Tag Archives: human suffering

Psalm 42

Here we begin Book 2 in the Psalms. The theme of this series, ending with Psalm 72, seems contentious among Western scholars. A common remark raises the issue that Book 1 used God’s personal name Yahweh more often, while Book … Continue reading

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Switch Channels

Nobody can explain it, though thousands have tried. We can’t even describe it. There is ample evidence in Scripture that it goes far back into human history. It’s more than mere records of conversations with God. Just who is going … Continue reading

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Background Noise (Updated)

One of things that most distinguishes the godly from others in this world is not whether we have trouble, but how we handle it. I’m praying about a pretty big problem. It’s not as if I am whining and trying … Continue reading

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Broken Boundaries

Do you imagine that our common diseases today were absent from the Garden of Eden? If so, you would still be suffering from Western mythology. In the Hebrew culture, disease wasn’t some alien presence in nature. It was always there, … Continue reading

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StT: Acts 8:32-33

(Another sample from Gospel Red Herring: Spiritualizing the Text.) In the prophetic literature of the Old Testament, Israel was characterized in many different ways. Sometimes as the land she occupied, or some of the fruit-bearing trees there, perhaps as a … Continue reading

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Psalm 31

Never be content with a mere translation of words. If this were a modern work of Western song, we would say it was a long string of clichés. However, in good Hebrew verse, this is how it’s done. Readers of … Continue reading

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Psalm 22

Christians have long recognized this as the Crucifixion Psalm. It’s not as if David necessarily foresaw precisely that form of torture and execution. Each item is recognized as a form of suffering, and David runs together all the different images … Continue reading

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EH&D 2

(This is a serialization of the draft for my book, Expectations, Hopes and Dreams.) Grabbing You by the Throat “Oh my God!” Her eyes weeping, she put her hand against her lips, knuckles folded. On the screen just across the … Continue reading

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