King David a warrior after God's heart

The name "David" means one who is well beloved. He was born the eighth and youngest

son of Jesse, a resident of Bethlehem. He was the great grandson of Ruth (who wrote the

book of Ruth) and Boaz (Ruth 4:22).

At a young age he tended his father's sheep, a job usually reserved for the least esteemed

of the family or its servants. The prophet Samuel makes a special trip to Bethlehem and

anoints him the next king of Israel. God chose David to replace Saul who would someday

lose his life because he departed from His ways.

A few years after his anointing, David fights and takes the life of Goliath the giant, who was

a Philistine living in Gath. His basic faith led the future king to conclude that God would

ultimately defend those who are his, something the entire Israelite army lacked the faith to

accept. Their focus was on how experienced and physically powerful was the enemy's

champion Goliath.

When the Israelites saw Goliath, they ran away in terror . . . David said to Saul, 'Your

Majesty, no one should be afraid of this Philistine! I will go and fight him.' (1Samuel 17:24,

32)

A true giant!

From a human standpoint, Goliath had the size and strength to defeat almost anyone. He

stood roughly 9 feet, 3 inches (2.8 meters) tall. His protective battle coat, conservatively,

was 78 U.S. pounds (35.4 kilograms) heavy! The spear he used in battle was likely 26 feet

(7.9 meters) long, with its head alone weighing 17 U.S. pounds (7.7 kilograms). Without

faith, it would have been nearly impossible for King David to have defeated such a foe!

Because of a contention over the throne, King David ruled only the tribe of Judah after the

death of Saul. His rule over one tribe, which began when he was about 30, lasted seven and

one-half years. After this time, all the elders of Israel acknowledge him as the sole ruler over

all the tribes.

He continues to have a colorful life even as king. Shortly after becoming ruler over all Israel,

he attacks the Jebusites in Jerusalem and captures the city. This is why, to this day,

Jerusalem is also called the 'city of David.' It becomes the new capital over a united Israel

and the place where he lives. After a few missteps, he eventually brings the Ark of the

Covenant into the city. As ruler, he carries out successful military campaigns against the

Amalekites, Ammonites, Edomites, Moabites, Philistines, and Syrians.

Self-inflicted wounds

Unfortunately, many of David's problems are self-inflicted. His illicit affair with Bathsheba, the

arranged murder of her husband and attempt at cover up his sins cost him grief, dishonor,

the life of a child and trouble within his household.

The sin of taking a census to determine the size of his army, instead of trusting God, cost

the lives of more than 70,000 Israelites. His lack of discipline in his own house contributed

to his son Absalom rebelling against him and another son Adonijah seeking to inherit the

throne instead of Solomon.

The life of King David ends shortly after proclaiming his son Solomon the next ruler of Israel.

He dies at the age of seventy after ruling God's people for forty years. The pivotal events

and people that occurred while he lived include being anointed leader of Israel as a youth,

slaying Goliath the giant, overtaking the Jebusites in Jerusalem and makes the city his

capital and bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. He also writes at least 77 of

150 Psalms found in the Bible.

The Young Medical Genius

Akrit Jaswal (born April 23, 1993) is an Indian adolescent who has been hailed as a child

prodigy who has gained fame in his native India as a physician, despite never having

attended medical school. He gained fame for performing surgery at the age of seven. He

is a Hindu Rajput of Jaswal clan from Punjab.

According to his mother Raksha Kumari Jaswal, Akrit was an early starter, skipped the

toddler stage and started walking. He started speaking in his 10th month and was reading

Shakespeare at the age of 5. At 7, he performed an operation on a 8 year old girl whose

fingers were fused together after being burnt. Akrit developed a passion for science and

anatomy at an early age. Doctors at local hospitals took notice and started allowing him to

observe surgeries when he was 6 years old. Inspired by what he saw, Akrit read everything

he could on the topic. When an impoverished family heard about his amazing abilities, they

asked if he would operate on their daughter for free. Her surgery was a celebrated success.

