posted by news intern Chris Kissel

Israel and Hamas: Egyptian media announces cease-fire, to take effect on Thursday.

France: “Most Atlanticist president” in 50 years announces restructuring of French military.

Odd couple: Comparing Bush and McCain.

Happy Firefox Day: Executives aim for 5 million downloads in 24 hours.

Foot parade: Fifth severed foot washes up on Canadian shore.

Bad research: Even McCain tells a different story than the New York Times on his Navy past.

Bad business: Israel may be buying Iranian oil indirectly.

Tap that: McCain proposes an end to the off-shore drilling ban.

Sonics trial, day one: Nickels looks bad, but the City redeems itself in the second half.

Conflict of interest: State legislators call for committee to examine Gregoire’s tribal gambling compact.

Finally getting interesting: Possible executive candidate Larry Phillips calls out Ron Sims on budget, Sims calls Phillips a “complainer.”

The best of the 2007-2008 school year, continued:

From “Unity, Accuracy, and the Importance of the Apostolic Tradition in the Rise of Christian Orthodoxy,” by Chris Kissel. February 14, 2008.

In choosing to follow the Apostolic tradition, epitomized the writings of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and the epistles of Paul, these followers took a clear stance against syncretism and toward a system of belief that traced its lineage through the apostolic tradition and to its roots in the Jewish faith. This approach, whose ultimate goal was to achieve accuracy in portraying Jesus’ teachings, had the effect of excluding all that was not of the apostolic tradition, ultimately exiling the syncretistic, Greco-philosophical tradition of Gnosticism, as well as many other traditions, into relative obscurity. Despite the alternative perspective—and possible spiritual value—of traditions such as this, the early Christian authorities chose the narrower, less-syncretistic apostolic tradition for its unifying effects and professed accuracy. Thus, the development of orthodoxy had the effect of centering Christian belief on the ideas expressed in the apostolic tradition; namely, the physical nature of the resurrection of Jesus, the importance of Church (or apostolic) authority, and a firm ideological link to the Jewish tradition. Orthodoxy affected the ideas by centering them on the apostolic tradition, and the institution of Christianity was, in turn, shaped by the authority of the Apostles and the notion of ideological exclusivity.