Show me the spiritual condition of your companions, and I will tell you what your spiritual condition will be three to five years (or months) from now.
Andrew, once again, delivers on the promise to provide theologically deep, exegetically accurate, canonically broad, historically faithful, and culturally relevant material. This distinction between soteriology and gospel is essential to understand if we are ever to overcome the dualisms and reductionism(s) that currently plague the self-inflicted impotency of the church; this is especially damaging when we consider the failure of the “church scattered” Monday through Saturday. Moreover, discovering or re-discovering a biblically robust, wholistic understanding (i.e., “as far as the curse is found”), and leavening application of the ‘gospel’ to all of life cannot be—should not be—intimidated by the false charges and caricatures of triumphalism or over-realized eschatology. Which is what typically happens when men like Andrew speak or write from a cosmic perspective. In fact, this distinction aids us in overcoming what should be obvious to any Christian living in this hour: the church, knowingly or unknowingly, by reducing the gospel to personal salvation has succumbed to a under-realized, eschatology of Christ’s redeeming work. This understanding of the gospel broadens the scope of ‘church work,’ corrects our hermeneutical myopia, and intensifies our doxological expressions. May Christ Jesus increase Andrew’s tribe! So grateful for this man’s tireless labor in prayer, study, and writing. DD
The error in this is the proposition that the state has no power of legislation, but is bound to enforce only the judicial precepts of the Torah.
The correct statement of divine law is that the state has no jurisdiction to break the bond of marriage or permanently to set aside it's legal consequences, and no jurisdiction in matters of public worship. It may not enjoin insubordination to God, or homicide, or sexual immorality.
Otherwise, divine law is as handed down for the Jews by the beit din, and the state may freely legislate, subject to correction by the Church on appeal, judicial review, referral, or at her own first instance.
P Andrew Sandlin’s articles are not inspirational.
A quasi intellectual script which drives down Christian marriage ‘It’s a creation all institution , not a Christian Institution.
Mr Sandlin , the readers thirst for the clear Christian message. Your writings seem to diminish Christian marriage by cotradicting the traditional teaching.
Marriage is between one man and one woman ! How clear is that ? All else is sin. How clear is this ?
Intellectual pride clouds your thinking. Remember : 1 man 1 woman , exclusive love for one another.
Fidelity. Procreation if you are blessed with a family.
I have no problem with the words in red. Jesus constantly affirms the validity of the entire Bible, and specifically mentions the Torah. He mentions the old testament ("Words of the prophets" and the "psalms" or "writings") and states that all will come to pass that the OT said would pass, specifically the prophecies concerning Jesus himself.
Christians have to remember that the OT IS the Torah. The only difference is in how the "books" are grouped. The Torah is in more chronological order, and the number of books is different, but they are the EXACT SAME BOOKS.
I agree with the author, that Jesus states he came to FULFULL the OT and that all it's messages are valid even today.
I personally like having the words of Jesus in red. I don't think this caused any apostasy, that would have happened anyway, as the Bible predicted.
Strictly speaking, it is the Five Books of Moses which are the written Torah (torah shebikhtav). Other parts of the OT may, on a case by case basis, be evidence of law.
Praying for your son … sounds like a horrible condition … I don’t usually do this but in addition to prayers I would investigate lifewave patches … no medicine involved … they stimulate the bodies own stem cell production to repair sites in the body … please do look into it , the recoveries of people with odd or severe illness are amazing.
And the 18th-century Enlightenment culture is what wagged the political dog that created the the biblically egregious Constitutional Republic born of the biblically seditious Constitution.
And that same cultural approach continues to be fostered to this day with those who promote the same and who are, consequently, contributing to the "dog" responsible for America's suicidal trek to the precipice of moral depravity and destruction.
"...On February 27, 2009, James Dobson conceded that we have lost the culture wars. This is the consequence of Christians having spent the last two centuries lopping at the rotten branches of our culture’s corrupt tree while watering and fertilizing its roots [that is, the biblically seditious Constitution].
