Filed under: Software, Freeware, Open Source

I rock rough and stuff with my Afro Puffs (RAGE!)

North Carolina

Almost exactly a year ago we noted DARPA pouring nearly $5 million into an IBM project to develop a computer capable of emulating the brain of a living creature. Having already…

Yeah, I can’t delate this blog. Go check out my newest experiment in blogging, OmiPan. It’s pretty much the bomb.

Oh, I’m going to have fun with this…

Humorous.

Oh snap! This thing is great!

Note to the reader: I have started a new endeavor to study the Old Testament of the Bible. I am using The Defender’s Study Bible as a guide in all this, taking notes and making flashcards to help imbed the information into my mind. What you are about to read is my notes, which I am posting up here so I have a digital backup and to let others see what I am studying. I am sure this study will be most helpful in my growing faith in Christ.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God. (II Timothy 3:16)

This includes both the Old and New Testaments.

-Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (II Peter 1:21)

II Peter 1:21 was written shortly before the author, the Apostle Peter, was martyred.

Men like Paul and Peter would not be willing to die for a faith they new to be false or had doubts in.

The Apostles had no doubts in the Old Testament Scriptures being divinely inspired. They quoted from it, referred to it, always with absolute confidence.

One idea on why we do not have the original works of Scripture is that men could have turned the Scriptures themselves into a idol/god and worship them instead of the Lord himself.

1.

Hebrew scribes took the responsibility of copying the older scrolls very seriously. They used methods of cross checking and re-checking to find and correct copyist mistakes.

The present form of the Hebrew text is due thanks to the efforts of a group of Hebrew scholars known as the Masoretes (Traditinalists). They labored mainly in Tiberias during 500 to 950 AD. The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in the mid-20th Century, and about a thousand years earlier then the Masoretic text, confirms the highly accurate status of the Old Testament.

The Masoretic text is what the King James Authorized Version is based upon.

The preservation of the Old Testament is amazing when comparing it to other Eastern documents of antiquity.

2.

The Old Testament contains 39 books that are accepted as divinely inspired, belonging to the canon of Scripture. These books were accepted as infallibly authoritative right from the time they were written. They were accepted as inspired not only by Jesus and his Apostles, but by the Pharisee sect and most of the rank-and-file Jews of Jesus’ day.* The Sadducees accepted only the Pentateuch, however.

Many in our day tend to reject the traditional authors and dates of the canonical books, preferring to interpret these writings with the notion that there are major errors and anachronisms. This “higher criticism” as it is called is becoming and has become in some areas mainstream. Examples can be found in some seminaries and church colleges.

The great weight of external evidence such as archaeological findings, other documents from antiquity and so on, as well as the internal evidence of the Old Testament themselves, favor the traditional view of their origin. That they are indeed, divinely inspired.**

3.

The 39 books are commonly considered to fall into four major divisions:

1. The Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy)
2. The Historical Books (Joshua to Esther)
3. The Poetical Books (Job to Song of Solomon)
4. The Prophetical Books (Isaiah to Malachi)

4.

* I believe, of course, that Jesus Christ is indeed living and ruling presently in heaven. “In Jesus’ day” refers to his earthly ministry.

** The evidences will be discussed in detail later down the road.

Note that the numbers “1, 2, 3, 4” and so on are the page numbers on the physical notes.

I ran down to my local Apple Store (Lehigh Valley) to pick up a family-pack of Snow Leopard last Labor Day. As usual with walking into an Apple Store, I was greeted and asked if there was anything they could do for me. I said, “Yes, I am here for a family-pack of Snow Leopard.” The gentlemen brought me over to the shelf, picked up a copy of the OS, and then rang me up at the check out counter. This is the kinda service I’d love to have in every store. Iâll pay the extra bucks for the quality service.

After foolin’ around in the Apple Store, my Father and I went home and installed it on our machines. The install went smoothly and took around 45-minutes. I restarted the system after the install was complete and noticed the speed improvements right away. It feels like I got a brand new Mac (mine is two-years old now). The little tweaks in the UI and more user controls was totally worth the 49-bucks. My Mac is still running zippy and fine after a few weeks with the OS. My only complaint is that the Snow Leopard broke my printer-drivers. My scanner/printer is now useless until new drivers can be found. However, I lay the blame more on HP then Apple for this mess. New driver updates are coming out, so hopefully one of those will fix my problem.

Here is some video of me playing with my new OS. Kinda nerdy stuff: