Podcasts about United Brotherhood

Jessica LaPointe, President of AFGE Council 220, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the critical challenges facing the Social Security Administration (SSA), like staffing, policy changes impacting beneficiaries and ongoing threats to union contracts. John Jarger, Director of Operations for the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council (MACRC), joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the financial impact of worker misclassification, the proactive measures being taken by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and the importance of legislative action to combat these challenges.

In collaboration with INSTALL, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters' Military Veterans Program provides free, comprehensive training to service members transitioning to civilian life. Floor installation is one of the options. In this episode, we speak with Mark Benacquisto, executive director of Millwright Pile Driver Labor Management, who spearheaded the program's development, and INSTALL Executive Director David Gross.

Tim Church, MD, PhD, MPH and Chief Medical Officer for Wondr Health, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the assistance they provide unions and their members through positive health outcomes, quality of life improvements and cost savings. Cindy Brooks, a fourth-year apprentice with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Local Union 237 in Peoria, Ill., joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss her work with the union and what she is doing to ensure more women are able to succeed in the trades. She also discussed the support she received from her union Brothers and Sisters while battling cancer.

Audio from ILC's first Independent Labor Assembly July 7th, 2024 assembly at Talon Bar in Brooklyn with guest Gregory ButlerFor the full episode, Discord access, and all our bonus content, support the show at http:///patreon.com/theantifadaThe Independent Labor Club is an organization that seeks to bring workers together from all over to build bonds of free association and strengthen the power of labor. Our guest speaker Gregory A. Butler is a lifelong New Yorker as well as a carpenter in local 608, United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America. With decades of experience in the trades, he focuses on the history of working class struggle and union organizing in New York. He is the author of Disunited Brotherhood: Race, Racketeering and the Fall of the New York Construction Unions and is owner and moderator of Gangbox: Construction Workers News Service on the yahoo groups network.Song: Johnny Cash - One Piece At A Time

David Gross, executive director, INSTALL, highlights the Sisters in the Brotherhood (SIB)—a women's union organization within the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. He provides an update on how the unions have evolved over time and talks in depth about the support and resources the SIB offers.

William Clarke is a local entrepreneur located in Prince George, British Columbia. Currently, as the owner of Urban Beaver Construction, William is the brain and the skills behind all their projects. He is passionate about the trade and has an eye for the detail. William completed his Carpentry Trade in 2010 at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). He completed the Journeyman Leadership Program at the Carpenters International Training Centre in Las Vegas, Nevada through the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. For over two decades, William has worked in many parts of the trade, primarily focusing on residential and commercial construction. He was also fortunate to be a part of IATSE 891 Union, working as Scenic Carpenter building movie sets such as Deadpool, Once Upon A Time, Flash, and other movies. William has also been a Proud Member of the Marine Workers and Boilermakers Industrial Union as a Shipwright Carpenter renovating Canadian Coast Guard ships, Tug Boats, and Fishing Vessels just before he moved to Prince George in 2020. Learn more about Urban Beaver Construction at https://www.urbanbeaverconstruction.ca/ Follow William on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/urban_beaver_construction

Kristine Byers is a Red Seal Journeyperson Carpenter and Union Business Representative for the Carpenters' Regional Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA). She is passionate about diversifying the workforce through the inclusion and advancement of women, Indigenous workers and other underrepresented groups in the trades.

We speak with Olaf Olsen, representative for the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. We break down some of the misconceptions and myths of becoming a union contractor and diver. Olaf tells us about the new dive school in New Jersey, how you can attend, the benefits of receiving training from the Union, and future work in expanding sectors such as wind. An exciting episode that provides a lot of information to think about whether you are a Union contractor or not. Please comment and let us know your thoughts on the topics discussed. This episode was brought to you by Dryden Diving Company. Stay tuned for future episodes of The Downline! Follow The ADCI on instagram, facebook, and linked-in.

Today's episode of The Lead With Trust Show marks another part of the Bring Women into Construction series, and this time Sue chats with Jacob Adirte and Susan Rodriguez. Jacob is the Director of Organizing at the Nor Cal Carpenters Union, and Susan is a Field Representative for the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council, part of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. The Nor Cal Carpenters Union (NCCU) has a membership of over 37,000 skilled craftspeople and is one of the largest organized voices in the construction industry. Their mission is to ensure each member can build a career with dignity that provides the best wages and benefits possible. The Northern California Carpenters Regional Council (NCCRC) is an affiliate of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, one of North America's largest building-trades unions. The NCCRC represents over 30,000 working men and women in the northern 46 counties of California as well as several thousand contractors. They have served their members, employers, and communities for over 130 years.During the episode, Sue, Jacob and Susan discuss their new all-female pre-apprentice program, including the breakdown of the process applicants will experience.They look at the challenge the industry faces supporting female workers on the job, particularly as they enter their childbearing years. They also offer information for those who wish to take part in the next pre-apprenticeship program.Join Sue, Jacob and Susan for this fascinating discussion.If you have any questions or suggestions for Sue, feel free to reach out via email.Enjoy!What You'll Learn in this Show:Why the real challenge in the industry is not recruiting people - it's retaining them.The importance of recruiting and retaining new talent in the industry.The role of the union in the construction industry and ensuring that female members are fully supported.And so much more...Resources:Susan's LinkedInSusan's Phone: (209) 992-0760Susan's EmailWomen's Focus CommitteeJacob's EmailNor Cal Carpenters Union websiteThe Trusted Leader CourseLead with Trust NewsletterSue's EmailSign Up for Sue's Free Masterclass, No More Claims

What makes a great apprentice? How has technology advanced construction? What happens to builders who don't adopt new technology? These are questions only a seasoned tradesperson can answer… Tune in to this episode of Learnings and Missteps to learn from Clyde King, a construction professional and journeyman carpenter with United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America. Clyde shares unique insights and stories from his 30+ year long career in carpentry, highlighting the best technological advancements in construction and his approach to developing great apprentices. Clyde was first introduced to carpentry with a hammer and a hand saw. Since then, things have come a long way for the trades! After 8 years in the Marines as a young man, Clyde worked a non-union carpentry job for 16 years before joining a carpenters' union. Listen in to hear his greatest misstep as a young carpenter and the powerful lesson he learned as a result. “If we don't get these younger people involved and pass our knowledge on, the trades are in trouble. So, with my 30+ years from project management to superintendent to general foreman to foreman to worker, let's take little bits and let's pass this knowledge on.” – Clyde King What You'll Learn in This Episode:·       How Clyde is using new technology and skills to market his business and share his knowledge with the next generation of tradespeople.·       Developing an apprentice & Qualities of a great apprentice.·       Navigating conflict between contractors. Clyde has a wise Learning and Misstep: They say build to the drawings, but sometimes the drawings will bite you in the ass. Listen to your intuition if something doesn't look or feel right!  Deepen your self awareness with a community of Industry Professionals focused on expanding their leadership skills: https://www.depthbuilder.com/a/2147560101/25qqpH4D Use Coupon Code for sweet discount: JESSE Get yourself a sample of the Lean & Love Reflection Guide with journal prompts that help you focus on your most important relationships: https://www.depthbuilder.com/reflection-guide  Check out my NEW book, Lean & Love – 5S Love Letters: A #NoBS Look Into How Your Relationships Create #RipplesOfImpact at https://www.depthbuilder.com/5s  For all other links and resources, check out my Bio Link: http://depthbuilder.bio.link  Connect with Clyde: Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clyde-king-6a95a49bConnect with him on Facebook:Subscribe to his YouTube channel:Stay tuned for his podcast! Resources Mentioned:   This episode's show notes were written by Kayla MacEachernTo connect, email her at kaymaceachern@gmail.com 

What makes a great apprentice? How has technology advanced construction? What happens to builders who don't adopt new technology? These are questions only a seasoned tradesperson can answer… Tune in to this episode of Learnings and Missteps to learn from Clyde King, a construction professional and journeyman carpenter with United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America. Clyde shares unique insights and stories from his 30+ year long career in carpentry, highlighting the best technological advancements in construction and his approach to developing great apprentices. Clyde was first introduced to carpentry with a hammer and a hand saw. Since then, things have come a long way for the trades! After 8 years in the Marines as a young man, Clyde worked a non-union carpentry job for 16 years before joining a carpenters' union. Listen in to hear his greatest misstep as a young carpenter and the powerful lesson he learned as a result. “If we don't get these younger people involved and pass our knowledge on, the trades are in trouble. So, with my 30+ years from project management to superintendent to general foreman to foreman to worker, let's take little bits and let's pass this knowledge on.” – Clyde King What You'll Learn in This Episode:·       Why baby boomers have such a hard work ethic.·       How Clyde learned carpentry.·       The evolution of construction technology & Tools that have made the biggest impact on carpenters.·       The challenges of working with people who don't embrace changes in technology.Engage with a community of Industry Professionals focused on expanding their leadership skills: https://www.depthbuilder.com/emotional-bungee-jumpers   - Deepen your self awareness with a community of Industry Professionals focused on expanding their leadership skills: https://www.depthbuilder.com/a/2147560101/25qqpH4DUse Coupon Code for sweet discount: JESSEGet yourself a sample of the Lean & Love Reflection Guide with journal prompts that help you focus on your most important relationships: https://www.depthbuilder.com/reflection-guide  Check out my NEW book, Lean & Love – 5S Love Letters: A #NoBS Look Into How Your Relationships Create #RipplesOfImpact at https://www.depthbuilder.com/5s  For all other links and resources, check out my Bio Link: http://depthbuilder.bio.link  Connect with Clyde: Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clyde-king-6a95a49b/Connect with him on Facebook:Subscribe to his YouTube channel:Stay tuned for his podcast! This episode's show notes were written by Kayla MacEachernTo connect, email her at kaymaceachern@gmail.com 

Anthony Reed joins the podcast. Anthony Reed is a candidate for School Board Director in Springfield, Oregon and is a journeyman carpenter with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 270.   Find out more  FB: facebook.com/Vote4AnthonyReed Hosted by Patty Rose To support the podcast with a one time or monthly donation  go to strpod.com/sponsors Ending Track “Conflicting Sides” By Patty Rose Sponsored by Oregon Cash Flow Pro Oregoncashflowpro.com To listen to all previous episodes, buy merch, and more go to strpod.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/strpod/message

"Ukraine's society and government is corrupted at all levels and there is virtually no way to know where U.S. aid and funding is going." This is the way The Two Mikes' guest Lt. Col. (ret'd) Sargis Sangari -- who is the CEO of the Near East Center for Strategic Engagement (NEC-SE), and Founder of United Assyrian Appeal (UAA) -- began our discussion today. 

