Jharkhand Assembly Election 2024: ઝારખંડ વિધાનસભા ચૂંટણીના પ્રથમ ચરણમાં, નોંધપાત્ર મતદાન જોવા મળ્યું હતું, જેમાં 46.25 ટકા મતદારોએ 43 મતવિસ્તારોમાં બપોરે 1 વાગ્યા સુધીમાં 46.25 ટકા મતદાન નોંધાયું છે. ઘાટશિલા જિલ્લામાં સૌથી વધુ 53.87 ટકા સહભાગિતા દર જોવા મળ્યો હતો, જ્યારે રાંચીમાં

Jharkhand Assembly Election 2024 : ઝારખંડ વિધાનસભા ચૂંટણી માટે પહેલા ચરણનું મતદાન પુર્ણ થઈ ગયુ છે. ચરણમાં 43 સીટો પર ઉમેદવારોનું ભાવી ઈવીએમમાં કેદ થયુ છે. ઈલેક્શન કમિશનના આંકડા અનુસાર, રાજ્યમાં પહેલા ચરણના મતદાનમાં 5 વાગ્યા સુધીમાં 64.86 ટકા મતદાન નોંધાયુ

As the Jharkhand elections unfold, voters are casting their ballots in 43 constituencies, with the remaining 40 seats set to follow in the next phase. The atmosphere in the state is charged as residents grapple with a blend of hope and

The Jharkhand Assembly elections 2024 are currently underway, with voting taking place in 43 constituencies, including the bustling capital, Ranchi. As polling stations open across the city, voters are turning out in large numbers, with many women expected to play a

First phase of polling in Jharkhand is underway, while second phase will be held on November 20. Parallally, voting to elect 288 members of Maharashtra Assembly will also be held on the same day. Crorers of registered voters in Jharkhand and

In Ranchi, Jharkhand's first phase of voting commenced today with voters lining up at various booths, including Firayalal Public School. Residents expressed a mix of hopes and frustrations, emphasizing a desire for development, reduced corruption, and better cooperation between state and

As voters in Jharkhand take part in the first phase of the state elections, one issue is generating significant debate across the capital, Ranchi: the "Khatiyan of 1932," or historical land records dating back to the British colonial era. This land

Naresh Meena, an independent candidate and former Congress member, slapped Sub-Divisional Magistrate Amit Choudhary after a heated argument at a polling booth in Rajasthan's Deoli Uniara. The incident was recorded on camera by a local, and now, the video is going

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a rally in Deoghar district's Sarath on Wednesday, addressed the biggest concerns facing Jharkhand in the ongoing assembly elections, emphasizing that the protection of ‘roti, beti, and maati' (food, women, and land) is the central issue.

Mahayuti's Yogesh Kadam has has garnered substantial public support in the Dapoli assembly. According to political pundits, Yogesh Kadam's hard work, people-friendly style of working and development work powered him gain extensive support. Despite facing competition from Sanjay Kadam of the

In a surprising turn of events during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Darbhanga, Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar left the audience and PM Modi himself stunned when he attempted to touch the Prime Minister's feet. This incident, which occurred at

ನವದೆಹಲಿ, ನವೆಂಬರ್ 13: ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ ವಿಧಾನಸಭೆ ಚುನಾವಣೆ 2024ರ ಮೊದಲ ಹಂತದ ಮತದಾನ ಬುಧವಾರ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ. 43 ಸೀಟುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ 7 ಗಂಟೆಗೆ ಮತದಾನ ಆರಂಭವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಸಂಜೆ 6 ಗಂಟೆಯ ತನಕ ಮತದಾನ ಮಾಡಲು ಅವಕಾಶವಿದೆ. ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನ 1 ಗಂಟೆಯ ತನಕ ಶೇ 46.25ರಷ್ಟು ಮತದಾನವಾಗಿದೆ. ನವೆಂಬರ್ 23ರ ಶನಿವಾರ ಮತ ಎಣಿಕೆ ನಡೆಯಲಿದ್ದು, ಯಾರಿಗೆ ಅಧಿಕಾರ

ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್ ವಿಧಾನಸಭಾ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ಸಾಹದಿಂದ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸುವಂತೆ ಪ್ರಧಾನಿ ನರೇಂದ್ರ ಮೋದಿ ಮತದಾರರಿಗೆ ಕರೆ ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ನ 43 ವಿಧಾನಸಭಾ ಸ್ಥಾನಗಳಿಗೆ ಇಂದು (ನವೆಂಬರ್ 13) ಮತದಾನ ಪ್ರಕ್ರಿಯೆ ಆರಂಭವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಮಾಜಿ ಸಿಎಂ ಚಂಪೈ ಸೊರೆನ್ ಮತ್ತು ಮಾಜಿ ಸಂಸದೆ ಗೀತಾ ಕೋಡಾ ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಒಟ್ಟು 683 ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳು ಚುನಾವಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಮೋದಿ ಅವರು ತಮ್ಮ X ಖಾತೆಯ

