Tag Archives: Bible History

No Good Politics

In response to a query… I should have thought this was obvious by now: Jesus was neither conservative nor liberal in the context of His own day. In both religious and political terms, the Pharisees were the dominant conservatives. The … Continue reading

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Psalm 149

The fourth of the final Hallelujah Hymns in Psalms, this one draws the image of a distinct historical event, though we cannot pin it down which one. We do know that during the Period of Restoration after Exile, the returnees … Continue reading

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Always Offering Shalom

I refer to a very long page at the Thinktank: Why couldn’t Israel take in the Amalekites like they did foreign survivors in Deut 20? I will allow you to read about the Amalekites if you like, but my point … Continue reading

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Center of Gravity

Numbers 16 made a dramatic movie scene: Moses spoke about how Korah and his buddies had defied God Himself, so their punishment should come directly from God’s own hand. Let the earth swallow them alive! And so it was. Do … Continue reading

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Psalm 137

Western Christianity, with its odd mixture of pagan and secular moral values, struggles to understand the moral content of this psalm. This psalm is a good test of whether one can grasp the Ancient Hebrew outlook that is at the … Continue reading

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The Path of the Heart

The heart-led way is the human default. It’s where we began back in Eden. The Fall didn’t close off the heart of conviction; it simply meant ignoring it in favor of the intellect. From that time forward, it was two … Continue reading

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Psalm 132

The primary purpose of including this psalm in the Ascents collection is to serve as a reminder as to why there is an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The main point is that it is the symbolic earthly throne of Jehovah … Continue reading

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Origins Agnosticism

Just as a follow-up to my post about crazy things mainstream religious leaders assert about Bible History, I wanted to remind folks of a fundamental philosophical issue. I take an agnostic position about questions of human origins. This business of … Continue reading

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Sometimes I Wonder

Sometimes I wonder if some noise made by big names in Christian religion doesn’t represent controlled opposition. Let’s back up and look at the wider context. I may be crazy, but I’m consistent with the logic I promote. I’ve warned … Continue reading

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Psalm 126

This Song of Ascents refers to the Exile and Restoration, but looks back upon it from a later date. Yet still fresh in memory was the giddy joy of the imperial announcement that the Judeans could go home and rebuild … Continue reading

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