Mr. Sangari, said that the U.S. administration is well aware of this fact; indeed, Mr. Sangari said that after a visit to Ukraine, Schumer and Pelosi made it even easier to evade U.S. control regulations on aid in order to protect the leaders of the military-industrial complex. --Mr. Sangari's websites are: 
http://nec-se.com, https://www.facebook.com/necforse, and https://unitedassyrianappeal.org“Listening to Two Mikes will make you smarter!”- Gov Robert L. Ehrlich, JrSponsors
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The United Brotherhood of Terrorism: Biden, Xi, Zelensky. With Lt. Col. Sargis Sangari "Ukraine's society and government is corrupted at all levels and there is virtually no way to know where U.S. aid and funding is going." This is the way The Two Mikes' guest Lt. Col. (ret'd) Sargis Sangari -- who is the CEO of the Near East Center for Strategic Engagement (NEC-SE), and Founder of United Assyrian Appeal (UAA) -- began our discussion today. Mr. Sangari, said that the U.S. administration is well aware of this fact; indeed, Mr. Sangari said that after a visit to Ukraine, Schumer and Pelosi made it even easier to evade U.S. control regulations on aid in order to protect the leaders of the military-industrial complex. He also noted that Zelensky is continuing to speak with Chinese President Xi, offering to help China to get further involved in the EU economy, as well as to acquire or make military-support equipment patterned on U.S. and other Western military-support equipment. He also told the Chinese president that he would invite Chinese companies to undertake Ukraine' reconstruction after the war. All told, Mr. Sangari said, Zelensky is in business of enriching himself, and at the start of the war with Russia took orders from the West not to open talks with Moscow in exchange for promises of U.S. and Western aid. As for democracy in Ukraine, Mr. Sangari reported that Zelensky's government immediately imprisoned all Iraqi and Syrian Christian refugees because their home countries were "too friendly to Russia." On the issue of possible unrest in Europe because of the sanctions that have put on Russia, Mr. Sangari said that the Italian and British economies are already collapsing, and it is too late for Germany to acquire the natural gas it needs to get through the coming winter. On the Near East, Mr. Sangari noted that Syrian Christians are still being attacked by Islamic State forces in Syria, and are in dire need of support. P.S: Col. Mike says "You can always rely on the U.S. Congress as well as mainline churches to cut and run from assisting Christian refugees." Especially the Mega churches and Media giants on local Christian radio. There was no issue raising funds for Ukraine even though the taxpayers are spending tens of billions." --Mr. Sangari's websites are: http://nec-se.com, https://www.facebook.com/necforse, and https://unitedassyrianappeal.org Sponsors My Pillow: https://www.mypillow.com/twomikes EMP Shield: https://www.empshield.com/?coupon=twomikes Our Gold Guy: https://www.ourgoldguy.com www.TwoMikes.us

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Local 225 Business Representative Daniel Hicks joined the AWF Union Podcast and discussed the importance of a tax fraud bill passed in Georgia earlier this year.   Joshua Hunter, Business Manager and Financial Secretary-Treasurer for Sheet Metal Workers Local 48 appeared on the AWF Union Podcast and spoke about the need for passage of a Ventilation Verification Program in Alabama. 

Welcome to Grit Nation, The Building Trades Podcast.I'm Joe Cadwell the writer, producer, and host of the show and on today's episode I will be looking into the origins and mission of the largest residential career training program in the United States, the Job Corps. Since 1964 the Job Corps has assisted over 2 million people between the ages of 16 and 24 in finding meaningful careers, in fields as varied as construction, the culinary arts and homeland security. To assist me in better understanding this program, I have invited two Job Corps instructors onto the show, Rich Evanuik and Tizzy Snelson.  We'll open our conversation by understanding the origins of the Job Corps and who the typical Job Corps student is.Next, we'll investigate the “hard skills” which are taught at Job Corps facilities and how Tizzy and Rich are able to overcome social, educational and generational barriers to better connect with their students.Later we'll unpack the relationship the United Brotherhood of Carpenters has with the Jobs Corps and why this collaboration is so important in meeting the workforce demands of a booming economy, and how the Job Corps graduates are part of the equation in filling the ever-widening skills gap in the building trades.  And we'll end our conversation by learning how those interested in the Job Corps can turn the skills and education they receive into a career and future they can be proud of.The Show NotesJob Corps Websitehttps://www.jobcorps.gov/Grit Nation YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy-gSacdByjCCec1KeWDJgwGrit NW webpagehttps://Buildnw.org/podcastFollow Grit Nation on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gritnationpodcast/Email comments or suggestions to:GritNW@gmail.comGrit NW is a proud member of the Labor Radio / Podcast Networkhttps://www.laborradionetwork.org/ Union Home Plus Union Home Plus helps union members save money when they buy, sell, or finance their home. The Grit Nation Join The Nation and spread the word on how unions are building lives and careers to be proud of.NW Carpenters Union United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Regional Council in the Pacific NW 6 states + 29k members strong!!

Annie talks with Art Francisco, a rank-and-file carpenter in the Seattle area and leader of the Peter J McGuire Group, a caucus in the United Brotherhood of Carpenters that fights for accountability and class struggle in the union. They discuss the origins of the recent carpenters  strike in the Pacific Northwest, corruption and bureaucracy in the UBC, City Councilor Kshama Sawant's relationship to the strike, and the Peter J McGuire Group's unique vision of unionism and how it compares to  other efforts of union reform. The Peter J McGuire Group's Gofundme for legal aid is linked.

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters was long a political powerhouse in the St. Louis region — but now the organization has shuttered its St. Louis office and moved leadership to Chicago. Two experts analyze possible reasons for the shakeup and explore the potential fallout.

Part 2 of 3 in a series called “Meet the Candidates”. Anthony Reed joins the podcast as an interview guest. Anthony Reed is a candidate for School Board Director Position 3 in Springfield, Oregon and is a journeyman carpenter with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 270. Find out more FB: facebook.com/Vote4AnthonyReed Hosted by Patty Rose To support the podcast with a one time or monthly donation go to strpod.com/sponsors Ending Track “As They Marched” By Shortround Sponsored by Oregon Cash Flow Pro Oregoncashflowpro.com To listen to all previous episodes, buy merch, and more go to strpod.com Podcast video available exclusively on Youtube @ youtube.com/2rd --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/strpod/support

Welcome to another episode of The Spotlight, a special segment inside the Grit NW Podcast where we acknowledge those programs that promote the visibility of blue-collar jobs in the commercial construction industry as a first-choice career alternative to the oversold notion that the only way to financial and professional success and security is with a college degree.On today’s show we will talk about Career Connections, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters program designed to fill the void left by the removal of shop class in many high school’s and middle schools’ curriculum. To help us understand this valuable and increasingly important connection to the craft skills needed to build and maintain our nation’s infrastructure and wealth, we have Meg Kilmer from the Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute, and Riley McCauley from the Northwest Carpenters Union. We’ll start our conversation by learning what the Career Connections program is and how the UBC designed it to meet the ever-increasing demand for the skilled workforce of tomorrow.Next, we will look into how easily the curriculum can be adopted by schools without an established vocational education program, to inspire their students to develop the life skills needed to be successful, regardless of what career path they choose.We will then discuss the merit’s of working with your hands and how the challenges of construction not only test you physically but cognitively as well as when doing complex layout, measurements, and design/build projects.Later we will look at how a Career Connections certification can fast track your entry into a pre-apprentice program and what it means to have tangible results upon completion of the course.And we will wrap up our discussion where you can find out more about Career Connections and how you or someone you know can find a satisfying, and financially rewarding career as a professional carpenter. The Show NotesUBC Career Connections Program Informationhttps://www.citfcareerconnections.org/program-overviewhttps://www.carpenters.org/citf-training/citf-training-programs/career-connections/NW Carpenters Unionhttps://www.nwcarpenters.org/PNCI.orghttp://www.pnci.orgNWCIhttps://www.citfcareerconnections.org/program-overviewJoin Grit NW Nation here:(could this be any easier?)https://forms.gle/WEKcA76y3Wegmv8z7For comments, questions or suggestions about the show send an email to:GritNW@gmail.comYou can also share this link to the Grit NW webpage with friends, family members or co-workers and score good karma points, you'll be a better person for it, I promise:https://Buildnw.org/podcastNW Carpenters Union United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Regional Council in the Pacific NW. 6 states + 29k members strong!The Grit Nation Join The Nation and spread the word on how unions are building lives and careers to be proud of.Labor Radio / Podcast Network Discover shows to learn more about organized labor movements across our nation and around the world.

The Biden administration inherited a political and trade policy landscape transformed since the end of the Obama presidency by both the Trump trade strategy and the COVID-19 pandemic. To deliver on its Build Back Better promises, the administration must create new approaches to trade that prioritize good jobs, promote the environmental and energy policies needed to counter climate catastrophe, protect consumer health and safety, and promote small business by breaking up monopolies. In part one of a two-part series, we discuss the short and middle-term steps the Biden Administration should take to accomplish these goals. Welcome to the Cliff Notes version of the Transition Memo on Trade Policy, recently released by Public Citizen and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. Learn more at rethinktrade.org. Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode focusing on the Carpentry trade, Dan, Bill and Maddie talk about what skilled trade they would have liked to pursue. Dan also welcomes Jon Baron, Training Coordinator from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America – Local 93. Dan and Jon talk about the pathway to becoming a Carpenter, as well as numerous opportunities that exist in the trade.

