Muted quarterly earnings and weak trends in global markets were also the spoilsport for the markets, traders said

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, JSW Steel, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the biggest laggards

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.40 against the U.S. dollar

The company attributes this growth to a combination of factors, primarily the increased health awareness triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a more focused strategy to expand into underserved regions

We are seeing rising downside risks to our GDP growth projections of 6.7 per cent y-o-y in FY25 and 6.8 per cent in FY26, says Nomura

Productivity gains, include 25-30 per cent decline in customer acquisition costs, shortening account opening time to less than a day

Google’s new AI-powered ‘Learn About’ experiment will adapt to users’ interests and learning goals, per the company, but it is not yet publicly available in India

Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) convened a meeting with e-commerce Food Business operators (FBOs) to reinforce compliance requirements for e-commerce FBOs.

Indian Oil Corporation said, the fire, which occurred in the crude distillation unit after a month-long maintenance, was extinguished and refinery operations remain unaffected

Swiggy IPO makes 500 employees crorepatis, unlocking ₹9,000 crore in ESOPs, with shares listing at a premium

The partnership will focus on several key areas, including capacity development, research, data-driven innovation, and the promotion of sustainable development

A medical oncologist at the Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital in Chennai was stabbed seven times on Wednesday by the son of a patient allegedly over grievances on treatment to his mother at the same facility, a hospital official said.

Equating 'bulldozer justice' with a lawless state of affairs where might is right, the Supreme Court on Wednesday laid down pan-India guidelines and said no property should be demolished without a prior show cause notice and the affected must be given 15 days to respond.

Tooth extraction is a common dental procedure performed to address various dental issues, such as severe decay, infection, crowding, or trauma. While tooth extraction is generally safe, like any surgical procedure, it carries some risks of complications. Understanding these potential risks and knowing how to recognize and manage them is essential for ensuring a smooth […]

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Renovating a condominium is an exciting endeavor, promising to breathe new life into your living space. However, amidst the excitement lies a maze of regulations and guidelines set forth by the condo association. Navigating these rules can be daunting, but fear not! This comprehensive guide will walk you through the intricacies of maneuvering condo association […]

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Trivia I found an interesting website. After mucking around with it I noticed that between UK, NZ/AU, USA/CANADA, Japan.... there is a huge difference how many millilitres of what % alcohol = 1...

Tiana Bey is noted for her dedication to clients as the founder of TAB PC, Attorney at Law

Sprachgeschichtlich betrachtet hat das Wort Herbst denselben Ursprung wie das englische Wort harvest [Ernte/-zeit], das lateinische carpere [pflücken] und das Griechische karpos [Frucht/Ertrag]: Alle sind zurückzuführen auf das indogermanische Verb sker, was im Deutschen schneiden bedeutet und noch im Wort […]

Herbst: Pflanzzeit und Natur auf Gartentechnik.de

More often than not in traditional management consulting engagements involving operations, there is usually room for setting up or revising goals, metrics & reporting, and service level agreements. Depending on the phase of development of a company (often couched as Stage 0 [Ad-Hoc], Stage 1 [Functional], Stage 2 [Intrabusiness Cross-Functional], etc. maturity levels by a consulting firm), the next higher-level of metrics and reporting may apply and be a goal for the client organization to strive for.

Where management has to be somewhat careful about applying metrics, however, is how people and company culture play a role in getting everything to work together right.

To put a finer point on things, one can put in place a perfectly appropriate set of metrics and reporting systems for a company yet miss the boat completely on a management-level as to how the results should be applied because of the culture.

As an example in sales operations, I have frequently seen a competitive environment laid out. People's individual performance levels are exposed, and poor performing people are weeded out. This environment can work out in some cases. On the other hand, in a collaborative engineering or product development environment, cooperation may be encouraged.

On a related topic, a friend of my wife and I, Dr. Uri Gneezy at the University of Chicago, has some great research on the relationship between competition and gender. From the research summary:

Gneezy suggests that CEOs creating incentives in their firms should be aware that making the internal environment more competitive might create a bias that helps men, while putting women at a relative disadvantage.

My take on applying this type of research would be to recognize and raise one's sense of awareness to the environment one is implementing metrics in. Although metrics may be encouraged to be tracked to an individual-level doesn't automatically equate to that the environment has to be a competitive one. Choosing a collaborative versus dictatorial management style that is compatible with the desired company culture is a separate choice from metric implementation.

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

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

I recently attended a talk by author, Bijoy Goswami. Bijoy covered team building as based on his book "The Human Fabric". I have to admit that I'm generally skeptical of the practicality of these kinds of talks, especially in cases where modern artwork is posted. Boy was I *wrong* (about both the content and the artwork - the artwork really drove some points home for me - sorry blog readers, no visual reference). All of it turns out to be great stuff. Bijoy's frameworks are useful and can be applied much like Myers-Briggs stuff can be applied (as opposed to being only descriptive).

