Lee Harmon's Blog, page 17
August 28, 2014
Proverbs 10:15, Wealth is our Fortress
The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
//It’s easy to feel this way, isn’t it? If I just had a little more money, I’d be safe and all would be well. My fortress would be impregnable. I fall into that line of thought at times, as I’m at the point in life where I’m saving frantically for my own retirement.
But a few chapters later, we find a different opinion. Note that this verse starts out identical to the first but then changes direction:
The wealth...
August 27, 2014
Book Excerpt: Revelation: The Way It Happened
To the north, outside the city, an army of wooden crosses clamored mutely for Josiah’s attention, every one of them displaying a crucified captive. Most of the victims now were dead, although some still contorted painfully with each attempt to tease air into their lungs. When the Romans needed crosses, they yanked the carcasses down and tossed them in heaps for the dogs to scavenge. Crucifixion filled the Roman need for intimidation, and now, few dared to venture outside the walls of the city...
August 25, 2014
Book review: Wine and the Word
by Kurt Senske
★★★★
This little pocket-sized book was well worth the read, even for someone like me who knows nothing at all about wine.
More than anything else, the book is the expression of one connoisseur’s appreciation for the enjoyment of wine and its rich heritage. But Senske, being Christian, lifts the experience into the realm of religion. Senske finds in good wine some remarkable, unexpected metaphors.
The direction Senske went was not all what I expected. He pays only minimal homage to...
August 24, 2014
2 Samuel 7:16, David’s Throne becomes God’s Throne
And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
//The four books of Samuel/Kings and the two books of Chronicles cover much the same time period and tell many of the same stories. But Chronicles was written a couple hundred years later than Samuel/Kings. It therefore sometimes portrays a little different perspective. Consider today’s verse, in which King David is promised in the book of Samuel that his dynasty (his house and...
August 23, 2014
Genesis 9:25, Canaan’s Destiny
And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
//The Bible tells us the story of a disgruntled nation of slaves (Israel) who escape from Egypt and head to a promised land named Canaan. There, they encounter inhabitants in their way. So what do they do? They slaughter them, in a shocking genocide that apparently has God’s blessing.
Now read today’s verse. It is a precursor to the conquest, cursing Canaan. Except that it’s not cursing a nation, but a person…th...
August 22, 2014
John 20:29, Blessed are the Blind Believers
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
//This is a curious passage of scripture. John’s Gospel had just finished relaying the story of how Jesus appeared to the Twelve, materializing before them in a locked room. But once isn’t enough; the Gospel then repeats the story eight days later, with a twist. This time, the apostle Thomas is with them, who becomes a scapegoat for a lesson Jesus wants to te...
August 21, 2014
Psalm 82:6-7, The Gods Will Die Like Mortals
I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.”
//In Psalm 82, God is presiding over the heavenly council of gods. In that day, it was believed that each nation had its own ruling god. But God, capital G, asserts his authority, claiming that the other gods are mere mortals.
Switch gears now to New Testament times. In John chapter 10, the Jews are ready to stone Jesus because he claimed to be “one with God.” In r...
August 20, 2014
Book review: postChristian
by Christian Piatt
★★★★★
I’m a fan of Piatt’s books, and once again he doesn’t disappoint. I’ve reviewed a couple of books in his Banned Questions series on The Dubious Disciple, and they too are very good.
This time around, Piatt writes more personally about his past experiences and his vision for the way forward. Christianity has failed Piatt in a number of ways, but he clings to his hope for better times, redefining God (who is not a being to be named, but rather an “event” to be experienced)...
August 19, 2014
Acts 16:17, Libertarian Slaves?
The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, who show to us the way of salvation.
//Sometimes a translation can be off just enough to mask a verse’s meaning. Examine today’s verse in the book of Acts. Servants/slaves (literally, in the Greek, “bond-servants”) of the most High God appear to be going around proclaiming a way of salvation/freedom/liberation. These particular “slaves” consider themselves free men, and wish to share this liberta...
August 18, 2014
Deuteronomy 15:4, The Poor Will Be Always With You
However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you.
//One day, a woman poured a costly ointment over Jesus’ head and/or feet, and some who were watching this extravagance balked. Couldn’t this ointment be put to better use than anointing the Messiah? Perhaps it could be sold and the money given to the poor?
Jesus replied that the poor would always be available, but that he was soon leaving the...