The Biden administration inherited a political and trade policy landscape transformed since the end of the Obama presidency by both the Trump trade strategy and the COVID-19 pandemic. To deliver on its Build Back Better promises, the administration must create new approaches to trade that prioritize good jobs, promote the environmental and energy policies needed to counter climate catastrophe, protect consumer health and safety, and promote small business by breaking up monopolies. In part one of a two-part series, we discuss the short and middle-term steps the Biden Administration should take to accomplish these goals. Welcome to the Cliff Notes version of the Transition Memo on Trade Policy, recently released by Public Citizen and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. Learn more at rethinktrade.org. Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins, and Van Lathan are calling the organization of the United Brotherhood of It's None of Your Damn Business as they revisit the 1995 film ‘The American President’ starring Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, and Martin Sheen. Directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin.

Jonathan Barger v. United Brotherhood

CREATING modern and safe schools, using local labor, paid for with 80% of the $228 million construction costs from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (State of Ohio).$50 million Bond leverages $178 million from the State of Ohio ($228 million in total).Updating safety and security for students and staff.Most of our schools are more than 60 years old. Shoreland, Jackman and Wernert are a combined 255 years old.Building Projects that will support local labor and the local economySupport from Organized LaborInternational Association of Iron Workers Local 55, Northwestern Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, United Association Local Union No. 50 Plumbers and Steamfitters, Local Union No. 8 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 351, Local 886 Cement Masons & Plasterers, Teamsters Local 20, OAPSE, TAWLS, Piping Industry Professionals & Employers, and the Labor Management Cooperation Committee.The district has done a good job of maintaining property and buildings, but additional updates are needed to provide safe, up-to-date learning environments necessary in today’s world and that our community expects and can take pride in.CLASSROOMS for all Washington Local students that support 21st-Century learning and prepare our students for meaningful careers.A generational upgrade for our students, schools, and community.Continuing career readiness through a variety of electives and advanced placement programs.Maintaining and Improving Career Tech Workforce Development Programs to encourage our students to stay local when they graduate due to excellent job opportunitiesKeeping high-quality programs and educational opportunities.CARING for the Washington Local community by maintaining continued high-quality staff and services for our students.Day-to-day operating expenses are exceeding revenue due to the state cap on our funding.The cap means that Washington Local Schools currently serves 7,000+ students but only receives funding for 5,000 students.Keeping and attracting quality teachers and staff.Investing in our schools protects property values and community’s quality of life.If the quality of our schools declines, it impacts our entire community.Without Issue 7, our schools will have to make cuts to staff and educational programs, and any significant facility construction will be put off possibly affecting the amount of money the state will contribute to building projects. Passing Issue 7 keeps our schools and community Strong and Independent. Issue 7 spreads the expense of restoring Washington Local Schools facilities over generations, ensuring a legacy for our children and grandchildren. Issue 7 is a combined 3.0-mill bond levy and 3.9-mill operating levy for Washington Local Schools for a continuing period of time. The cost of this levy is about $18 a month for an average Washington Local homeowner.

Polisen har slagit till mot den kriminella ligan United Brotherhood i flera olika städer som Åbo, Helsingfors och Tammerfors. Polisen varnar samtidigt för att organiserad brottslighet är på frammarsch i vårt land. Vad kan man göra för att mota den här utvecklingen och hur orolig ska man vara? Vad är det som får en del människor att hamna på brottets bana? I Slaget efter tolv deltar Matti Saren med bakgrund som yrkeskriminell, specialforskaren Henrik Linderborg från Brottspåföljdsmyndigheten och Charlotta Wieliczko som är teamledare för krisjouren för unga vid Helsingforsmissionen. Maria Nylund leder ordet. E-post: slaget@yle.fi

Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante and the Nuestra Palabra Crew provide a sneak preview of the XXI Anniversary Showcase of Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say featuring the Godfather of Chicano Literature Dagoberto Gilb and poet Lips Mendez. The show aired live Tuesday April 2, 2019, the night before the NPXXI showcase at the Museum of Fine Arts Brown Auditorium. Click her to donate to Nuestra Palabra: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9CPLMM88TF5BS Dagoberto Gilb is the author of nine books, including The Magic of Blood, The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuña, Woodcuts of Women, Gritos, The Flowers, and Before the End, After the Beginning. He is also the editor of two canonical anthologies, Hecho en Tejas: Texas Mexican Literature and Mexican American Literature, and the founding editor of Huizache, the country’s best Latino literary magazine. Among his own writing’s honors are the PEN/Hemingway Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and a Whiting Writers Award; his work has been a finalist for the National Book Critics’ Circle and PEN/Faulkner Awards and has been honored several times in Texas as a proud part of its literary tradition. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Best American Essays, O’Henry Prize Stories, and several hundred others, much of it widely reprinted in textbooks. Gilb spent sixteen years making a living, as a father of two children, in the construction trades, twelve of them as a journeyman high-rise carpenter with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. He has since taught at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Arizona, the University of Wyoming, Vassar, and Texas State University. He is currently the executive director of CentroVictoria, at the University of Houston-Victoria. Born and raised in Los Angeles to an American father and a Mexican mother, he has lived as long in both El Paso and now Austin. Originally from Galveston, TX, Lupe (Writer//Educator//Activist) works with Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say, Brazilian Arts Foundation and other organizations to promote poetry events, advocate for literacy/literature and organize creative writing workshops that are open to the public. He is the founder of Tintero Projects and works with emerging Latinx writers and other writers of color within the Texas Gulf Coast Region, with Houston as its hub. In addition, Lupe co-hosts INKWELL - a collaborative podcast creation between Tintero Projects and Inprint, placing a monthly spotlight on Regional, National and International Latinx writers and other Writers of Color. Mendez is a CantoMundo Fellow , a Macondo Fellow and an Emerging Poet Incubator Fellow and his newest collection of poetry - WHY I AM LIKE TEQUILA is forthcoming from Willow Books. Dr, Jesse Esparza is a professor at Texas Southern University, NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6pm-7pm cst 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX. Livestream www.KPFT.org. More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org. The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives. Producers: Leti Lopez & Marlen Treviño. Board operator: Terrell Quillin Tony Diaz Sundays, Mondays, & Tuesdays & The Other Side Sun 7am "What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston Mon Noon "The Cultural Accelerator" at www.TonyDiaz.net Tues 6pm NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston www.NuestraPalabra.org 24/7 The Other Side TV www.TheOtherSideTele.com

Royce Peters, senior technical coordinator for the Carpenters International Training Center (ITC) in Las Vegas, Nevada, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. The ITC is the largest and most-comprehensive training facility of its kind in the world. Following the completion of phase six of construction in 2018, the center now has more than 1.2 million square feet under-roof. Peters listed some of the unique training tools available at the facility, including a Frame 7 gas turbine, a 64-MW steam turbine, eight overhead bridge cranes, and a 16,000-gallon underwater-welding dive tank, among other things. The facility is one of the largest publishers of technical training materials in the world, with more than 120 books created and more under development. The Carpenters International Training Fund and its affiliated funds invest more than $200 million a year to develop and deliver training, enhance knowledge and skill sets, and create new opportunities for United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) members. Outreach programs include Career Connections, which targets high schoolers and inner-city residents, among others, with training leading to a career in the industry, and Helmets to Hardhats, which gives military members the opportunity to transition more easily to the civilian workforce. But people interested in joining the UBC don't have to go through one of the outreach programs, anyone can apply by contacting their nearest regional council office. There's a lot of see at the ITC and the ELECTRIC POWER Conference and Exhibition is making it possible by offering a tour of the facility as an option for attendees. To learn more and to register for the event, which will be held April 23–26, 2019, at The Mirage Events Center in Las Vegas, visit: https://2019.electricpowerexpo.com/.