After the surgery, Akrit was hailed as a medical genius in India. Neighbors and strangers

flocked to him for advice and treatment. At age 11, Akrit was admitted to a Punjab

University. He's the youngest student ever to attend an Indian university. That same year, he

was also invited to London's famed Imperial College to exchange ideas with scientists on

the cutting edge of medical research. Akrit says he has millions of medical ideas, but he's

currently focused on developing a cure for cancer. "I've developed a concept called oral

gene therapy on the basis of my research and my theories", he says, "I'm quite dedicated

towards working on this mechanism."

Growing up, Akrit says he used to see cancer patients lying on the side of the road because

they couldn't afford treatment or hospitals had no space for them. Now, he wants to use his

intellect to ease their suffering. "[I've been] going to hospitals since the age of 6, so I have

seen firsthand people suffering from pain," he says. "I get very sad, and so that's the main

motive of my passion about medicine, my passion about cancer." Currently, Akrit is working

toward a bachelor's degree in zoology, botany and chemistry. Someday, he hopes to

continue his studies at Harvard University.

He became India's youngest university student and is currently studying for a BSc in a

Punjab University, Chandigarh, India. He possesses books such as Gray's Anatomy, and

textbooks on surgery, anaesthesia, anatomy, physiology, cancer, and others. Akrit claims to

have mastered them with his daily habit of studying for an hour.

He has an estimated IQ of 146 from a single test.

Akrit Jaswal is considered to be a reincarnation in his local village. He is consulted by

neighbours and people from surrounding areas regarding ailments, prescriptions and

courses of treatments. He claims to have been working on a cure for cancer for several

years, based on theories of oral gene therapy. However, his work towards a cure for cancer

was criticised by British doctors and researchers since they claim his understanding on the

topic was vague.

In his spare time, Akrit enjoys playing and watching cricket.

Sponsored and mentored by Mr B. R. Rahi, Chairman of Secondary Education in

Dharamshala, Akrit joined Chandigarh College at the age of 12. According to AcchiKhabre,

he is the youngest student ever accepted by an Indian University. His keenness to find a

cure for cancer brought him global attention and admiration. The ‘Firecracker Films’ in 2005

investigated his story and invited him to London to perform tests. They also asked ‘Team

Focus,’ an organization, to assess the intelligence of the 12-year-old boy. He was featured

on The Oprah Winfrey show as ‘ the little genius.’ There were concerns raised about Akrit’s

fame as a child that may actually have been harmful to him, leading to too much pressure

on him as a child. Akrit denied these claims.

Akrit showed interest in science and anatomy as a child. Since he visited hospitals on a

daily basis, he know the pain of patients. He wants to find a cure for cancer and working

towards it. The Chairman of Secondary Education in Dharmasala, mentored and sponsored

him. He joined Chandigarh College University of Punjab at 12, to pursue his degree. He is

the youngest student accepted by Indian university. At 17, he did his Masters degree in

Chemistry. Now, he is studying Bio Engineering at IIT Kanpur. He is focused, confident and

his research to find cure for cancer continues. We wish him a great success in his life!

What Albert Said

"We live in a cult of efficiency and abstraction, without the protection of mutual respect", Albert Camus, 1946

Albert Camus (/kæˈmuː/ kam-OO, US also /kəˈmuː/ kə-MOO; French: [albɛʁ kamy] (listen); 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literatureat the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His works include The Stranger, The Plague, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Fall, and The Rebel.

Camus was born in French Algeria to Pieds Noirs parents. He spent his childhood in a poor neighbourhood and later studied philosophy at the University of Algiers. He was in Paris when the Germans invaded France during World War II in 1940. Camus tried to flee but finally joined the French Resistance where he served as editor-in-chief at Combat, an outlawed newspaper. After the war, he was a celebrity figure and gave many lectures around the world. He married twice but had many extramarital affairs. Camus was politically active; he was part of the left that opposed the Soviet Union because of its totalitarianism. Camus was a moralist and leaned towards anarcho-syndicalism. He was part of many organisations seeking European integration. During the Algerian War (1954–1962), he kept a neutral stance, advocating for a multicultural and pluralistic Algeria, a position that caused controversy and was rejected by most parties.

Philosophically, Camus's views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism. He is also considered to be an existentialist, even though he firmly rejected the term throughout his lifetime.