Jharkhand Assembly Election 2024: ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದು (ನವೆಂಬರ್ 13) ಮೊದಲ ಹಂತದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಧಾನಸಭೆ ಸ್ಥಾನಗಳಿಗೆ ಮತದಾನ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಒಟ್ಟು 81ರಲ್ಲಿ 43 ಸ್ಥಾನಗಳಿಗೆ ಮತದಾನ ನಡೆಯಿತ್ತಿದ್ದು, ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಯುವಕ-ಯುವತಿಯರೇ ಮತದಾನ ಮಾಡುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಗಮನ ಸೆಳೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಟ್ಟು 81 ವಿಧಾನಸಭಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳ ಪೈಕಿ ಇಂದು ಮೊದಲ ಹಂತದಲ್ಲಿ 43 ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಮತದಾನ

ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್ ವಿಧಾನಸಭೆ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯ ಮೊದಲ ಹಂತದ 43 ಸ್ಥಾನಗಳಿಗೆ ಮತದಾನ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ 7 ಗಂಟೆಯಿಂದ ಮತದಾನ ಆರಂಭವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಸಂಜೆ 5 ಗಂಟೆಯವರೆಗೆ ನಡೆಯಲಿದೆ. ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನ 1 ಗಂಟೆಯವರೆಗೆ ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಟ್ಟು ಶೇಕಡಾ 46.25ರಷ್ಟು ಮತದಾನವಾಗಿದೆ. ರಾಂಚಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಈವರೆಗೆ ಅತಿ ಕಡಿಮೆ (ಶೇಕಡಾ 33.65ರಷ್ಟು) ಮತಗಳನ್ನು ಚಲಾಯಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಹಾಗಾದರೆ ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಈವರೆಗೆ ಆದ ಮತದಾನದ ವಿವರ ತಿಳಿಯೋಣ.

ತೀವ್ರ ಕುತೂಹಲ ಕೆರಳಿಸಿರುವ ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ ವಿಧಾನಸಭೆ ಚುನಾವಣೆ ಮತದಾನ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ನ 43 ವಿಧಾನಸಭಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬುಧವಾರ ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನವರೆಗೆ ಶೇ.46.25ರಷ್ಟು ಮತದಾನವಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ನ 15 ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ 7 ಗಂಟೆ ಸುಮಾರಿಗೆ ಮತದಾನ ಆರಂಭವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಸಂಜೆ 5 ಗಂಟೆಯವರೆಗೆ ಮತದಾನ ನಡೆಯಲಿದೆ. ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದು ಮೊದಲ ಹಂತದಲ್ಲಿ ಮತದಾನ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, ನವೆಂಬರ್ 20ರಂದು

ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್ ವಿಧಾನಸಭಾ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯ ಮೊದಲ ಹಂತದ ಮತದಾನ ಇಂದು ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, ವ್ಯಾಪಕ ಬಂದೋಬಸ್ತ್ ಏರ್ಪಡಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. 43 ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮತದಾನ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದು ಜನ ಉತ್ಸಾಹದಿಂದ ಮತ ಚಲಾಯಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಚುನಾವಣಾ ಕರ್ತವ್ಯದ ವೇಳೆ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ನೀಡದೆ ಕರ್ತವ್ಯ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಜೈಪುರಕ್ಕೆ ತೆರಳಿದ್ದ ಐಪಿಎಸ್ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿ ಕಿಶನ್ ಸಹಾಯ್ ಮೀನಾರನ್ನು ಚುನಾವಣಾ ಆಯೋಗ ಅಮಾನತು ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಕಿಶನ್ ಸಹಾಯ್ ಮೀನಾ ರಾಜಸ್ಥಾನ

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು, ನವೆಂಬರ್ 13: ರೇಣುಕಾಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಕೊಲೆ ಪ್ರಕರಣದಲ್ಲಿ ನಟ ದರ್ಶನ್​ಗೆ ದೊರೆತಿರುವ ಮಧ್ಯಂತರ ಜಾಮೀನು ತಡೆ ಕೋರಿ ಸುಪ್ರೀಂ ಕೋರ್ಟ್​ಗೆ ಮೇಲ್ಮನವಿ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸುವ ವಿಚಾರವಾಗಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಗೃಹ ಸಚಿವ ಡಾ. ಜಿ ಪರಮೇಶ್ವರ ಅಚ್ಚರಿಯ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಮಧ್ಯಂತರ ಜಾಮೀನು ತಡೆ ಕೋರಿ ಮೇಲ್ಮನವಿ ಸಲ್ಲಿಕೆಗೆ ವಿಳಂಬ ಆಗಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ಪರಮೇಶ್ವರ ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಈ ಕುರಿತು ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳ

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು, ನವೆಂಬರ್ 13: ಕನ್ನಡದ ಬಿಗ್‌ ಬಾಸ್ ಸೀಸನ್ 11ರ ಸ್ಫರ್ಧಿಯಾಗಿರುವ ಹನುಮಂತ ಲಮಾಣಿ (Bigg Boss Hanumantu Lamani) ಯಾರಿಗೇತಾನೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ ಹೇಳಿ. ಕಳೆದ ಸಾಲಿನ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ವಿಧಾನಸಭಾ ಚುನಾವಣೆ ವೇಳೆ ಚುನಾವಣೆ ರಾಯಭಾರಿ ಆಗಿದ್ದರು. ಉಪ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತಮ್ಮ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಮತದಾನ ಮಾಡದೇ ಗೈರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಯಾಕೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂಬ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಕುರಿಗಾಹಿ,

Jharkhand Assembly Election 2024: ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ 81ರಲ್ಲಿ 43 ವಿಧಾನಸಭೆ ಸ್ಥಾನಗಳಿಗೆ ಮೊದಲ ಹಂತದ ಮತದಾನ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಗೆಲುವು ಸಾಧಿಸಲು ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್‌ ಮೈತ್ರಿ ಪಕ್ಷ ಜೆಎಂಎಂ ಇನ್ನಿಲ್ಲದ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಮತ್ತೊಂದೆಡೆ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಕೂಡ 2019ರ ಸೇಡು ತೀರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಮುಂದಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತನಾಡಿದ ಪ್ರಧಾನಿ ಮೋದಿ ಏನು ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆಂದು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ತಿಳಿಯಿರಿ. ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ನ

Dhoni was appointed as the brand ambassador for the Jharkhand elections.

Varun has claimed a total of eight wickets in the series at an impressive economy rate of 5.25 runs per over.

This new service was introduced last month alongside the company's new logo and other facilities

Abhishek Anil Kapur and Sandeep Kewlani helmed Sky Force is all set to release next year.

A viral video of her is going viral on social media where Shrima Rai can be seen recreating Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham iconic moment with her husband, Aishwarya Rai's brother Aditya Rai.

When asked what dish she makes the best, Abhishek Bachchan said that Aishwarya Rai makes the best desserts. Abhishek Bachchan also spoke about Aishwarya Rai's pehli rasoi and the halwa that she made during the ritual.

Released in 2004, Aitraaz was directed by Abbas-Mustan. It tells the story of a man (Akshay Kumar) accused of sexual harassment by his female superior (Priyanka Chopra).

The Bongo Bhashi Mahasabha Foundation (BBMF) has sent a legal notice to The Great Indian Kapil Show team for allegedly tarnishing Rabindranath Tagore's legacy.

Karan Oberoi, Sudhanshu Pandey and other band members of A Band of Boys talk about the inspiration behind the reunion of the boys' band after decades, and the revival of albums with it.

Ananya Panday shared a set of photos from her recent Dubai vacation on her Instagram on Wednesday.

Before signing Ajay Devgn as the third lead along with Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Sanjay Leela Bhansali had offered the film to Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.

It’s particularly beneficial for farmers, MSMEs

None of Amjad Khan's subsequent roles could outshine Sholay.

Simultaneously, bypolls were held in 31 assembly constituencies across 10 States

Bitcoin hit a record of $89,968 on Tuesday

If you've made a New Year's resolution but have not read this blog entry yet, there may still be hope. Most people have probably broken their New Year's resolutions by Valentine's Day. How can you prevent this from happening to you?

Digging up a study from the University of Washington, there are some key suggestions for succeeding with one's resolutions:

- Have a strong initial commitment to make a change. - Have coping strategies to deal with problems that will come up. - Keep track of your progress. The more monitoring you do and feedback you get, the better you will do.

As it turns out, these are the same types of principles that apply to change management consulting projects in the business world. Although style of change management tactics in organizations also plays a role (e.g., leading people to a goal versus spreading gasoline around a organization and coercing people by insinuating that a fire is going to happen), many change management initiatives fail to work out because:

- organizations get distracted, - do not use project management methods to manage processes (e.g., date, milestone, & issue tracking), - or ignore the importance of using a microscope on activities early on in the process of change.

Steve Shu Managing Director S4 Management Group Email: sshu@s4management.com Web: http://www.s4management.com

Family: A daughter of the early abolitionist Hezekiah Joslyn, Gage was the wife of Henry Hill Gage, with whom she had five children: Charles Henry (who died in infancy), Helen Leslie, Thomas Clarkson, Julia Louise, and Maud. Gage maintained residence in Fayetteville, New York for the majority of her life. Though Gage was cremated, there is a memorial stone at Fayetteville Cemetery that bears her slogan "There is a word sweeter than Mother, Home or Heaven. That word is Liberty." -- Maud, who was ten years younger than Julia, initially horrified her mother when she chose to marry The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum at a time when he was a struggling actor with only a handful of plays (of which only The Maid of Arran survives) to his writing credit. However, a few minutes after the initial announcement, Gage started laughing, apparently realizing that her emphasis on all individuals making up their own minds was not lost on her headstrong daughter, who gave up a chance at a law career when the opportunity for women was rare. Gage spent six months of every year with Maud and Frank, and died in the Baum home in Chicago, Illinois in 1898. -- Gage's son Thomas Clarkson Gage and his wife Sophia had a daughter named Dorothy Louise Gage, who was born in Bloomington, IL, on June 11, 1898 and died just five months later on November 11, 1898. The death so upset the child's aunt Maud, who had always longed for a daughter, that she required medical attention. Thomas Clarkson Gage's child was the namesake of her uncle Frank Baum's famed fictional character, Dorothy Gale. In 1996, Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner, a biographer of Matilda Joslyn Gage, located young Dorothy's grave in Bloomington. A memorial was erected in the child's memory at her gravesite on May 21, 1997. This child is often mistaken for her cousin of the same name, Dorothy Louise Gage (1883-1889), Helen Leslie (Gage) Gage's child. As theosophists, both the Baums and the Gages believed in reincarnation, and thought this child might have been Matilda Joslyn Gage, whose personal spark is apparently written into the character. -- In The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story, Gage was played by Rue McClanahan, whose relationship with Frank was wrongly portrayed as antagonistic, and falsely presented Gage as the inspiration for the Wicked Witch of the West. Annette O'Toole played Maud, and Nancy Morgan and Pat Skipper played Helen and Charles, respectively.