This week at In The Past Lane, the history podcast, I take a deep dive into the origins of Labor Day.  It's a holiday that most Americans these days take for granted. But it was born out of the crisis of the Gilded Age, that tumultuous last third of the 19th century that saw both the US economy boom as never before and social upheaval take place on an unprecedented level.  This unique holiday was first celebrated on September 5, 1882. On that day  thousands of workers in New York City risked getting fired for taking an unauthorized day off to participate in festivities honoring honest toil and the rights of labor.  This first commemoration of Labor Day testified to labor’s rising power and unity in the Gilded Age as well as its sense that both were necessary to withstand the growing power of business and industry. The Labor Day holiday originated with the Central Labor Union (CLU), a local labor federation – essentially a union of unions - formed in NYC in January 1882 to promote the interests of workers.  The CLU immediately became a formidable force in New York, staging protest rallies, lobbying state legislators, and organizing strikes and boycotts.  By August 1882 membership in the organization boomed to fifty-six unions representing 80,000 workers.  But CLU activists wanted to do more than simply increase membership and win strikes. They wanted to build worker solidarity in the face of jarring changes being wrought by the industrial revolution in the Gilded Age – the period in American history covering roughly the last 3rd of the 19th century. During this period the United States was transformed from what today we’d call a “developing nation” in 1865 to the world’s leading economic power by 1900. The favorite word of politicians and business leaders in this era was “progress.” But along with this tremendous increase in national wealth came a problem: widespread poverty. Evidence of this troubling duality could be found everywhere, but especially in New York City where mansions of big business tycoons like Vanderbilt, Morgan, and Carnegie arose along Fifth Avenue, while in the rest of the city two-thirds of the population lived in cramped and squalid tenements.  In short, the establishment of Labor Day signaled that Gilded Age America faced a crisis over growing inequality. The motivation to establish Labor Day also came from a growing sense of alarm among American workers over the growing power of employers over their employees and frustration over the unwillingness of political leaders to do anything about it.  Employers were free to increase hours, slash wages, and fire workers at will – practices that rendered workers powerless and pushed more and more of them into poverty.   These developments, noted labor leaders, called into question the future of the American republic.  As the CLU put it in its constitution: “Economical servitude degrades political liberties to a farce. Men who are bound to follow the dictates of factory lords, that they may earn a livelihood, are not free.  … [A]s the power of combined and centralized capital increases, the political liberties of the toiling masses become more and more illusory.” In other words, workers in the Gilded Age began to argue that in this new world of industry – one that was so very different from the agrarian world of the Founders - mere political equality (one man, one vote) was no longer adequate to maintain a healthy republican society. Modern industrial life, with huge corporations, global markets, and increasing numbers of people working for wages, required a recognition that republican citizenship included an economic dimension – not just a political one. As the reformer and labor activist Henry George wrote in 1879, “In our time…creep on the insidious forces that, producing inequality, destroy Liberty.”  The fact that all male citizens possessed the vote and equality before the law, George continued, no longer guaranteed them the blessings of republican citizenship. If one was forced to work 60 or 80 hours a weeks and yet did not earn a living wage, his right to vote was meaningless. He had sunken into what workers in that er called, “industrial slavery.”  Extreme inequality, in other words, would destroy American democracy. So these were the concerns that in 1882 prompted labor activists affiliated with New York’s CLU to establish Labor Day as a day that would celebrate workers and inspire them to reclaim their dissipating rights.  As John Swinton, editor of the city’s only labor paper wrote, “Whatever enlarges labor’s sense of its power hastens the day of its emancipation.” Now, we should pause here to note that the precise identity of the CLU leader who in May 1882 first proposed the idea of establishing Labor Day remains a mystery.  Some accounts say it was Peter “P. J.” McGuire, General Secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners (and future co-founder of the AFL), who proposed the idea.  Others argue that it was another man with a similar last name, machinist Matthew Maguire.  Well, we’ll probably never know the answer to which Maguire deserves the title of the “Father of Labor Day,” but it is clear that both men played key roles in promoting and organizing the original holiday. And so it was that after months of preparation the chosen day – Tuesday September 5, 1882 – finally arrived.   Optimism among the organizers ran high, but no one knew how many workers would turn out.  Few could expect their employers to grant them a day off and many feared getting fired and blacklisted for labor union activity.  When William G. McCabe, the parade’s first Grand Marshall and popular member of the International Typographers Union, arrived an hour before the parade’s start, the situation looked grim.  Only a few dozen workers stood milling about City Hall Park in lower Manhattan. But to the relief of McCabe and other organizers, by the time the parade touched off at 10:00 a.m., about 400 men and a brass band had assembled. In the early going, the small group of marchers faced ridicule from bystanders and interruptions in the line of march because policemen refused to stop traffic at intersections.  But as the parade continued north up Broadway, it swelled in size as union after union fell into line from side streets.  Soon the jeers turned into cheers as the spectacle of labor solidarity grew more impressive. Marchers held aloft signs that spoke both to their pride as workers and the fear that they were losing political power and economic standing in the republic: To the Workers Should Belong All Wealth Labor Built this Republic. Labor Shall Rule It Less Work and More Pay Eight Hours for a Legal Day’s Work  All Men Are Created Equal  Many workers wore their traditional work uniforms and aprons and walked behind wagons displaying their handiwork.  Others dressed in their holiday best for the occasion. Midway through the parade, the throng of workers – now numbering 5,000 -- passed a reviewing stand at Union Square.  Among the many dignitaries was Terence Powderly, Grand Master Workman of the Knights of Labor, the most powerful labor organization in the nation. It then continued up Fifth Avenue, past the opulent mansions of the new super rich of the era – the Vanderbilts, Morgans, Goulds and so on, before ending at 42nd Street and Sixth Ave.  From there participants headed to a large park on Manhattan’s Upper west Side for a massive picnic.  By late afternoon some 25,000 workers and their families jammed the park to participate in the festivities which consisted of live music, stirring speeches on workers’ rights, and consumption of copious amounts of food and beer.  Thrilled with the success of this first effort, CLU leaders staged a second Labor Day the following year in 1883 and the event drew an even larger number of participants.  The next year, in 1884, the CLU officially designated the first Monday in September as the annual Labor Day, calling upon workers to, “Leave your benches, leave your shops, join in the parade and attend the picnic.  A day spent with us is not lost.”  Upwards of 20,000 marched that year, including a contingent of African American workers (the first women marchers appeared in 1885). With such an impressive start, the tradition of an annual Labor Day holiday quickly gained popularity across the country.  By 1886 Labor Day had become a national event.  Some 20,000 workers marched in Manhattan, and another 10,000 in Brooklyn, while 25,000 turned out in Chicago, 15,000 in Boston, 5,000 in Buffalo, and 4,000 in Washington, D.C.   Politicians took notice and in 1887 five states, including New York, passed laws making Labor Day a state holiday.  Seven years later – just a dozen years after the first celebration in New York — President Grover Cleveland signed into law a measure establishing Labor Day as a holiday for all federal workers. Labor Day caught on so quickly among Gilded Age workers because unlike the traditional forms of labor activism like  striking and picketing, or civic holidays commemorating victories in war, Labor Day drew together workers for the purposes of celebration. As P. J. McGuire later wrote of the parade, “No festival of martial glory of warrior’s renown is this; no pageant pomp of warlike conquest … attend this day.  … It is dedicated to Peace, Civilization and the triumphs of Industry.  It is a demonstration of fraternity and the harbinger of a better age – a more chivalrous time, when labor shall be best honored and well rewarded.” In the twentieth century, Labor Day parades grew into massive spectacles of pride and power. These annual events reflected the growing power and influence of organized labor in American society. The labor movement and social reformers pushed for policies aimed at limiting the power of big corporations and the wealthy, while protecting and enhancing the opportunity for the average citizen to live a decent life. These policies included the 8-hour day, increased workplace safety, collective bargaining rights, expanded public education, unemployment insurance, and Social Security.  Their success reflected a growing acceptance of the idea that for republican citizenship to be real, it had to include a baseline of material wellbeing.  By the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt enshrined “Freedom from Want” as one of the nation’s essential Four Freedoms. “True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence,” he said. “People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.” Roosevelt’s New Deal and subsequent moments of reform like President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” boosted the wellbeing of the average American.  So, too, did the influence of a strong labor movement. Labor’s power was on full display on Labor Day in 1961 when 200,000 workers processed up Fifth Avenue behind Grand Marshall Mayor Robert Wagner, passing on the reviewing stand dignitaries that included Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Senator Jacob K. Javitts, and former President Harry S. Truman. The result of reforms and strong unions was the steady decline of extreme wealth inequality. Whereas in 1890 the top 1 percent of Americans owned 51 percent of all wealth, by 1979 the 1 percent owned 20.5% of all wealth. But since 1980 the trend has shifted dramatically back toward increased wealth and income inequality. This trend has many sources, including deindustrialization, cuts to social programs, and the deregulation of Wall Street.  But a key one has been the decline of the power of organized labor.  In 1955 union membership reached its historic highpoint with 39% of the American workforce belonging to a union. Today, union membership hovers around 10 percent. And wealth inequality?  In 1979, as we just noted, the share of wealth possessed by the 1 percent had fallen to about 21%. Today, it’s closing in on 40% -- and rising. This trend explains why so many Americans have taken to calling this era, the Second Gilded Age. So this weekend, as millions celebrate Labor Day by not laboring, Americans would do well to reflect on the core claims of the early labor movement that invented Labor Day: Gilded Age workers and those who followed them argued that the nation’s democratic values and republican institutions were threatened by economic policies that left a small number of people extremely wealthy and powerful, while the great majority of citizens struggled to obtain or hold onto a piece of the American Dream. Today, this concern animates calls for a $15 minimum wage, single payer health care, tougher regulations on corporations, banks, and Wall Street, and greater investment in infrastructure and public education. So, Labor Day should remind us that while, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, all are created equal, they also grow up to live in a society shaped by policies and laws that determine whether opportunities for success are focused on the great majority of citizens, or merely on the 1 percent. Happy Labor Day, people.   Recommended reading:  Edward T. O’Donnell, Henry George and the Crisis of Inequality: Progress and Poverty in the Gilded Age (Columbia Univ. Press, 2015) Jonathan Grossman, “Who Is the Father of Labor Day?,” Labor History, 14, no. 4, (1973) Michael Kazin and Steven J. Ross, “America’s Labor Day: The Dilemma of a Workers’ Celebration,” Journal of American History (Mar 1992) P.J. McGuire, "Labor Day — Its Birth and Significance", The Union Agent [Kentucky], vol. 3, no. 9 (Sept. 1898). Follow In The Past Lane on Twitter  @InThePastLane Instagram  @InThePastLane Facebook https://www.facebook.com/InThePastLanePodcast/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeZMGFqoAASwvSJ1cpZOEAA Related ITPL podcast episodes: Related ITPL podcast episodes:   Episodes 052, 053, 054 – a three-part series on the Gilded Age   Music for This Episode Jay Graham, ITPL Intro (JayGMusic.com) Kevin McCleod, “Impact Moderato” (Free Music Archive) Andy Cohen, “Trophy Endorphins” (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, “Discovery” (Free Music Archive) Blue Dot Sessions, “Sage the Hunter,” (Free Music Archive) Jon Luc Hefferman, “Winter Trek” (Free Music Archive) The Bell, “I Am History” (Free Music Archive) Production Credits Executive Producer: Lulu Spencer Technical Advisors: Holly Hunt and Jesse Anderson Podcasting Consultant: Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting Photographer: John Buckingham Graphic Designer: Maggie Cellucci Website by: ERI Design Legal services: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too Social Media management: The Pony Express Risk Assessment: Little Big Horn Associates Growth strategies: 54 40 or Fight © In The Past Lane, 2018 Recommended History Podcasts Ben Franklin’s World with Liz Covart @LizCovart The Age of Jackson Podcast @AgeofJacksonPod Backstory podcast – the history behind today’s headlines @BackstoryRadio Past Present podcast with Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young, and Natalia Petrzela @PastPresentPod 99 Percent Invisible with Roman Mars @99piorg Slow Burn podcast about Watergate with @leoncrawl The Memory Palace – with Nate DiMeo, story teller extraordinaire @thememorypalace The Conspirators – creepy true crime stories from the American past @Conspiratorcast The History Chicks podcast @Thehistorychix My History Can Beat Up Your Politics @myhist Professor Buzzkill podcast – Prof B takes on myths about the past @buzzkillprof Footnoting History podcast @HistoryFootnote The History Author Show podcast @HistoryDean More Perfect podcast - the history of key US Supreme Court cases @Radiolab Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell @Gladwell Radio Diaries with Joe Richman @RadioDiaries DIG history podcast @dig_history  The Story Behind – the hidden histories of everyday things @StoryBehindPod Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen – specifically its American Icons series @Studio360show  Uncivil podcast – fascinating takes on the legacy of the Civil War in contemporary US @uncivilshow Stuff You Missed in History Class @MissedinHistory The Whiskey Rebellion – two historians discuss topics from today’s news @WhiskeyRebelPod American History Tellers ‏@ahtellers The Way of Improvement Leads Home with historian John Fea @JohnFea1 The Bowery Boys podcast – all things NYC history @BoweryBoys  Ridiculous History @RidiculousHSW The Rogue Historian podcast with historian @MKeithHarris The Road To Now podcast @Road_To_Now Retropod with @mikerosenwald