'There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.' (Henry David Thoreau)
"We should lop away at the tree’s corrupt branches (infanticide, sodomy, the economy, etc.). However, until the root of these problems is biblically addressed, we will never shut down the infanticide mills, we will never defeat the sodomites, and we will never fix the economy. In short, we will never win the culture wars. This issue is more than important for anyone concerned about God, our nation, and the future of our posterity, it’s the cutting- edge issue of our day...."
For more, see our Featured Article "Five Reasons the Constitution is Our Cutting-Edge Issue" at the top of our home page at https://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/
Find out how much you really know about the Constitution as compared to the Bible. Take our 10-question Constitution Survey in the sidebar and receive a free copy of the 85-page "Primer" of "BL vs. USC."
There are a plethora of passages (Exodus 1, Judges 6, Acts 4 & 5, 17:6-7, etc.) that dictate Christians reject any government mandate requiring them to disobey their Lord and King. Romans 13 is not one of them.
Romans 13:1-7 has absolutely nothing to do with secular civil government. Rather everything therein depicts a biblical civil government, making it our commission for dominion over government and society.
The one word "continually" or "devoted" (depending upon your Bible version) in Verse 6 (amplifying Verses 3 & 4) alone proves the point. And it's just one of ten contextual reasons proving the same thing.
Unless someone's prepared to claim the Roman Empire (one of the most notorious for murdering Christians) was a government that *continually* blessed Christians and terrorized/punished the wicked, they best rethink their theology regarding this extremely important passage of Scripture.
Andrew Sandlin: "It’s time for all conservatives and other Christians to abandon their Leftist-aping love affair with the state and its coerciveness and return to a sound conservative Christian worldview."
Amen!
The State, meaning the biblically abominable Constitutional Republic born of the biblically seditious Constitution.
If ever there were a love affair with the state, it's that of the Christians who have been hoodwinked into believing the secular non-Christian government created by the framers is somehow equivalent with advancing our King's Kingdom here on earth *as it is in heaven."
There is nowhere in heaven where Yahweh isn't Sovereign and nowhere in heaven where His morality (as codified in His moral law here on earth) isn't supreme. DO YOU REALLY THINK that promoting the biblically abominable Constitutional Republic accomplishes this Kingdom commission???
The constitutional framers' sins were of both commission and omission. The framers’ sins of commission are evidenced in that there’s hardly an Article or Amendment in the Constitution that’s not antithetical, if not seditious, to Yahweh’s sovereignty and morality.
Their sins of commission aside, the framers’ sins of omission—that is, their failure to establish government and society based upon Yahweh’s commandments, statutes, and judgments—alone sent America to the precipice of moral depravity and destruction she presently teeters on.
Ask the millions of infants slaughtered in their mothers’ wombs if the constitutional framers’ failure to establish government on Exodus 21:22-23 and Deuteronomy 27:25 didn’t lead to their annihilation?
There’s not one national problem in America today—criminal civil "leaders," government-financed in utero infanticide, sodomite “marriages,” Synagogues, Mosques, and Temples devoted to false gods dotting America’s landscape, international entanglements, America’s crumbling economy, runaway debt, and taxes on nearly everything, etc.—that cannot be traced back to the framers’ sins of omission.
"For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (Jeremiah 2:13)
For evidence that the Constitution is biblically seditious, see free online book "Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective," in which every Article and Amendment is examined by the Bible, at https://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/BlvcOnline/blvc-index.html
Find out how much you really know about the Constitution as compared to the Bible. Take our 10-question Constitution Survey in the sidebar and receive a free copy of the 85-page "Primer" of "BL vs. USC."
The only presidential election I ever participated in was for Reagan, but I've since repented of having done so, now understanding that I was complicit in everything biblically abominable (including his allegiance to the biblically seditious Constitution) that he was party to while in office:
"...Voters become accomplices to the crimes of those they elect. Paul warned Timothy of one of the consequences of impulsive appointments:
'Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily [in America's case, unbiblically vote for] and thus share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.' (1 Timothy 5:22, NASB)
"Two verses later, Paul warned that “the sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after.” Because no man can look into the heart of another man, voters often do not know what sins they are participating in until after the election – often long after the election. For example, on August 4, 2010, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker overturned California’s Proposition 8, known as “California’s Marriage Protection Act,” (which declares that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California”), paving the way for sodomites like himself to “marry” one another. Vaughn was appointed to the bench in 1989 by President George H.W. Bush. Christians who helped elect the “conservative” Bush into office are therefore accomplices to this wickedness...."
