Lee Harmon's Blog, page 23
June 17, 2014
Book review: Becoming the Son
by C. D. Baker
★★★★★
Very, very good! It’s a gutsy challenge to write fiction about Jesus, yet I believe this is the most enjoyable and moving Bible-times story I’ve ever read. Jesus’ message comes alive in glorious humanity. It was doubly enjoyable for me because Baker took the time to explain much of his research in footnotes. The novel took much longer than normal for me to read, because I was constantly tempted to study the footnotes and look up scripture.
To the best of my own research, Bak...
June 16, 2014
Mark 10:19, The Eleventh Commandment
You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’
//The ten commandments are listed in Exodus chapter 20 and Deuteronomy chapter 5. But Jesus, when he begins to list these commandments in the Gospel of Mark, decides to add another: Do not defraud.
Some scholars assume this commandment is a combination of two: “Do not steal” and “Do not covet your neighbor’s possessions.” When L...
June 15, 2014
Acts 12:21-23, How Did Herod Agrippa Die
So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.
//Have you ever wondered about this passage in Acts? What really happened that day? Is Luke (the author of Acts) taking creative liberties, assuming supernatural intervention in the death of Agrippa to undersc...
June 13, 2014
Romans 9:1, Paul the Liar?
I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit
//Have you ever noticed how often Paul insists he is not lying? Who exactly was calling him a liar? Who did he feel the need to defend against in his letters?
Speculation abounds. Some believe Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor 12:7) to be whatever person or group Paul constantly defends himself against. Paul’s letters betray the tension between himself and Judaic Christians, and one Christian branch–t...
June 12, 2014
Luke 21: The Christian Escape to Pella
When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.
//Church Fathers Eusebius and Epiphanius tell us that sometime just prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Christians in Jerusalem escaped the Roman siege and fled the city. They land...
June 11, 2014
Book review: The Beautiful Scientist
by Corrado Ghinamo
★★★★★
This little book is a gem. Ghinamo doesn’t present his credentials beyond personal study, he doesn’t use footnotes, and he has no reference section, so it’s clear this isn’t meant to be read as a scholarly treatise. It’s just an honest way of looking at God, one which is consistent with scientific exploration. Nevertheless, he is well-read in the sciences, and he presents his views very simply and beautifully.
Ghinamo draws our attention to the Super Force governing our...
June 10, 2014
James 2:5-6, James and the Poor
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?
//There seems to be disagreement among Christians about what the word “poor” means. Some, reading the words of Matthew regarding the “poor in spirit,” argue that Jesus isn’t really inter...
June 9, 2014
Book Excerpt: Revelation: The Way It Happened
Scholars have long recognized the unmistakable similarities between the images used in the seal-breaking [Revelation chapter 6] and the Olivet Discourse in Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21, where Jesus predicts the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE. War, international strife, famine, and earthquakes occur in the same order in both the Gospels and Revelation. Luke specifically names Jerusalem as the city under siege, and nearly all Bible interpreters agree that the Gospels, all...
June 8, 2014
1 Corinthians 6:4, Paul and the Shema part II of II
And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
//Yesterday, I introduced Paul’s application of the Shema, and how it leads some scholars to believe Paul expresses a high christology. But the argument relies heavily on Paul’s use of the title Lord (greek: Kyrios) and whether readers of his letters would automatically assume references to the Lord would think of the Lord God.
But in my opinion, the argument simply falls flat. Paul never refers to the Lord God. H...
June 7, 2014
1 Corinthians 8:6, Paul and the Shema, part I of II
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
//These are the words of Paul. Scholars have long wondered if Paul was purposefully echoing the Shema of the Old Testament. That verse reads like this:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD –Deuteronomy 6:4
This echo, then, may be a subtle indication of Paul’s christology … meaning, Paul believed Jesus was divine, a part of the Godhead. The a...