How does one go from respected and talented drug investigator to drug dealer and corrupt police officer? This is the third and final part to a three-part story. Please go back and listen to parts one and two first if you haven’t already. Raimo Tienhaara: Finnish criminal responsible for the planning of the attack on Aarnio in 1996.Raine Sievälä: Finnish criminal, brother of Raimo Tienhaara. Was seen on security tape footage buying two phones and was later convicted in the first part of the barrel case.Pasila man: Nickname for the main perpetrator in the barrel case.United Brotherhood: Gang – Keijo Vilhunen was acting as its leader at the time.Keijo Vilhunen: Finnish criminal, former leader of United Brotherhood and one of Pasila man’s main partners in crime.Peter-Mikael Fagerholm: Received the Loviisa barrel in 2011 as ordered by Raine Sievälä and was threatened by UB gang members during the first barrel case court proceedings.Jykä: United Brotherhood member who was initially suspected to be the Pasila man.Miika Kortekallio: Finnish drug lord who passed away in 2000.Malmi woman: Mari Romano, one of the Pasila man’s contacts and his main partners in crime. Ex-girlfriend of Miika Kortekallio.Seija Kortekallio-Lampi: Sister of Miika Kortekallio, one of the Pasila man’s contacts and his main partners in crime.Lasse Aapio: Helsinki police force assistant manager.Saara: Sex worker whose story led to an investigation on Aarnio and who also acted as an important witness in court.Trevoc: Technology company.Pasi Patama: Founder of Trevoc.Jouni Viitanen: Founder of Trevoc.Petri Rainiala: HPN senior officer belonging to Aarnio’s inner circle.Ari-Pekka Koivisto: state prosecutor in charge of the investigation into HPN that started in 2007.Mikael Runeberg: NBI investigator who later moved on to work for the HPN, belonged to Aarnio’s inner circle and acted as his right-hand man. Was also involved in the testing of the anonymizer.Kari Kauppi: HPN investigator belonging to Aarnio’s inner circle who was involved in the testing of the anonymizer. Brought items to Aarnio in jail and called Aarnio’s wife to discuss spreading mulch on the Porvoo premises.Riitta Leppiniemi: Jari Aarnio’s lawyer.Heikki Tamminen: A Finnish businessman who passed away in the year 2002 and who Aarnio alleged all his unreported cash had come from.Veiko: An Estonian man who was, according to Aarnio, close to Tamminen and delivered Aarnio the money in a secret meeting. Veiko was later tracked down and acted as a witness in court.Jarmo Hirvonen: Prosecutor in the Aarnio case.Mikko Männikkö: Prosecutor in the Aarnio case. If you want to know more about this case, I highly recommend a book called Keisari Aarnio by Minna Passi and Susanna Reinboth which is also my main source of information for this multiparter. Unfortunately, the book is only available in Finnish for now. The first episode of the Empreror Aarnio TV series is out now, and my Finnish listeners can find it online at Ruutu. Podcast promos for this week: Ignorance was Bliss and MurderishA big thank you to Kate from Ignorance was Bliss and Craig for supporting me on Patreon! On Patreon, you can donate as little as two dollars a month and receive ad-free episodes and bonus episodes in return. Visit the page at https://www.patreon.com/truecrimefinlandYou can find my podcast swag store at https://www.redbubble.com/people/tc-finland/shop?asc=uArt is by Mark Pernia. You can email him at markperniaa(at)gmail.comMusic is "Night" by VVSMUSICAre you interested in advertising on this podcast? Find out more at https://www.advertisecast.com/TrueCrimeFinlandYou can email me at truecrimefinlandpod@gmail.com with any questions, suggestions or feedback. iTunes reviews are also much appreciated.You can find all my episodes on https://truecrimefinland.squarespace.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Also, please feel free to join the Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/507039419636994/) for the podcast. In addition, I’m on Twitter at tc_finland

Syyttäjä vaatii vankeusrangaistuksia kahdelle miehelle muun muassa törkeästä huumausainerikoksesta. Syyttäjän mukaan United Brotherhood -liivijengi .. Lisää >> http://ift.tt/2nsyfSl