Andrew, I appreciate your article. Quick question, although these men you refer to in this article may be over-emphasizing weightlifting, do you believe taking care of your body is in alignment with piety?
"...How is it that the word “church” contributes to the gates of hell prevailing over today’s Christians—that is, to contemporary Christianity being subjugated under secular dominion and ruled by secular humanists?
"When you hear the word “church,” what comes to mind? For most people, the word “church” means one of two things, depending upon the context:
1) A building they frequent once, twice, or three times a week in which to pray, sing praises, and listen to preaching.
2) The people who allegedly make up the church, aka the body of Christ, who frequent a building known as a church to do the things depicted in Option #1.
"What doesn’t come to mind is a community of believers in the fullest sense of the word—a biblical community established, not only on the Word of God, but also on the moral laws of God.14 When obedient to our ecclesia commission, these biblical communities will be established not on the Ten Commandments alone, but upon the Ten Commandments and their respective statutes explaining the Ten Commandments and their respective civil judgments enforcing the Ten Commandments and their statutes, adjudicated by biblically qualified men of God who are a continual blessing to the righteous and a perpetual terror to the wicked, per Exodus 18:21, Deuteronomy 4:5-8, Psalm 19:7-11, Romans 13:1-7,15 etc.
"There is not a living person today who hears the word “church” and thinks of what’s depicted in the paragraph above. And yet this description represents the true meaning of the Greek word ecclesia, which has been tragically translated “church.”
"With that, it should be obvious how the word “church” has contributed to the defeat of Christendom—that is, Christians dominionizing society on behalf of their King. Just think what America would look like today if instead we were ecclesias (fully-developed Christian communities) rather than merely street-corner churches...."
Excellent article on the way the church needs to battle. When we relegate life to the spiritual and natural world then the church loses focus and we don’t redeem creation as God intended by subjugating God’s rule to all things - thus advancing His Kingdom.
This subjugation also applies to the messy world of politics where we may support a less than ideal candidate to get us to first base - especially when our culture is rapidly departing from the Christian tradition. We need to work from the bottom and top down, where we can expect much more godly candidates as the local culture is impacted by a culturally expanding church. As we change culture, the candidates will live more by the biblical standards laid out in scripture and we can progress to second and third base. Due to our fallen world, we only reach home base after we die and go to heaven, where we really will be at home!
I was just thinking how strange it is that in our youth-oriented culture our Presidential candidates are SO OLD! One is already showing signs of senility, And the other one........well , you know. Where are our younger, more energetic, idealistic but not crazy leaders?? Are the "good ones" (ie Ben Sasse) abandoning the world of politics? Please don't leave us at the mercy of the likes of AOC!! Yet, God rules and I am completely at rest with that. (Even if I still have lots of questions.)
IF: Libertarianism is the belief that each person has the right to live his life as he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each person’s right to life, liberty, and property.
I have no problem with it, provided you include the Son of Man in "others" & "person's" above. All we are asking for is to honor the rights of the Judge, Lawgiver, Owner, and Emperor.
Thank you for this wonderful elucidating exposition on revealing and sharing a deeper truer understanding of the Laws and Gospel in relation to the OT & NT respectively. You have certainly fed my desire for greater understanding thereto along with providing sound verification of various clarifications that would otherwise have remained a little abstruse or arcane
Andrew, once again, delivers on the promise to provide theologically deep, exegetically accurate, canonically broad, historically faithful, and culturally relevant material. This distinction between soteriology and gospel is essential to understand if we are ever to overcome the dualisms and reductionism(s) that currently plague the self-inflicted impotency of the church; this is especially damaging when we consider the failure of the “church scattered” Monday through Saturday. Moreover, discovering or re-discovering a biblically robust, wholistic understanding (i.e., “as far as the curse is found”), and leavening application of the ‘gospel’ to all of life cannot be—should not be—intimidated by the false charges and caricatures of triumphalism or over-realized eschatology. Which is what typically happens when men like Andrew speak or write from a cosmic perspective. In fact, this distinction aids us in overcoming what should be obvious to any Christian living in this hour: the church, knowingly or unknowingly, by reducing the gospel to personal salvation has succumbed to a under-realized, eschatology of Christ’s redeeming work. This understanding of the gospel broadens the scope of ‘church work,’ corrects our hermeneutical myopia, and intensifies our doxological expressions. May Christ Jesus increase Andrew’s tribe! So grateful for this man’s tireless labor in prayer, study, and writing. DD
Thank you so much, Dennis!
