Mark 3:31-35 Meet Jesus Old Family In these verses we encounter Jesus mother and his brothers.

This is a curious inclusion because most Christians today take the perpetual virginity o Mary as a given! which means that Jesus would not have had any siblings at all. "is mother isnt named as Mary at this point! which is also interesting. #hat does Jesus do when she comes to talk to him$ "e re%ects her& Meet Jesus 'ew Family 'ot only does Jesus re use to go out and see his mother (one likes to think )the multitude* inside would have understood and been able to occupy themselves or a ew minutes+! but he argues that the people inside are his )real* amily. ,nd who are those outside who came to see him$ They must not be ) amily* anymore. The boundaries o ) amily* are e-panded beyond blood relatives! spouses! and even disciples to include those who hunger or a relationship with .od and are willing to do .ods will. It does not! however! include those blood relatives who dont have the )correct* relationship with .od. On the one hand this is a radical rede inition o what it means to have amily and community. Jesus rede ines a whole slew o intimate relationships! the boundaries and nature o which had been developed and built up over millennia o Jewish custom. For Jesus! those who work together to ul ill the #ill o .od are the true amily! regardless o any blood kinship they might accidentally share. #hat really counts are the choices one makes a ter one is born! not the olks one is related to through no personal decisions. This was! I am sure! very com orting to the early Christians who were e-periencing problems with their own amilies. The situation or Christians in the irst and second centuries would have been rather similar to the situation acing converts to new religious movements today/ suspicion! ear! and above all serious pressure rom more )traditional* amily members who cant understand what would pull a person away rom blood and kin! taking up with those no0good hippies living on that arm. On the other hand! such passages make the whole ) amily values* argument o modern evangelical Christians di icult to uphold. Christianity is no longer a )new religious movement.* Christianity is no longer a radical belie system that takes people away rom parents and siblings1 it has stopped being a challenge to the system and now is )the system.* Jesus message simply doesnt make as much sense in the conte-t o a power ul! dominant! and pervasively Christiani2ed society. 3vangelical Christians in ,merica today portray themselves as staunch de enders o amily values 4 not so much because they are simply good people! but rather because they are such good ollowers o the principles set down by Jesus. ,ccording to them! asking Jesus or orgiveness and ollowing what .od wants o you will naturally make you a better mother! a better ather! a better sibling! and so orth. In short! amily values come rom being the sort o good Christian Jesus e-pects you to be. #hat sorts o ) amily values* did Jesus promote$ In the gospel stories we dont see him saying much about amilies. #hat we do see! however! isnt very inspiring and doesnt appear to be the sort o role model that one would e-pect or ,merica today.