The Times of Michael’s Bestowal (1332.1) 121:0.1 ACTING under the supervision of a commission of twelve members of the United Brotherhood of Urantia Midwayers, conjointly sponsored by the presiding head of our order and the Melchizedek of record, I am the secondary midwayer of onetime attachment to the Apostle Andrew, and I am authorized to place on record the narrative of the life transactions of Jesus of Nazareth as they were observed by my order of earth creatures, and as they were subsequently partially recorded by the human subject of my temporal guardianship. Knowing how his Master so scrupulously avoided leaving written records behind him, Andrew steadfastly refused to multiply copies of his written narrative. A similar attitude on the part of the other apostles of Jesus greatly delayed the writing of the Gospels. 1. The Occident of the First Century After Christ (1332.2) 121:1.1 Jesus did not come to this world during an age of spiritual decadence; at the time of his birth Urantia was experiencing such a revival of spiritual thinking and religious living as it had not known in all its previous post-Adamic history nor has experienced in any era since. When Michael incarnated on Urantia, the world presented the most favorable condition for the Creator Son’s bestowal that had ever previously prevailed or has since obtained. In the centuries just prior to these times Greek culture and the Greek language had spread over Occident and near Orient, and the Jews, being a Levantine race, in nature part Occidental and part Oriental, were eminently fitted to utilize such cultural and linguistic settings for the effective spread of a new religion to both East and West. These most favorable circumstances were further enhanced by the tolerant political rule of the Mediterranean world by the Romans. (1332.3) 121:1.2 This entire combination of world influences is well illustrated by the activities of Paul, who, being in religious culture a Hebrew of the Hebrews, proclaimed the gospel of a Jewish Messiah in the Greek tongue, while he himself was a Roman citizen. (1332.4) 121:1.3 Nothing like the civilization of the times of Jesus has been seen in the Occident before or since those days. European civilization was unified and co-ordinated under an extraordinary threefold influence: (1332.5) 121:1.4 1. The Roman political and social systems. (1332.6) 121:1.5 2. The Grecian language and culture — and philosophy to a certain extent. (1332.7) 121:1.6 3. The rapidly spreading influence of Jewish religious and moral teachings. (1332.8) 121:1.7 When Jesus was born, the entire Mediterranean world was a unified empire. Good roads, for the first time in the world’s history, interconnected many major centers. The seas were cleared of pirates, and a great era of trade and travel was rapidly advancing. Europe did not again enjoy another such period of travel and trade until the nineteenth century after Christ. (1333.1) 121:1.8 Notwithstanding the internal peace and superficial prosperity of the Greco-Roman world, a majority of the inhabitants of the empire languished in squalor and poverty. The small upper class was rich; a miserable and impoverished lower class embraced the rank and file of humanity. There was no happy and prosperous middle class in those days; it had just begun to make its appearance in Roman society. (1333.2) 121:1.9 The first struggles between the expanding Roman and Parthian states had been concluded in the then recent past, leaving Syria in the hands of the Romans. In the times of Jesus, Palestine and Syria were enjoying a period of prosperity, relative peace, and extensive commercial intercourse with the lands to both the East and the West. 2. The Jewish People (1333.3) 121:2.1 The Jews were a part of the older Semitic race, which also included the Babylonians, the Phoenicians, and the more recent enemies of Rome, the Carthaginians. During the fore part of the first century after Christ, the Jews were the most influential group of the Semitic peoples, and they happened to occupy a peculiarly strategic geographic position in the world as it was at that time ruled and organized for trade. (1333.4) 121:2.2 Many of the great highways joining the nations of antiquity passed through Palestine, which thus became the meeting place, or crossroads, of three continents. The travel, trade, and armies of Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Syria, Greece, Parthia, and Rome successively swept over Palestine. From time immemorial, many caravan routes from the Orient passed through some part of this region to the few good seaports of the eastern end of the Mediterranean, whence ships carried their cargoes to all the maritime Occident. And more than half of this caravan traffic passed through or near the little town of Nazareth in Galilee. (1333.5) 121:2.3 Although Palestine was the home of Jewish religious culture and the birthplace of Christianity, the Jews were abroad in the world, dwelling in many nations and trading in every province of the Roman and Parthian states. (1333.6) 121:2.4 Greece provided a language and a culture, Rome built the roads and unified an empire, but the dispersion of the Jews, with their more than two hundred synagogues and well-organized religious communities scattered hither and yon throughout the Roman world, provided the cultural centers in which the new gospel of the kingdom of heaven found initial reception, and from which it subsequently spread to the uttermost parts of the world. (1333.7) 121:2.5 Each Jewish synagogue tolerated a fringe of gentile believers, “devout” or “God-fearing” men, and it was among this fringe of proselytes that Paul made the bulk of his early converts to Christianity. Even the temple at Jerusalem possessed its ornate court of the gentiles. There was very close connection between the culture, commerce, and worship of Jerusalem and Antioch. In Antioch Paul’s disciples were first called “Christians.” (1333.8) 121:2.6 The centralization of the Jewish temple worship at Jerusalem constituted alike the secret of the survival of their monotheism and the promise of the nurture and sending forth to the world of a new and enlarged concept of that one God of all nations and Father of all mortals. The temple service at Jerusalem represented the survival of a religious cultural concept in the face of the downfall of a succession of gentile national overlords and racial persecutors. (1334.1) 121:2.7 The Jewish people of this time, although under Roman suzerainty, enjoyed a considerable degree of self-government and, remembering the then only recent heroic exploits of deliverance executed by Judas Maccabee and his immediate successors, were vibrant with the expectation of the immediate appearance of a still greater deliverer, the long-expected Messiah. (1334.2) 121:2.8 The secret of the survival of Palestine, the kingdom of the Jews, as a semi-independent state was wrapped up in the foreign policy of the Roman government, which desired to maintain control of the Palestinian highway of travel between Syria and Egypt as well as the western terminals of the caravan routes between the Orient and the Occident. Rome did not wish any power to arise in the Levant which might curb her future expansion in these regions. The policy of intrigue which had for its object the pitting of Seleucid Syria and Ptolemaic Egypt against each other necessitated fostering Palestine as a separate and independent state. Roman policy, the degeneration of Egypt, and the progressive weakening of the Seleucids before the rising power of Parthia, explain why it was that for several generations a small and unpowerful group of Jews was able to maintain its independence against both Seleucidae to the north and Ptolemies to the south. This fortuitous liberty and independence of the political rule of surrounding and more powerful peoples the Jews attributed to the fact that they were the “chosen people,” to the direct interposition of Yahweh. Such an attitude of racial superiority made it all the harder for them to endure Roman suzerainty when it finally fell upon their land. But even in that sad hour the Jews refused to learn that their world mission was spiritual, not political. (1334.3) 121:2.9 The Jews were unusually apprehensive and suspicious during the times of Jesus because they were then ruled by an outsider, Herod the Idumean, who had seized the overlordship of Judea by cleverly ingratiating himself with the Roman rulers. And though Herod professed loyalty to the Hebrew ceremonial observances, he proceeded to build temples for many strange gods. (1334.4) 121:2.10 The friendly relations of Herod with the Roman rulers made the world safe for Jewish travel and thus opened the way for increased Jewish penetration even of distant portions of the Roman Empire and of foreign treaty nations with the new gospel of the kingdom of heaven. Herod’s reign also contributed much toward the further blending of Hebrew and Hellenistic philosophies. (1334.5) 121:2.11 Herod built the harbor of Caesarea, which further aided in making Palestine the crossroads of the civilized world. He died in 4 B.C., and his son Herod Antipas governed Galilee and Perea during Jesus’ youth and ministry to A.D. 39. Antipas, like his father, was a great builder. He rebuilt many of the cities of Galilee, including the important trade center of Sepphoris. (1334.6) 121:2.12 The Galileans were not regarded with full favor by the Jerusalem religious leaders and rabbinical teachers. Galilee was more gentile than Jewish when Jesus was born. 3. Among the Gentiles (1334.7) 121:3.1 Although the social and economic condition of the Roman state was not of the highest order, the widespread domestic peace and prosperity was propitious for the bestowal of Michael. In the first century after Christ the society of the Mediterranean world consisted of five well-defined strata: (1335.1) 121:3.2 1. The aristocracy. The upper classes with money and official power, the privileged and ruling groups. (1335.2) 121:3.3 2. The business groups. The merchant princes and the bankers, the traders — the big importers and exporters — the international merchants. (1335.3) 121:3.4 3. The small middle class. Although this group was indeed small, it was very influential and provided the moral backbone of the early Christian church, which encouraged these groups to continue in their various crafts and trades. Among the Jews many of the Pharisees belonged to this class of tradesmen. (1335.4) 121:3.5 4. The free proletariat. This group had little or no social standing. Though proud of their freedom, they were placed at great disadvantage because they were forced to compete with slave labor. The upper classes regarded them disdainfully, allowing that they were useless except for “breeding purposes.” (1335.5) 121:3.6 5. The slaves. Half the population of the Roman state were slaves; many were superior individuals and quickly made their way up among the free proletariat and even among the tradesmen. The majority were either mediocre or very inferior. (1335.6) 121:3.7 Slavery, even of superior peoples, was a feature of Roman military conquest. The power of the master over his slave was unqualified. The early Christian church was largely composed of the lower classes and these slaves. (1335.7) 121:3.8 Superior slaves often received wages and by saving their earnings were able to purchase their freedom. Many such emancipated slaves rose to high positions in state, church, and the business world. And it was just such possibilities that made the early Christian church so tolerant of this modified form of slavery. (1335.8) 121:3.9 There was no widespread social problem in the Roman Empire in the first century after Christ. The major portion of the populace regarded themselves as belonging in that group into which they chanced to be born. There was always the open door through which talented and able individuals could ascend from the lower to the higher strata of Roman society, but the people were generally content with their social rank. They were not class conscious, neither did they look upon these class distinctions as being unjust or wrong. Christianity was in no sense an economic movement having for its purpose the amelioration of the miseries of the depressed classes. (1335.9) 121:3.10 Although woman enjoyed more freedom throughout the Roman Empire than in her restricted position in Palestine, the family devotion and natural affection of the Jews far transcended that of the gentile world. 