning God, that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise—if in fact the dead are not raised." (1 Corinthians 15:14-15, EMTV)

C6 Proof of our need for holiness. ("Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection; knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin may be done away with, that we should no longer serve sin. For he who has died has been justified from sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that we also shall live together with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, no longer dies. Death is no longer master over Him. For what death He died, He died to sin once for all; but what life He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, consider yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:4-11, EMTV)

C7 Proof for our new body at our resurrection.

D1 "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:11, EMTV)

D2 "For our citizenship exists in heaven, from which also we eagerly await for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subject all things to Himself." (Philippians 3:20-21, EMTV)

D3 "It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." (1 Corinthians 15:44, EMTV)

C8 Proof for our hope ("Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," (1 Peter 1:3, EMTV)

C9 Proof of new life.

D1 "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4, EMTV)

D2 "having been buried together with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised together through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead" (Colossians 2:12, EMTV)

C10 Proof that Jesus is the Judge ("because He has appointed a day in which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has appointed, having given proof to all, by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:31, EMTV)

B3 Jesus's sovereignty

"Arminian theology strongly affirms the sovereignty of God in all things. Arminian scholar Roger Olson writes,

"CLASSICAL Arminianism goes far beyond belief in general providence to include affirmation of God's intimate and direct involvement in every event of nature and history. The only thing the Arminian view of God's sovereignty necessarily excludes is God's authorship of sin and evil. Faithful followers of Arminius have always believed that God governs the entire universe and all of history. Nothing at all can happen without God's permission, and many things are specifically and directly controlled and caused by God. Even sin and evil do not escape God's providential governance in classical Arminian theology. God permits and limits them without willing or causing them."

The point of difference between Calvinism and Arminianism is the definition of sovereignty. On the Calvinistic view, sovereignty means meticulous control (i.e., theological determinism), while on the Arminian view, God's sovereignty necessarily means His complete freedom and authority (or right) to act any way He so wills. On this view, God certainly has the freedom and authority to exercise meticulous control over every minute detail (though the Arminian can't see how this doesn't necessitate God's authorship of sin), but He also has the freedom and authority to not exercise meticulous control. For the Arminian, if God chooses to not exercise meticulous control, that decision is itself a sovereign decision. As (Arminian) apologist J. P. Holding writes,

"SOME Calvinist commentators point to various passages of specific events such as the selling of Joseph into slavery (Gen. 45-50), the crucifixion of Christ (Acts 2:23), and the military actions of the Assyrians (Is. 10). And they are not wrong to do so. Yet one cannot falsely generalize from these particulars and assume that God chooses to exercise His right of sovereignty in the same way for things like the moving of a finger. Perhaps He does, but perhaps He does not; perhaps He does at some times, but not at others.

Yet to suggest such a thing hardly removes any sovereignty from God, for a simple reason that I have yet to see dealt with by a Calvinist commentator (though I may see it in the future): The decision to do nothing is itself a sovereign decision."

Thus, the Arminian concludes that even if God decides to do nothing in a given scenario, that decision is an exercise of, rather than an abdication of, His sovereignty. Arminian theologians Jerry Walls and Joseph Dongell write... Read the rest here

B4 Jesus's omnipotence

Only he that can do all things else cannot deny himself: He cannot counteract himself, or oppose his own work. Were it not for this, he would destroy all sin, with its attendant pain in a moment. He would abolish wickedness out of his whole creation, and suffer not trace of it remain. But in so doing he would counteract himself; he would altogether overturn his own work, and undo all that he has been doing since he created man upon the earth. For he created man in his own image: A spirit like himself; a spirit endued with understanding, with will or affections, and liberty; without which, neither his understanding nor his affections could have been of any use, neither would he have been capable either or vice or virtue. He could not be a moral agent, any more than a tree or a stone. If, therefore, God were thus to exert his power, there would certainly be no more vice; but it is equally certain, neither could there be any virtue in the world. Were human liberty taken away, men would be as incapable of virtue as stones. Therefore,(with reverence be it spoken,) the Almighty himself cannot do this thing. He cannot thus contradict himself, or undo what he has done. He cannot destroy out of the soul of man that image of himself wherein he make him: And without doing this, he cannot abolish sin and pain out of the world. But were it to be done, it would imply no wisdom at all; but barely a stroke of omnipotence. Whereas all the manifold wisdom of God (as well as all his power and goodness) is displayed in governing man as man; not as a stock or stone, but as an intelligent and free spirit, capable of choosing either good or evil. Herein appears the depth of the wisdom of God, in his adorable providence; in governing men, so as not to destroy either their understanding, will, or liberty. He commands all things, both in heaven and earth, to assist man in attaining the end of his being, in working out his won salvation, so far as it can be done without compulsion, without over-ruling his liberty. An attentive inquirer may easily discern, the whole frame of divine providence is so constituted as to afford man every possible help, in order to his doing good and eschewing evil, which can be done without turning man into a machine; without making him incapable of virtue or vice, reward or punishment. John Wesley On Divine Providence