Although I'm going to botch some of Bijoy's specific nomenclature, Bijoy's talk centered around building teams, and he talked about how successful teams need to build around three archetypes of people: the Maven, Evangelist, and Relater.

As I come from spending a good amount of time in the software world, people that are Maven-types are basically "Tools". Mavens are geniuses when it comes to technology and love architecturally cool stuff like gmail. They tend not to be good marketers.

Evangelists are thought of as people that come across as flashy, and they know exactly how to pitch a product with the one, two, and three top business points why one should buy.

Lastly, there are the Relater-types that are emphathetic and maintain relationships. They put people at ease and seek first to understand before seeking to be understood. They hate gmail, but they love Outlook because it helps the Relater stay connected with people.

In any case, Bijoy's claim is that teams (whether the team consists of two people) need to cover all bases.

As I think about my own archetype (a Relater-Evangelist), I realize that one of my past business relationships had been successful because my counterpart is an Evangelist-Maven. In one of my past client projects, I realize I plugged a key gap because of my Relater background. Now that I'm helping a friend recruit a key person for his company, aside from covering the nuts and bolts during the interview process, I'm thinking about how the new hire will round out the executive team.

Anyway, please check out Bijoy's book. I'm a believer now, and may end up buying the book for some of my clients.

Update (2/17/05): Bijoy has let me know offline that readers can take a look at the art and his website at http://www.thehumanfabric.com . Thanks, Bijoy!

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

First post, and thankful for the opportunity and the community. My wife has been struggling with alcohol for 10+ years. She’s been detoxed in the hospital 3 times, been to a rehab facility for...

Hi All I’m a newcomer here ! Please could anyone explain do alcoholics mean to dupe us into a loving relationship. When they must know it’s never going to work while their drinking. i know everyone...

Hi All Im greiving the relationship five months on. Ive done over a month no contact as I couldn’t let the drinker go ! Then he was being nasty feeding back stuff through another friend so I...

Note: once the current article 'Areas and Doctrines' is adequately summarized with about 25 Areas and Doctrines that are central and relevant to the Christian faith - The article is going to be made open to participation from others and for group (roundtable) discussion - Then a more finalized version of the article will be published similar to 'The Chicago Statement on Biblical Application' though with the working title of 'The Pierre Statement on Biblical Doctrines' by confessing Christians - The publishing of the document 'The Pierre Statement on Biblical Doctrines' by confessing Christians should be able to be accomplished sometime within 2012 - I'll update the post with an email that people can contact me with regarding the Pierre Statement on Biblical Doctrines - All the best, God bless everyone ~ David Anson Brown

The Complete Basic Christian: Info, Resources and News RSS Feed (2004-2011) in PDF Format.

The complete Through the Bible blog Bible Study in PDF format.

As I was watching some news last night, I saw this story on the Rachel Maddow show - and frankly, it's a bit creepy. I usually stop watching news by that late hour - else the children run screaming from the information overload. It concerns The Family, founded by Nazi-sympathizer, Abraham Vereide. As I was watching, I was figuring - 70 years ago? Um, right around the time all this gooblygook with William Branham started and the Manifest Sons of God. Actually, it is quite possible that these two crossed paths. (You may also want to check out this site as well.) -- Remember, these men who live in this house, all powerful, must surrender to being shepherded by another - and consider themselves 'chosen.' In other words, they may do as they choose for they are chosen for greatness in God, and will receive forgiveness. -- Note, from the above article: "At the 1990 National Prayer Breakfast, George H.W. Bush praised Doug Coe for what he described as "quiet diplomacy, I wouldn't say secret diplomacy," as an "ambassador of faith." Coe has visited nearly every world capital, often with congressmen at his side, "making friends" and inviting them back to the Family's unofficial headquarters, a mansion (just down the road from Ivanwald) that the Family bought in 1978 with $1.5 million donated by, among others, Tom Phillips, then the C.E.O. of arms manufacturer Raytheon, and Ken Olsen, the founder and president of Digital Equipment Corporation." -- One of the things that we must endeavor to do, is to make sure that we do not come off sounding like conspiracy theories. I detest them - they destroy when we should build up. They weaken us, because rarely ever are they true. First and foremost, this is not a conspiracy theory, nor a conspiracy in reality. What it is, is a horrible use of the gospel - something that men have been doing since it was first laid down. It takes the message of Christ and turns it into something political, something disgusting, something human. -- Instead of calling to sin, these people think themselves above the mercy of Christ. If we are chosen, then we are chosen to repentance. -- While the connection here between Ensign and Sandford will go unnoticed, it is well remembered that the Dominionists have stated time and time again that they seek to bring about a government of [Anti] Christ built on seven interconnected mountains - one of them being politics. Where else to start but politicians.