The error in this is the proposition that the state has no power of legislation, but is bound to enforce only the judicial precepts of the Torah.
The correct statement of divine law is that the state has no jurisdiction to break the bond of marriage or permanently to set aside it's legal consequences, and no jurisdiction in matters of public worship. It may not enjoin insubordination to God, or homicide, or sexual immorality.
Otherwise, divine law is as handed down for the Jews by the beit din, and the state may freely legislate, subject to correction by the Church on appeal, judicial review, referral, or at her own first instance.
P Andrew Sandlin’s articles are not inspirational.
A quasi intellectual script which drives down Christian marriage ‘It’s a creation all institution , not a Christian Institution.
Mr Sandlin , the readers thirst for the clear Christian message. Your writings seem to diminish Christian marriage by cotradicting the traditional teaching.
Marriage is between one man and one woman ! How clear is that ? All else is sin. How clear is this ?
Intellectual pride clouds your thinking. Remember : 1 man 1 woman , exclusive love for one another.
Fidelity. Procreation if you are blessed with a family.
I think you misunderstand Rev. Sandlin for he has never argued against traditional marriage.
So are you pre-mill?
I have no problem with the words in red. Jesus constantly affirms the validity of the entire Bible, and specifically mentions the Torah. He mentions the old testament ("Words of the prophets" and the "psalms" or "writings") and states that all will come to pass that the OT said would pass, specifically the prophecies concerning Jesus himself.
Christians have to remember that the OT IS the Torah. The only difference is in how the "books" are grouped. The Torah is in more chronological order, and the number of books is different, but they are the EXACT SAME BOOKS.
I agree with the author, that Jesus states he came to FULFULL the OT and that all it's messages are valid even today.
I personally like having the words of Jesus in red. I don't think this caused any apostasy, that would have happened anyway, as the Bible predicted.
Strictly speaking, it is the Five Books of Moses which are the written Torah (torah shebikhtav). Other parts of the OT may, on a case by case basis, be evidence of law.
Praying for your son … sounds like a horrible condition … I don’t usually do this but in addition to prayers I would investigate lifewave patches … no medicine involved … they stimulate the bodies own stem cell production to repair sites in the body … please do look into it , the recoveries of people with odd or severe illness are amazing.
Yes, indeed!
And the 18th-century Enlightenment culture is what wagged the political dog that created the the biblically egregious Constitutional Republic born of the biblically seditious Constitution.
And that same cultural approach continues to be fostered to this day with those who promote the same and who are, consequently, contributing to the "dog" responsible for America's suicidal trek to the precipice of moral depravity and destruction.
"...On February 27, 2009, James Dobson conceded that we have lost the culture wars. This is the consequence of Christians having spent the last two centuries lopping at the rotten branches of our culture’s corrupt tree while watering and fertilizing its roots [that is, the biblically seditious Constitution].
'There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.' (Henry David Thoreau)
"We should lop away at the tree’s corrupt branches (infanticide, sodomy, the economy, etc.). However, until the root of these problems is biblically addressed, we will never shut down the infanticide mills, we will never defeat the sodomites, and we will never fix the economy. In short, we will never win the culture wars. This issue is more than important for anyone concerned about God, our nation, and the future of our posterity, it’s the cutting- edge issue of our day...."