A4 Questions

B1 Matthew 28:1-10

C1 Verse 1

D1 What day is this? (Sunday. It is the day after the Sabbath).

D2 What time of day is this? (At dawn break).

D3 How many hours since Jesus died? (Approximately 36 hours).

D4 Is this 3 days and nights? (Yes).

C2 Verse 2

D1 What caused the earthquake? (An angel came from heaven).

D2 Who rolled the stone away? (The angel)

C3 Verse 3

D1 How is the angel described?

D2 Does this sound like a witness to the events?

C4 Verse 4 What were the guards doing? (Fainted from fear)

C5 Verse 5

D1 What language did the angel speak? (Their language)

D2 How come the women didn't faint? Are women tougher than men?

D3 Why did the angel say, "Don't be afraid?"

D4 How did the angel know they were looking for Jesus?

C6 Verse 6

D1 The angel states, "He is not here." So where was he? (Stay tuned)

D2 What proof does the angel offer that Jesus is not there? (Come and see)

D3 Does Jesus keep His word? (He arose just as He said He would).

C7 Verse 7

D1 What does the angel tell the women to do? (Leave here and go tell the disciples)

D2 What are they to tell the disciples? (He is risen and go to meet Him in Galilee like He told you to do)

C8 Verse 8

D1 How fast did the women obey? (Fast they "quickly" left and "ran" to tell the disciples)

D2 What two emotions did the women have? (Fear and joy)

D3 What were they afraid of?

C9 Verse 9

D1 What did they see as they were running? (Jesus)

D2 What did Jesus say? (Rejoice) Why did He say this?

D3 Why did they hold His feet? (Bowing before Him and showing respect and submission)

C10 Verse 10

D1 What did Jesus tell them? (Don't be afraid).

D2 What were they to tell the disciples? (Go to Galilee)

B2 John 11:25-26

C1 What is the importance of the resurrection?

C2 What is the importance of believing Jesus?

C3 Is there hope for those who believe when they die?

C4 Is verse 26 a genuine offer to all people or only a few elite?

B3 John 14:19

C1 Who will see Jesus after He rises from the dead?

C2 Will we who believe live again?

C3 How does this happen?

B4 1 Peter 1:3-9

C1 Do we earn this "living hope"? (No, it is by His mercy)

C2 What is hope? (Faith is believing someone/something, hope is an expectant emotion)

C3 What are the four things about this inheritance that we are to receive? ("...incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, reserved in the heavens for you").

C4 Who or what guards our faith? (The power of God)

C5 When is our salvation to be revealed?

D1 At the last of time. This is the rapture.

D2 JFB commentary has "...the last day, closing the day of grace; the day of judgment, of redemption, of the restitution of all things, and of perdition of the ungodly."

D3 Some understand this to be when Jesus returns to earth (see 1 Peter 1:7), and others believe it to be the Day of Judgment.

C6 Does this knowledge help us in our day to day trials?

C7 What do trials accomplish in our lives? (May us for Christ-like in the same sense that gold is purified in fire).

C8 Did the people Peter writes to see Jesus? (Not in this life)

C9 Why do people believe? (God initiates salvation. Jesus has done all the work. We believe. It is related to humility. We can choose to believe or not believe).

C10 What kind of joy is this? (Great and glorious. Some understand this joy to have an effect on a believer, that is, an "unnatural" effect on us).

C11 What is the outcome of our faith? (Salvation)

C12 What is salvation? (Mercy and grace. Mercy in that we do not get what we deserve, and grace in that we receive this gift).