Lyman Frank Baum, author of Ozma of Oz, didn't just write one of the most popular children's books in history. He also produced thirteen other Oz books as well as over 40 other novels, 82 short stories, hundreds of poems, and an unknown number of scripts. -- As a young man, Baum was a printer, producing several amateur newspapers, a poultry breeder specializing in the Hamburg chicken, and a theater lover. Despite working as a clerk in his brother-in-law's dry goods store, he found time to perform in plays until eventually his father, who owned numerous opera houses and theaters, built him a theater on his 24th birthday. Baum wrote plays, including the highly successful musical "The Maid of Arran," and composed music for them as well. Two years later he married Maud Gage, and moved with her a few years later to Aberdeen in the Dakota Territory, where he operated a store called "Baum's Bazaar." In 1890 the store failed, and Baum turned to newspaper writing and working as a traveling salesman. -- He believed deeply in the power of children's literature, saying "Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So I believe that dreams - day dreams with your eyes wide open - are likely to lead to the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and therefore to foster civilization." -- Politically, Baum was a flaming liberal. His wife was the daughter of suffrage leader Matilda Joslyn Gage, author of The Women's Bible and companion to Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Baum wrote editorials trying to convince the public to vote for women's suffrage and served as secretary of Aberdeen's Women Suffrage Club.

Called "The Black Pope" by many of his followers, Anton La Vey began the road to High Priesthood of the (lurch of Satan when he was only 16 years old and an organ player in a carnival: ... From that time early in his life his path was clear. Finally, on the last night of April, 1966 -- Walpurgisnacht, the most important festival of the believers in witchcraft -- LaVey shaved his head in the tradition of Ancient executioners and announced the formation of The Church Of Satan. He had seen the need for a church that would recapture man's body and his carnal desires as objects of celebration.

"Great Sermon!" This particular reading of the "greatest sermon ever preached on American soil", scared the hell out of me. Even as a regenerated Christian, I was trembling throughout the entire sermon. The actor who performed the reading of this certainly outdid himself. I would recommend this particular reading (produced by cloudaudio.com) over all the others.

Great Awakening: On July 7, 1731, Edwards preached in Boston the "Public Lecture" afterwards published under the title "God Glorified - in Man's Dependence," which was his first public attack on Arminianism. The emphasis of the lecture was on God's absolute sovereignty in the work of salvation: that while it behooved God to create man pure and without sin, it was of his "good pleasure" and "mere and arbitrary grace" for him to grant any person the faith necessary to incline him or her toward holiness; and that God might deny this grace without any disparagement to any of his character. -- In 1733, a religious revival began in Northampton and reached such intensity in the winter of 1734 and the following spring as to threaten the business of the town. In six months, nearly three hundred were admitted to the church. The revival gave Edwards an opportunity for studying the process of conversion in all its phases and varieties, and he recorded his observations with psychological minuteness and discrimination in A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls in Northampton (1737). A year later, he published Discourses on Various Important Subjects, the five sermons which had proved most effective in the revival, and of these, none, he tells us, was so immediately effective as that on the Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners, from the text, "That every mouth may be stopped." Another sermon, published in 1734, A Divine and Supernatural Light, Immediately Imparted to the Soul by the Spirit of God set forth what he regarded as the inner, moving principle of the revival, the doctrine of a special grace in the immediate, and supernatural divine illumination of the soul. -- By 1735, the revival had spread-and popped up independently-across the Connecticut River Valley, and perhaps as far as New Jersey. However, criticism of the revival began, and many New Englanders feared that Edwards had led his flock into fanaticism. Over the summer of 1735, religious fervor took a dark turn. A number of New Englanders were shaken by the revivals but not converted, and became convinced of their inexorable damnation. Edwards wrote that "multitudes" felt urged-presumably by Satan-to take their own lives. At least two people committed suicide in the depths of their spiritual duress, one from Edwards's own congregation-his uncle, Joseph Hawley II. It is not known if any others took their own lives, but the suicide craze effectively ended the first wave of revival, except in some parts of Connecticut. -- However, despite these setbacks and the cooling of religious fervor, word of the Northampton revival and Edwards's leadership role had spread as far as England and Scotland. It was at this time that Edwards was acquainted with George Whitefield, who was traveling the Thirteen Colonies on a revival tour in 1739-1740. The two men may not have seen eye to eye on every detail-Whitefield was far more comfortable with the strongly emotional elements of revival than Edwards was-but they were both passionate about preaching the Gospel.They worked together to orchestrate Whitefield's trip, first through Boston, and then to Northampton. When Whitefield preached at Edwards's church in Northampton, he reminded them of the revival they had experienced just a few years before. This deeply touched Edwards, who wept throughout the entire service, and much of the congregation too was moved. Revival began to spring up again, and it was at this time that Edwards preached his most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in Enfield, Connecticut in 1741. This sermon has been widely reprinted as an example of "fire and brimstone" preaching in the colonial revivals, though the majority of Edwards's sermons were not this dramatic. Indeed, he used this style deliberately. As historian George Marsden put it, "Edwards could take for granted...that a New England audience knew well the Gospel remedy. The problem was getting them to seek it." -- **Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God, A Sermon Preached at Enfield, July 8, 1741, by Rev. Jonathan Edwards. Published at Boston, 1741 -- The movement met with opposition from conservative Congregationalist ministers. In 1741, Edwards published in its defense The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, dealing particularly with the phenomena most criticized: the swoonings, outcries and convulsions. These "bodily effects," he insisted, were not distinguishing marks of the work of the Spirit of God one way or another; but so bitter was the feeling against the revival in the more strictly Puritan churches that, in 1742, he was forced to write a second apology, Thoughts on the Revival in New England, his main argument being the great moral improvement of the country. In the same pamphlet, he defends an appeal to the emotions, and advocates preaching terror when necessary, even to children, who in God's sight "are young vipers… if not Christ's." He considers "bodily effects" incidental to the real work of God, but his own mystic devotion and the experiences of his wife during the Awakening (which he gives in detail) make him think that the divine visitation usually overpowers the body, a view in support of which he quotes Scripture. In reply to Edwards, Charles Chauncy wrote Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in New England in 1743 and anonymously penned The Late Religious Commotions in New England Considered in the same year. In these works he urged conduct as the sole test of conversion; and the general convention of Congregational ministers in the Province of Massachusetts Bay protested "against disorders in practice which have of late obtained in various parts of the land." -- In spite of Edwards's able pamphlet, the impression had become widespread that "bodily effects" were recognized by the promoters of the Great Awakening as the true tests of conversion. To offset this feeling, Edwards preached at Northampton, during the years 1742 and 1743, a series of sermons published under the title of Religious Affections (1746), a restatement in a more philosophical and general tone of his ideas as to "distinguishing marks." In 1747, he joined the movement started in Scotland called the "concert in prayer," and in the same year published An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of God's People in Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom on Earth. In 1749, he published a memoir of David Brainerd who had lived with his family for several months and had died at Northampton in 1747. Brainerd had been constantly attended by Edwards's daughter Jerusha, to whom he was rumored to have been engaged to be married, though there is no surviving evidence for this. In the course of elaborating his theories of conversion Edwards used Brainerd and his ministry as a case study, making extensive notes of his conversions and confessions.

