Monthly Archives: July 2013

ACBM: Part 2 Chapter 4

Posted on July 26, 2013 by ehurst

Chapter 4 — The Covenant Nation While the Mesopotamians kept track of a wide range of religious and philosophical considerations, the Nile Valley folks focused more on developing their own to a much greater depth. While our understanding of Egyptian … Continue reading →

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ACBM: Note 2

Posted on July 25, 2013 by ehurst

I forgot to mention that the call of mysticism doesn’t require a detailed knowledge of ANE archaeology. Around 1700 a Catholic Priest known as Francois Fenelon started down the path of mysticism. While we might find room to criticize some … Continue reading →

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ACBM: Part 2 Chapter 3

Posted on July 25, 2013 by ehurst

Chapter 3 — Abraham from Mesopotamia If you don’t understand Abraham the man, you cannot understand the Bible. The Genesis account makes no pretense at dating anything; it simply offers pivotal points along the path of revelation. The lack of … Continue reading →

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ACBM: Notes

Posted on July 24, 2013 by ehurst

This is not to impress you with what I know, but to entice you into what you can know. Before actually starting to type the text, I had gone back and reacquainted myself with an awful lot of ANE stuff … Continue reading →

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ACBM: Part 2 Chapter 2

Posted on July 24, 2013 by ehurst

Chapter 2 — The Ancient Near East The academic definition of The Ancient Near East (ANE) includes a portion of the earth’s surface which runs from the Caucasus on the northeast, across modern Turkey and out to Crete, down to … Continue reading →

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ACBM: Part 2 Chapter 1

Posted on July 23, 2013 by ehurst

Chapter 1 — Approaching Biblical Mysticism Our task here is hard because Western writers seldom acknowledge the mystical element in Scripture unless they are generally hostile to the message of the Bible. Biblical scholars range all over the map with … Continue reading →

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ACBM: Part 1 Chapter 6

Posted on July 22, 2013 by ehurst

Chapter 6 — The Enlightenment The Enlightenment was the pinnacle of Western Civilization. To understand the theological flavor and ritual traditions of any Christian denomination, one need only trace it’s birth. Broadly speaking, American expressions of Christian religion range between … Continue reading →

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ACBM: Part 1 Chapter 5

Posted on July 21, 2013 by ehurst

Chapter 5 — The Western Church While reading the German legends can be a bit gloomy, the history of the Western Church is downright painful. We recognize academically the difference between religion and spirituality. An essential element of human nature … Continue reading →

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Ecclesiastes 11

Posted on July 20, 2013 by ehurst

Human wisdom works best when properly informed by revelation. Solomon proposes some lessons not obvious to human reasoning, but obviously useful when examined. It’s difficult to say whether Solomon suggests in this first verse that we should be charitable or … Continue reading →

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ACBM: Part 1 Chapter 4

Posted on July 20, 2013 by ehurst

Chapter 4 — Germanic Mythology The actual history of what happened starting from the decline of Rome is not nearly so important as how events shaped Western Civilization. It’s not as if Rome was completely forgotten, but her power and … Continue reading →

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