Mento Bieker is alweer drie jaar gelukkig met zijn vriendin Bianca Kust. In dit boekje over Mento staan gesprekken die hij met haar voert over niet-alledaagse dingen zoals over de dromen die ze dromen, over Jezus, over de kracht van de wil en van de gedachte. Ook filosofeert hij graag met zijn goede vriend CRR over bijvoorbeeld de gehele mensheid als simulatie van stuurman God, de Apocalyps en over een droom van Mento waarin een vrouwelijke profeet het jaar van de Tweede Komst van Jezus heeft berekend. Dit laatste intrigeert hem bijzonder: zou hij een goddelijke boodschap via zijn droom binnen hebben gekregen? Mento gaat op zoektocht naar antwoorden. Kan de I Ching hierbij helpen? Ontdekt hij wellicht wat de zeven donderslagen zijn uit de Openbaringen, die Johannes niet mocht opschrijven? Zou hij de boodschap van de vrouwelijke profeet moeten verspreiden? En hoe moet hij precies vrijheid preken, zoals een andere droom hem verteld heeft?
Volgens de opvatting en de uitleg van de kerk door de eeuwen heen is dit het hoofdthema van het Nieuwe Testament en daarmee van het christelijk geloof, namelijk dat Jezus Christus aan het kruis zijn leven heeft gegeven voor de zonden van de mensen en uit de dood is opgestaan en dat men als zondaar aan dit heilswerk van Jezus deel krijgt door het geloof in Hem.
Ik begin mijn boek niet met een introductie, maar laat het voor zichzelf spreken. De inhoud is als een genadige verlichting, die de alles-verlichtende Heilige Geest mijn ziel schonk in ogenblikken van diepe verzonkenheid en zelfonderzoek, vooral in gebed. Als ik er de tijd voor had, schreef ik de leerzame gedachten en gevoelens die in mij opkwamen, op, en uit deze notities van vele jaren is dit boek nu samengesteld. Zoals de lezers zullen opmerken, is de inhoud zeer gevarieerd. Laten zij er zich zelf een oordeel over vormen. “Een geestelijk mens kan alles beoordelen, maar over hem oordeelt niemand.” (1 Cor.2:15) Aartspriester Johannes van Kronstadt (Sergieff)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, writing in his cell in a Nazi prison, expressed a most remarkable idea. "Men go to God in His need. " This is the insight, he observed, which distinguishes the Christian faith from all other religions. It is a universal belief that God, or the gods, should come to help man in his mortal, human need. But this is not the God and Father of Jesus Christ. Even as Jesus in Gethsemane chided his disciples for their sloth in not keeping watch with him during his agony, so God the Father must look to His creatures for their faith and sympathy. Therein lies the basis for the Christian answer to man kind's perennial complaint: Why do men suffer? Not all theologians, believing Christians, or believers in a personal God can share this idea. Traditionally the Eastern Orthodox thinkers have adhered to the rule of apophatic theology: that is, there are boundaries of knowledge about God which the human mind, even when enlightened by revelation, cannot cross. So who can say that God the Eternal One is susceptible to what we call suffering? It is better to hold one's silence on so deep a mystery. Still others are loathe to acknowledge God's passibility for varying reasons. God is ultimate and perfect; therefore he cannot know suffering or other emotions. God is impersonal; therefore it is meaningless to ascribe personal, anthro popathic feelings to Him. Many angels may fear to tread on the ground of this most difficult question.