A5 Other notes


Resurrection--True or False


 

Did Jesus Christ rise from the dead or was it a vision?


 

Bart Ehrman, the famous apostate, atheist, deconverted Christian, holds that it was only a vision, so also others (for example Francis Maloney, "The Resurrection of the Messiah: A Narrative Commentary on the Resurrection Accounts in the Four Gospels" as reported by Kermit Zarley in his blog).


 

Kermit Zarley brings reasonable logic for believing this view is false (see the reference link above).


 

How many post-resurrection appearances in the NT gospels are we talking about? In my book, I state that there either nine of ten. None of them are described as a "vision." Rather, I think the authors clearly present their narratives with the purpose of causing their readers to think that these were historical events that actually happened, thus certainly not visions that people only think in their minds. But in saying this, I need to address Luke 24.13-43.

Luke's says that on the first Sunday afternoon following Jesus' crucifixion death, two of Jesus' disciples were walking from Jerusalem seven miles to the village of Emmaus (Luke 24.13). Luke says, "While they...

This is well worth reading.


 

So how many people saw Jesus alive after His resurrection? It was at least 520 people. It is never enough for some folks, but these passages of Scripture were written in the first century and seem most reasonable.


 

What about where Jesus tells Mary to not touch Him, but later He invites the apostles to touch Him? Is this a contradiction? Many have written about this, but here is my opinion which is partly based on M. R. DeHann's argument.


 

1. Jesus rose from the dead.
   


2. Mary Magdalene sees Him.
   


3. Jesus wants her to be the first witness. It is not written as to why, but it seems reasonable to me that since women in those days were not considered to be reliable witnesses, Jesus wants to show the world and especially the Apostles that women are very reliable witnesses. Jesus scolds the Apostles even for their unbelief of NOT believing the women.
   


4. Jesus ascends to heaven to present His blood in the heavenly Temple.
   


5. After completely His priestly ministry there, returns to earth when He visits/appears to the people. First He appears to other women, then Peter, the two on the Emmaus Road, then the 11.
   

 

The Post-resurrection appearances of Jesus

1. Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9-11, John 20:11-18
   


2. Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James (Matthew 28:9-10, compare with Mark 16:1)
   


3. Peter (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5)
   


4. Cleopas and the other disciple on the Emmaus Road (Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:13-35)
   


5. Ten Apostles with Thomas absent (Luke 24:36-43, John 20:19-25)
   


6. Eleven Apostles, including Thomas (John 20:24-29)
   


7. Seven Apostles at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25)
   


8. Eleven Apostles at some mountain in Galilee where Jesus told them to meet Him. (Matthew 28:16-20)
   


9. Over 500 brethren who were together at one time. (1 Corinthians 15:6)
   


10. James, His half-brother (1 Corinthians 15:7)
    


11. With the Apostles for a meal. (Luke 24:44-49, Acts 1:3-8)
    


12. His ascension. (Acts 1:9-11, Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50-51)
    


13. Paul (Acts 9:1-6, Acts 18:9-10, Acts 23:11, 1 Corinthians 15:8)
    

 

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1 Thessalonians Study

Chapter 2:1-12


 




 

A1 Scriptures

B1 For you yourselves know, brothers, regarding our coming to you, that it was not in vain. But suffering before and being spitefully treated at Philippi, just as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God with much conflict. For our exhortation was not from error nor from uncleanness, nor in deceit, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who is testing our hearts. For neither were we using flattering speech, as you know, nor covering up greed, God is our witness. Nor seeking glory from men, neither from you, nor from others, even though we were able to carry weight as apostles of Christ. But we proved to be gentle in your midst, as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. In this way longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own souls, because you had become dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we were among you that believe; as indeed you know how each one of you, as a father to his own children, we exhorted, and comforted you, and imploring you, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, EMTV)

