If not then what?
In this post I am thinking about the Old Testament. In particular, how do I know it is true? This will not be an answer more in note-ish form . What does it teach? That God created the world. He had some sort of early encounter with a man, or group which was...
read more
Stoicism
This topic has come up in N T Wright’s Magnus Opum – Paul and the Faithfulness of God as one of the factors that would have been highly influential in the time of Paul, particularly in the Greek world. Key foundations are logic, physics and ethics.Watch...
read more
The New Perspective on Paul
So I haven't posted for a while. I am half way through my Introduction to the New Testament module, and now on Romans. The New Perspective on Paul - basically this means that recent protestant Theologians have recognised that first century Jews did not believe that...
read moreShabir Ali vs Dr William Lane Craig
Resuscitation theory - liberal German scholarship 1700s and 1800s - discredited The Qur'an says clearly that Jesus not crucified( Sura 4) Other place crucifixion mentioned in Sura 5 it is not equated with death (So can't say they meant no crucifixion as didn't die by...
read more
A light for the Gentiles
In the gospel of Luke, as well as being presented as the hope of Israel, Jesus is clearly shown to be "a light for the gentiles". This is portrayed in several ways: 1] Ancestry to Adam (3:23-38) Jesus' descent is traced back to Adam, symbolically the father of mankind...
read more
Should we reject the Gospels because of contradictions?
In a recent debate in Bradford (Mar 2012) between a Muslim and a Christian over the question of who Jesus was, the Muslim speaker simply read through a list of 'contradictions' in the Bible, mainly from the gospels, with no analysis - and then said that this proved...
read more
Is the Gospel of John Historical?
These are a few preliminary thoughts for an essay I will shortly write. Q. John's portrayal of Jesus is so different to that in the Synoptics that some scholars have no confidence in its historicity. Discuss. Differences in accounts do not imply that one source is...
read moreDeity of Jesus in Matthew
What would a Jew in the first century of thought of the Gospel of Matthew on first reading, given no prior knowledge of Christianity? What would they thought of Jesus? Would they have considered that he was portrayed as divine?Movie A Dog's Purpose (2017) Consider the...
read more
The Deity of Jesus in the Synoptics
I am involved with quite a bit of debate with Muslims in the Bradford area which I really enjoy. One accusation that is frequently asserted is that Jesus did not claim to be God. Now the most explicit answer would be to redirect the reader to John 8:58 "Before...
read more
5 Greek Words in 1 John
Parrhsia – The original meaning of this word is ‘freedom of speech’. If you were a citizen in a Greek city-state you had the right to speak out freely at a public assembly. The word came to mean frankness or outspokenness, and then confidence and boldness. In the...
read more
The Holiness of God in Christ
I have recently been thinking about every aspect of God by looking at Christ. This is nothing bizarre but simply a logical response to verses such as Hebrews 1:3: "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things...
read moreSam, Michael and Anna
Once upon a time there were three children called Sam, Michael and Anna. Now these children were best friends and all went to the same school. One day it was RE. Today Miss T. Ollertant was teaching about Buddhism. She told the class that Buddhism was the best...
read moreThe Call of Ezekial and thoughts on God
What does the call of Ezekiel teach about God - some notes. Eyes - all seeing Moving all over the place - Omnipresent (everywhere) Throne above - in control Noise - power Great expanse - power Living creatures - power
read more
Agents/recipients of wrath
There are many examples in the Old Testament of people and nations being instruments of God's justice only to find themselves later rebuked or destroyed themselves. Jehu - After destroying Ahab's family (2 Kings 9,10) which seemed at the time to be accomplishing the...
read more
Elijah vs Elisha
When Elijah flees for his life to Mount Horeb God tells him "anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet" (1 Kings 19:15-16). Elijah only got round to...
read more
Thoughts on Samuel, Saul and David
Poor Saul has been judged harshly. He had massive issues to deal with. The Philistines held a major dominance in the land and he had to deal with that. On top of that he was the first king in a land with no administration and not even a proper army. His people were...
