Lee Harmon's Blog, page 55
June 27, 2013
Isaiah 19:23-25, The Highway of the Lord
In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria–a blessing in the midst of the land,whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”
//This is an absolutely fascinating prediction made by Isaiah. The “highway” language of...
June 26, 2013
Malachi 3:3, Is Purgatory Real?
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
//This may look like a strange verse to introduce the topic of purgatory, but this is in part where the idea derives. Purgation is a purifying of our souls, after we die. Paul used a similar metaphor:
Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire...
June 25, 2013
Book review: Quenched, What Everyone (Especially Christians) Should Know About Hell
by Crystal St. Marie Lewis
★★★★★
I’m very impressed. I follow Crystal’s blog online, though apparently not closely enough, or I would have known she had written this booklet. It’s a concise introduction to what the Bible really says about hell–and what it doesn’t say. It focuses on the Hebrew and Greek words “Hades,” “Gehenna,” “Tartarus,” and “Sheol.” Each of these words has a unique meaning and symbolism, each has a different metaphorical and poetic usage common to biblical times, but each is...
June 24, 2013
James 3:9, Cursing God’s Likeness
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.
//Odd that this little verse has never penetrated my thoughts before. I just happened to stumble upon it.
James provides no context for his complaint, but he seems quite disturbed by the way people are able to treat one another. Here we are, cursing and killing our fellow human beings, though each is made in the image of God, and praising God while we do so.
Has anything change...
June 23, 2013
Genesis 18:22, Standing Before God
The men turned away and went toward Sodom,but theLordremained standing before Abraham.
//Back in Bible days, it was understood that you should never sit in the presence of royalty. It was disrespectful not to stand. So prevalent was this teaching that many believed angels had no knees; they didn’t need any, because they didn’t ever need to sit down, because they perpetually stood before God.
That makes today’s verse a little odd. It’s from the Masoretic text, dated in the 9th or 10th century, b...
June 22, 2013
Book review: The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic
by John Shelby Spong
★★★★★
Spong has never warmed to the historicity of the Fourth Gospel. In fact, he never warmed to that gospel much at all, until the last few years, when he decide to make a study of it. I’m glad he finally did; I thoroughly enjoyed reading Spong’s analysis.
He begins his book by admitting that the older he gets, the more he believes, but the fewer beliefs he holds. I quoted Spong inmy own book about John’s Gospel (published just three months ago) as saying “I do not believe...
June 21, 2013
Luke 4:18, Caring for the Poor
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”
//These are the words of Jesus, explaining why he was sent into the world by God. It is to bring good news to the poor.
Some context helps. Jesus is just beginning his public ministry, and he returns to his hometown of Nazareth. He enters the synagogue during a Sabbath gathering, unrolls the scroll of Isaiah, and begins reading aloud the words of today’s verse. Good news for the poor. Isaiah’s proph...
June 20, 2013
John 1:4-5, The Light of Life (Father and Sun)
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcomeit.
//Think the title of today’s post contains a typo? Nope. I want to talk about the Sun, the light of life.
Today’s verse comes from John, the book of the Bible that most influenced the development of Trinitarian beliefs. Jesus, says John, came down from heaven, from the Father, bringing life … bringing light.
Note the wording of verse five: “the darkness has not overc...
June 19, 2013
Book review: Two by Two, The Shape of a Shapeless Movement
by Irvine Grey
★★★★
Note: Grey’s description of the 2×2 movement is a bit negative, often quoting disgruntled ex-members, and he concludes that the 2x2s are a “dangerous cult.” This he means not in the scholarly nor in the pejorative meaning, but in its Christian meaning, such that it describes nonconformity with traditional Christian beliefs. He uses Bebbington’s quadrilateral as a measuring stick. I surely agree with this assessment of nonconformity, even as I find it unhelpful to use a term...
June 18, 2013
Psalm 139:13, Knit Together In My Mother’s Womb
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
//Today’s verse is a beautiful bit of poetry, but it’s also a caution against reading all of the Bible literally. Of course we are not literally “knit together” by God in the womb, for to believe this would mean believing that God sometimes makes mistakes. Our progeny are not always perfect. We see children born with congenital defects, such as Down’s syndrome or cystic fibrosis. Most of these defects, we know, are caus...