B2 Our friends, you yourselves know that our visit to you was not a failure. You know how we had already been mistreated and insulted in Philippi before we came to you in Thessalonica. And even though there was much opposition, our God gave us courage to tell you the Good News that comes from him. Our appeal to you is not based on error or impure motives, nor do we try to trick anyone. Instead, we always speak as God wants us to, because he has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the Good News. We do not try to please people, but to please God, who tests our motives. You know very well that we did not come to you with flattering talk, nor did we use words to cover up greed—God is our witness! We did not try to get praise from anyone, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we could have made demands on you. But we were gentle when we were with you, like a mother taking care of her children. Because of our love for you we were ready to share with you not only the Good News from God but even our own lives. You were so dear to us! Surely you remember, our friends, how we worked and toiled! We worked day and night so that we would not be any trouble to you as we preached to you the Good News from God. You are our witnesses, and so is God, that our conduct toward you who believe was pure, right, and without fault. You know that we treated each one of you just as parents treat their own children. We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we kept urging you to live the kind of life that pleases God, who calls you to share in his own Kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, GNB92)

A2 Outline--The work in Thessalonica

B1 Known

C1 To Thessalonians

C2 To Philippians

B2 Mistreatment in Philippi

C1 Mistreated

C2 Insulted

B3 Acceptance in Thessalonica--God's strength to preach

B4 The Gospel preached

C1 Not based on

D1 Error

D2 Impure motives

D3 Trickery

C2 Based on

D1 Truth

D2 Commissioned by God

C3 Motive for doing so

D1 Not to please people

D2 To please God (who examines us)

C4 Method

D1 No flattering speech

D2 Not based on greed

D3 Not seeking fame from people

D4 Not demanding

D5 Gentle

D6 With love

D7 Being self-supporting

C5 Our conduct was

D1 Pure

D2 Right

D3 Blameless

D4 As loving father

E1 Actions

F1 Exhort

F2 Comfort

F3 Implore

E2 Purpose

F1 Live to please God

F2 Who called us

G1 To His kingdom

G2 To His glory

A3 Notes

B1 Verse 1 Coming to and preaching at Thessalonica was not fruitless. Paul here is happy at the response to the Gospel.

B2 Verse 2

C1 In light of the treatment they received at Philippi, they were more than pleased at the treatment of the Thessalonians. At Philippi they were thrown into jail and were beat. You can read this in Acts 16:22-24.

C2 The maltreatment they received at Philippi did not slow down their evangelistic endeavors as they remained bold to preach Christ and His Gospel. The Greek word for bold has the idea of being upfront about what the Gospel was, so that they did not water it down, make it more socially acceptable. It also has the idea of not waiting to be asked, necessarily, but initiating the conversation. This boldness was with God's help, see Acts 4:13, Acts 4:29-31, Acts 9:27-29, etc.

C3 The idea of contention deals with anxiety (so the Greek word means) and conflict. We all have a certain fear, but with God's help we can.

B3 Verse 3

C1 The Gospel they preached was the true Gospel as taught by Jesus himself.

C2 The preaching was not done with error, impurity, or trickery.

D1 Error would be a false Gospel.

D2 Impurity would be with false motives, a preaching without telling the full truth.

D3 Trickery implies a sales pitch. A type of preaching to get numbers. The Gospel demands and God has ordered that the Gospel be preached purely and plainly without false motives or uses gimmicks or simply a sales pitch.

B4 Verse 4

C1 Since God has entrusted them to preach His Gospel, they wanted to do so.

C2 The idea of entrust not only involves a commission but a responsibility. God is saying (so to speak), "I trust you to do this, so carry out this desire of mine as if I were to do it myself."

C3 God checks them to see if they are doing it correctly. He knows both the delivery (of their speech) but also their motives.

B5 Verse 5

C1 They preached the message without flattery or greed.

C2 Flattery is telling someone things that person wants to hear, thus manipulating them. These would be false converts.

C3 Greed would be to make money at the expense of telling the Gospel purely. It is asking for money as in when seeing the people have conviction of guilt and the truth of the Gospel tell them, "You cannot be saved without giving us some money." Today too many people, especially those on TV give a sales pitch that involves giving money. The so called preacher makes the money with the hearers losing money.

B6 Verse 6

C1 Paul and his companions did not want any honor or glory from anyone. They wanted to be good, acceptable servants of Jesus Christ obeying their master.

C2 They could have asked for financial help but did not. They rather worked.

B7 Verse 7

C1 The bossing, demanding preacher that is too commonly met, is not God's way. He is gentle and so should be those who live and teach Jesus Christ.

C2 Gentleness is a mark of a Christian and Christianity rather than the demanding, threatening message sometimes heard.

C3 This does not mean however to cower in fear. No, we must be bold and tell people the truth even if they do not want to hear it.

