text:
The Lost World of Genesis One is lost on me

I have finally got round to reading John Walton’s The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate, and I have to say, I don’t see it.

Walton’s central contention is that what we have in Genesis 1 is an account not of the creation of the material cosmos but of the inauguration of the world as a temple for the creator God. He does not deny that the world is God’s material creation as a matter of theology, only that this is not the message that the author of the passage was trying to get across. In the context of the debate about origins there is an immediate benefit: we no longer need to map the chronology of Genesis 1 against scientific accounts of the formation of the universe and the emergence of life:

In summary, we have suggested that the seven days are not given as the period of time over which the material cosmos came into existence, but the period of time devoted to the inauguration of the functions of the cosmic temple…. (91)

This idea that the cosmos is depicted as a temple seems to me to have become quite commonplace, particularly for narrative theologians. J Richard Middleton, for example, has a section on “Mediating God’s Presence in the Cosmic Temple” in his book A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (46-49).

I have always been wary of it because I suspect it is part of a broader strategy to shift the emphasis away from the story of YHWH and Israel to a larger and more modern story about God and creation. Still, having read Walton’s book, I am surprised at how flimsy the argument is.

Walton claims that in the ancient world everyone knew that when a deity rests, he rests in a temple. So when it says that God finished the work of creation on the seventh day and “rested”, we are to understand this as a reference to the cosmos as a temple. This “rest” is not God putting his feet up after six days of hard work. It is a “settling down” after a crisis has been resolved; it is a return to the “normal operations of the cosmos” (72). The word for this new state, according to Walton, is měnûḥâ, the verbal form of which is found in Exodus 20:11: “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested (wayyānaḥ) on the seventh day” (Ex. 20:11).

Now, to start with, I don’t see how “rested” in this context means “returned to normal operations”.

In Exodus 31:17 Moses is told that “in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested (šāḇaṯ) and was refreshed”. Likewise, the people of Israel are told: “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest (tišbōṯ); that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed” (Ex. 23:12). Surely here rest on the seventh day is just that—rest and refreshment after a period of work. The detour by way of Exodus 20:11 gets us no further. In Genesis 2:2 we are only told that God “ceased” (šāḇaṯ) from his work.

A more substantive argument is drawn from the account of the founding of the temple in Psalm 132, where the temple is described as the “resting-place” (měnûḥâ) of the Lord. So Walton concludes:

After creation, God takes up his rest and rules from his residence. This is not new theology for the ancient world—it is what all peoples understood about their gods and their temples. (73)

But the argument is flawed. What the Psalm describes is not the rest of God after a period of creation but the rest of God after a period of wandering or homelessness. David says that he will not rest until he has found a “dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob” (Ps. 132:5), a resting place not for God only but also for “the ark of your might” (132:8). God has finally chosen Zion as his “resting-place for ever” (132:14). The language reflects the journeys and insecurities of the period of the tabernacle and the vulnerability of the ark of the covenant. There is no reason to impose this quite different narrative about the Mighty One of Jacob on the creation account.

Walton claims to have found further support for his argument in the story of Israel’s coming to rest in land:

But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety. (Deut. 12:10)

But it can hardly be said that this rest “allows life to resume its normal routines” (73). There were no “normal routines” to resume, only nomadic life in the wilderness, harried by enemies. The final inheritance of the promised land constituted not a return to normality but an end to the hardships of the exodus. As with Psalm 132, it is rest at the end of an arduous journey, not cessation of work at the end of creation.

The other major type of evidence that Walton cites in support of his thesis is the supposed close association of temple and cosmos in ancient thought. Again, the argument is suspect.

To be sure, the construction of a temple for the gods is anticipated in the creation stories, but this does not mean that the cosmos was conceived as a temple. It may have been the case that ancient temples were “considered symbols of the cosmos” (78) or as the world in microcosm, but that doesn’t make the cosmos a representation of the temple or a temple in macrocosm.

Walton says: “From the idea that the temple was considered a mini cosmos, it is easy to move to the idea that the cosmos could be viewed as a temple.” But whether or not the move was easy, he provides no evidence that the ancients actually made it.

To find pointers to the cosmos in the description of the tabernacle or temple is not the same as finding pointers to the temple in the account of the creation of the cosmos.

In fact, it rather appears that temples were needed precisely because the cosmos was not itself a temple. Walton quotes from a prayer about the founding of Eridu, noting that “the absence of a temple was sometimes part of the description of the precosmic condition” (77). But the line “No holy house, no house of the gods, no dwelling for them had been created” suggests that the world did not itself provide a house for the gods. If a temple for the gods was planned from the start of creation, it was because heaven and earth in themselves did not constitute an appropriate dwelling place. If the temple of Etemenanki was the “House of the Foundation Platform Between Heaven and Earth”, it was because heaven and earth were felt to be remote from each other rather than an integrated cosmic temple.

Perhaps, as Josephus suggests, the three-part structure of the tabernacle was intended to serve as an “imitation and representation of the universe”:

When Moses distinguished the tabernacle into three parts, and allowed two of them to the priests, as a place accessible and common, he denoted the land and the sea, these being of general access to all; but he set apart the third division for God, because heaven is inaccessible to men. (Jos. Antiq. 3:180-81)

But to find pointers to the cosmos in the description of the tabernacle or temple is not the same as finding pointers to the temple in the account of the creation of the cosmos. If the temple is “cosmic” in its design, it is because it is the dwelling place of the creator God in the midst of his people. But the Jerusalem temple is the cosmos in microcosm, not the cosmic temple in microcosm.

As far as I can see, Walton provides no direct evidence from Genesis 1 that the creation story was written with the structure or purpose of the temple in mind. The cosmos is not described as a holy dwelling place for the creator. Humanity is created in the image of God with a view to subjugation and rule, not as a priesthood. The earth is a place for procreation and industry, not for worship. The heavens are not said to be the throne of God, the earth is not his footstool.

Walton regards Isaiah 66:1-2 as the clearest example of the association of cosmos and temple in the Old Testament:

Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD.”

He thinks that we can see here “the elements of a cosmos-sized temple, a connection between temple and rest, and a connection between creation and temple” (82-83). But the passage is part of a polemic against Jewish complacency and the corruption of the sacrificial system: “He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man…” (Is. 66:3). We cannot draw broad conclusions about Jewish cosmology from such a rhetorically loaded text.

YHWH asserts his transcendent sovereignty and power as creator, but there is no reference back to Genesis 1. The questions “what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?” evoke the other narrative of Psalm 132—David’s quest for a permanent resting-place for the ark. At issue is simply the question of whether the Jerusalem temple is fulfilling its purpose.

It seems to me, therefore, that there is a one-way flow to the biblical argument about the relation between cosmos and temple. The temple is, in certain respects, like the cosmos; it represents or symbolises the cosmos—for the simple reason, presumably, that it is the place where the creator God dwells in the midst of his people. So we find the temple described in creational terms.

But the statement cannot be reversed. The Old Testament does not say that the cosmos is or is like a temple. We do not find creation described in temple terms.

Image of The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate

On Amazon (US):

John H. Walton
IVP Academic (2009), Paperback, 192 pages, $17.00

I wish you would quit polling holes in my intellectual furniture. My worldview is taking a beating. I had thought this useful way of understanding Genesis 1 but now I need to examine the issue.

There’s been some discussion about this with regards to the Baal Cycle.

There are interpreters (Fisher, Levenson) who see in Baal’s construction of his palace the creation of the cosmos. They sometimes compare this to similar passages in the Old Testament. There is debate, though, over whether the shared imagery between building Baal’s palace and building the cosmos means that they are the same thing, or whether it is a way to invest Baal’s palace with cosmic significance.

On the biblical studies side of that discussion Meredith Kline also brings up the parallels with the Baal Cycle in Kingdom Prologue: https://www.wtsbooks.com/common/pdf_links/9781597525640.pdf

Interesting, Phil.

I don’t know much about the Ba’al Cycle, but it looks to me as though the palace of Ba’al is one among the many houses of the gods of the region, which would rule out the identification with the cosmos.

‘ “But, see there is not a house for Ba’al
like the gods, no court
like the sons/children of `Athirat….

Quickly his mansion/house is built,
Quickly is raised/erected/the uprearing of his palace.
Men go to/They [bring] from Lebanon (and) its trees/for (its) wood/timber,
To/From Siriyon (and/for) its choicest/precious cedars.
They do [——-] Lebanon (and/for) its trees/timbers
(To) Siriyon (and/for) its choicest/precious/finest cedars.

But maybe there’s more to it than that.

Kline, I notice, struggles to demonstrate the presence of architectural imagery in Genesis 1 (“barely suggested”) and relies instead on Job, Proverbs, Isaiah and the Psalms (26-27).

He quotes Psalm 11:4:

The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.

But the image here is of a temple in heaven, not of the heavens and the earth as a temple.

I couldn’t find his discussion of the Ba’al Cycle.

I don’t know much about it, either. I was just aware of the discussion because I just finished a book about Ugaritic sources and what they may tell us about early Israelite religion. I also vaguely remember reading something about early-ish Jewish cosmology making Jerusalem the center of the known universe with some consonant equivocation between cosmological language and Temple language. Once again, the emphasis would be on the prominence of the Temple as opposed to defining the cosmos as a Temple.

A statue of the Baalcycle:

That is great!

Baal appears to be riding a woman’s bicycle. I wonder what impact that has for Ugaritic studies.

To illustrate the debate about creation and temple in the Baal Cycle…

In The Ugaritic Baal Cycle: Vol. 1 Mark Smith notes Fisher’s argument that the palace of Baal “constitutes a microcosm of the whole world or cosmos” and draws a comparison with Psalm 78:69:

He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever. (77)

He then switches to Levenson:

Levenson… observes that creation and temple-building in biblical texts such as this one serve as a “homology” which interpenetrate descriptions of one another: creation can be rendered in terms of temple-building and vice-versa.

But Smith raises basically the same concern about this “homology” argument as I do about Walton’s claim that it is an easy move from the idea that the temple was a mini cosmos to the idea that the cosmos is a temple.

For the interpretation of the Baal Cycle, it is important to determine the significance of the “interpenetration.” While the Ugaritic passage evokes cosmic dimension and importance by drawing on cosmic imagery, this usage does not indicate that the building of Baal’s palace constitutes an act of the creation of the cosmos.

Thank you for this post. It’s a difficult thing to question the proposals of trained scholars like JHW. However, I found myself wrinkling my nose at his supposition of what the original audience would have been interested in. It seems he simply switches one form of concordism for another; he wants the text in concord with life: time, food, and whatever else the others were. Here’s my take. All of scripture is apocalyptic: it reveals. So, Genesis 1 reveals the heilsgeschichte of torah. Day7 is the Sabbath of Heb 4. Days 1-6 are the ages “appointed” by the Son (Heb 1). It seems to me the best approach for a uniform perspicuity.

Hi Travis,

I don’t think he was trying to make the text concord with life directly but with the supposed structure of the temple, which corresponds to the organisation of the cosmos.

I’m afraid I don’t go with your “salvation-historical” reading. Yes, the author of Hebrews may have made some sort of typological or analogical use of the creation account in order to make his point about perseverance. But that has to do with how we read Hebrews, not with how we read Genesis. I think we have to establish and safeguard the historical reading of the passage before anything else. But that’s just my hermeneutic.

I didn’t get the impression JHW saw the days of forming and filling as implying anything temple related. When I spoke to him, he basically confirmed his association with temple to Day7. His explanation of the days appeared to me to be predicated upon a natural referent in those days: Day 1 had to do with time; Day 2 weather; Day 3 food. Seems pretty concordist to me and by that I mean wanting to relate the text to the physical.

The history of salvation is Genesis-Revelation. It’s all apocaplyptic; that is, it reveals. From the beginning God reveals his labor of love to bring about the telos of the Torah: Sabbath. That is precisely what Paul means in Heb 4. Failure to move into the future/present Kingdom of God in Christ is what the whole previous story was about. The Son is the one through whom the “ages” were appointed. What ages? Those delineated as days 1-6 with the eternal kingdom culminating the work of the Father.
Thanks for the exchange.

I quoted this in the post. Doesn’t it point to a much closer correspondence between the days of creation and an inauguration process?

In summary, we have suggested that the seven days are not given as the period of time over which the material cosmos came into existence, but the period of time devoted to the inauguration of the functions of the cosmic temple…

I’m dubious. How do time (Day1), weather (Day2), and food (Day3) relate to a temple text? JHW doesn’t explain that. As I say’d, I asked him when the text becomes “temple text” for him and he say’d Day 7. I can go back to my podcast but I’m sure that’s what he say’d.

My hermeneutic ultimately depends upon a primacy of the uniformity of scripture; that is, the reader ought to be able to interpret the meaning of the text from the primary text itself, rather than extra-biblical. And the Deutero-history and prophets are that primary text. If you don’t know what Gen 1 is about, read the texts from which it stems. So, if we consider the heilsgeschichte which is the kingdom of God wherein he accomplishes his glorification of man through Jesus and does this through the guardianship of the Torah, then Genesis 1 seems at home.

Heaven and land are covenantal stoichaeia (people and temple)
tohu wa bohu is tumult and chaos of humanity (Jer 4:23)
Darkness is that^^ into which Light must come, etc.

The days, therefore, are the ages (Heb 1) of that story. Most take Genesis as the basis from which the prophets derive their language (darkness, light, sea, land, beasts, man, Sabbath). I tend to think it’s the reverse. Genesis was written out of the milieu of the exile and captivity and since Israel already knew who she was (heaven and earth) and that her days were propagating the future (Day7), Genesis 1 is that story. The Garden scene in 2 then makes a perfect bedfellow to passages like Ez 28.

I get what you’re saying. But I don’t see why the exilic community in Babylon wouldn’t have wanted to construct its own cosmogony as part of a wider programme of idelogical self-preservation. After all, it is a central plank of the Jewish polemic against the Babylonian gods, notably in Isaiah 40-55, that they did not create the world and its inhabitants. Clearly the prophets are not arguing that Bel and Nebo did not create the covenant people.

Also, while there are some obvious parallels with the exile experience, the creation account runs through to the flood, Babel, and the calling of Abraham. By your account it becomes a story that swallows its own beginning.

I suppose I would say, let Isa 40-55 do that. That’s not what Gen 1 is implicitly for. And your statement, “Bel and Nebo did not create the covenant people,” actually implies too much. Deuteronomy is replete with the warning not to go after false elohim bc Yahweh is Israel’s Elohim. So, that might/could actually be the case: “Stick to the plan, folks, do not veer off the path for another elohim’s crazy schemes. Yahweh is your Elohim and he created you, not those other knock-offs.”

Gen 1-11 only swallows its own beginning if its read through a certain lens. If–if–Genesis 1 is eschatological, then that changes the lens and the swallowing up doesn’t follow. I really like V Philips Long in his introduction to The Art of Biblical History. It changed the way I looked at Genesis 1 for the first time. If Genesis 1 is parable, a dark saying, and its wisdom is heilsgeschichte then, there really is no problem bc each of the subsequent stories are that as well. It’s the same history but depicted in other dark sayings. Genesis 1-11 is Beethoven’s 5th and Gen 1 is the opening four note motif.

Thanks again for the correspondence.

There’s a glaring “implicitly” and a lot of “ifs” in that statement but no good literary reason—that is, nothing actually in the text—to think that Genesis 1 is eschatology rather than protology. It’s no more convincing than Walton’s claim that the passage describes the inauguration of the existing creation as a cosmic temple. It’s not constructed as a salvation-historical parable, it’s not framed as a parable, it has none of the features of Old Testament parables, there are no comparable “creation” parables that describe the formation of a people in the literature of the ANE as far as I’m aware (which isn’t very far, admittedly, but it’s the sort of evidence that might lend some credibility to your argument). And critically, whoever was finally responsible for the shape of the book of Genesis thought that the passage belonged before the flood, Noah, Babel and the summons of Abraham to be the beginning of a new creation in microcosm.

Happy to correspond.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I wouldn’t question my tradition if the text didn’t drive me in that direction. Sensus plenoir includes sensus fabulae. And so I challenge your premise that there is “no good literary reason–that is, nothing in the text–to think that Genesis 1 is…” what I suggest it is. And what I’m suggesting is nothing less than typology. I’m just cutting out the middle man which seems to be requiring the text to be something it is not: historical ante typological. Who says that’s the rule?

How much evidence would suffice for you to “see” that the text is meant to be read with eyes squinting (>.<) at the text, investigating it as a dark saying, a proverb? I suggest this eensy-teensy indication: the moment (when reading the text), the moment, you begin to think or wonder, “What does this mean;” the moment you feel constrained to excuse the text for its “appearing” to say one thing for another is the moment you are being “told” by the text that there is more going on here than faubla nuda. Is there anything in the text you feel you must offer as way of explanation bc to take it str8FWD is awkward?

What we have here is fabula theologica, the sensus fabulae. For instance, Day 1. Day 1 cannot be physical light bc Day 4 is three days away. Now, Walton will say it is physical sunlight bc he’s reading it “functionally.” However, Jordan and Kline read it as the “shekinah.” And why do they do that when the reader would naturally take it to refer to what it implies: daylight? They do it bc a concordist view is unnatural and they feel constrained to offer an alternative. So, per my indication, the minute you offer an explanation of what this “light” is because it cannot be what makes sense of the sensus plenoir, you are venturing into my argument which is, “this” is not about “that.”

I’m dead set on the uniformity of scripture; and, thereupon, the ANE takes a back seat. So, the text is primary for me. Readers of the text ought to be able to discern its meaning in and of itself. And I know you don’t deny that just as I don’t deny the value of ANE and 2ndT. But I’m asserting that the text itself shows us from the start that it’s fabula theologica.

Here is where I am:

The audience (and this is scribal, not popular) would have known what the text was about bc they were the primary audience. Israel was the “heavens and land.” That this is so is indicated by (at least) Isa 65. I see the prophets as the fulcrum of the chiasm [>] of fabula tota: Revelation 20-22 is about Isa 65 is about Gen 1.

“In the beginning;” the beginning of what? (James Jordan suggests “berith” is akin to “first fruits” and this has rich eschatological implications which even he doesn’t tease out. He seems only to offer it as a foil to Sailhamer.)

“At the first” implies a “last,” an end. What is the end? Day 7, the Sabbath which is the cessation of the torah and the beginning again in new creation.

God began the work ( from which he did not rest until all was fulfilled, John 5:17 [ That the Father is ‘working’ until now ought to be the biggest clue for us to catch] ) of “heaven and land” as a solution to “tohu wa bohu” of the land (Jer 4). Israel becomes a microcosm of humanity and is to be the “appointed/bara-ed” Light shining in the darkness (John 1, 3). “Dusk to dawn” is a textual clue that concordism is not intended. No one measures one’s day from evening to morning. First of all, from a literal stand point that time frame is only 12 hours, not 24. So the merism is eschatological which means history is moving from darkness to light. Second, Daniel uses this imagery to speak of the “time of the end”(Dan8). My contention is that both Genesis and Daniel are speaking in uniformity. “Evening to morning” according to Daniel “refers to many days from now.” Which days? The time of the end. What end? The end of days? Which days? The last days? Last days of what? Last days of Israel’s torahed life (Deut 4:30; 32:28).

“The Lost World of Genesis One” is the non-scholarly layman’s treatment of Walton’s “Genesis 1 is Ancient Cosmology.” It’s admittedly an overview. Walton rushes through the summary of his deeper work to get at the heart of the issue in among many Christians in the West: the Creation/Evolution debacle.

If you found the theological or cultural arguments of The Lost World unconvincing, then please, read the scholarly treatment, where he obliterates the objections in this post.

Well, that’s a fair challenge. But I would still expect a popular summary statement to be more convincing. You’d think the strongest arguments would be there in sufficient detail to be testable. As far as I can see, the passages don’t do what he says they do. Surely there can’t be that much of a disjunction between the scholarly and the lay works?

Perhaps I’m missing something—and I would happily be proved wrong—but it seems extraordinary to me that the case can be made without providing a single instance from either the biblical or other ANE cosmogonies of the use of temple terminology in the account of creation—other than the statement that God “rested” on the seventh day.

But your mention of the creation/evolution debate is perhaps significant. I couldn’t help thinking that a polemical motivation (one with which I have great sympathy) has led to an over-reading of the passage. Personally, I don’t see what is wrong with just reading Genesis 1 as ancient cosmogony.

Yeah, perhaps he wanted to address too much in this while keeping it short.

Admittedly, I came to Walton after reading Levenson’s “The Temple and the World”, and other Temple cosmology arguments, which had sort of shattered some of my preconceived ideas about Gen 1, so I was already primed for Walton’s argument. But I wanted more (as you state in the post), and so went on to “Genesis 1 AS Ancient Cosmology” (misstated the title above).

Andrew - I wonder if, inadvertently, you are providing fuel for the proponents of salvation history in your main criticism of Walton. It’s arguable that the Temple was created because it was evident that God was not residing in his creation quite as might have been desired. His universal right to rule became seen as a fact, but his universal manifest presence was less evident. He appears on unusual occasions, to particular people. The Temple reflected this reality.

From this viewpoint, the Temple reflected the purpose for which creation was properly and rightly designed. Eden was the birthplace of intimate friendship. It became the symbol of distance and internal exile in creation. The end of the Temple and the universal outpouring of the Spirit (multiple temples of the Holy Spirit in God’s people worldwide instead of one Temple confined to Jerusalem) were steps towards the recovery of creation’s purpose. That purpose will be completed when heaven and earth are united - Revelation 21:3; and when there is no Temple in the New Jerusalem - Revelation 21:22.

I’m not drawing out Walton’s argument. It’s a long time since I read the book. I’m simply helping things along theologically, as it were. There isn’t a one way flow from creation to temple but not vice versa. The fulfilment of the story in its later stages sheds light on the earlier part of the story. We need to read backwards as well as forwards - just as Jesus did in his exposition of the scriptures (eg Luke 24:27).

It’s arguable that the Temple was created because it was evident that God was not residing in his creation quite as might have been desired.

Is that a biblical argument? I can’t think of anything in the story prior to the construction of the ark of the covenant that would suggest that the creator was not resident in his creation but should have been. Pillars of fire and cloud, ark, tabernacle, and temple are all signs of God’s presence with his people, but what are the signs of his absence from creation? Does the exclusion of Adam and Eve from the garden entail the exclusion of God from his creation? Where in the Bible do we find Eden treated as “the symbol of distance and internal exile in creation”?

Isaiah repeatedly affirms the sovereignty of the God who sits above the circle of the earth, etc. Does he ever suggest that this conception is inadequate?

When the Old Testament speaks of the glory of God filling the earth it is in the sense that the nations acknowledge the glory of the God of Israel. I don’t think it presupposes the notion that the whole earth is the temple of YHWH.

“Temple” remains a sign of God’s presence in his Spirit-filled people, as you point out. But where’s the salvation-historical argument in that? There is no “recovery of creation’s purpose”. The old creation flees away, all the dead are raised to a new resurrection life, and a new creation appears.

It’s not quite true that there is no temple in the new creation. First, there is the city of God, which is the city of God’s presence and rule in the midst of his people, and “its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Rev. 21:22).

I don’t see how this changes or sheds any different light on the basic cosmogonic reading of Genesis 1. Creation is not presented as a temple.