4. Gentile Philosophy (1335.10) 121:4.1 The gentiles were, from a moral standpoint, somewhat inferior to the Jews, but there was present in the hearts of the nobler gentiles abundant soil of natural goodness and potential human affection in which it was possible for the seed of Christianity to sprout and bring forth an abundant harvest of moral character and spiritual achievement. The gentile world was then dominated by four great philosophies, all more or less derived from the earlier Platonism of the Greeks. These schools of philosophy were: (1335.11) 121:4.2 1. The Epicurean. This school of thought was dedicated to the pursuit of happiness. The better Epicureans were not given to sensual excesses. At least this doctrine helped to deliver the Romans from a more deadly form of fatalism; it taught that men could do something to improve their terrestrial status. It did effectually combat ignorant superstition. (1336.1) 121:4.3 2. The Stoic. Stoicism was the superior philosophy of the better classes. The Stoics believed that a controlling Reason-Fate dominated all nature. They taught that the soul of man was divine; that it was imprisoned in the evil body of physical nature. Man’s soul achieved liberty by living in harmony with nature, with God; thus virtue came to be its own reward. Stoicism ascended to a sublime morality, ideals never since transcended by any purely human system of philosophy. While the Stoics professed to be the “offspring of God,” they failed to know him and therefore failed to find him. Stoicism remained a philosophy; it never became a religion. Its followers sought to attune their minds to the harmony of the Universal Mind, but they failed to envisage themselves as the children of a loving Father. Paul leaned heavily toward Stoicism when he wrote, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (1336.2) 121:4.4 3. The Cynic. Although the Cynics traced their philosophy to Diogenes of Athens, they derived much of their doctrine from the remnants of the teachings of Machiventa Melchizedek. Cynicism had formerly been more of a religion than a philosophy. At least the Cynics made their religio-philosophy democratic. In the fields and in the market places they continually preached their doctrine that “man could save himself if he would.” They preached simplicity and virtue and urged men to meet death fearlessly. These wandering Cynic preachers did much to prepare the spiritually hungry populace for the later Christian missionaries. Their plan of popular preaching was much after the pattern, and in accordance with the style, of Paul’s Epistles. (1336.3) 121:4.5 4. The Skeptic. Skepticism asserted that knowledge was fallacious, and that conviction and assurance were impossible. It was a purely negative attitude and never became widespread. (1336.4) 121:4.6 These philosophies were semireligious; they were often invigorating, ethical, and ennobling but were usually above the common people. With the possible exception of Cynicism, they were philosophies for the strong and the wise, not religions of salvation for even the poor and the weak. 5. The Gentile Religions (1336.5) 121:5.1 Throughout preceding ages religion had chiefly been an affair of the tribe or nation; it had not often been a matter of concern to the individual. Gods were tribal or national, not personal. Such religious systems afforded little satisfaction for the individual spiritual longings of the average person. (1336.6) 121:5.2 In the times of Jesus the religions of the Occident included: (1336.7) 121:5.3 1. The pagan cults. These were a combination of Hellenic and Latin mythology, patriotism, and tradition. (1336.8) 121:5.4 2. Emperor worship. This deification of man as the symbol of the state was very seriously resented by the Jews and the early Christians and led directly to the bitter persecutions of both churches by the Roman government. (1337.1) 121:5.5 3. Astrology. This pseudo science of Babylon developed into a religion throughout the Greco-Roman Empire. Even in the twentieth century man has not been fully delivered from this superstitious belief. (1337.2) 121:5.6 4. The mystery religions. Upon such a spiritually hungry world a flood of mystery cults had broken, new and strange religions from the Levant, which had enamored the common people and had promised them individual salvation. These religions rapidly became the accepted belief of the lower classes of the Greco-Roman world. And they did much to prepare the way for the rapid spread of the vastly superior Christian teachings, which presented a majestic concept of Deity, associated with an intriguing theology for the intelligent and a profound proffer of salvation for all, including the ignorant but spiritually hungry average man of those days. (1337.3) 121:5.7 The mystery religions spelled the end of national beliefs and resulted in the birth of the numerous personal cults. The mysteries were many but were all characterized by: (1337.4) 121:5.8 1. Some mythical legend, a mystery — whence their name. As a rule this mystery pertained to the story of some god’s life and death and return to life, as illustrated by the teachings of Mithraism, which, for a time, were contemporary with, and a competitor of, Paul’s rising cult of Christianity. (1337.5) 121:5.9 2. The mysteries were nonnational and interracial. They were personal and fraternal, giving rise to religious brotherhoods and numerous sectarian societies. (1337.6) 121:5.10 3. They were, in their services, characterized by elaborate ceremonies of initiation and impressive sacraments of worship. Their secret rites and rituals were sometimes gruesome and revolting. (1337.7) 121:5.11 4. But no matter what the nature of their ceremonies or the degree of their excesses, these mysteries invariably promised their devotees salvation, “deliverance from evil, survival after death, and enduring life in blissful realms beyond this world of sorrow and slavery.” (1337.8) 121:5.12 But do not make the mistake of confusing the teachings of Jesus with the mysteries. The popularity of the mysteries reveals man’s quest for survival, thus portraying a real hunger and thirst for personal religion and individual righteousness. Although the mysteries failed adequately to satisfy this longing, they did prepare the way for the subsequent appearance of Jesus, who truly brought to this world the bread of life and the water thereof. (1337.9) 121:5.13 Paul, in an effort to utilize the widespread adherence to the better types of the mystery religions, made certain adaptations of the teachings of Jesus so as to render them more acceptable to a larger number of prospective converts. But even Paul’s compromise of Jesus’ teachings (Christianity) was superior to the best in the mysteries in that: (1337.10) 121:5.14 1. Paul taught a moral redemption, an ethical salvation. Christianity pointed to a new life and proclaimed a new ideal. Paul forsook magic rites and ceremonial enchantments. (1337.11) 121:5.15 2. Christianity presented a religion which grappled with final solutions of the human problem, for it not only offered salvation from sorrow and even from death, but it also promised deliverance from sin followed by the endowment of a righteous character of eternal survival qualities. (1338.1) 121:5.16 3. The mysteries were built upon myths. Christianity, as Paul preached it, was founded upon a historic fact: the bestowal of Michael, the Son of God, upon mankind. (1338.2) 121:5.17 Morality among the gentiles was not necessarily related to either philosophy or religion. Outside of Palestine it not always occurred to people that a priest of religion was supposed to lead a moral life. Jewish religion and subsequently the teachings of Jesus and later the evolving Christianity of Paul were the first European religions to lay one hand upon morals and the other upon ethics, insisting that religionists pay some attention to both. (1338.3) 121:5.18 Into such a generation of men, dominated by such incomplete systems of philosophy and perplexed by such complex cults of religion, Jesus was born in Palestine. And to this same generation he subsequently gave his gospel of personal religion — sonship with God. 6. The Hebrew Religion (1338.4) 121:6.1 By the close of the first century before Christ the religious thought of Jerusalem had been tremendously influenced and somewhat modified by Greek cultural teachings and even by Greek philosophy. In the long contest between the views of the Eastern and Western schools of Hebrew thought, Jerusalem and the rest of the Occident and the Levant in general adopted the Western Jewish or modified Hellenistic viewpoint. (1338.5) 121:6.2 In the days of Jesus three languages prevailed in Palestine: The common people spoke some dialect of Aramaic; the priests and rabbis spoke Hebrew; the educated classes and the better strata of Jews in general spoke Greek. The early translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek at Alexandria was responsible in no small measure for the subsequent predominance of the Greek wing of Jewish culture and theology. And the writings of the Christian teachers were soon to appear in the same language. The renaissance of Judaism dates from the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. This was a vital influence which later determined the drift of Paul’s Christian cult toward the West instead of toward the East. (1338.6) 121:6.3 Though the Hellenized Jewish beliefs were very little influenced by the teachings of the Epicureans, they were very materially affected by the philosophy of Plato and the self-abnegation doctrines of the Stoics. The great inroad of Stoicism is exemplified by the Fourth Book of the Maccabees; the penetration of both Platonic philosophy and Stoic doctrines is exhibited in the Wisdom of Solomon. The Hellenized Jews brought to the Hebrew scriptures such an allegorical interpretation that they found no difficulty in conforming Hebrew theology with their revered Aristotelian philosophy. But this all led to disastrous confusion until these problems were taken in hand by Philo of Alexandria, who proceeded to harmonize and systemize Greek philosophy and Hebrew theology into a compact and fairly consistent system of religious belief and practice. And it was this later teaching of combined Greek philosophy and Hebrew theology that prevailed in Palestine when Jesus lived and taught, and which Paul utilized as the foundation on which to build his more advanced and enlightening cult of Christianity. (1338.7) 121:6.4 Philo was a great teacher; not since Moses had there lived a man who exerted such a profound influence on the ethical and religious thought of the Occidental world. In the matter of the combination of the better elements in contemporaneous systems of ethical and religious teachings, there have been seven outstanding human teachers: Sethard, Moses, Zoroaster, Lao-tse, Buddha, Philo, and Paul. (1339.1) 121:6.5 Many, but not all, of Philo’s inconsistencies resulting from an effort to combine Greek mystical philosophy and Roman Stoic doctrines with the legalistic theology of the Hebrews, Paul recognized and wisely eliminated from his pre-Christian basic theology. Philo led the way for Paul more fully to restore the concept of the Paradise Trinity, which had long been dormant in Jewish theology. In only one matter did Paul fail to keep pace with Philo or to transcend the teachings of this wealthy and educated Jew of Alexandria, and that was the doctrine of the atonement; Philo taught deliverance from the doctrine of forgiveness only by the shedding of blood. He also possibly glimpsed the reality and presence of the Thought Adjusters more clearly than did Paul. But Paul’s theory of original sin, the doctrines of hereditary guilt and innate evil and redemption therefrom, was partially Mithraic in origin, having little in common with Hebrew theology, Philo’s philosophy, or Jesus’ teachings. Some phases of Paul’s teachings regarding original sin and the atonement were original with himself. (1339.2) 121:6.6 The Gospel of John, the last of the narratives of Jesus’ earth life, was addressed to the Western peoples and presents its story much in the light of the viewpoint of the later Alexandrian Christians, who were also disciples of the teachings of Philo. (1339.3) 121:6.7 At about the time of Christ a strange reversion of feeling toward the Jews occurred in Alexandria, and from this former Jewish stronghold there went forth a virulent wave of persecution, extending even to Rome, from which many thousands were banished. But such a campaign of misrepresentation was short-lived; very soon the imperial government fully restored the curtailed liberties of the Jews throughout the empire. (1339.4) 121:6.8 Throughout the whole wide world, no matter where the Jews found themselves dispersed by commerce or oppression, all with one accord kept their hearts centered on the holy temple at Jerusalem. Jewish theology did survive as it was interpreted and practiced at Jerusalem, notwithstanding that it was several times saved from oblivion by the timely intervention of certain Babylonian teachers. (1339.5) 121:6.9 As many as two and one-half million of these dispersed Jews used to come to Jerusalem for the celebration of their national religious festivals. And no matter what the theologic or philosophic differences of the Eastern (Babylonian) and the Western (Hellenic) Jews, they were all agreed on Jerusalem as the center of their worship and in ever looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. 7. Jews and Gentiles (1339.6) 121:7.1 By the times of Jesus the Jews had arrived at a settled concept of their origin, history, and destiny. They had built up a rigid wall of separation between themselves and the gentile world; they looked upon all gentile ways with utter contempt. They worshiped the letter of the law and indulged a form of self-righteousness based upon the false pride of descent. They had formed preconceived notions regarding the promised Messiah, and most of these expectations envisaged a Messiah who would come as a part of their national and racial history. To the Hebrews of those days Jewish theology was irrevocably settled, forever fixed. (1339.7) 121:7.2 The teachings and practices of Jesus regarding tolerance and kindness ran counter to the long-standing attitude of the Jews toward other peoples whom they considered heathen. For generations the Jews had nourished an attitude toward the outside world which made it impossible for them to accept the Master’s teachings about the spiritual brotherhood of man. They were unwilling to share Yahweh on equal terms with the gentiles and were likewise unwilling to accept as the Son of God one who taught such new and strange doctrines. (1340.1) 121:7.3 The scribes, the Pharisees, and the priesthood held the Jews in a terrible bondage of ritualism and legalism, a bondage far more real than that of the Roman political rule. The Jews of Jesus’ time were not only held in subjugation to the law but were equally bound by the slavish demands of the traditions, which involved and invaded every domain of personal and social life. These minute regulations of conduct pursued and dominated every loyal Jew, and it is not strange that they promptly rejected one of their number who presumed to ignore their sacred traditions, and who dared to flout their long-honored regulations of social conduct. They could hardly regard with favor the teachings of one who did not hesitate to clash with dogmas which they regarded as having been ordained by Father Abraham himself. Moses had given them their law and they would not compromise.