B8 Verse 8

C1 They were happy to preach the Gospel.

C2 They would also do anything possible to help them in their Christian life. This might be giving food or other physical needs as well as spiritual blessings.

B9 Verse 9

C1 They worked to make money so to not be a burden to any of the people.

C2 Their motive was to avoid false accusations of being money grubbers and so show a good example of why work is good. If these preachers can and do work for money, so can anyone. There is no place for laziness.

B10 Verse 10

C1 God and the Thessalonians were witnesses that what Paul is writing is true.

C2 They wanted to be pure, right, and blameless.

D1 Pure as to their words and actions. This also refers to giving the true Gospel and Christian life.

D2 Right as be just. Just is a legal term of being obedient to a standard. The standard here is God's standard. We are not Jews, so we do not follow Old Testament Law. We are Christians and follow New Testament law.

D3 Blameless in that no one could accuse them of error in doctrine or life. They preached and lived a pure Gospel as taught and lived by Jesus himself.

B11 Verse 11

C1 Comparing themselves to fathers who teach and care about their children. The interpretation is how to preach and live the Gospel, but an application can be seen in how fathers are to act towards their children.

C2 Exhort is to encourage. "Come on, you can do it." "Let's do this together; we can do it."

C3 Comfort is when a mistake is made to not condemn but to use the time to point out the error and how to correct it. We all have a tendency to remember and not repeat something that was uncomfortable to us. Fathers (and preachers) need to not be judgmental but to honestly point our errors and how to correct them.

C4 Implore is to urge them on to improve in their Christian life, to not be complacent where they are, but to still read, and study the Scriptures, to pray, to help others, to live the Gospel, etc.

B12 Verse 12

C1 Since we are Christians, we need to live up to Christ's standards. We are not to compromise or to be so tolerant that our faith becomes private.

C2 God calls. This is His invitation. God initiates but expects and desires us to respond.

C3 His Kingdom is not just in heaven, but it is here as well. We have the instructions of the kingdom (all 1,000 rules in the New Testament). We have to live by those rules in heaven, so we might as well start living that way now.

C4 His glory refers to the glory of God. Since He is glorious, His kingdom is glorious. When people see our lives, they should see the reflection of God in what we see and to.

Undirected evolution has a goal?

The Elegance of C. elegans: Classic Design in Miniature is the title of an interesting article. It mentions that the DNA expression of each cell division from the first fertilized cell to the complete worm (~1,000 cells) has been mapped. This means that in each cell division each daughter cell while having the same DNA as every other cell has specialized a little more. The complete map from start to finish is known.



The question that arises and dealt with in the article is that the finished goal is always the same, but how could this have been known with standard evolutionary hypothesis of nondirected evolution?

The video embedded there explains everything best. Definitely worth your 10 minutes to read and watch.

Psalms 19:1 WEBA "For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork."

Book review—Wounded Spirits

A short review of the book "Wounded Spirits" by Douglas J. Carragher Th. D. It is subtitled "A Biblical approach to dealing with the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)."



The author is a Sergeant Major, U.S. Army (Ret), who now is the general director of Armed Forces Baptist Missions, mission's speaker, teacher, Biblical counselor, and Christian military advocate.

The book has 8 chapters. Each chapter deals with a particular topic dealing with the person suffering from PTSD and a solution. The topics deal with suicide, fear, guilt which includes survivor's guilt, anger, nightmares, conflicts, and apathy. The template he follows is to introduce a topic, define it, perhaps have an example, and then offer a solution. The solutions are based on Scripture. At the end of each chapter are a few questions which makes this suitable for personal study or group study.

The chapter on anger is probably the best. Carragher lists 6 biblical explanations for anger and 3 things one must do to deal with anger. Anger is an overwhelming societal problem and would be helpful if everyone read/studied it.

In some ways the chapters are a little too short. I believe it would be helpful, to me anyway, to have a few examples and testimonies. There are a few but more would illustrate the suffering these people have to put up with. He deals with the main start of any solution—the Gospel of Jesus in every chapter; perhaps these were given in a sermon or topical sermon series. The solutions are good. They are based on the Scriptures, which is the operator's manual for issues we face in life.

The short questions at the end of each chapter will lead to further discussion and solutions.