What do Bill Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ), Billy Graham (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association), Tim LaHaye (CNP founder, Left Behind co-author), and Chuck Smith Sr. (Calvary Chapel) have in common? They have all benefited financially from Nelson Bunker Hunt. Nelson Bunker Hunt is a business tycoon famous for trying to make a run on Silver (see here), an Equestrian, and something I've learned recently, a Jesuit for the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem. The following information is an attempt to show the relationship between Nelson Bunker Hunt and "another gospel." The "Evangelical" Non-Denomination movement was and is funded by Socialists, Nazi-Sympathizers, Anti-Communists, Jesuits, and all in all evil people. There is a saying, "An enemy of my enemy is my friend." This thinking leads to 'frenemies' and an enemy who's a temporary friend ultimately will return to their natural state of being your enemy. God does not work this way. God's word tells us not to yoke with unbelievers. This group of Elitists believe it's okay to work with the enemy, to join hands, to make Covenants and oaths together for a common cause. Jesus did not have a separate gospel for Global Elites like some of the "Family" members would like to believe. I understand that all this information takes a turn down the shadowy world of conspiracy theories that the "New World Order" has Jesuits working for the return to Rome, but oddly enough, they really do have evil plans and they are increasingly revealing it themselves as though we should be grateful for their great ideas. You don't have to believe one thing in this post. It's not up to me to convince you that what we have been told and sold as an "Act of God" via a "Jesus Movement" is truly a conceived fabrication of men leading men and deceiving generations of Jesus Christs' sheep. The good news is, if you're truly called of God He can reveal the truth to you (the truth is Christian Society has chosen to follow men and not Christ and has conversely allowed idol worship, blindness, and delusion to take root).

