Book of Job… Miserable Comforters: Job and His Peers 24 Sep 201726 Aug 2017 My weekly Bible reading consists currently of readings in the Torah (Monday thru Friday) and readings in the rest of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures on the weekends. Lately, I've…
Jesus… Musings on Mark: “I Know Who You Are – the Holy One of God” 17 Sep 201721 Aug 2017 λέγων· τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί, Ἰησοῦ Ναζαρηνέ; ἦλθες ἀπολέσαι ἡμᾶς; οἶδά σε τίς εἶ, ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ. Mark 1:24 One of the themes of Mark's Gospel is that people…
144,000… Sealed by God: Who Are the 144,000 in Revelation 7? 10 Sep 20174 Aug 2017 Apart from the first few chapters of Genesis, no other book of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures has been so hotly debated as the book of Revelation. The reason for…
Calling of the First Disciples… Musings on Mark: Fishers of Men 3 Sep 20173 Aug 2017 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου, καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς γενέσθαι ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων. Mark 1:17 I do not care for fishing. While some find it to be a relaxing…
Abraham… Surprising God 27 Aug 201720 Jul 2017 The standard view of the Christian God is that he is all-knowing or omniscient. The Westminster Confession of Faith, the standard-bearer of orthodox belief among those in the Reformed community, says…
Characters in the Christian Scriptures… Musings on Mark: John the Locust Eater 20 Aug 201720 Jul 2017 καὶ ἦν ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐνδεδυμένος τρίχας καμήλου καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐσθίων ἀκρίδας καὶ μέλι ἄγριον. Mark 1:6 I have a memory of ten-year old me…
"Being tempted by Satan"… Musings on Mark: Conflict Among the Synoptics 13 Aug 20174 Jul 2017 Καὶ εὐθὺς τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτὸν ἐκβάλλει εἰς τὴν ἔρημον. καὶ ἦν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τεσσεράκοντα ἡμέρας πειραζόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ σατανᾶ, καὶ ἦν μετὰ τῶν θηρίων, καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι διηκόνουν αὐτῷ. Mark 1:12-13…
Eschatology… The Antichrist in the Book of Revelation: A Passing Commentary 6 Aug 20174 Jul 2017 I grew up going to a King James Only, dispensational, fundamentalist, Baptist church from the age of five to the age of eighteen when I went to college at a…
"With the wild animals"… Musings on Mark: Where the Wild Things Are 30 Jul 20171 Jul 2017 καὶ ἦν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τεσσεράκοντα ἡμέρας πειραζόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ σατανᾶ, καὶ ἦν μετὰ τῶν θηρίων, καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι διηκόνουν αὐτῷ. Mark 1:13 The opening scene of Mark's Gospel is set…
Christian Theology… The Bible, Bats, and Birds: Brief Thoughts 23 Jul 201723 Jul 2017 The Bible has its problems: implied geocentrism (Joshua 10:12-14), divinely sanctioned genocide (1 Samuel 15:1-3), explicitly failed prophecies (Ezekiel 26:12; cf. Ezekiel 29:17-18), and much more. Those who see it…