This book is a wonderful start to understand and provide counsel for a serious and increasingly common disorder.

As I mentioned before it would have be helpful to include case studies and more examples to help understand each topic. The ones that the author gives are brief. The case studies would be helpful to see the help Scriptural counsel gives.

Overall I recommend this book for anyone who suffers from PTSD, has a family member suffering from this, does counseling, or wishes to further their understanding of this suffering condition.

 

 

 

What is Hyper-Calvinism?

I have contended for a long time that a Calvinist is the 5-point type, you know, TULIP. Anyone else claiming to be a Calvinist either does not understand the terms correctly or just feels like it is the acceptable thing to do. As in, "There is no way you're calling me an Arminian."



Dr. Roger Ols0n has just written an article on this very topic. It is an enlightening read.

Here, today, in this blog post, I wish to demonstrate why classical "T.U.L.I.P." Calvinism logically leads to hyper-Calvinism. In other words, my thesis is that, contrary to what most Calvinists claim, hyper-Calvinism is logically consistent Calvinism.

The key to this argument is unconditional particular election to salvation, not…

People are just fooling themselves to think they are Calvinists when they are really not.

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise, as some count slowness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9, EMTV). Please read and interpret this in its plain, normal sense.

Resurrection—True or False?

Resurrection--True or False


 

Did Jesus Christ rise from the dead or was it a vision?


 

Bart Ehrman, the famous apostate, atheist, deconverted Christian, holds that it was only a vision, so also others (for example Francis Maloney, "The Resurrection of the Messiah: A Narrative Commentary on the Resurrection Accounts in the Four Gospels" as reported by Kermit Zarley in his blog).


 

Kermit Zarley brings reasonable logic for believing this view is false (see the reference link above).


 

How many post-resurrection appearances in the NT gospels are we talking about? In my book, I state that there either nine of ten. None of them are described as a "vision." Rather, I think the authors clearly present their narratives with the purpose of causing their readers to think that these were historical events that actually happened, thus certainly not visions that people only think in their minds. But in saying this, I need to address Luke 24.13-43.

Luke's says that on the first Sunday afternoon following Jesus' crucifixion death, two of Jesus' disciples were walking from Jerusalem seven miles to the village of Emmaus (Luke 24.13). Luke says, "While they...

This is well worth reading.


 

So how many people saw Jesus alive after His resurrection? It was at least 520 people. It is never enough for some folks, but these passages of Scripture were written in the first century and seem most reasonable.


 

What about where Jesus tells Mary to not touch Him, but later He invites the apostles to touch Him? Is this a contradiction? Many have written about this, but here is my opinion which is partly based on M. R. DeHann's argument.


 

1. Jesus rose from the dead.
   


2. Mary Magdalene sees Him.
   


3. Jesus wants her to be the first witness. It is not written as to why, but it seems reasonable to me that since women in those days were not considered to be reliable witnesses, Jesus wants to show the world and especially the Apostles that women are very reliable witnesses. Jesus scolds the Apostles even for their unbelief of NOT believing the women.
   


4. Jesus ascends to heaven to present His blood in the heavenly Temple.
   


5. After completely His priestly ministry there, returns to earth when He visits/appears to the people. First He appears to other women, then Peter, the two on the Emmaus Road, then the 11.
   

 

The Post-resurrection appearances of Jesus

1. Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9-11, John 20:11-18
   


2. Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James (Matthew 28:9-10, compare with Mark 16:1)
   


3. Peter (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5)
   


4. Cleopas and the other disciple on the Emmaus Road (Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:13-35)
   


5. Ten Apostles with Thomas absent (Luke 24:36-43, John 20:19-25)
   


6. Eleven Apostles, including Thomas (John 20:24-29)
   


7. Seven Apostles at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25)
   


8. Eleven Apostles at some mountain in Galilee where Jesus told them to meet Him. (Matthew 28:16-20)
   


9. Over 500 brethren who were together at one time. (1 Corinthians 15:6)
   


10. James, His half-brother (1 Corinthians 15:7)
    


11. With the Apostles for a meal. (Luke 24:44-49, Acts 1:3-8)
    


12. His ascension. (Acts 1:9-11, Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50-51)
    


13. Paul (Acts 9:1-6, Acts 18:9-10, Acts 23:11, 1 Corinthians 15:8)