I think it is quite a good argument. History as presented in scripture as well as in our own experience tells us that God is not as manifestly present in creation as many would long for, or think desirable. Rather, creation as we experience it in human history reflects something different. However, my summary is no less than exactly what scripture describes as regards God’s temple throughout the earth, and the ultimate trajectory of this process. Scripture must be interpreted backwards as well as forwards to understand its significance. Just as Jesus encouraged his disciples to do. Walton’s account is not without weaknesses, but broadly, he’s pointing us in the right direction.

But where’s the evidence? Where does scripture speak of “God’s temple throughout the earth”? Are you sure you’re not imagining it?

I’ve already provided the evidence (for a worldwide temple). It’s just basic Christianity. The church, ie God’s people, throughout the earth, now forms the temple, as God’s dwelling place, in place of the Jerusalem temple. The future is for a city (the new Jerusalem) in which there is no physical temple, “because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple”. This simply elaborates the earlier statement in the chapter which speaks of the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven (ie the church), and God’s dwelling place being with man (ie in the church). This vision, which is already part of the now (eg Hebrews 12:2), modifies considerably our understanding of the OT temple, and also the destiny of creation (eg Romans 8:19-25; 1 Corinthians 15:28). Am I missing something?

Happy New Year, by the way.

Don’t want to pile up on you, but I have to agree with Andrew. The way I see it, Eden was the original Temple on earth where God and his divine council (both His heavenly members [holy ones Ps. 82], and earthly members (Adam and Eve]) would meet. After this it was the various physical temples, which would eventually be replaced by the Church (the New Jerusalem) as you pointed out.

With that said, I think Walton’s work is huge! His recognition that Genesis is not a physical account, but a functional account is important and spot on (I think). His problem was he still tried to apply it to the physical, which led him to his current position. I think what drove him there, whether he knows it or not, was his eschatology. If you have a physical end in view when you approach Rev 21-22 you’re forced to have a physical beginning as well since Revelation’s “first heaven and earth” (Rev 21:1) is a clear reference to Genesis 1’s Heaven and Earth. So, what was he to do? He recognizes that Genesis isn’t a physical account but at the same time he has to tie Rev 21 and Genesis 1 together. His solution is his Temple concept. I disagree like Andrew. I can’t find where creation is presented as a temple. If it were, He would have had two temples at the same time (the earth and the temple in Jerusalem) until the Church came into being. Well the Church came in the first century and the old temple was destroyed. If the earth was also a temple, why wasn’t it destroyed right along with Jerusalem’s physical temple in the first century?

Because I like speculating, and sometimes without a shred of specific evidence to back it up, I suppose you could say that if Walton is right about Genesis 1 (and I’m not saying he is), then the creation temple lost its original purpose in Genesis 3, and the Jerusalem temple was part of the recovery process. The only possible substantiation of this is reading backwards from Revelation 21 (and other NT verses already cited) as the endpoint of a supposed trajectory. This puts me at odds with Andrew, who rules out reading backwards, and yourself, who I guess preteristically regards Rev 21 as a fully realised reality, and Genesis 1, reading backwards, as a metaphor for a spiritual reality, probably to do with Israel’s history rather than a cosmogenesis.

Yes, I would say the Temple (Eden) did lose its original purpose in Genesis 3. Of course the Jerusalem temple was not the beginning of the recovery process. There was the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle, the first Temple and then the second Temple finally the Church, which has no end.

About reading backwards. I’m not against reading backwards a little, it just shouldn’t be the standard mode of operation. Certainly when something in the OT is not clear, we can bring some light to it very other texts.

Genesis, as a material creation account, has been a point of conflict for a very long time with good reasons. It just doesn’t work, period. it’s completely out order to be a physical account. There is no getting around it. Christendom has tried for a very long time to make it work with some of the most ridiculous work arounds anyone’s ears can stand to listen to. Yet, people buy’em because they’ve 1) never had an alternative and 2) because of a distorted Eschatology - if you have a physical end in Rev. 21-22, then you have to cling to a physical beginning in Genesis 1.

I do read Rev. 21-22 preteristically. Once I realized the end wasn’t a physical destruction of the universe it forced me back to Genesis. I had to rethink it. I wasn’t alone either. Many understood this as well. We started down this road many years ago. See Tim Martin’s book, Beyond Creation Science (written 15 or so years ago). While the concept has progressed (in my mind atleast) due to further study of ANE, the DSS and other Pseudepigrapha texts, the overarching concept, I think, is dead on. Of course no one back then wanted to listen, but now some scholars (such as Walton) are suddenly starting to realize it’s not physical either and writing books about it. And of course now suddenly people are willing to entertain new views on Genesis, a little. People still just can’t let go of the physical.

as a metaphor for a spiritual reality, probably to do with Israel’s history rather than a cosmogenesis.

That’s not entirely correct but moving along the correct lines. It does have to do with Israel’s history (how can anyone deny that when Jesus’, who is Israel embodied, ancestry is tied all the way back to Adam?), but Israel’s history is connected to man’s history.

If Adam was taken out from among mankind (I believe even Pete Enns, certainly Walton, sees Adam as not being the first human being to exist) and brought into fellowship with YHWH on behalf of mankind (YHWH’s priest and part of YHWH’s earthly divine council) and this event was the forming a cosmos (a heaven and earth), which includes mankind in general because YHWH is reaching out, and working in relationship to mankind via his priest Adam (Israel’s beginning), what does one call it? Since YHWH entered into a (covenant) relationship with Adam, one might call it Covenant Creation. So, while it has to do with Israel’s history, it’s also a cosmogensis, the (functional) creation of a cosmos that establishes YHWH’s relationship to mankind via his priest. It’s just not a physical cosmogenesis. That probably wasn’t a very good overview, and could be stated much better, but it was a stab. I’m certainly not as articulate with words as Andrew.

Just before the lost world of Genesis 1 is lost forever as it sinks below the horizon of our vision into the nether world of historic Postost articles and comment threads, a couple more observations.

Having picked up and reread Walton’s book, I think you are broadly right in saying there is nothing in the Genesis 1 account itself which directly leads us to think of it as describing a temple inauguration. I also think there is rather more in the account to suggest the material origins of the world than Walton allows. However, I’d make the following observations on your commentary.

I do find your rejection of an association of the cosmos with the Jerusalem temple rather too finely spun. If the Jerusalem temple is designed to reflect the cosmos, then it’s not a false argument to suggest that the cosmos is like the temple. If the cosmos was not like the temple, then the temple itself was falsely representing the cosmos. The association goes both ways.

When Isaiah suggests an association of the cosmos with the temple in Isaiah 66:1-2, it is not necessarily restricted to the immediate rhetorical purpose of the prophecy, namely an invective against complacency and corruption. There is no reason why more universal realities should not be asserted in the context of an immediate and more local issue.

I also do not think it is invalid to draw a trajectory of sorts from the endpoint of Revelation 21:2 and 22, and Revelation 22:3. The key words here are new Jerusalem, throne, temple and glory. The new Jerusalem is both a present reality (the church - Hebrews 12:22), and the future condition of creation (new heaven and new earth - Revelation 21:1). As far as the temple is concerned, there is no physical temple in the new Jerusalem, because the people of God have become the temple. The city itself, as the people of God, the new Jerusalem, is the temple, in intimate relationship with The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. This broadly reflects the association of church and Jesus as built together into a temple elsewhere in the NT.

This then leads us to reflect on the history of the temple itself, which is closely connected with the glory (kabod) of God, as the place where the presence of God as glory would reside. The history of the glory of God, and its meaning, is worth a separate thread in itself. I think you suggest that its meaning is somewhat less than is the case when you say “When the Old Testament speaks of the glory of God filling the earth it is in the sense that the nations acknowledge the glory of the God of Israel”. The temple as the dwelling place of God’s glory, his manifest presence, is accompanied in the OT by an expressed longing and prediction that this presence would fill creation - Numbers 14:21, Habakkuk 2:14, Psalm 72:19, Isaiah 40:5.

Then there is the prophetic narrative of Ezekiel, of the glory departing from the temple, and its future return. The issue has always been whether the return actually took place in the old dispensation, and if not, what its eschatological return would or did entail.