But this book by Johnson and Vanvonderen is different. Drawing upon years of ministry experience as pastor and counselor (respectively), they examine the fine line between Biblical leadership and abuse. Without mentioning groups or demonizing those involved, they discuss how well-intentioned leadership can have abusive effects. This "high road" approach is highly helpful in identifying some of the critical factors that have led to harsh and harmful leadership in churches. -- Marks of a Spiritually Unhealthy Environment: For example, the authors identify the marks of a spiritually unhealthy system. I'd like to include these here as a sample of how the authors address these issues. (The following consists of verbatim citations of copyrighted material from Chapter 5,6 of "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.") -- 1. Power-Posturing: Power-posturing simply means leaders spend a lot of time focused on their own authority and reminding others of it, as well. They spend a lot of energy posturing about how much authority they have and how much everyone else is supposed to submit to it. The fact that they are eager to place people under them-- under their word, under their "authority"-- is one easy-to-spot clue that they are operating in their own authority. -- 2. Performance Preoccupation: In abusive spiritual systems, power is postured and authority is legislated. Therefore, these systems are preoccupied with the performance of their members. Obedience and submission are two important words often used. The way to tell if someone is doing the right thing for the wrong reason is if they are keeping track of it. Let's say that another way. If obedience and service is flowing out of you as a result of your own dependence on God alone, you won't keep track of it with an eye toward reward, you'll just do it. But if you're preoccupied with whether you've done enough to please God, then you're not looking at Him, you're looking at your own works. And you're also concerned about who else might be looking at you, evaluating you. What would anyone keep track of their godly behavior unless they were trying to earn spiritual points because of it? For many reasons, followers sometimes obey or follow orders to avoid being shamed, to gain someone's approval, or to keep their spiritual status or position intact. This is not true obedience or submission, it is compliant self-seeking. When behavior is simply legislated from the outside, instead of coming from a heart that loves God, it cannot be called obedience. It is merely weak compliance to some form of external pressure. -- 3. Unspoken Rules: In abusive spiritual systems, people's lives are controlled from the outside in by rules, spoken and unspoken. Unspoken rules are those that govern unhealthy churches or families but are not said out loud. Because they are not said out loud, you don't find out that they're there until you break them. The most powerful of all unspoken rules in the abusive system is what we have already termed the "can't talk" rule. The "can't talk" [rule] has this thinking behind it: "The real problem cannot be exposed because then it would have to be dealt with and things would have to change; so it must be protected behind walls of silence (neglect) or by assault (legalistic attack). If you speak about the problem, you are the problem. -- 4. Lack of Balance: The fourth characteristic of a spiritual abusive system is an unbalanced approach to living out the truth of the Christian life. This shows itself in two extremes: Extreme Objectivism - The first extreme is an empirical approach to life, which elevates objective truth to the exclusion of valid subjective experience. This approach to spirituality creates a system in which authority is based upon the level of education and intellectual capacity alone, rather than on intimacy with God, obedience and sensitivity to His Spirit. Extreme Subjectivism - The other manifestation of lack of balance is seen in an extremely subjective approach to the Christian life. What is true is decided on the basis of feelings and experiences, giving more weight to them than what the Bible declares. In this system, people can't know or understand truths (even if they really do understand or know them) until the leaders "receive them by spiritual revelation from the Lord" and "impart" them to the people. In such systems, it is more important to act according to the word of a leader who has "a word" for you than to act according to what you know to be true from Scripture, or simply from your spiritual growth-history. As with the extreme objective approach, Christians who are highly subjective also have a view of education-- most often, that education is bad or unnecessary. There is almost a pride in not being educated, and a disdain for those who are. Everything that is needed is taught through the Holy Spirit. ("After all, Peter and Timothy didn't go to college or seminary...") -- 5. Paranoia: In the church that is spiritually abusive, there is a sense, spoken or unspoken, that "others will not understand what we're all about, so let's not let them know-- that way they won't be able to ridicule or persecute us." There is an assumption that (1) what we say, know, or do is a result of our being more enlightened that others; (2) others will not understand unless they become one of us; and (3) others will respond negatively. In a place where authority is grasped and legislated, not simply demonstrated, persecution sensitivity builds a case for keeping everything within the system. Why? Because of the evil, dangerous, or unspiritual people outside of the system who are trying to weaken or destroy "us." This mentality builds a strong wall or bunker around the abusive system, isolates the abusers from scrutiny and accountability, and makes it more difficult for people to leave-- because they will then be outsiders too. While it is true that there is a world of evil outside of the system, there is also good out there. But people are misled into thinking that the only safety is in the system. Ironically, Jesus and Paul both warned that one of the worst dangers to the flock was from wolves in the house (Matthew 10:16, Acts 20:29-30). -- 6. Misplaced Loyalty: The next characteristic of spiritually abusive systems is that a misplaced sense of loyalty is fostered and even demanded. We're not talking about loyalty to Christ, but about loyalty to a given organization, church, or leader. Once again, because authority is assumed or legislated (and therefore not real), following must be legislated as well. A common way this is accomplished is by setting up a system where disloyalty to or disagreement with the leadership is construed as the same thing as disobeying God. Questioning leaders is equal to questioning God. "We Alone Are Right" There are three factors that come into place here, adding up to a misplaced loyalty. First, leadership projects a "we alone are right" mentality, which permeates the system. Members must remain in the system if they want to be "safe," or to stay "on good terms" with God, or not be viewed as wrong or "backslidden." - Scare Tactics - The second factor that brings about misplaced loyalty is the use of "scare tactics." We're already seen this in some of the paranoia described in the last section. Scare tactics are more serious. This is more than just the risk of being polluted by the world. We have counseled many Christians who, after deciding to leave their church, were told horrifying things. "God is going to withdraw His Spirit from you and your family." "God will destroy your business." "Without our protection, Satan will get your children." "You and your family will come under a curse." This is spiritual blackmail and it's abuse. And it does cause people to stay in abusive places. - Humiliation - The third method of calling forth misplaced loyalty is the threat of humiliation. This is done by publicly shaming, exposing, or threatening to remove people from the group. Unquestionably, there is a place for appropriate church discipline. In the abusive system, it is the fear of being exposed, humiliated or removed that insures your proper allegiance, and insulates those in authority. You can be "exposed" for asking too many questions, for disobeying the unspoken rules, or for disagreeing with authority. People are made public examples in order to send a message to those who remain. Others have phone campaigns launched against them, to warn their friends and others in the group about how "dangerous" they are. -- 7. Secretive: When you see people in a religious system being secretive-- watch out. People don't hide what is appropriate; they hide what is inappropriate. One reason spiritual abusive families and churches are secretive is because they are so image conscious. People in these systems can't even live up to their own performance standards, so they have to hide what is real. Some believe they must do this to protect God's good name. So how things look and what others think becomes more important than what's real. They become God's "public relations agents." The truth is, He's not hiring anyone for this position. Another reason for secrecy in a church is that the leadership has a condescending, negative view of the laity. This results in conspiracies on the leadership level. They tell themselves, "People are not mature enough to handle truth." This is patronizing at best. Conspiracies also develop among the lay people. Since it is not all right [sic] to notice or talk about problems, people form conspiracies behind closed doors and over the telephone as they try to solve things informally. But since they have no authority, they solve, and solve, and solve-- but nothing really gets solved. And all the while, building God's true kingdom is put on hold. -- Conclusion: I hope that what I have cited gets your attention and motivates you to read this book. The subtle patterns of unhealthy characteristics are discussed in a way that actually helps people identify them, resist them, and recover from them. Copyright © 2000 John Engler. All rights reserved. The Barnabas Ministry