The Life And Death Of Kathryn Kuhlman: "Her life was a mystery. Many events of her life were shadowed with half-truths, deception, confusion and misrepresentation. If the righteous or wicked die as they live, then her death was a proof of her disobedience and bondage by false spirits. In fact, of all the mysteries about her, her death was the most mysterious." - "On February 20, 1976, in a strange hospital, in a strange city, surrounded by people she hardly knew, with a man she once disdained standing in the wings ready to preach her funeral. The woman whom Time magazine called a 'veritable one-woman Shrine of Lourdes' was dead at the age of sixty-eight." (Daughter Of Destiny, Jamie Buckingham, pp. 1-2.) -- "In the second paragraph above he mentioned a statement by Time magazine in which she was called a "veritable one-woman Shrine of Lourdes." A second biography, written by Wayne E. Warner, entitled The Woman Behind The Miracles, stated that people often used monies saved to visit an apparition of Mary and instead visited a crusade being conducted by Kathryn Kuhlman. It was very apparent that her healing services were on the exact same level as a so-called mystical apparition of Mary." -- ""Although she had not mentioned marriage, everyone seemed to know. A ghastly hush fell over the congregation. All the rumors they had been hearing about Waltrip divorcing his wife in order to marry Kathryn - it was all true. Women began to sob. Several got up from the choir and walked out. Men sat stony faced in their pews, looking at Kathryn in disbelief. How could she do it? This woman, who had preached such dynamic messages about purity and holiness. This woman who had been such a model of decency and divine compassion." (Daughter Of Destiny, pp. 82-83.) -- Kathryn Kuhlman And "The One World Religion" -- Kahryn Kuhlman was apparently the first minister within the Evangelical/Pentecostal world that laid a foundation for the new unity movement of religions. It was said by her official biographer, Buckingham, that Miss Kuhlman did not like to conduct her services without Catholic priests on her platform. He stated, "She had a special love for doctors, and wanted them either on the stage or on the front rows of the auditorium. The same was true of priests and nuns - especially if they were 'in uniform'. Nothing thrilled Kathryn more than to have thirty or forty Catholic clergymen, especially if they wore clerical collars or, better yet, cassocks, sitting behind her while she ministered. Somehow it seemed to lend authenticity to what she was doing - and helped create the proper climate of a trust and understanding which was so necessary for a miracle service." (Daughter Of Destiny, p. 221.) -- She had a special affinity for the Catholic style of high church grandeur. When Kathryn went to Las Vegas for her crusade, the following was reported, "Kathryn had but one pass through Las Vegas, and she would deliver the gospel with power! Hundreds of people in Las Vegas as well as the faithful in Youngstown, Pittsburgh, and Franklin had agreed to pray that the Holy Spirit would stir the city. Not far away a Roman Catholic priest said a Mass for the meeting the day before." (The Woman Behind The Miracles, pp. 229-230.) -- Please remember that a Catholic Mass is believed to be a time when the very bread and wine becomes the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. Millions of Protestants died as martyrs because they rejected this blasphemous assertion. Did her affinity for Catholic dogmas help start the declension within the Pentecostal circles that has now become a watershed of deception and compromise? I certainly believe so! "Kathryn Kuhlman was an ecumenist without portfolio." (Ibid, p. 15.) Jamie Buckingham further stated, "In 1948 while ecumenists designed programs for denominational unity, Kathryn Kuhlman threw open the heavy old doors of north Pittsburgh's Carnegie Music Hall. Streaming through the doors and scurrying for chairs came Protestants, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, and other groups, most related to churches but others not. And they were back the next week and the next." (Ibid, p. 15.) -- This certainly would have been acceptable if they were led out of these cold-dead churches to embrace a life of separation and New Testament lifestyle. That's certainly what Jesus did. On October 11, 1972, Pope Paul gave her a private audience at the Vatican. Mr. Warner stated, "Complimenting her on her 'admirable work,' he admonished her to 'do it well!' and gave her a gold, handmade engraved medallion bearing a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit." (Ibid, p. 172.) -- Kathryn Kuhlman And Her Spirit Guides: I am personally convinced that Miss Kuhlman was controlled by a spirit guide masquerading as the Holy Spirit. There appears to be no other possible answer. Coming to this conclusion has been a very tough and heart-rending experience. The following quote from Benny Hinn's book, Good Morning, Holy Spirit, will give you a glance at her attachment to either the Holy Spirit or a spirit. "I looked up to see Kathryn burying her head in her hands as she began to sob. She sobbed and sobbed so loudly that everything came to a standstill. The music stopped. The ushers froze in their positions. "Everyone had their eyes on her. And for the life of me I had no idea why she was sobbing. I'd never seen a minister do that before. What was she crying about? It was told later that she had never done anything like that before, and members of her staff remember it to this day. "It continued for what seemed like two minutes. Then she thrust back her head. There she was, just a few feet in front of me. Her eyes were aflame. She was alive. "In that instant she took on a boldness I had never seen in any person. She pointed her finger straight out with enormous power and emotion - even pain. If the devil himself had been there, she would have flicked him aside with just a tap. "It was a moment of incredible dimension. Still sobbing, she looked out at the audience and said with such agony, 'Please.' She seemed to stretch out the word, 'Plee-ease, don't grieve the Holy Spirit.' "She was begging. If you can imagine a mother pleading with a killer not to shoot her baby, it was like that. She begged and pleaded. "'Please,' she sobbed, 'don't grieve the Holy Spirit.' "Even now I can see her eyes. It was as if they were looking straight at me. "And when she said it, you could have dropped a pin and heard it. I was afraid to breathe. I didn't move a muscle. I was holding on to the pew in front of me wondering what would happen next. "Then she said, 'Don't you understand? He's all I've got!' "I thought, 'What's she talking about?' "Then she continued her impassioned plea saying, 'Please! Don't wound Him. He's all I've got. Don't wound the One I love!'" (Good Morning, Holy Spirit, Benny Hinn, pp. 8-9.) -- Her words reveal a view of this spirit that is extremely unusual. She said, "Don't you understand? He's all I've got." Again, she said, "Please don't wound Him, He's all I've got. Don't wound the One I love." The Holy Spirit absolutely never speaks of Himself. He glorifies Jesus Christ in His church and in you and Jesus Christ alone. Jesus said, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:13-14). She was enamored with this "spirit" that came upon her. Often she spoke of her fear that he would leave her. She would wait behind the stage, even at times while the service languished for this "spirit person" to manifest himself. When he came she was electric and performed as the greatest of actors. Hinn continued in his description of Kuhlman's emphasis on this spirit whom she called the Holy Spirit. He said, "In my church, the pastor talked about the Holy Spirit. But not like this. His references had to do with the gifts or tongues or prophecy - not "He's my closest, most personal, most intimate, most beloved friend." Kathryn Kuhlman was telling me about a person that was more real than you or I." (Ibid, p. 9.) Source: www.pawcreek.org/articles/endtimes/KathrynKuhlmanandHerSpiritGuide.htm

Description: Take a trip back in time to 1971 with the kids from Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa as they meet on the set with Kathyrn Kuhlman. Includes rare footage of Chuck Smith, Duane Pederson, Lonnie Frisbee and early performances by Children of the Day, Love Song, Debby Kerner, Country Faith and all the Jesus People. (1971)