It is difficult to present a great battle with sufficient detail to please both the student of tactics and the average reader. If the visitor is not satisfied with the brief outline here presented, he is recommended to read further in the books listed, and especially to employ a guide, without whose trained and supervised services the best manual is inadequate. The reader in search of romance is recommended to the successive Incidents of the Battle as herein presented. According to official records, the Gettysburg campaign of 1863 began on June 3rd and ended on August 1st. No effort will be made to describe the movements, counter-movements, and fifty minor engagements that occurred before the armies crossed the Mason and Dixon’s line and finally concentrated at Gettysburg, where they engaged in battle on July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. It is necessary, however, that the visitor should understand the approach to the field. On June 3rd the Union Army, called the Army of the Potomac, lay at Falmouth, Va., on the north side of the Rappahannock River, Major-General Joseph Hooker in command. The Confederate Army, called the Army of Northern Virginia, occupied the south bank, with headquarters at Fredericksburg, General Robert E. Lee in command. Both armies were resting after the major engagement at Chancellorsville, in which the Confederates were victorious. The Army of the Potomac was made up of seven infantry and one cavalry corps. It numbered at the time of the battle approximately 84,000. The Army of Northern Virginia was made up of three infantry corps and one division of cavalry. It numbered at the time of the battle about 75,000. Following the text is a roster of officers, which should be consulted, both for an understanding of the battle and because of the obligation to honor brave men. During the month of May, General Lee visited Richmond to discuss with the Confederate government various plans involving political and military considerations. Up to this time, the South had won the major victories, but her resources, both in men and sinews of war, were diminishing, and a prolonged conflict would be disastrous. It was decided that the army should invade the North via the Shenandoah and Cumberland valleys, with Harrisburg as an objective. This route not only afforded a continuous highway but put the army in a position to threaten Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington from the north. The Blue Ridge Mountains to the east would screen the advance, and the rich agricultural section would furnish supplies of food and forage. The time was propitious. General Lee’s army was in the prime of condition. The North was discouraged by losses, distrustful of Lincoln, weary of war. The South believed that one great victory would assure her the friendliness of the leading powers of Europe. Her independence once acknowledged, she could import the materials of war and the necessities of life which she lacked. It was thought certain that at the prospect of invasion the North would withdraw troops from the siege of Vicksburg then being conducted by General Grant. With high hopes the march was begun. On June 3rd Lee put his army in motion northward, with Ewell’s Corps, preceded by Jenkins’ and Imboden’s Cavalry, in the advance, followed by Longstreet and lastly by Hill. Longstreet moved on the east side of the Blue Ridge in order to lead Hooker to believe that Washington would be threatened. On reaching Snicker’s Gap, he crossed the Ridge into the Shenandoah Valley and followed Hill, who was now in advance. The great army was strung out from Fredericksburg, Va., on the south to Martinsburg, W. Va., on the north, with the cavalry division under Stuart guarding the gaps along the Blue Ridge. Since 1863 the population of Gettysburg has increased from 2,000 to 5,500 After driving out Union forces stationed at Winchester under Milroy, Lee’s Army crossed the Potomac at Williamsport and Shepherdstown on June 23rd, 24th, and 25th, and advanced northward, unopposed, through the Cumberland Valley, toward Harrisburg.
This book is a tribute to Professor de Boer, the well-known Old Testamentarian of Leiden University who held the chair from 1938 till 1978. Not only was he involved in organizational and editorial work (I.S.S.O.T., Peshitta Institute, Vetus Testamentum etc.), but he was also an inspired and inspiring teacher and a subtle exegete of the Hebrew texts in which he was interested. In this volume, originally intended as a message of congratulation for his 80th birthday (June 14, 1990) around twenty of his own lectures and articles are presented here which previously were less accessible, because, for instance, they were written in Dutch. All the collected studies are now published in English apart from two in German and two in French. They cover the whole of his scholarly life, from his inaugural address on "Kingship in Ancient Israel" (1938) to his contribution about Psalm lxxxi 6a, to the Festschrift for G.W. Ahlström (1984). The volume is concluded with a bibliography comprising all Professor de Boer's publications concerning the Old Testament and related scholarly subjects.
In deze bundel staan 3 boeken. "Beschouwingen over de God van Israël" zijn brieven aan Ds. Jenkins over de Heilige Geest. Leerstellig en bevindelijk van aard. W. Stevens, schrijft over dit werk: "... om dit wel te overwegen en biddende te overdenken." Huntington schreef: "Bij het schrijven ontving ik meer leiding van de Heilige Geest dan bij ieder ander boek."Het 2e boek is 'De verborgenheid der Godzalig-heid.' De schrijver zet uiteen dat de Zoon van God, de menselijke natuur aannam. Hij was en bleef een Goddelijk Persoon in de kribbe, aan het kruis en in het graf, naar Zijn menselijke natuur.Het 3e boek luidt: 'Het Arminiaanse geraamte.' "Hiervan ben ik zeker, de leerstellingen, welke ik hier beschreven heb, zijn niet naar de mens; want ik heb ze niet van de mensen geleerd, maar door de openbaring van Jezus Christus. Indien wij van mening zijn dat de waarheid geen verdediging waard is, dan moeten we verwachten, dat de Heilige Geest Zijn vleugelen zal uitslaan om van ons weg te vliegen."