Youth: Müller was born in Kroppenstaedt (now Kroppenstedt), a village near Halberstadt in the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1810, the Müller family moved to nearby Heimersleben, where Müller's father was appointed a collector of taxes. He had an older brother, Friedrich Johann Wilhelm (1803 - 7 Oct 1838) and, after his widowed father remarried, a half-brother, Franz (b 1822). His early life was not marked by righteousness - on the contrary, he was a thief, a liar and a gambler. By the age of 10, Müller was stealing government money from his father. While his mother was dying, he, at 14 years of age, was playing cards with friends and drinking. Müller's father hoped to provide him with a religious education that would allow him to take a lucrative position as a clergyman in the state church. He studied divinity in the University of Halle, and there met a fellow student (Beta) who invited him to a Christian prayer meeting. There he was welcomed, and he began regularly reading the Bible and discussing Christianity with the others who attended the meetings. After seeing a man praying to God on his knees, he was convinced of his need for salvation. As soon as he got home he went to his bed where he knelt and prayed. He asked God to help him in his life and to bless him wherever he went and to forgive him of his sins. He immediately stopped drinking, stealing and lying, and began hoping to become a missionary. He began preaching regularly in nearby churches and continued meeting with the other churches. -- Early work: In 1828, Müller offered to work with Jews in England through the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews, but upon arriving in 1829, he fell ill, and did not think that he would survive. He was sent to Teignmouth to recuperate and, whilst there, met Henry Craik, who became his life-long friend. When he recovered, however, he dedicated himself to doing the will of God. He soon left the London Society, convinced that God would provide for his needs as he did Christian work. Craik invited him to become a minister with him in Teignmouth and he became the pastor of Ebenezer Chapel in Devon and soon after, married Mary Groves, the sister of Anthony Norris Groves. During his time as the pastor of the church, he refused a regular salary, believing that the practice could lead to church members giving out of duty, not desire. He also eliminated the renting of church pews, arguing that it gave unfair prestige to the rich (based primarily on James 2:1-9). -- Theology: The theology that guided George Müller's work is not widely known, but was shaped by an experience in his mid twenties when he "came to prize the Bible alone as [his] standard of judgement". He records in his Narratives that "That the word of God alone is our standard of judgment in spiritual things; that it can be explained only by the Holy Spirit; and that in our day, as well as in former times, he is the teacher of his people. The office of the Holy Spirit I had not experimentally understood before that time. Indeed, of the office of each of the blessed persons, in what is commonly called the Trinity, I had no experimental apprehension. I had not before seen from the Scriptures that the Father chose us before the foundation of the world; that in him that wonderful plan of our redemption originated, and that he also appointed all the means by which it was to be brought about. Further, that the Son, to save us, had fulfilled the law, to satisfy its demands, and with it also the holiness of God; that he had borne the punishment due to our sins, and had thus satisfied the justice of God. And, further, that the Holy Spirit alone can teach us about our state by nature, show us the need of a Saviour, enable us to believe in Christ, explain to us the Scriptures, help us in preaching, etc. It was my beginning to understand this latter point in particular which had a great effect on me; for the Lord enabled me to put it to the test of experience, by laying aside commentaries, and almost every other book, and simply reading the word of God and studying it. The result of this was, that the first evening that I shut myself into my room, to give myself to prayer and meditation over the Scriptures, I learned more in a few hours than I had done during a period of several months previously. But the particular difference was, that I received real strength for my soul in doing so. I now began to try by the test of the Scriptures the things which I had learned and seen, and found that only those principles which stood the test were really of value."

