Lee Harmon's Blog, page 71

John 11:39, He Stinketh

Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time hestinketh:forhehath been dead four days.

//I laughed at Rob Bell’s humorous discussion of this verse in Velvet Elvis, but in truth, the phrase “he stinketh” struck me as memorable long ago, too.

Jesus’ beloved friend Lazarus has died, and four days later, Jesus shows up at the tomb. But Martha, the sister of Lazarus, has lost hope. Lazarus is so far gone that he stinketh. Nevertheles...

Book review: The Alphabet that Changed the World

by Stan Tenen

★★★★

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.–Genesis 1:1

Magical words, to be sure, but perhaps we are just now uncovering how magical! Bet you never thought a research book could be written about the first verse of the Bible!

This is a deep look into the possible origins of the Hebrew alphabet, presenting its construction of letters as based on universal hand gestures, with meaning inherent in each and every letter. The Torah (the first five books of the Bible), Te...

1 Corinthians 2:9 “It Is Written.”

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”

//“As it is written,” Paul says. But where is this written?

Here it is, in a Gnostic text thought to be written after Paul died:

Jesus said, “I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, and what has not arisen in the human heart.” –Gospel of Thomas, saying 17

So Paul quoted words that he says “are written,” and the Gospel of...

Dubious Disciple Top Ten Books of 2011

Yes, that says 2011. Yes, I’m a year late. I was pleasantly surprised by how much attention our 2012 list generated, and decided to go ahead and do a list as well for our first full year as a book reviewer. Besides, I think the 2011 group may have been even more interesting.

So, here are all of my favorites from the year before, in order by review date.

Atoms and Eden, by Steve Paulson

Reading the Bible Through New Covenant Eyes, by Alan Bondar

Christianity: How a Tiny Sect From a Despised Religi...

A Blog You Must Read!

A little ways down the right hand column of The Dubious Disciple, you’ll see a few of my favorite blog feeds. On the top of the list you’ll probably find one titled James’ Thoughts and Musings. I’m betting it will be on the top of the list because the most recent feed is always on top, and James posts multiple times a day! Here’s his blog:

James’ Thoughts and Musings

James is a Ph.D. student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, studying the History of Biblical Interpretation, a...

Book review: The Shack

by Wm. Paul Young

★★★★

SPOILER ALERT

It’s amazing how big a splash this self-published book made. I read the story several years back, but picked it up again for a book discussion group I belong to.

I don’t seem to be quite as enamored of it as some, but it IS a good story! The gist is of a father whose young daughter is murdered, and who ventures alone a year later to the place of her abduction. He is called there by a mysterious letter from “Papa;” Papa is the name his wife always used for Go...

Isaiah 20:2, The Aristocratic Streaker

At that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot.

//The prophetIsaiah is sometimes pictured as one of the more aristocratic, at least in comparison to other prophets. He has access to the king and other higher-ups. This makes God’s instruction in today’s verse even more bizarre.

God tells Isaiah to walk around naked for three years. Why? To illustrate...

Galatians 3:28, Neither Male Nor Female

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

//These are wonderful words of equality, penned by Paul, meant to be interpreted symbolically. Right? A person can’t really be neither male nor female, can s/he? Didn’t Genesis tell the story of how mankind was created “male and female” by God?

Let’s go back and read that text a little more carefully:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God create...

An “Unapologetic Liberal Theological Viewpoint”

Celebrate with me the arrival of my new book this week! I just got copies.

John’s Gospel: The Way It Happened is the sequel to my book about Revelation. Click here www.dubiousdisciple.com/purchase if you would like an autographed copy, weeks before it’s official release! (It won’t hit stores until March 1, though it’s available for pre-order at Amazon). And guys, it’s gorgeous! If you need a cover designer, I know the one you want.

To give you a flavor for the content, here is a portion of a...

John 18:28, What Time Does Santa Come?

Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover.

//Today’s verse points out that in John’s Gospel, Jesus dies before the Passover (he is crucified that afternoon). This contradicts the other three Gospels, where Jesus eats the Passover with the Twelve. There are other verses in John that make it equally clear that Jesus dies before Passover, so B...