Our vernacular has changed in the last 50 years and I am a first-hand witness. In my youth it was far more common to have phrases and idioms used to make a point many of which had their roots in the Bible. Some of the more popular ones have survived and my guess is most…
Read moreHaving faith is not up to You
Given that one is saved by faith, not good behavior, sacrifices, karma, works, reincarnation, et al, how does one get this faith? The Bible’s answer is ‘not on your own ‘cause you’re not even trying’ Psalm 14:2 says “The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if…
Read moreGod is in hell
Given God is omnipresent, (i.e., God is present everywhere) and given that hell is somewhere, God is there. The damned are not separated from God while in hell, but they are separated from God’s mercy, subject only to his righteous justice. God is there, seeing to the right, just, and eternal punishment of those who…
Read moreEven infants are sinners
Nothing seems more innocent than a cooing newborn baby. All the promise of life with none of the baggage. Yet the foundation of “original sin” infects even these precious ones. Genesis 8:21 says: “every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.” Likewise Romans 5:12 says “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered…
Read moreWe need saved from…God?
Given the choice, and wanting to avoid fire and brimstone or perhaps what some misguided people, even Sunday school teachers, present as a state of perpetual nothingness, I would choose to be saved. Saved from a judgement proceeding during which I will certainly be found guilty. Old Testament prophet Hosea says of people at the…
Read moreHolding the Flashlight
Those of us over 60 remember automobile engines that one could actually service. Changing spark plugs, adjusting timing, even spraying something-or-other into the carburetor-thingy (I was the helper, not the home mechanic!). Despite these jobs starting right after dinner, when projects took longer than planned, my job was to hold the flashlight as the sun…
Read moreWe are not commanded to forgive everyone
You’ve heard ‘turn the other cheek’ and all that. So, does a good Christian (as if the term Christian needs a modifier, especially the word “good” since Jesus says “No one is good—except God alone” (Mark 10:18) but I digress. Where was I? Oh yes,) So, does a good Christian forgive those who wrong them?…
Read moreThank Joseph for the enslavement of the Jews
We all know the history of Moses freeing the Jews from Pharaoh’s evil enslavement. But did you ever wonder how they came to be slaves in the first place? Genesis 47 catalogs the spiral the Jews experienced during the seven years of famine of which Joseph (not Mary’s husband, Joseph of the coat-of-many colors fame)…
Read moreMoses had a Second Set of Tablets
No, I’m not referring to the very funny scene in “The History of the World – Part one” where Mel Brooks, dressed as Moses, drops one of three tablets he is holding as he proclaims, “The Lord has given unto you, these fifteen (breaks tablet) … Ten! Ten Commandments for all to obey.” The commandments…
Read moreEveryone will be Resurrected
If you are like me, you may have conflated the terms and concepts “resurrection” and “salvation.” As children we are taught good people who die go to heaven. Bad people either remain dead, exist in a state of nothingness (eternally separated from God?), or go to “h-e-double-toothpicks.” (Like I said, when we were kids…) The…
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