At age 15 Bach joined the choir at St. Michael's church. At age 19 Bach left St. Michael's and became a professional organist at St. Boniface. Bach studied music until 1703. In 1707, when Bach was 22 he married his cousin Maria Barbara. Maria had 7 children with Bach. Three of them died. In 1716, when Bach was thirty-one, he was put in jail for thirty-one days because people didn't believe that he shouldn't be writing that kind of music at that time. In those 31 days, Bach wrote five to ten musicals. Those five to ten musicals he wrote when he was in jail turned into two hundred musicals. In 1717 Bach became the court conductor at Anhalt-Cothen. 14 years later in 1721 Maria died leaving Bach to take care of four children. Bach was thirty-six at this time. One year later when Bach was thirty-seven in 1722 he married another woman. This woman's name was Anna Magdalina. Anna had thirteen children. ... Bach wrote 300 religious and nonreligious pieces called cantatas. Some people think that bach was the best composer of all time. Bach was a very religious man. Bach showed his religions in his music. Bach joined an orchestra at Weimar as a violinist. His home town was famous for music. One time when Bach was young, he walked thirty-five miles to a town named Hamburg to hear a concert.

After his success with Messiah in 1742 A.D. he never performed an Italian opera again. Handel was only partly successful with his performances of English Oratorio on mythical or biblical themes, but when he arranged a performance of Messiah to benefit the Foundling Hospital (1750) the critique ended. The pathos of Handel's oratorio is an ethical one, they are hallowed not by liturgical dignity but by the moral ideals of humanity. Almost blind, and having lived in England for almost fifty years, he died a respected and rich man. -- Handel is regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time, not only because of his Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks. But since the late 1960s, with the revival of baroque music and original instrument interest in Handel's opera seria has revived too. Handel composed forty operas in about thirty years; some are considered as masterpieces, with many sweeping arias and much admired improvisations. His operas contain remarkable human characterization, by a composer not known for his love affairs. -- Messiah: (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible, and from the Psalms included with the Book of Common Prayer (which are worded slightly differently than their King James counterparts). It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later. After an initially modest public reception the oratorio gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music.

