But man in his splendor will not endure; he is like the animals that perish. Psalm 49:12 NASB Animals – Do dogs go to heaven? What about cats? Do animals have a “soul”? At one point in human history, such questions caused considerable debate. However, it seems that the Bible makes a significant distinction between animals and humans—except…
For he sees that even wise people die; the foolish and the stupid alike perish and leave their wealth to others. Psalm 49:10 NASB Alike – “because the wise man, just like the fool, is not remembered forever; for, as the succeeding days roll by, both are forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies, just like the fool” (Ecclesiastes 2:16…
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 NASB Mourn – Samuel Beckett’s play raises a critical question for humanity. It does so with a kind of dramatic insanity. “Vivian Mercier described Waiting for Godot as a play which ‘has achieved a theoretical impossibility—a play in which nothing happens, that yet keeps audiences glued…
My days are like a lengthened shadow, and I wither away like grass. Psalm 102:11 NASB Lengthened – For those of you who aren’t familiar with exposure problems in photography, let me explain HDR. High Dynamic Range is the situation where the light in the picture varies significantly between highs (whites) and lows (blacks). While the…
For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with weeping. Psalm 102:9 NASB Ashes – “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Ominous words from Genesis 3:19. We don’t like to think about them, but we know they’re true for every one of us. The psalmist uses a little word…
Because of the loudness of my groaning my bones cling to my flesh. Psalm 102:5 NASB Loudness – Read this again. How can the volume of my groaning be the cause of bones clinging to flesh? Does sound have anything to do with the consequences of malnutrition? In fact, severely malnourished human beings, bones exposed because of…
“Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.” Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian.” Numbers 31:2-3 NASB The sons of Israel – Moses is about to die. …
“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.” John 8:51 NASB Never see death – How can these words of Yeshua possibly be true, especially 2000 years later? He died. Everyone who heard the words died. Everyone ever since has died. Was he just a deluded apocalyptic prophet who…
Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” Genesis 1:6 NASB Expanse – Genesis chapter 1 is undoubtedly the least understood and most misunderstood chapter in all the Bible. Oh, it’s so familiar to us that we think we know what…
Somewhere in most churches in Italy (and maybe in all of Europe) you will find something like this. Since this depiction has been part of the church for centuries, you can well imagine why Heschel characterized Christianity as a religion of death rather than life.