This may seem a long way from Walton and Genesis 1, but the issues raised in the rest of the biblical narrative concerning temple and creation are not - especially if the Genesis account was drawn up during the exile, when these issues, the temple question especially, were a subject of profound reflection.

There is more that could be said, but I just return to one of your points. You say that the the observation of the Jewish Sabbath is unconnected with an idea of the seventh day ‘rest’ as when God “returned to normal operations”. But Walton develops this by arguing that the sabbath was a day when man ceased from his own labours as a reminder of his dependence on God, who was always at work, in the sense of attending to the well-being of His creation. The work from which God ceased was the work of creation. He didn’t need to cease because He was tired, or needed to be refreshed.

Likewise, I don’t think it is true to say that the ‘rest’ envisaged in Psalm 132 is “the rest of God after a period of wandering or homelessness”. The ark of the covenant had been in one place for many years when David set about making plans for the temple. The “resting place for ever and ever” is much more than a rest after wilderness wanderings, but a vision of a social condition which accompanies the rest - Psalm 132:15. It looks beyond the immediate times, even the subsequent setting up of the temple in Jerusalem. This future vision is suggested by OT prophecy of a rather more distant future (Psalm 132:13-15 - Isaiah 2:1-5) and the suggestion in the NT of a trajectory of the meaning of Mount Zion which includes the church (Hebrews 12:22), and also the future dimensions of Revelation 21-22.

I think there is more in Walton’s Lost World to cause us to pause and take note of than you allow, especially when the whole history of the temple, and its metamorphosis in the New Testament, is taken into consideration.

Good thoughts on Walton’s thesis. While many acknowledge the relationship between the temple and the cosmos in the OT and ANE literature, to my knowledge Walton’s main thesis has not been widely embraced in full, though many do recognize contributions.

But specifically in regard to this:

“The cosmos is not described as a holy dwelling place for the creator. Humanity is created in the image of God with a view to subjugation and rule, not as a priesthood. The earth is a place for procreation and industry, not for worship.”

As I understand it, Temple inaugurations often included (climaxed?) with the placement of the deity’s image within. Without disputing the vocation of humans as vice-regents as a primary mode of image bearing, the parallel with images/idols of the gods in their Temples seem valid. It possibly also says something about hand-made images of God. And though Genesis 2 is a different account, I think a strong case can be made that 1 and 2 be read together and as compliments, at least theologically. In Genesis 2 and 3 the priesthood of humans in God’s Eden-temple is readily defended as well.

Casey, thanks for this, but…

Where is the evidence that temple inaugurations culminated in the placing of the deity’s image in the temple? I don’t recall anything from Walton’s book.

If Genesis 1 was intended to evoke the construction, structure or inauguration of either the Jerusalem temple or other ANE temples, why are there not much clearer linguistic or imagistic pointers in the text? In fact, why are there no pointers at all? As we have it, Genesis 1 connects the image not with priestly activity in the temple cult but with dominion over the natural order.

The climactic moment in the building of Solomon’s temple was the installation of the ark of the covenant (1 Kgs. 8). There is obviously no suggestion that an image of the deity is involved. The point is rather that God himself takes up residence in his temple—so once the ark has been installed, the “glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kgs. 8:11). If this was in the background to Genesis 1, there would have been no “image”; we would have had instead some statement to the effect that the glory of the creator God filled the earth. We don’t, because that’s not what the author was trying to say.

Genesis 5:3 seems to me to weigh strongly against the idea that “image” and “likeness” in 1:26-27 connote temple images: “When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.” Isn’t the thought much more like Luke’s genealogy of Jesus which goes back to “Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God” (Lk. 3:38). Cult images have nothing to do with it.

Finally, I don’t think that Eden is depicted as a temple any more than the cosmos is. Eden is a garden that needs cultivating. Adam and Eve are expelled from it. These are not temple themes. From the exilic perspective Eden perhaps corresponds to the land from which disobedient Israel is expelled. But in this story the temple is destroyed. Eden is not destroyed. Adam’s family does not perform a priestly function until they are outside the garden (Gen. 4:3-4).

More on the subject here.


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September 20, 2006

DC Campaigns Getting Message Out Through Top Blogs

Washington Examiner's Dee Ann Divis files another column this week on the use of blogs in lobbying campaigns (I blogged about last week's column here), this one focusing on the imporantance of getting your message out through other, better-trafficked blogs.  There's a mention of the blog outreach that my Dittus colleague John Pappas has been doing on behalf of the Poker Players Alliance.

Finding the right partner requires “aggressive listening,” said Michael Krempasky, who founded the conservative blog and now works for Edelman public relations. You want to determine “who's talking about what and who moves an issue.”

When the Poker Players Alliance wanted to dissuade Congress from banning Internet poker, for example, its PR firm Dittus Communications contacted avid players to see what blogs they read and then asked those bloggers to read their material, comment and link to their site.

Pat Cleary, Senior VP for Comms and lead blogger at the National Association of Manufacturers, is also quoted in the piece about building his audience by cross-posting at RedState.  I've heard lots of people around town describe NAM's blog,, as one of the best association/policy blogs in town.

David Johnson from Strategic Vision has also been using YouTube for clients:

“People will start hitting it up” and may send the link to others and mention it on their blogs. Even the White House has downloaded anti-drug videos onto the YouTube site in hopes of reaching its young audience.

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    Matt Mackowiak is a Washington, D.C. and Austin,TX-based Republican strategist and communications consultant and President of Potomac Strategy Group, LLC. In his career he has managed a winning Congressional campaign and worked in the U.S. Senate, at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, at a leading international PR firm, on a presidential campaign in Iowa and in White House presidential advance. Follow him on Twitter - @MattMackowiak

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    Laura Gross is currently president of Scott Circle Communications. She has served as deputy director of communications at the DNC, was Gov. Howard Dean's Communications Director and she worked in the press office at USAID during the Clinton administration. Her experience also includes time in the PR department of National Public Radio and she was part of Vice President Gore's advance team when he was in The White House.
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    Blain K. Rethmeier is currently the Senior Vice President for Public Affairs for the American Insurance Association (AIA). Rethmeier joined AIA from the White House where he served as Special Assistant to the President for Communications and directed communications for the National Economic Council and Homeland Security Council. Prior to joining the White House, Rethmeier served as Press Secretary for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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January 29, 2013

Helling Replaces Murphy in Sen. Tester’s Office

U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) has named Andrea Helling as his new Communications Director, replacing spokesman Aaron Murphy, who, after seven years with Sen. Tester has accepted a new position in the private sector.

Helling has worked in Tester’s office since 2007, serving as Press Secretary and as interim Communications Director in 2012.

Helling is a native of Victor, MT, and a graduate of the University of Montana.

Dan Malessa will continue serving as his Washington-based Press Secretary.  Les Braswell is Tester's Deputy Press Secretary.  (PF tipster)

About the Authors

  • FOLLOW US: @potomacflacks
  • Matt Mackowiak - Site Manager
    Matt Mackowiak is a Washington, D.C. and Austin,TX-based Republican strategist and communications consultant and President of Potomac Strategy Group, LLC. In his career he has managed a winning Congressional campaign and worked in the U.S. Senate, at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, at a leading international PR firm, on a presidential campaign in Iowa and in White House presidential advance. Follow him on Twitter - @MattMackowiak

    Laura Gross - Contributor
    Laura Gross is currently president of Scott Circle Communications. She has served as deputy director of communications at the DNC, was Gov. Howard Dean's Communications Director and she worked in the press office at USAID during the Clinton administration. Her experience also includes time in the PR department of National Public Radio and she was part of Vice President Gore's advance team when he was in The White House.
    Follow her on Twitter: @ScottCircle

    Blain K. Rethmeier - Contributor
    Blain K. Rethmeier is currently the Senior Vice President for Public Affairs for the American Insurance Association (AIA). Rethmeier joined AIA from the White House where he served as Special Assistant to the President for Communications and directed communications for the National Economic Council and Homeland Security Council. Prior to joining the White House, Rethmeier served as Press Secretary for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
    Follow him on Twitter: @BlainR

    This is a personal group blog whose contents in no way reflect the views of any author's employer.