The sculpting was done by E. Frudakis (the Uncle of Dino Kartsonakis, her pianist). Condition = The medallion and keychain are both in great condition with no damage or other issues. The medallion is made of solid bronze or brass. SEE PICS

Early life: Kathryn Johanna Kuhlmun was born in Concordia, Missouri, to German-American parents. She was born-again at the age of 13 in the Methodist Church of Concordia, and began preaching in the West at the age of sixteen in primarily Baptist Churches. -- Career: Kuhlman traveled extensively around the United States and in many other countries holding "healing crusades" between the 1940s and 1970s. She had a weekly TV program in the 1960s and 1970s called I Believe In Miracles that was aired nationally. The foundation was established in 1954, and its Canadian branch in 1970. Following a 1967 fellowship in Philadelphia, Dr. William A. Nolen conducted a case study of 23 people who claimed to have been cured during her services. Nolen's long term follow-ups concluded there were no cures in those cases. Furthermore, one woman who was said to have been cured of spinal cancer took off her brace and ran across the stage at Kuhlman's command; her spine collapsed the following day and she died four months later. -- By 1970 she moved to Los Angeles conducting faith healing for thousands of people each day as an heir to Aimee Semple McPherson. She became well-known despite, as she told reporters, having no theological training. In 1935, Kathryn met Burroughs Waltrip, an extremely handsome Texas evangelist who was eight years her senior. Despite the fact that he was married with two small boys, they soon found themselves attracted to each other. Shortly after his visit to Denver, Waltrip divorced his wife, left his family and moved to Mason City, Iowa, where he began a revival center called Radio Chapel. Kathryn and her friend and pianist Helen Gulliford came into town to help him raise funds for his ministry. It was shortly after their arrival that the romance between Burroughs and Kathryn became publicly known. -- Burroughs and Kathryn decided to wed. While discussing the matter with some friends, Kathryn had said that she could not "find the will of God in the matter." These and other friends encouraged her not to go through with the marriage, but Kathryn justified it to herself and others by believing that Waltrip's wife had left him, not the other way around. On October 18th, 1938, Kathryn secretly married "Mister," as she liked to call Waltrip, in Mason City. The wedding did not give her new peace about their union, however. After they checked into their hotel that night, Kathryn left and drove over to the hotel where Helen was staying with another friend. She sat with them weeping and admitted that the marriage was a mistake. She decided to get an annulment. -- In 1975, Kuhlman was sued by Paul Bartholomew, her personal administrator, who claimed she kept $1 million in jewelry and $1 million in fine art hidden away and sued her for $430,500 for breach of contract. Two former associates accused her in the lawsuit of diverting funds and illegally removing records, which she denied and said the records were not private. According to Kuhlman, the lawsuit was settled prior to trial. -- Death and legacy: In July 1975 her doctor diagnosed her with a minor heart flareup and she had a relapse in November while in Los Angeles. As a result, she had open heart surgery in Tulsa, Oklahoma from which she died in February 1976. Kathryn Kuhlman is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. A plaque in her honor is located in the main city park in Concordia, Missouri, a town located in central Missouri on Interstate Highway 70. -- After she died, her will led to controversy. She left $267,500, the bulk of her estate, to three family members and twenty employees. Smaller bequests were given to 19 other employees. According to the Independent Press-Telegram , her employees were disappointed that "she did not leave most of her estate to the foundation as she had done under a previous 1974 will." The Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation has continued, but in 1982 it terminated its nationwide radio broadcasting. She influenced faith healers Benny Hinn and Billy Burke. Hinn has adopted some of her techniques and wrote a book about her. -- Healing: Many accounts of healings were published in her books, which were "ghost-written" by author Jamie Buckingham of Florida, including her autobiography, which was dictated at a hotel in Las Vegas. Buckingham also wrote his own Kuhlman biography that presented an unvarnished account of her life. Many other faith healers, including Benny Hinn, who have been inspired by Kathryn Kuhlman have faced similar suspicions about their methods and practices.