For more, see our Featured Article "Five Reasons the Constitution is Our Cutting-Edge Issue" at the top of our home page at https://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/
Find out how much you really know about the Constitution as compared to the Bible. Take our 10-question Constitution Survey in the sidebar and receive a free copy of the 85-page "Primer" of "BL vs. USC."
There are a plethora of passages (Exodus 1, Judges 6, Acts 4 & 5, 17:6-7, etc.) that dictate Christians reject any government mandate requiring them to disobey their Lord and King. Romans 13 is not one of them.
Romans 13:1-7 has absolutely nothing to do with secular civil government. Rather everything therein depicts a biblical civil government, making it our commission for dominion over government and society.
The one word "continually" or "devoted" (depending upon your Bible version) in Verse 6 (amplifying Verses 3 & 4) alone proves the point. And it's just one of ten contextual reasons proving the same thing.
Unless someone's prepared to claim the Roman Empire (one of the most notorious for murdering Christians) was a government that *continually* blessed Christians and terrorized/punished the wicked, they best rethink their theology regarding this extremely important passage of Scripture.
See free online book "The Romans 13 Template for Biblical Dominion: Ten Reasons Why Romans 13 is Not About Secular Government" at https://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/Romans13/Romans13-contents.html
Andrew Sandlin: "It’s time for all conservatives and other Christians to abandon their Leftist-aping love affair with the state and its coerciveness and return to a sound conservative Christian worldview."
Amen!
The State, meaning the biblically abominable Constitutional Republic born of the biblically seditious Constitution.
If ever there were a love affair with the state, it's that of the Christians who have been hoodwinked into believing the secular non-Christian government created by the framers is somehow equivalent with advancing our King's Kingdom here on earth *as it is in heaven."
There is nowhere in heaven where Yahweh isn't Sovereign and nowhere in heaven where His morality (as codified in His moral law here on earth) isn't supreme. DO YOU REALLY THINK that promoting the biblically abominable Constitutional Republic accomplishes this Kingdom commission???
The constitutional framers' sins were of both commission and omission. The framers’ sins of commission are evidenced in that there’s hardly an Article or Amendment in the Constitution that’s not antithetical, if not seditious, to Yahweh’s sovereignty and morality.
Their sins of commission aside, the framers’ sins of omission—that is, their failure to establish government and society based upon Yahweh’s commandments, statutes, and judgments—alone sent America to the precipice of moral depravity and destruction she presently teeters on.
Ask the millions of infants slaughtered in their mothers’ wombs if the constitutional framers’ failure to establish government on Exodus 21:22-23 and Deuteronomy 27:25 didn’t lead to their annihilation?
There’s not one national problem in America today—criminal civil "leaders," government-financed in utero infanticide, sodomite “marriages,” Synagogues, Mosques, and Temples devoted to false gods dotting America’s landscape, international entanglements, America’s crumbling economy, runaway debt, and taxes on nearly everything, etc.—that cannot be traced back to the framers’ sins of omission.
"For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (Jeremiah 2:13)
For evidence that the Constitution is biblically seditious, see free online book "Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective," in which every Article and Amendment is examined by the Bible, at https://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/BlvcOnline/blvc-index.html
Find out how much you really know about the Constitution as compared to the Bible. Take our 10-question Constitution Survey in the sidebar and receive a free copy of the 85-page "Primer" of "BL vs. USC."
The only presidential election I ever participated in was for Reagan, but I've since repented of having done so, now understanding that I was complicit in everything biblically abominable (including his allegiance to the biblically seditious Constitution) that he was party to while in office:
"...Voters become accomplices to the crimes of those they elect. Paul warned Timothy of one of the consequences of impulsive appointments:
'Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily [in America's case, unbiblically vote for] and thus share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.' (1 Timothy 5:22, NASB)
"Two verses later, Paul warned that “the sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after.” Because no man can look into the heart of another man, voters often do not know what sins they are participating in until after the election – often long after the election. For example, on August 4, 2010, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker overturned California’s Proposition 8, known as “California’s Marriage Protection Act,” (which declares that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California”), paving the way for sodomites like himself to “marry” one another. Vaughn was appointed to the bench in 1989 by President George H.W. Bush. Christians who helped elect the “conservative” Bush into office are therefore accomplices to this wickedness...."