    Got a tip? Email Matt, Blain or Laura (anonymity guaranteed)

    Potomac Flacks Founder and Author Emeritus: Adam Kovacevich
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Saving Money At Online Pet Pharmacies Again

#pet #pets #drugs #pharmacy #dog #dogs —–  I took my two lhasa apso dogs into the vet yesterday to get their heartworm blood tests and once again like the previous two years, I requested written prescriptions from the vet for heartworm prevention medications for the upcoming season.  I need written prescriptions in order to get my heartworm meds at the internet pharmacy I have been using.  Once again, I will be saving money at online pet pharmacies this way.

The actual heartworm medication that my dogs have been on is Sentinel and the online pet pharmacy I order from charges about 30% less than if I got the meds directly from my vet clinic.  This includes shipping costs factored in as well.  Actually, I don’t pay for shipping because since I have two dogs, my orders are over the $100 minimum for free shipping anyway.

My vet understands this completely and is more than willing to provide me with written prescriptions so I can save money.  Since the heartworm season doesn’t officially start until June, I have time for the shipping of my Sentinel to get here.  It takes about a week.

The process for buying medications and drugs through an online pet pharmacy is pretty straight forward.  They have standard internet shopping carts that are secure and you just enter all the usual shopping information.  The only extra step that you have to take with prescription medications is that you have to fax them the actual written prescriptions signed by your vet.

For a lot more detailed information, I have an article as well as video all about my experiences saving money at online pet pharmacies.  Check it out as these internet pharmacies can save you on costs significantly.

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For Free Estimate call 800-562-5438

Foundation Repair Holly Springs

Holly Springs Residential & Commercial Foundation Repair

It’s time to end your search for foundation repair in Holly Springs and call the experts at PowerLift Foundation Repair. When it comes to residential and commercial foundation repairs, let the professionals take care of your problem because you have enough to deal with. Being a leader in foundation repair, we take our work seriously which is why we have a patented system to repair foundation problems. Our PowerLift System is engineered to deliver the best results when stabilizing and raising structures to fix foundations. With the use of new materials, your foundation will be better than it was before and you can have peace-of-mind with our satisfaction guarantee.

When PowerLift visits your home or business, we will evaluate all of the options that are available to you for securing your foundation. These options can include any combination of straight steel piers, helical piers, mudjacking, and high density poly foam. There are applications when straight piers are not the right answer just like there are times with foam is not an appropriate solution. In general, straight piers are used interior and when the ground is not too hard to penetrate.

When using straight piers, we use the weight of the house to drive it deeper into soil until we reach a firm foundation of soil, a lot of times that can be bedrock. Sections of pipe are inserted directly into the ground and using our patented synchronized lifting system we push the pipe deeper into the ground. Once we get to the end of that pipe, we weld another section on and continue the process until we reach the solid point we are going to affix the house to. Steel plates are welded to the top of the pipe sections and those are adhered to the foundation. When the ground becomes too difficult to penetrate, this is where helical piers are wonderful. The helical pier acts much like a screw and turns into the soil digging itself deeper. This allows us to get deeper without putting too much stress on the house. Helical piers are typically too large to use interior since the size of hole for the pier will be rather large. With the use of helical piers, only the first section of pipe is different than the normal piers. It has the screw head at the end which digs itself deeper. The finishing process is the same as straight piers.

Other options for fixing the foundation include mudjacking and high density polyurethane foam. Mudjacking is generally used to raise interior concrete floors. After a foundation is poured and settles there can be a void left in the space below the foundation or ground water can slowly move that soil out - with mudjacking we can inject mud under the foundation and fill that void which will bring the floor back to level. This works great for large open areas where there is a noticeable concave section. Mudjacking in general does not raise the floor a lot but helps fill the void and will raise the floor some. For maximum floor lifting power we use high density polyurethane foam foundation repair. This foam goes in and expands to fill the voids. This has the ability to lift your concrete foundation beyond what mudjacking can. Foam concrete repair is also used on driveways to bring them back to level. A small hole is drilled in the concrete and the foam is pumped in to raise the slab back to square.

For the best foundation repair in Holly Springs, choose PowerLift Foundation Repair! For a no-obligatory, FREE repair estimate, our North Carolina foundation repair professionals are waiting for your call. Contact our Holly Springs office at 919-790-5438.

PowerLift Foundation Repair
716 Creek Haven Dr
Holly Springs, NC 27540


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Paranormal Research Association of Boston

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You may hear the term EXIF data in relation to digital photographs. But what is it? EXIF (meaning EXchangeable  Image Format)  is the specific information on the picture you are looking at. It has a lot more information that looking at a negative, and it gives you complete information on the camera’s settings at the moment of the picture being taken.
In the paranormal setting, the EXIF data can be used in two main ways.

    • The picture can be dissected and using the information, it can be used to help us explain an anomaly in a photograph.
    • It can be used to attempt to recreate the photograph taken  using the exact settings at the time.

 But what does that data mean? I will now advise you of what the information means.
Main Information

Make - This line as well is telling us the make of the camera. For example Canon, Olympus, Fuji etc.
Model - The model number of the specific camera that took the photo.

Even though these last couple of strings of data the Make and Model of the camera seems straight forward and somewhat basic. These two strings are important. Specially if analyzing a photo from someone else. You use the Make and Model to look up information on that specific camera. This aids us in a couple of ways. We can find out if there are any known defects in the camera that may be causing odd anomalies in resulting photos, or recalls, or look up detailed manufacturer specifications on the camera.

Software      This tells us the software used to create the photo. For example on a non-edited photos it should show the information of the camera’s internal software. It can also show if an image has been edited. For example, it shows on this figure it has been edited by “Adobe Photoshop CS3”

Date Time - This is the date and time the photo was taken.

Sub Information
Exposure Time                  This is telling us the amount of time the shutter of the camera was opened to allow light into the camera onto the image sensor, to produce the image. The camera generally calculates this time in seconds, or split seconds.

F Number                            This is telling us the diameter size of the aperture of the camera. The aperture is   essentially the eye of the camera. Exposure Program           This is indicating the setting used on the camera at the time the photo was taken. A lot of digital cameras today come with many different settings that can be used. Like, night scene, creative, sepia, black and white, and in this case shutter priority. This string of data is just simply telling us what setting was used at the time the photo was taken. Each setting will have its own default settings as far as aperture, f number, focal points, etc.

ISO Speed Rating             This is telling us the sensitivity of the cameras image sensor to light at the time the photo was taken. To read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_speed

EXIF Version                      This is telling us what version of the EXIF standard this particular camera is using when writing its EXIF data and displaying it.

TimeDateOriginal            This is telling us again what the time and date was when the photo was
TimeDateDigitized          taken. If manipulation to a photo was performed. Often times you will see a different time and date stamped here than in the original time and date stamp. This should always be looked at when analyzing photos. To compare time stamps.

    Compression Bits            This is telling us the amount of compression the digital photo has had from
    Per Pixel                              the camera's internal storage. Watch this; too much compression can result in loss of quality in the photo.

    Exposure Bias Value       This is telling us the amount of exposure compensation this photo was given by the camera.

    Maximum Aperture       This is telling us the maximum size our aperture can go on this specific camera.

    Metering Mode               This is telling us what metering mode the camera used in determining the correct exposure of the image.

    Flash                                     This section indicates if the cameras flash was used or not. Some times you may see flash being indicated it was used but with a side note of compulsory. This means flash was forced, it had to be used.

    Focal Length                      This is telling us the size of the portion of the lens that was used in focusing the image properly. For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_length

    Image Height & Width  This is telling us the size of the photo in pixels.

    Vendor Original Information

    Mode                                    This is telling us the cameras mode or setting that was used. Such as creative, night scene and so on.

