Author Archives: ehurst

TMOC 11. Give Them Room

Posted on October 15, 2012 by ehurst

Efficiency and achievement are human values, not spiritual values. How would our children learn if we didn’t let them fail? How would they gain skills and confidence if don’t let them practice, taking much longer than we would on the … Continue reading →

Posted in meta | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on TMOC 11. Give Them Room

TMOC: Program Notes

Posted on October 14, 2012 by ehurst

I’ve not had a lot of input on this book, so far. A few of you have been quite helpful, with suggestions of things which we should cover, but no substantial reactions beyond a slew of “likes”. Apparently my writing … Continue reading →

Posted in meta | Tagged | 2 Comments

TMOC 9: Parables and Miracles

Posted on October 14, 2012 by ehurst

Throughout His ministry, Jesus spent a great deal of time teaching in parables. Even when it was easy enough to state things in more common terms, He insisted on using parables and symbolic speech. His disciples were vexed by this … Continue reading →

Posted in meta | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on TMOC 9: Parables and Miracles

TMOC 8: Rolling with the Roles

Posted on October 14, 2012 by ehurst

In Hebrew language and culture, context is everything. Sometimes a person’s actions or words might be inappropriate because it was tantamount to assuming prerogatives from a role they couldn’t claim. A typical Hebrew response would be to correct impertinence by … Continue reading →

Posted in meta | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on TMOC 8: Rolling with the Roles

Zephaniah — Intro and Chapter 1

Posted on October 13, 2012 by ehurst

Intro The great-grandson of King Hezekiah, Zephaniah was part of the royal clan, a near relative to King Manasseh under whose reign he was born. This was the infamous king who drug Judah into every imaginable form of idolatry and … Continue reading →

Posted in bible | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Zephaniah — Intro and Chapter 1

TMOC 7: All in the Family

Posted on October 13, 2012 by ehurst

We know Jesus possessed a prophetic insight. Some of His decisions arise directly from that, but this does not remove the purely human motives which surely fed into some of those choices. Too often Western Christians paint the scenes of … Continue reading →

Posted in meta | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on TMOC 7: All in the Family

TMOC 6: Messianic Expectations

Posted on October 13, 2012 by ehurst

(I debated including this, so I’d like some feedback as to whether my readers think it matters.) We simply cannot hope to understand some of the events and conversations in the Gospels without realizing just what the Jews had in … Continue reading →

Posted in meta | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on TMOC 6: Messianic Expectations

TMOC 5: Background

Posted on October 12, 2012 by ehurst

(Offered as the proposed fifth chapter to our Open Source book, The Mind of Christ.) In Western minds, there are two concepts typically regarded as mutually exclusive: God’s sovereignty and human free will. At the very least it requires mental … Continue reading →

Posted in meta | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on TMOC 5: Background

Epistemology and the Fall (Updated)

Posted on October 12, 2012 by ehurst

I’m getting a trickle of questions about Jesus’ behavior, enough to start an outline, but most of them are rather late in His ministry. For the next chapter of our book it seems obvious to discuss biographical background and some … Continue reading →

Posted in bible | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Epistemology and the Fall (Updated)

TMOC: Common Sense

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ehurst

(This is offered as a proposed fourth chapter of our book.) If you were born in Europe or the US during the past two centuries, your fundamental assumptions about reality are distinctly different from those the Bible. The West is … Continue reading →

Posted in meta | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on TMOC: Common Sense