Background: Welsh Revival - In 1904, the Welsh Revival took place, during which approximately 100,000 people in Wales joined the movement. Internationally, evangelical Christians took this event to be a sign that a fulfillment of the prophecy in the Bible's book of Joel, chapter 2:23-29 was about to take place. Joseph Smale, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Los Angeles, went to Wales personally in order to witness the revival. Upon his return to Los Angeles, he attempted to ignite a similar event in his own congregation. His attempts were short-lived, and he eventually left First Baptist Church to found First New Testament Church, where he continued his efforts. During this time, other small-scale revivals were taking place in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Texas. By 1905, reports of speaking in tongues, supernatural healings, and significant lifestyle changes accompanied these revivals. As news spread, evangelicals across the United States began to pray for similar revivals in their own congregations. -- Los Angeles: In 1905, William J. Seymour, the one-eyed 34 year old son of former slaves, was a student of well-known Pentecostal preacher Charles Parham and an interim pastor for a small holiness church in Houston, Texas. Neely Terry, an African American woman who attended a small holiness church pastored by Julia Hutchins in Los Angeles, made a trip to visit family in Houston late in 1905. While in Houston, she visited Seymour's church, where he preached the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, and though he had not experienced this personally, Terry was impressed with his character and message. Once home in California, Terry suggested that Seymour be invited to speak at the local church. Seymour received and accepted the invitation in February 1906, and he received financial help and a blessing from Parham for his planned one-month visit. -- Seymour arrived in Los Angeles on February 22, 1906, and within two days was preaching at Julia Hutchins' church at the corner of Ninth Street and Santa Fe Avenue. During his first sermon, he preached that speaking in tongues was the first biblical evidence of the inevitable baptism in the Holy Spirit. On the following Sunday, March 4, he returned to the church and found that Hutchins had padlocked the door. Elders of the church rejected Seymour's teaching, primarily because he had not yet experienced the blessing about which he was preaching. Condemnation of his message also came from the Holiness Church Association of Southern California with which the church had affiliation. However, not all members of Hutchins' church rejected Seymour's preaching. He was invited to stay in the home of congregation member Edward S. Lee, and he began to hold Bible studies and prayer meetings there. -- Seymour and his small group of new followers soon relocated to the home of Richard and Ruth Asberry at 214 North Bonnie Brae Street. White families from local holiness churches began to attend as well. The group would get together regularly and pray to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. On April 9, 1906, after five weeks of Seymour's preaching and prayer, and three days into an intended 10-day fast, Edward S. Lee spoke in tongues for the first time. At the next meeting, Seymour shared Lee's testimony and preached a sermon on Acts 2:4 and soon six others began to speak in tongues as well, including Jennie Moore, who would later become Seymour's wife. A few days later, on April 12, Seymour spoke in tongues for the first time after praying all night long. -- News of the events at North Bonnie Brae St. quickly circulated among the African American, Latino and White residents of the city, and for several nights, various speakers would preach to the crowds of curious and interested onlookers from the front porch of the Asberry home. Members of the audience included people from a broad spectrum of income levels and religious backgrounds. Hutchins eventually spoke in tongues as her whole congregation began to attend the meetings. Soon the crowds became very large and were full of people speaking in tongues, shouting, singing and moaning. Finally, the front porch collapsed, forcing the group to begin looking for a new meeting place. A resident of the neighborhood described the happenings at 214 North Bonnie Brae with the following words: They shouted three days and three nights. It was Easter season. The people came from everywhere. By the next morning there was no way of getting near the house. As people came in they would fall under God's power; and the whole city was stirred. They shouted until the foundation of the house gave way, but no one was hurt. -- Azusa Street: Conditions - The group from Bonnie Brae Street eventually discovered an available building at 312 Azusa Street in downtown Los Angeles, which had originally been constructed as an African Methodist Episcopal Church in what was then a black ghetto part of town. The rent was $8.00 per month. A newspaper referred to the downtown Los Angeles building as a "tumble down shack". Since the church had moved out, the building had served as a wholesale house, a warehouse, a lumberyard, stockyards, a tombstone shop, and had most recently been used as a stable with rooms for rent upstairs. It was a small, rectangular, flat-roofed building, approximately 60 feet (18 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide, totaling 4,800 square feet (450 m2), sided with weathered whitewashed clapboards. The only sign that it had once been a house of God was a single gothic-style window over the main entrance. -- Discarded lumber and plaster littered the large, barn-like room on the ground floor. Nonetheless, it was secured and cleaned in preparation for services. They held their first meeting on April 14, 1906. Church services were held on the first floor where the benches were placed in a rectangular pattern. Some of the benches were simply planks put on top of empty nail kegs. There was no elevated platform, as the ceiling was only eight feet high. Initially there was no pulpit. Frank Bartleman, an early participant in the revival, recalled that "Brother Seymour generally sat behind two empty shoe boxes, one on top of the other. He usually kept his head inside the top one during the meeting, in prayer. There was no pride there.... In that old building, with its low rafters and bare floors..." -- The second floor at the now-named Apostolic Faith Mission housed an office and rooms for several residents including Seymour and his new wife, Jennie. It also had a large prayer room to handle the overflow from the altar services below. The prayer room was furnished with chairs and benches made from California Redwood planks, laid end to end on backless chairs. -- The Apostolic Faith Mission on Azusa Street, now considered to be the birthplace of Pentecostalism. -- By mid-May 1906, anywhere from 300 to 1,500 people would attempt to fit into the building. Since horses had very recently been the residents of the building, flies constantly bothered the attendees. People from a diversity of backgrounds came together to worship: men, women, children, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, illiterate, and educated. People of all ages flocked to Los Angeles with both skepticism and a desire to participate. The intermingling of races and the group's encouragement of women in leadership was remarkable, as 1906 was the height of the "Jim Crow" era of racial segregation, and fourteen years prior to women receiving suffrage in the United States. -- Birth of Pentecostal movement: By the end of 1906, most leaders from Azusa Street had spun off to form other congregations, such as the 51st Street Apostolic Faith Mission, the Spanish AFM, and the Italian Pentecostal Mission. These missions were largely composed of immigrant or ethnic groups. The Southeast United States was a particularly prolific area of growth for the movement, since Seymour's approach gave a useful explanation for a charismatic spiritual climate that had already been taking root in those areas. Other new missions were based on preachers who had charisma and energy. Nearly all of these new churches were founded among immigrants and the poor. -- Many existing Wesleyan-holiness denominations adopted the Pentecostal message, such as the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), the Church of God in Christ, and the Pentecostal Holiness Church. The formation of new denominations also occurred, motivated by doctrinal differences between Wesleyan Pentecostals and their Finished Work counterparts, such as the Assemblies of God formed in 1914 and the Pentecostal Church of God formed in 1919. An early doctrinal controversy led to a split between Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostals, the latter founded the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World in 1916. -- Today, there are more than 500 million Pentecostal and charismatic believers across the globe and is the fastest-growing form of Christianity today. The Azusa Street Revival is commonly regarded as the beginning of the modern-day Pentecostal Movement.