Let's look at Sir Francis Bacon: The content in the Shakespearian dramas are politically recognized viewpoints of Sir Francis Bacon (His "enemies" are frequently caricatured in the plays.) The religious, philosophic, and educational messages all reflect his personal opinions. Similarities in style and terminology exist in Bacon's writings and the Shakespearian plays. Certain historical and philosophical inaccuracies are common to both (such as identical misquotations from Aristotle.) Sir Francis Bacon possessed the range of general and philosophical knowledge necessary to write the Shakespearian plays. Sir Francis Bacon was a linguist and a composer. (Necessary to write the sonnets.) He was a lawyer, an able barrister and a polished courtier and possessed the intimate knowledge of parliamentary law and the etiquette of the royal court revealed in the Shakespearian plays. Bacon furthermore visited many of the foreign countries forming the background for the plays (Necessary to create the authentic local atmosphere. There is no record of William Shakspere's ever having travelled outside of England). ... Why the secrecy? Manly Palmer Hall writes: "Sir Francis Bacon knew the true secret of Masonic origin and there is reason to suspect that he concealed this knowledge in cipher and cryptogram. Bacon is not to be regarded solely as a man but rather as the focal point between an invisible institution and a world which was never able to distinguish between the messenger and the message which he promulgated. This secret society, having rediscovered the lost wisdom of the ages and fearing that the knowledge might be lost again, perpetuated it in two ways: (1) by an organization (Freemasonry) to the initiates of which it revealed its wisdom in the form of symbols; (2) by embodying its arcana in the literature of the day by means of cunningly contrived ciphers and enigmas."

The 1662 Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England (you can download it by clicking the picture to the left or the link below) is still technically the only "official" prayer book of the Church of England, the mother church (for the moment at least) of the Anglican Communion. It itself is the result of more than a century of liturgical development through a turbulent time in British history. Its literary and theological influence is immense; this alone makes it an important document.

William Tyndale was born about 1494 in Gloucestershire. He took his B.A. at Oxford in 1512 and his M.A. in 1515. He also apparently spent time in Cambridge. He was for some time tutor to a Gloucestershire family. He disturbed the local divines by routing them at the dinner table with chapter and verse of scripture, and by translating Erasmus' Enchiridion militis christiani (Handbook of the Christian Soldier, 1503). He was accused of heresy, but nothing was ever proved. John Foxe reports in his Acts and Monuments (1563) that one day at dinner, Tyndale announced to a visiting clergyman that he meant to translate the Bible so that ploughboys should be more educated than the clergyman himself. -- He travelled to London to ask the Bishop, Cuthbert Tunstall, for support in his work. Tunstall rebuffed him. At this time, king Henry VIII was still the defender of the Catholic faith. Realising he could not translate the Bible in England, Tyndale accepted the help of a London merchant and went to Germany in 1524. He never returned to England, but lived a hand-to-mouth existence, dodging the Roman Catholic authorities. In 1525, he and his secretary moved to Cologne, Germany and began printing the New Testament. But Tyndale was betrayed, and fled up the Rhine to Worms. Here he started printing again, and the first complete printed New Testament in English appeared in February 1526. Copies began to arrive in England about a month later. In October, Tunstall had all the copies he could trace gathered and burned at St Paul's Cross in London. Still they circulated. Tunstall arranged to buy them before they left the continent, so that they could be burned in bulk. Tyndale used the money this brought him for further translation and revision. At the same time, he wrote polemical treatises and expositions of the Bible. He began the Old Testament, apparently in Antwerp: Foxe tells how, sailing to Hamburg to print Deuteronomy, he was shipwrecked and lost everything, 'both money, his copies, and time', and started all over again, completing the Pentateuch between Easter and December. Back in Antwerp, Tyndale printed it in early January, 1530. Copies were in England by the summer. Revisions and shorter translations followed. -- Tyndale's writings were popular in England. Henry VIII, fearing Tyndale's influence, sent an ambassador to persuade him to return to England. In a secret, nighttime meeting outside Antwerp city walls, Tyndale agreed that he would return to England, if the king would print an English Bible. By the time Henry published his Great Bible, Tyndale was already dead. In 1535, the fanatical Englishman Henry Phillips betrayed him to the Antwerp authorities and had him kidnapped. He was imprisoned at Vilvoorde, near Brussels, for sixteen months. A letter from him, in Latin, has survived, asking for a lamp, a blanket, and Hebrew texts, grammar and dictionary, so that he could study. Even Thomas Cromwell, the most powerful man next to King Henry VIII, moved to get him released: but Phillips in Belgium, acting for the papal authorities, blocked all the moves. -- On the morning of 6 October 1536, now in the hands of the secular forces, he was taken to the place of execution, tied to the stake, strangled and burned. His last words reportedly were: "Oh Lord, open the King of England's eyes."

Luther: The Movie, DVD --> Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) stars as Martin Luther, the brilliant man of God whose defiant actions changed the world, in this epic film that traces Luther's extraordinary and exhilarating quest for the people's liberation. Regional princes and the powerful Church wield a fast, firm and merciless grip on 16th-centur Germany. But when Martin Luther issues a shocking challenge to their authority, the people declare him their new leader - and hero. Even when threatened with violent death, Luther refuses to back down, sparking a bloody revolution that shakes the entire continent to its core. Approx. 2 hours 4 minutes.