    Quality                                 This tells us the quality mode used in the camera. For example, Small, Medium, Large or RAW.

    Macro Mode                      This is a setting for extreme close up shots.

    Digital Tele                         This is the cameras digital zoom that most digital cameras have.

    The rest of the data is of no concern really.

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Industry buzz

Too many ethical labels on cosmetic products

The number of ethical labelling schemes is proliferating in the cosmetics industry. According to Organic Monitor, there are now over 30 symbols and labels that represent natural and organic cosmetic standards. Ecocert and NaTrue have gained most international traction, with the Ecocert logo now present on over 12,000 cosmetic products. Growing consumer demand for eco-labelled products is behind this trend, however Organic Monitor questions the long term implications.

Sustainable Cosmetics Summit Europe 2014

Sustainable Cosmetics Summit Europe 2014

According to the market research firm, adoption rates of natural and organic cosmetic standards vary considerably between regions. Western Europe has the highest adoption rate where almost 3% of all cosmetics are now certified. Certification is also gaining popularity in North America, however the market share remains below 1% in all other regions. Adoption rates are especially low in Asia, where mostly imported products are certified.

Many eco-labels have migrated from food products to cosmetics. Fairtrade, the Vegan Society and Vegetarian labels are becoming popular in parts of Europe. The Rainforest Alliance seal is also now approved for use on cosmetic products. Other labels represent some environmental or ethical aspects. In Scandinavia, the Nordic Swan and EU Eco-flower are well-established, representing cosmetic products with low environmental impacts. Cruelty-Free logos, such as the Leaping Bunny, are also commonly used by ethical cosmetic brands in Europe and North America.

The Halal label is possibly the most prospective. Unlike other labels, it appeals to religious beliefs - and not environmental / ethical concerns - of consumers. With 1.5 billion Muslim consumers, it is getting increasing interest from brands.

Sustainable Cosmetics Summit Europe 2014

Sustainable Cosmetics Summit Europe 2014

However, as most labels are adopted on a national basis with little harmonisation between the growing myriad of standards, Organic Monitor says it leads to a proliferation in labels, logos and symbols that may leads to consumer confusion. A wider question is: how many ‘badges of honour’ does a truly ethical product need?

Organic Monitor will discuss the future direction of ethical labels in the upcoming Sustainable Cosmetics Summit Europe, which will take place at the Paris Marriott Champs-Elysées on 21-23rd October. On this occasion, representatives from leading certification agencies and labelling schemes - including Ecocert, NaTrue, ICEA, Soil Association, COSMOS, CosmeBio, ISO, Halal Certification, Nordic Swan, EU Eco-Flower, Cruelty-Free and Vegan Society - will give an update on the growing myriad of ethical labelling schemes for cosmetics and personal care products.

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Dynamic Security Concepts, a Mays Landing-based technology firm, said Thursday it was among seven small businesses picked to fulfill parts of a vast batch of work for the federal Department of Homeland Security.

Owner Susan Hopkins, of Mays Landing, said the company will be one of fewer than 50 involved in fulfilling department contracts worth an estimated $22 billion over seven years.

In the next few weeks, Dynamic Security Concepts will find out which task orders it will perform for Homeland Security, she said.

The department describes the work as providing "independent test, validation, verification, and evaluation solutions to ensure that all IT products and services meet DHS standards and are performing to defined design, cost, schedule, and performance specifications/capabilities."

Hopkins said the company should be performing "a significant volume of work" in cyber security and evaluation information technology by fall. Its 25 local employees likely would triple by then.

"This work is going all over the United States, and I want to do as much as I can in South Jersey," she said. "I think we will outgrow our small business size in less than three years."

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Safe keeping

The VaultPro Everyday Bag and WalletSafe are a purse and wallet that emphasize security and organization. The compact purse (measuring 10 by 7 by 2 inches) has four exterior pockets with zipper or magnet closures, and four interior pockets plus credit card and pen slots.

Security comes in the form of a steel cable inside the shoulder strap to foil razor-toting thieves, steel mesh surrounding the outside pockets, and a zipper topped with a clamp that locks onto a metal ring to prevent thieves from quickly unzipping the purse and grabbing its contents. The trifold wallet contains a chain that can clip onto your belt and a zippered compartment for cash.

The good: The purse and wallet's organized designs make certain aspects of traveling - or daily life at home - a breeze. You can stash a boarding pass and ID in one of the purse's outer pockets for quick retrieval. At home the same goes for bus and train passes or cab fare. The purse's durable polyester material wears well. With the purse's interior pockets and slots, it's easy to find things, and you can get by without a separate wallet. But using the WalletSafe in tandem with the purse works well.

The bad: Both items' security features can slow you down. It's not a simple thing to unclamp the purse's zipper from the metal ring to open the purse, for example. And the wallet's chain sometimes tangles when you pull the wallet out of the purse.

Cost: VaultPro Everyday Bag, $39.50; WalletSafe, $19.85; available from

A friendly locale

Charleston, S.C., has won another travel honor.

Travel + Leisure Magazine has named Charleston the friendliest city in the nation. The magazine also named the city tops in bed and breakfasts, inns and antique stores. Last month, Charleston was listed among the nation's top destinations by readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. Charleston placed second behind San Francisco. About 4 million people visit Charleston each year.

Charleston and the rest of the South Carolina coast are the heart of the state's $18 billion tourism industry.

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One person suffered burn injuries from a fire in Galloway Township this morning.

The fire was first reported at about 3:45 a.m on Bally Bunion Drive at the Blue Heron Pines Apartments, police said.

All occupants of the four-unit townhouse were evacuated, and one person suffered burns to the hand, police said. He was treated at the scene.

The fire was started by a lit cigarette, police said. It ignited a mattress and the flames then spread to the entire building.

Three residents, residing in two units of the townhome, were given aid with relocation by the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army, police said.

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The Press Newspaper

Toledo, Ohio & Lake Erie

The Press Newspaper

The Press Newspaper

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will host public meetings next month to gather input from the public on proposed rules for managing construction and improvement projects along the Lake Erie shoreline.

The proposed rule changes to the Ohio Administrative Code reflect a new policy for managing the state’s coastal lands announced last summer by Gov. Ted Strickland.

One area the governor’s policy addresses is that of what rights property owners along the lake shoreline with valid deeds have.

“Under this new policy, the state will honor the valid deeds of local property owners along the coast of Lake Erie,” Gov. Strickland said at the announcement last July. “I believe this policy ensures protection of our important natural resources without compromising the rights of landowners.”

One of the three informational meetings will be held Sept. 4 at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, 14000 W. State Route 2, Oak Harbor.

The other meetings will be held Sept. 11 at Painesville Township Park in Lake County and Sept. 18 at the Don Umerley Civic Center in Cuyahoga County.

All the meetings will be from 6-8:30 p.m.

The Ohio Coastal Management Program sets guidelines for the use of the state’s coastal resources as well as establishing policies concerning air and water pollution, protection of wildlife, including rare and endangered species, as well as establishing wetland and natural areas.

The program also provides for the management of erosion areas and the public trust property of Lake Erie.

The guiding policies are divided into nine issue areas, including:
•Coastal erosion and flooding
• Ecologically sensitive areas
•Water quality
• Energy and mineral resources
•Ports and shoreline development
•Water quantity
•Fish and wildlife management
•Recreation and cultural resources
• Environmental quality

Ohio’s coastal management law gives the ODNR the responsibility for managing the public trust property of Lake Erie. It also provides for the management of coastal erosion areas, establishes two advisory councils, and establishes the Lake Erie Protection Fund that provides grants to local communities and non-profit organizations for projects than enhance the management of coastal resources.

By participating in the national Coastal Zone Management Act, passed by Congress in 1972, Ohio has benefited in several ways, according to the ODNR, including receiving more than $2 million annually from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" will feature its first openly gay character. Will you take your kids to see it?
1734592758 [{"id":"174","title":"Yes","votes":"17","pct":56.67,"type":"x","order":"1","resources":[]},{"id":"175","title":"No","votes":"13","pct":43.33,"type":"x","order":"2","resources":[]}] ["#194e84","#3b6b9c","#1f242a","#37414a","#60bb22","#f2babb"] sbar 160 160 /component/communitypolls/vote/67-disney No answer selected. Please try again. Thank you for your vote. Answers Votes ...