read more
Samuel and Saul: A Negative Symbiosis
This article by Moshe Reiss challenges the orthodox view that would consider Samuel an upright man beyond reproach and Saul as a failure of a king. Saul’s faults? It asks some interesting questions that are worth considering: What command did Saul break when he...
read more
Thoughts on “Samson: A Tragedy in Three Acts” by Shimon Bakon
Article available here Things that were new to me: There is mention of God moving Samson in his early life and one has to consider how it was that he became a judge, so perhaps he had a golden age that the Bible doesn't mention. "and the Spirit of the Lord began to...
read more
Review of “Gideon and the Ephraimites” by Josiah Derby
Link to article I found this very interesting article on Google. It highlighted a very interesting point I had not noted when I read the passage on Gideon (Judges 6 - 8). In Judges, Chapter 8 we read "Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like...
read more
The Judges: an overview
Judge: Othniel Tribe: Judah Ref: 3:7 - 11 Oppressor: Aram Naharaim Years of oppression: 8 Years of peace: 40 Judge: Ehud Tribe: Benjamin Ref: 3:12 - 30 Oppressor: Moab, Amalek, Ammon Years of oppression: 18 Years of peace: 80 Judge: Deborah/ Barak Tribe: Naphtali Ref:...
read moreOrder and Creation in the Ancient Near East
The three great influences on the Hebrew Bible are Canaan, Egypt and Babylon. Each of these had well developed beliefs about the gods, creation and order in the cosmos. In the Ancient Near East they had no concept of nothingness before creation. For them the opposite...
read moreWhat is Redaktionsgeschichte by Robert Stein
This article looks at defining Redaktionsgeschichte. It compares it with form criticism. Form criticism is interested in analyzing each supposed source that makes up the gospel. Analysing the tree instead of the forest. If the gospel writers only copied sources and...
read more
The importance of the Exodus to Israel
The importance of the Exodus to Israel and the revelation of God as a Father This essay explains and elucidates the following statement: ‘The Exodus is such a significant event in Israel’s history, that it serves as more than just an account of the wandering in the...
read more
Personal Evaluation
This essay looks at one way in which this module has challenged my thinking, two new spiritual disciplines I have found beneficial and three ways in which my inner life has been edified. I also make a small comment about possible changes to the module. This module...
read more
Daughter Zion Speaks in Auschwitz by K.M. Wilson
Daughter Zion Speaks in Auschwitz: A Post-Holocaust Reading of Lamentation [1] In this very interesting article Kelly Wilson makes the reader engage properly with the suffering of the women and children in the book of Lamentations. By comparing the suffering...
read more
The Oracles of Balaam
Numbers 22-24 Balaam son of Beor is a curios character - a man of extremes. He was from Pethor near the Euphrates so hundreds of miles east from Moab. On the one hand he held to what God said. He refused to curse Israel against God's will. However, he was lured by...
read more
A Crescendo of Plagues
Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts Ex 7:11 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. Ex 7:13 1. The...
read more
Abraham in context
Just watched video from http://brucegore.com/VideoPlay2.aspx Was interesting but not as good as the videos on Enuma Elish and The Epic of Gilgamesh. Some interesting points. When looking on map I saw the main cities along the fertile crescent: Allepo, Damascus, Haran,...
read more
Epic of Gilgamesh
In a recent post we looked at the similarities between the creation account found in Genesis 1 and the Akkadian legend of Enuma Elish. We saw that there were similarities in the way physical things are described but great differences in the way that God or gods are...
read more
Genesis 3 and 4
Similarities between Genesis 3 and 4. 1. God has warned Caan as he warned Adam and Eve. 2. God confronts Caan as he did Adam. 3. A curse is pronounced. 4. There is a sending away. Caan is sent away from farming to being a restless wanderer. 5. There is mercy even in...
read more