Many women's rights activists who worked with Stanton were opposed to the publication of The Woman's Bible; they felt it would harm the drive for women's suffrage. Although it was never accepted by Bible scholars as a major work, it became a popular best-seller, much to the dismay of suffragists who worked alongside Stanton within the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Susan B. Anthony tried to calm the younger suffragists, but they issued a formal denunciation of the book, and worked to distance the suffrage movement from Stanton's broader scope which included attacks on traditional religion. Because of the widespread negative reaction, including suffragists who had been close to her, publication of the book effectively ended Stanton's influence in the suffrage movement. -- In 1881, 1885 and 1894, the Church of England published a Revised Version of the Bible, the first new English version in over two centuries. Stanton was dissatisfied with the Revised Version's failure to include recent scholarship from Bible expert Julia Smith. ... Stanton assembled a "Revising Committee" to draft commentary on the new Bible version. Many of those she approached in person and by letter refused to take part, especially scholars who would be risking their professional reputations. Some 26 people agreed to help. Sharing Stanton's determination, the committee wished to correct biblical interpretation which was biased against women, and to bring attention to the small fraction of the Bible which discussed women. They intended to demonstrate that it was not divine will that humiliated women, but human desire for domination. The committee was made up of women who were not Bible scholars, but who were interested in biblical interpretation and were active in women's rights. Among the more famous members of the international committee were Augusta Jane Chapin, Lillie Devereux Blake, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Olympia Brown, Alexandra Gripenberg, Ursula Mellor Bright and Irma von Troll-Borostyáni. -- Reaction: At its introduction, The Woman's Bible was widely criticized in editorials and from the pulpit. Stanton wrote that "the clergy denounced it as the work of Satan ..." Some were put off just by its prejudicial, sacrilegious title, especially those who did not take the time to read the book. Others countered the book's more extreme conclusions one by one in public fora such as letters to the editor. One female reader of The New York Times wrote to decry The Woman's Bible for its radical statements that the Trinity was composed of "a Heavenly Mother, Father, and Son", and that prayers should be addressed to an "ideal Heavenly Mother". Mary Seymour Howell, a member of the Revising Committee, wrote to The New York Times in defense of the book, saying that its title could be better understood as "The Woman's Commentary on the Women of the Bible". Stanton countered attacks by women readers, writing "the only difference between us is, we say that these degrading ideas of woman emanated from the brain of man, while the church says that they came from God." -- Susan B. Anthony, Stanton's best and most faithful collaborator, concluded after years of working for women's rights that the concentration on one issue-votes for women-was the key to bringing success to the movement. The women's organizations had too varied a membership to agree on anything more complex. Stanton insisted, however, that the women's rights conventions were too narrowly focused; she brought forward a variety of challenging concepts in the form of essays for Anthony to read to the audiences. When Stanton made known her interest in completing The Woman's Bible, Anthony was unhappy at the futility of the effort, a harmful digression from the focused path which led to woman suffrage. Anthony wrote to Clara Colby to say of Stanton "of all her great speeches, I am always proud-but of her Bible commentaries, I am not proud-either of their spirit or letter ... But I shall love and honor her to the end-whether her Bible please me or not. So I hope she will do for me." -- At the NAWSA convention January 23-28, 1896, Corresponding Secretary Rachel Foster Avery led the battle to distance the organization from The Woman's Bible. After Susan B. Anthony opened the convention on January 23, Avery surprised Anthony by stating to the more than 100 members of the audience: During the latter part of the year the work has been in several directions much hindered by the general misconception of the relation of the so-called "Woman's Bible" to our association. As an organization we have been held responsible for the action of an individual ... in issuing a volume with a pretentious title, covering a jumble of comment ... without either scholarship or literary value, set forth in a spirit which is neither reverent nor inquiring. Avery called for a resolution: "That this Association is non-sectarian, being composed of persons of all shades of religious opinion, and that it has no connection with the so-called 'Woman's Bible', or any theological publication." The motion was tabled until later, and motions were made to strike Avery's comments from the official record. A complete account of Avery's remarks were reported the next day in The New York Times. The opinion of NAWSA delegate Laura Clay, expressed in her Southern Committee report on January 27 that "the South is ready for woman suffrage, but it must be woman suffrage and nothing else," was typical of responses to The Woman's Bible conflict. Most suffragists wanted only to work on the right to vote, "without attaching it to dress reform, or bicycling, or anything else ..." On the afternoon of January 28, a list of Resolutions was put to a vote. The first seven were passed without comment. The eighth was Avery's proposed dissociation with The Woman's Bible, and its presence caused an active debate. Anna Howard Shaw, Alice Stone Blackwell, Henry Browne Blackwell, Carrie Chapman Catt and others spoke in favor, while Lillie Devereux Blake, Clara B. Colby, and more spoke against it. Anthony left her chair to join the debate against the resolution, and spoke at length, saying "Lucretia Mott at first thought Mrs. Stanton had injured the cause of woman's rights by insisting on the demand for woman suffrage, but she had sense enough not to pass a resolution about it ..." A majority of 53 to 41 delegates approved the resolution, an action which was seen as a censure of Stanton, and one which was never repealed. Avery's opening report of January 23 was adopted with the part about The Woman's Bible expunged. -- Legacy: Stanton wished for a greater degree of scholarship in The Woman's Bible, but was unable to convince Bible scholars of her day to take part in what was expected to be a controversial project. Scholars continued to avoid addressing the subject of sexism in the Bible until 1964 when Margaret Brackenbury Crook published Women and Religion, a study of the status of women in Judaism and Christianity. Subsequent works by Letty Russell and Phyllis Trible furthered the connection between feminism and the Bible. Today, biblical scholarship by women has come into maturity, with women posing new questions about the Bible, and challenging the very basis of biblical studies. Stanton herself was marginalized in the women's suffrage movement after publication of The Woman's Bible. From that time forward, Susan B. Anthony took the place of honor among the majority of suffragettes. Stanton was never again invited to sit in a place of honor on stage at the NAWSA convention.