For more, see Chapter 5 "Article 2: Executive Usurpation" of free online book "Bible Law vs. the United States Constitution: The Christian Perspective" at https://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/BlvcOnline/blvc-index.html
Be sure to read the entire section under the heading "Elections."
See also blog article "Constitutional Elections: Dining at the 'Devil's Table'" at https://www.constitutionmythbusters.org/constitutional-elections-dining-at-the-devils-table/
Andrew, I appreciate your article. Quick question, although these men you refer to in this article may be over-emphasizing weightlifting, do you believe taking care of your body is in alignment with piety?
"Sure enough, the more the church withdrew from culture, the more the culture apostatized."
Amen!
Additionally, today's four-walled, stain-glassed, *pew*trifying churches replaced biblical ecclesias:
"...How is it that the word “church” contributes to the gates of hell prevailing over today’s Christians—that is, to contemporary Christianity being subjugated under secular dominion and ruled by secular humanists?
"When you hear the word “church,” what comes to mind? For most people, the word “church” means one of two things, depending upon the context:
1) A building they frequent once, twice, or three times a week in which to pray, sing praises, and listen to preaching.
2) The people who allegedly make up the church, aka the body of Christ, who frequent a building known as a church to do the things depicted in Option #1.
"What doesn’t come to mind is a community of believers in the fullest sense of the word—a biblical community established, not only on the Word of God, but also on the moral laws of God.14 When obedient to our ecclesia commission, these biblical communities will be established not on the Ten Commandments alone, but upon the Ten Commandments and their respective statutes explaining the Ten Commandments and their respective civil judgments enforcing the Ten Commandments and their statutes, adjudicated by biblically qualified men of God who are a continual blessing to the righteous and a perpetual terror to the wicked, per Exodus 18:21, Deuteronomy 4:5-8, Psalm 19:7-11, Romans 13:1-7,15 etc.
"There is not a living person today who hears the word “church” and thinks of what’s depicted in the paragraph above. And yet this description represents the true meaning of the Greek word ecclesia, which has been tragically translated “church.”
"With that, it should be obvious how the word “church” has contributed to the defeat of Christendom—that is, Christians dominionizing society on behalf of their King. Just think what America would look like today if instead we were ecclesias (fully-developed Christian communities) rather than merely street-corner churches...."
For more, see free online book "Ecclesia vs. Church: Why Understanding the Difference is Critical to Our Future" at https://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/onlineBooks/ecclesia.html
Excellent article on the way the church needs to battle. When we relegate life to the spiritual and natural world then the church loses focus and we don’t redeem creation as God intended by subjugating God’s rule to all things - thus advancing His Kingdom.
This subjugation also applies to the messy world of politics where we may support a less than ideal candidate to get us to first base - especially when our culture is rapidly departing from the Christian tradition. We need to work from the bottom and top down, where we can expect much more godly candidates as the local culture is impacted by a culturally expanding church. As we change culture, the candidates will live more by the biblical standards laid out in scripture and we can progress to second and third base. Due to our fallen world, we only reach home base after we die and go to heaven, where we really will be at home!
I was just thinking how strange it is that in our youth-oriented culture our Presidential candidates are SO OLD! One is already showing signs of senility, And the other one........well , you know. Where are our younger, more energetic, idealistic but not crazy leaders?? Are the "good ones" (ie Ben Sasse) abandoning the world of politics? Please don't leave us at the mercy of the likes of AOC!! Yet, God rules and I am completely at rest with that. (Even if I still have lots of questions.)
IF: Libertarianism is the belief that each person has the right to live his life as he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each person’s right to life, liberty, and property.
I have no problem with it, provided you include the Son of Man in "others" & "person's" above. All we are asking for is to honor the rights of the Judge, Lawgiver, Owner, and Emperor.
Thank you for this wonderful elucidating exposition on revealing and sharing a deeper truer understanding of the Laws and Gospel in relation to the OT & NT respectively. You have certainly fed my desire for greater understanding thereto along with providing sound verification of various clarifications that would otherwise have remained a little abstruse or arcane