“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?” Exodus 15:11 NASB Awesome – The Greek heritage of the West is focused on one fundamental goal: to rationally understand. The method is examination of phenomena in the world in order to discover causal connections. …
Come and pray. . . The Jerusalem Talmud, Berakhot 4:4 (8b) Pray – The Jerusalem Talmud, the shorter of the two great collections of rabbinic material, includes the following instruction: “One who is called upon to lead services is not told, ‘Come and pray,’ but ‘Come and kerav – offer our sacrifices, seek out our…
I’ve been reading a book by Yehezkel Kaufmann, The Religion of Israel. Kaufmann’s discussion of the role of the classical prophets is an important addition to our investigation of the prophets through the insights of Abraham Heschel. Soon we will begin an in-depth study of Kaufmann’s work on my other web site (ivebeenskipped.com). Today, as…
Then they will cry out to the Lord, but He will not answer them. Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time because they have practiced evil deeds. Micah 3:4 NASB Hide His face – Hebrew is a tactile, idiomatic language. It uses common life experiences to describe crucial religious concepts. Salvation is described as a…
Yesterday I wrote about the family in Alezio honoring the grandmother. I think it’s worth seeing some pictures. Did you notice that this all happens on the street? The neighbors came over too. It was really wonderful. A weekly event for this family for more than 100 years. As I reflected on my emotions during…
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Romans 12:6 Berean Study Bible Gifts – While the Greek heritage provides a rich texture for understanding the idea of gifting as the expression of joyful celebration, an even deeper context can be seen in the Hebrew thought patterns that lie behind Paul’s vocabulary. Charisis…
As you may have guessed, Italy is filled with cultural inheritance. It’s not just the architecture that’s thousands of years old, it’s also traditions. Some are wonderful–like the one we attended a few days ago in Alezio. The oldest living person in the family, the grandmother, sat in her wheelchair on the side of the…
For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. 1 Corinthians 14:2 NASB Mysteries – Paul writes these words to the Corinthians. He never speaks of this subject in other letters. What was it about the Corinthian audience that motivated Paul to…
For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. 1 Corinthians 14:2 NASB No one understands – Paul’s remark about speaking in tongues fuels great debate. Some denominations of Christianity consider the practice obsolete, ending with the age of the apostles. Others…
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 NASB Are higher than – The transcendent God is a staple of classic theology. Consider this example: Question: “What…