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.

He said the controversy swirling is unlike anything else he has seen in this category of books. "I'm not sure I've ever seen this amount of anticipation," he said. "Love Wins" is Bell's first book since his break from Zondervan, the Christian publisher based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that published Bell's first four books and also publishes the New International Version [NIV] of the Bible, one of the most popular translations of the Bible among evangelicals. Bell's split from Zondervan came in part over this new book. "The break with Zondervan was amicable," Tauber said. "In the end the president of Zondervan made the decision. The proposal came in and they said, 'This proposal doesn't fit in with our mission.'" Zondervan would not discuss its relationship with Bell but released a statement: Zondervan has published four books by Rob Bell, as well as numerous Nooma videos in which Rob was featured. We published these titles because we believed they were consistent with Zondervan's [fooling of Christians - occult] mission statement and publishing philosophy. We still believe these titles are impactful with their message and positive contribution and intend to continue to publish them. Tauber said when he got the call that Bell's new book was up for bid, HarperOne jumped at the chance. "There were at least four or five major publishers that were involved in bidding for this book," he said. *When pressed for financial figures of the deal, he said, "We're talking a six-figure deal for the advance, but I can't say more than that." Tauber said HarperOne had been "keeping an eye on him" since Bell's first [ghost authored - actually written by an anonymous, interested, agenda driven, vested 3rd party] book, "Velvet Elvis," came in as a proposal. That book went on to sell 500,000 copies. Bell skyrocketed to prominence with the the Nooma series, which were short teachings by Bell, away from the pulpit and with indie film sensibilities. The high production values and quick releases of the short films made them a hit in [easily deceived] evangelical circles. In them Bell honed his trademark style of asking tough traditional questions about faith and exploring them from angles other than traditional answers.