* (1340.2) 121:7.4 By the time of the first century after Christ the spoken interpretation of the law by the recognized teachers, the scribes, had become a higher authority than the written law itself. And all this made it easier for certain religious leaders of the Jews to array the people against the acceptance of a new gospel. (1340.3) 121:7.5 These circumstances rendered it impossible for the Jews to fulfill their divine destiny as messengers of the new gospel of religious freedom and spiritual liberty. They could not break the fetters of tradition. Jeremiah had told of the “law to be written in men’s hearts,” Ezekiel had spoken of a “new spirit to live in man’s soul,” and the Psalmist had prayed that God would “create a clean heart within and renew a right spirit.” But when the Jewish religion of good works and slavery to law fell victim to the stagnation of traditionalistic inertia, the motion of religious evolution passed westward to the European peoples. (1340.4) 121:7.6 And so a different people were called upon to carry an advancing theology to the world, a system of teaching embodying the philosophy of the Greeks, the law of the Romans, the morality of the Hebrews, and the gospel of personality sanctity and spiritual liberty formulated by Paul and based on the teachings of Jesus. (1340.5) 121:7.7 Paul’s cult of Christianity exhibited its morality as a Jewish birthmark. The Jews viewed history as the providence of God — Yahweh at work. The Greeks brought to the new teaching clearer concepts of the eternal life. Paul’s doctrines were influenced in theology and philosophy not only by Jesus’ teachings but also by Plato and Philo. In ethics he was inspired not only by Christ but also by the Stoics. (1340.6) 121:7.8 The gospel of Jesus, as it was embodied in Paul’s cult of Antioch Christianity, became blended with the following teachings: (1340.7) 121:7.9 1. The philosophic reasoning of the Greek proselytes to Judaism, including some of their concepts of the eternal life. (1340.8) 121:7.10 2. The appealing teachings of the prevailing mystery cults, especially the Mithraic doctrines of redemption, atonement, and salvation by the sacrifice made by some god. (1340.9) 121:7.11 3. The sturdy morality of the established Jewish religion. (1341.1) 121:7.12 The Mediterranean Roman Empire, the Parthian kingdom, and the adjacent peoples of Jesus’ time all held crude and primitive ideas regarding the geography of the world, astronomy, health, and disease; and naturally they were amazed by the new and startling pronouncements of the carpenter of Nazareth. The ideas of spirit possession, good and bad, applied not merely to human beings, but every rock and tree was viewed by many as being spirit possessed. This was an enchanted age, and everybody believed in miracles as commonplace occurrences. 8. Previous Written Records (1341.2) 121:8.1 As far as possible, consistent with our mandate, we have endeavored to utilize and to some extent co-ordinate the existing records having to do with the life of Jesus on Urantia. Although we have enjoyed access to the lost record of the Apostle Andrew and have benefited from the collaboration of a vast host of celestial beings who were on earth during the times of Michael’s bestowal (notably his now Personalized Adjuster), it has been our purpose also to make use of the so-called Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. (1341.3) 121:8.2 These New Testament records had their origin in the following circumstances: (1341.4) 121:8.3 1. The Gospel by Mark. John Mark wrote the earliest (excepting the notes of Andrew), briefest, and most simple record of Jesus’ life. He presented the Master as a minister, as man among men. Although Mark was a lad lingering about many of the scenes which he depicts, his record is in reality the Gospel according to Simon Peter. He was early associated with Peter; later with Paul. Mark wrote this record at the instigation of Peter and on the earnest petition of the church at Rome. Knowing how consistently the Master refused to write out his teachings when on earth and in the flesh, Mark, like the apostles and other leading disciples, was hesitant to put them in writing. But Peter felt the church at Rome required the assistance of such a written narrative, and Mark consented to undertake its preparation. He made many notes before Peter died in A.D. 67, and in accordance with the outline approved by Peter and for the church at Rome, he began his writing soon after Peter’s death. The Gospel was completed near the end of A.D. 68. Mark wrote entirely from his own memory and Peter’s memory. The record has since been considerably changed, numerous passages having been taken out and some later matter added at the end to replace the latter one fifth of the original Gospel, which was lost from the first manuscript before it was ever copied. This record by Mark, in conjunction with Andrew’s and Matthew’s notes, was the written basis of all subsequent Gospel narratives which sought to portray the life and teachings of Jesus. (1341.5) 121:8.4 2. The Gospel of Matthew. The so-called Gospel according to Matthew is the record of the Master’s life which was written for the edification of Jewish Christians. The author of this record constantly seeks to show in Jesus’ life that much which he did was that “it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet.” Matthew’s Gospel portrays Jesus as a son of David, picturing him as showing great respect for the law and the prophets. (1341.6) 121:8.5 The Apostle Matthew did not write this Gospel. It was written by Isador, one of his disciples, who had as a help in his work not only Matthew’s personal remembrance of these events but also a certain record which the latter had made of the sayings of Jesus directly after the crucifixion. This record by Matthew was written in Aramaic; Isador wrote in Greek. There was no intent to deceive in accrediting the production to Matthew. It was the custom in those days for pupils thus to honor their teachers. (1342.1) 121:8.6 Matthew’s original record was edited and added to in A.D. 40 just before he left Jerusalem to engage in evangelistic preaching. It was a private record, the last copy having been destroyed in the burning of a Syrian monastery in A.D. 416. (1342.2) 121:8.7 Isador escaped from Jerusalem in A.D. 70 after the investment of the city by the armies of Titus, taking with him to Pella a copy of Matthew’s notes. In the year 71, while living at Pella, Isador wrote the Gospel according to Matthew. He also had with him the first four fifths of Mark’s narrative. (1342.3) 121:8.8 3. The Gospel by Luke. Luke, the physician of Antioch in Pisidia, was a gentile convert of Paul, and he wrote quite a different story of the Master’s life. He began to follow Paul and learn of the life and teachings of Jesus in A.D. 47. Luke preserves much of the “grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” in his record as he gathered up these facts from Paul and others. Luke presents the Master as “the friend of publicans and sinners.” He did not formulate his many notes into the Gospel until after Paul’s death. Luke wrote in the year 82 in Achaia. He planned three books dealing with the history of Christ and Christianity but died in A.D. 90 just before he finished the second of these works, the “Acts of the Apostles.” (1342.4) 121:8.9 As material for the compilation of his Gospel, Luke first depended upon the story of Jesus’ life as Paul had related it to him. Luke’s Gospel is, therefore, in some ways the Gospel according to Paul. But Luke had other sources of information. He not only interviewed scores of eyewitnesses to the numerous episodes of Jesus’ life which he records, but he also had with him a copy of Mark’s Gospel, that is, the first four fifths, Isador’s narrative, and a brief record made in the year A.D. 78 at Antioch by a believer named Cedes. Luke also had a mutilated and much-edited copy of some notes purported to have been made by the Apostle Andrew. (1342.5) 121:8.10 4. The Gospel of John. The Gospel according to John relates much of Jesus’ work in Judea and around Jerusalem which is not contained in the other records. This is the so-called Gospel according to John the son of Zebedee, and though John did not write it, he did inspire it. Since its first writing it has several times been edited to make it appear to have been written by John himself. When this record was made, John had the other Gospels, and he saw that much had been omitted; accordingly, in the year A.D. 101 he encouraged his associate, Nathan, a Greek Jew from Caesarea, to begin the writing. John supplied his material from memory and by reference to the three records already in existence. He had no written records of his own. The Epistle known as “First John” was written by John himself as a covering letter for the work which Nathan executed under his direction. (1342.6) 121:8.11 All these writers presented honest pictures of Jesus as they saw, remembered, or had learned of him, and as their concepts of these distant events were affected by their subsequent espousal of Paul’s theology of Christianity. And these records, imperfect as they are, have been sufficient to change the course of the history of Urantia for almost two thousand years. (1343.1) 121:8.12 [Acknowledgment: In carrying out my commission to restate the teachings and retell the doings of Jesus of Nazareth, I have drawn freely upon all sources of record and planetary information. My ruling motive has been to prepare a record which will not only be enlightening to the generation of men now living, but which may also be helpful to all future generations. From the vast store of information made available to me, I have chosen that which is best suited to the accomplishment of this purpose. As far as possible I have derived my information from purely human sources. Only when such sources failed, have I resorted to those records which are superhuman. When ideas and concepts of Jesus’ life and teachings have been acceptably expressed by a human mind, I invariably gave preference to such apparently human thought patterns. Although I have sought to adjust the verbal expression the better to conform to our concept of the real meaning and the true import of the Master’s life and teachings, as far as possible, I have adhered to the actual human concept and thought pattern in all my narratives. I well know that those concepts which have had origin in the human mind will prove more acceptable and helpful to all other human minds. When unable to find the necessary concepts in the human records or in human expressions, I have next resorted to the memory resources of my own order of earth creatures, the midwayers. And when that secondary source of information proved inadequate, I have unhesitatingly resorted to the superplanetary sources of information. (1343.2) 121:8.13 The memoranda which I have collected, and from which I have prepared this narrative of the life and teachings of Jesus — aside from the memory of the record of the Apostle Andrew — embrace thought gems and superior concepts of Jesus’ teachings assembled from more than two thousand human beings who have lived on earth from the days of Jesus down to the time of the inditing of these revelations, more correctly restatements. The revelatory permission has been utilized only when the human record and human concepts failed to supply an adequate thought pattern. My revelatory commission forbade me to resort to extrahuman sources of either information or expression until such a time as I could testify that I had failed in my efforts to find the required conceptual expression in purely human sources. (1343.3) 121:8.14 While I, with the collaboration of my eleven associate fellow midwayers and under the supervision of the Melchizedek of record, have portrayed this narrative in accordance with my concept of its effective arrangement and in response to my choice of immediate expression, nevertheless, the majority of the ideas and even some of the effective expressions which I have thus utilized had their origin in the minds of the men of many races who have lived on earth during the intervening generations, right on down to those who are still alive at the time of this undertaking. In many ways I have served more as a collector and editor than as an original narrator. I have unhesitatingly appropriated those ideas and concepts, preferably human, which would enable me to create the most effective portraiture of Jesus’ life, and which would qualify me to restate his matchless teachings in the most strikingly helpful and universally uplifting phraseology. In behalf of the Brotherhood of the United Midwayers of Urantia, I most gratefully acknowledge our indebtedness to all sources of record and concept which have been hereinafter utilized in the further elaboration of our restatement of Jesus’ life on earth.]