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You Can Now Legally Break Into Hot Cars to Save Dogs in TN

Jul 9, 2015 at 11:29 am |

Bull Dog in Car

(Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Grab yourself a rubber hammer and get ready to form a canine rescue squad as Tennessee just passed a law allowing pedestrians to break into hot cars if animals are trapped inside — and you can’t get in trouble for it.

Of course, you have to check whether or not the car is locked, call the police, and be sure that the pup really is in imminent danger before you can go window smashing at Walmart. We’re happy to see that the ability to intervene and protect suffering animals is being put into the hands of good samaritans. These laws also apply for children of course, but the pet laws recently went into effect on July 1st as an extension of existing good Samaritan laws.

“It takes only minutes for a pet to face death — on a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can reach 160 degrees, even with the windows cracked,” Chloe Waterman, senior manager of State Legislative Strategy for the ASPCA.

Only 16 other states are currently protecting animals with similar laws according to MSU’s Animal Legal & Historical Center — though you could potentially be protected regardless if the situation is considered to be animal cruelty.

Share this article if you want your friends to know they’re empowered as good Samaritans!

But first, you have to follow these IMPORTANT steps…


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5 genius ways to save money on Christmas dinner

Because you can't put a price on saving money.

Most Popular

You can't put a price on spending time with the family, except if you're the one catering Christmas lunch – in which case you can, and it's likely to be a pretty hefty one.

But turkey with all the trimmings doesn't have to banish you to the tinned soups aisle for the entirety of January, if you know how where to cut corners and save costs.

Your family will be none the wiser and you won't have to pawn off the family pet – everyone's happy!

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

1. Visit supermarkets for special offers

Shops are all competing with each other in the run up to Christmas – they know you have a choice and they want you to choose them. Because of this it's worth shopping around a little before you buy – make a list of the main items and then check out where the best offers are. It does take a little longer but it's money saving not to buy everything in one place (as long as you aren't driving miles and miles between them).

Most Popular
Pret A Manger christmas sandwich menu
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2. Use a food-swap app

There are lots of different phone apps and websites available now – like OLIO or Leftoverswap.com – which allow you to swap food with people in your area. So if you're clearing out your cupboards before Christmas it's worth listing them for swap to help you simultaneously re-stock. Check what people in your area have before you go out and re-buy it – it's great for the environment and the purse strings!

3. Cook from scratch

There are lots of ready-made canapé and trimmings options in supermarkets but they add up very quickly and so cooking using fresh seasonal fruit and veg to make your own stuffing and nibbles from your local market will help to cut costs. It takes more time, but it costs much less money!

Related Article

4. Sign up to shop online

Many supermarkets offer a 'sign-up' money-off voucher (for example Ocado offer £20 off for new customers). Ordering your festive shop from various retailers will allow you to take advantage of all the newcomer offers and discounts.

5. Buy bargain booze

It's nice to have an expensive vintage wine but when you're buying for the whole family then bargain is better. Buying lower to mid-price, or own brand labels is better than splurging on sought-after labels. Food critic Jay Rayner encourages going for cheaper options – he himself orders the house wine when he goes to restaurants.

More on Prima.co.uk….

Best foodie gift ideas for a delicious Christmas

The best stocking filler finds for Christmas

Get your fix of all things Prima with our twice-weekly newsletter — sign up below!

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9 April 2016

High-Speed Wi-Fi renovated to East cottage area!

Wi-Fi system has just renovated in East cottage area!

Our Wi-Fi fully covers all cottage areas in the forest.
Shot, and upload immediately into your SNS while staying Karuizawa Prince Hotel, cottage area!

The new High-Speed Wi-Fi, provided by G-PON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) ensures the seamless integration of voice, video and data on fully converged networks using ultra-efficient fiber connections to every guest room and even in the forest of cottage area.
(※It delivers 2.488 Gbits/s downstream and 1.244 Gbits/s upstream.)

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CYREN WebSecurity Named Best Anti-Malware Solution by Cyber Defense Magazine

Award recognizes CYREN WebSecurity for delivering fast, innovative malware defense as a SaaS service

Mar 03, 2016, 12:45 ET from CYREN

MCLEAN, Va., March 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CYREN (NASDAQ: CYRN) today announced that Cyber Defense Magazine (CDM), a leading industry magazine and media partner of the 2016 RSA® Conference, named CYREN WebSecurity as Best Anti-Malware Solution through the 4th Annual CDM Awards program.

After many months of review and judged by leading independent information security experts, Cyber Defense Magazine is pleased to have selected CYREN as a winner for their CYREN WebSecurity solution.

"We're thrilled to recognize next-generation innovation in the information security marketplace and that's why CYREN has earned this award from Cyber Defense Magazine," said Pierluigi Paganini, Editor-in-Chief of Cyber Defense Magazine. "Some of the best InfoSec defenses come from these kinds of innovative players who think outside of the box."

"Further validating CYREN as a leading cybersecurity company, CDM's recognition of CYREN WebSecurity as the year's Best Anti-Malware Solution is a true honor," said Lior Kohavi, CTO at CYREN. "Judged by certified, independent security professionals, this award stands as a notable mark of distinction for CYREN WebSecurity's unique, cloud-based anti-malware and zero-day threat prevention capabilities."

CYREN is showcasing CYREN WebSecurity this week during the 2016 RSA Conference in booth #S2107 at San Francisco's Moscone Center.

About CYREN WebSecurity CYREN WebSecurity is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that delivers industrial-strength cyber threat protection and web policy control – for any user, anywhere, on any device. CYREN WebSecurity is easy to deploy and use, and saves money by eliminating the cost of web gateway appliances. Learn more about CYREN WebSecurity at

About Cyber Defense Magazine Cyber Defense Magazine (CDM) is the premier source of IT Security information.  The magazine is managed and published by and for ethical, honest, passionate information security professionals. Its mission is to share cutting edge knowledge, real-world stories and awards on the best ideas, products and services in the information technology industry.  CDM delivers electronic magazines every month online for free and limited print editions exclusively for the RSA Conferences and paid subscribers.  Learn more at

About CYREN CYREN (NASDAQ and TASE: CYRN) protects more than 600 million users against cyber attacks and data breaches through its cloud-based web, email, mobile and endpoint security solutions. Relied upon by many of the world's largest technology companies such as Dell, Google, McAfee and Microsoft, CYREN offers enterprise-focused security as a service (SecaaS) solutions as well as embedded solutions for software and security providers. CYREN's global cloud security platform processes more than 17 billion daily transactions and uses innovative zero-day protection technology to proactively block over 130 million threats each day. Learn more at

Blog: Facebook: LinkedIn: Twitter:

CYREN Media Contact Matthew Zintel Zintel Public Relations 281.444.1590

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including projections about the company's business, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For example, statements in the future tense, and statements including words such as "expect," "plan," "estimate," "anticipate," or "believe" are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on information available at the time of the press release and the company assumes no obligation to update any of them. The statements in this press release are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from current expectations as a result of numerous factors, including business conditions and growth or deterioration in the internet security market, technological developments, products offered by competitors, availability of qualified staff, and technological difficulties and resource constraints encountered in developing new products, as well as those risks described in the company's Annual Reports on Form 20-F and reports on Form 6-K, which are available through

© 2016 CYREN Ltd. CYREN and GlobalView are trademarks of CYREN Ltd. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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NWF Group plc

NWF Group plc

Established in 1871 to supply farmers’ needs, NWF has grown into a strong, profitable and resilient business, with operations across the UK and underpinned by a substantial asset base and the availability of substantial financing facilities to fund development. The business operates in large, stable markets. The divisions have scale and good market positions, and are profitable and cash generative.

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