Batangas History 3arly 5eginnings 6ong be ore the 7paniards came! large centers o population already thrived in 5atangas. 'ative settlements lined the 8ansipit 9iver! a ma%or waterway. Mr. 9obert C. Fo-! an ,merican archaeologist! revealed that based on archaeological indings particularly in Calatagan peninsula! the province has been trading with the Chinese since :uan ;ynasty until irst phase o Ming ;ynasty in the <=th and <>th century. Inhabitants o the province were also trading with Japan and India. "istorians believed that the present 5atangue?os were descendants o the 5ornean datus! ;atu ;umangsil and ;atu 5alensusa who sailed rom 5orneo to 8anay Island as ar as Taal 6ake. They organi2ed the irst Malay settlement at the mouth o Taal 9iver. They eventually set up their own settlement in the place and ounded the town o Taal in <>@A. The towns o 5alayan! 6ipa! and 5atangas were ounded later. In <>@B! Martin de .oiti and Juan de 7alcedo ! two 7panish generals e-plored the coast o 5atangas on their way to Manila and came upon a Malay sttlement at the mouth o Taal 9iver. In <>@A! the town o Taal was ounded and its convent and stone church were constructed later. 5atangas was ounded in <>C<. Originally! it was composed o the present provinces o 5atangas! Mindoro! MarinduDue! 7outheast o 6aguna and even ar Camarines. , ter several devastating eruptions o Taal Eolcano! the smallest volcano in the world! the old Taal town site was buried. The capital was eventually trans erred to 5atangas (now a city+ in <@>F where it has remained to date. The name G5atangasG was derived rom the word Gbatang!G which is a term o the natives or the numerous logs ound in the Calumpang 9iver! the body o water that runs through the northeastern portion o the town and assumes the shape o a tuning ork. 5atangas was also among the irst o the eight 8hilippine provinces to revolt against 7pain and also one o the provinces placed under Martial 6aw by 7panish .overnor .eneral 9amon 5lanco on ,ugust =B! <CHI. ;uring the 7panish0,merican #ar! many outstanding 5atangue?os made names in our history. Most notable o them are ,polinario Mabini! also known as the sublime paralytic and G5rains o the 9evolutionG1 Marcella ,goncillo Marcela ,goncillo who made the present 8hilippine lag! and .eneral Miguel Malvar who was recogni2ed as the last Filipino general to surrender to the ,mericans. For this! 5atangas also came to be known as the Gcradle o heroes and nationalists.G 5atangas is the home o sages and the birthplace o the countryJs notable nationalists. "istorical places have been the legacy o the old eras. 'atural resources and picturesDue views abound in the area. 'umerous ine 5atangas 5asilica beaches have been the sought0a ter 0sites. ,nd a ew kilometers away rom the shore will bring the more adventurous ones to diverse dive sites! rom the ones it or a novice (relatively shallow! constant water current+! up to the ones or those who may call themselves e-perts. The pro-imity o 5atangas to Manila and the good Duality o most o the main provincial roads are advantageous or the e-isting attractions and acilities o the province. The tourism industry has been regarded as a contributor to the economy o the province. 5atangas irst came to be known as 5onbon. It was named a ter the mystical and ascinating Taal 6ake! which was also originally called 5onbon. 7ome o the earliest settlements in 5atangas were established at the vicinity o Taal 6ake.

In <>=F! 5atangas became the irst practically organi2ed province in 6u2on. 5alayan was the capital o the province or <=> years rom <>H@0<@=A. In <@=A! it was moved to Taal! then the lourishing and most progressive town in the province. 5atangas was also one o the ew provinces in the country which can boast o having a distinctive culture o its own. The song and dance repertoire called GkumintangG is o 5atangas origin. 5ecause o this! it came to be known as G6a 8rovincia del CumintangG. http://www.batangasnow.com/history.html

5atangas (Tagalog/ 6alawigan ng 5atangas+! (7panish/ 8rovincia de 5atangas+! is a irst class province o the 8hilippines located on the southwestern part o 6u2on in the C,6,5,9KO' region. Its capital is 5atangas City and it is bordered by the provinces o Cavite and 6aguna to the north and Lue2on to the east. ,cross the Eerde Island 8assages to the south is the island o Mindoro and to the west lies the 7outh China 7ea. 8oetically! 5atangas is o ten re erred to by its ancient name Mumintang. 5atangas is one o the most popular tourist destinations near Metro Manila. The province has many beaches and is amous or e-cellent diving spots including ,nilao in Mabini! 7ombrero Island in Tingloy! 6igpo Island in 5auan! these areas more popularly known as ,nilao. Matabungkay in 6ian! 8unta Fuego in 'asugbu! Calatagan and 6aiya in 7an Juan. 5atangas is also where Taal Eolcano! one o the ;ecade Eolcanoes is located. It is also where the Taal "eritage town lies! a small picturesDue town that has ancestral houses and structures dating back to the <Hth century. 5atangas has the second largest international seaport in the 8hilippines a ter Metro Manila. The identi ication o the city as an industrial growth center in the region and being the ocal point o the C,6,5,9KO' program resulted to the increasing number o business establishments in the cityNs Central 5usiness ;istrict (C5;+ as well as numerous industries operating at the provinceNs industrial parks.