Throughout the book of Genesis, YHWH has been telling Abraham that his descendants will one day possess the land of Canaan, which usually meets with skepticism from Abraham. His sometimes sister, sometimes wife, Sarah, is barren and said to be well beyond the age when women could produce children. YHWH has gone so far as … Continue reading Real Bible Studies: Genesis, The Birth of Isaac
Tag: religion
Sol Invictus
To disseminate a new belief system, it's sometimes necessary to employ the trappings of an earlier system to help followers make the transition. The early Christian church realized that people were unwilling to give up their feasts and celebrations surrounding the Solstices and Equinoxes, so rather than force them, the Church redefined the celebrations to … Continue reading Sol Invictus
Real Bible Studies: Judges, The Song of Deborah
In Judges 4-5, we meet one of the few women who stands on her own in all of the Old Testament. Deborah isn't just identified as a strong woman, Judges tells us she's leading the Israelites and holds counsel under the Palm of Deborah. She's identified as a prophet, and the wife of Lappidoth. Despite … Continue reading Real Bible Studies: Judges, The Song of Deborah
Age of Aquarius
With the rise of nationalism and religious fundamentalism throughout the world, many are left to wonder if the human race has lost its mind, but events across the globe seem to be signaling the end of one way of thinking and the beginning of another. Like any birth, it's destined to be difficult and painful, … Continue reading Age of Aquarius
Universal Deism
Science shows us what makes up the world around us, but it's not always so concerned with the metaphysical why. Water is a basic building block for life on Earth, for instance. Does it matter why hydrogen and oxygen combine to create water? Was there some sort of divine plan underlying this behavior? A divine … Continue reading Universal Deism
Killing Babies now Available
Sometimes, in writing, things need to get cut. My latest collection of essays entitled Killing Babies, is now available for purchase from online bookstores in print, and Kindle format from Amazon. Purchase the print version from Amazon and download the Kindle version for free. These essays originated on this blog in their earliest forms, but … Continue reading Killing Babies now Available
Real Bible Studies: Kings & Chronicles
Nowhere is the piecemeal nature of the Bible more evident than in the books detailing the kings of Israel and Judah from the time of David's ascension to the time Babylon sacks Jerusalem and burns the temple. Kings and Chronicles are each broken up into two books, but according to sources, in the Hebrew Bible, … Continue reading Real Bible Studies: Kings & Chronicles
All Seeing
Conceptions of God are constantly in flux, which is what yields so many different religions. In Lake Woebegone Days, Garrison Keillor humorously describes numerous disputes among church congregations over the interpretation of scripture which lead to factions developing which cause the congregations to split. Baptists and Methodists primarily disagree over the method of baptism, and … Continue reading All Seeing
Conceptions of God
What we think of as God is a personification of the whole of the universe crafted in the image of humanity. That's why the concept of God changes depending upon the observer. This is evident in the pages of the Bible, as the vengeful Yahweh of Genesis morphs into the loving Heavenly Father of the … Continue reading Conceptions of God
Nature of God
The nature of that which we call God exists in the act of creation. The instilling of matter and energy with their given properties which set in motion the building blocks of the universe. Afterward, what more needed to be done? The basic elements of everything that followed were in place and all that was … Continue reading Nature of God