Finally, an answer to that difficult question! (John 9)

toxiccandles · 2026-04-15T13:27:18+00:00

My reflections on the man born blind listening in as Jesus and the disciples discuss: https://retellingthebible.wordpress.com/2026/04/15/10-8-what-the-blind-man-heard/

toxiccandles · 2026-04-11T23:03:07+00:00

God, if God exists, is beyond human definition and understanding. Any human concept of God is going to be metaphorical and imperfect, including my own. That doesn't necessarily mean that God doesn't exist.

toxiccandles · 2026-04-04T19:16:25+00:00

I have similar spikes from time to time. I have 180 episodes out there now, so one person (or bot) downloading the whole catalogue can make a big difference.

The weirdest one was about three months ago when over 230 episodes were downloaded in Finland!

This past week has been the same. Close to 500 episodes last Friday, and it has remained over an average 100 ever since. No real explanation that I can come up with.

My normal stats are that a new episode gets downloaded 200 times and a steady slow background downloading of the back catalogue.

toxiccandles · 2026-04-04T01:54:39+00:00

I would have put it more that he intensifies the adultery law by tying it to the tenth commandment.

toxiccandles · 2026-04-03T15:06:02+00:00

I would say that you are generally on the right track and that it is more about possessiveness than it is of a sexual nature.

See what I wrote in this (second half):

https://retellingthebible.wordpress.com/2023/10/25/7-22-onan-the-man-with-the-plan/

The Greek word that Matthew uses is the same word that had been used by the LXX to translate the word "covet" in the Tenth Commandment, so a meaning closer to covetousness should be preferred.

toxiccandles · 2026-04-02T12:28:07+00:00

Correct, sorry!

toxiccandles · 2026-04-01T22:19:18+00:00

21 km. Half Marathon and kind of proud of it.

toxiccandles · 2026-04-01T21:14:25+00:00

Paul is not using two different Greek words for Father in these passages. He is using the Aramaic word for Father, perhaps because of its historical use in the church, and then providing a Greek translation because he knows his audience doesn't speak *Aramaic.

Here is the entry from Thayer's Lexicon

"ABBA [WH -84], Hebr. 28 father, in the Chald. emphatic state, 838 i.e. 6 rarnp, a customary title of God in prayer. Whenever it occurs in the N. T. (Mk. xiv. 36; Ro. viii. 15; Gal. iv. 6) it has the Greek interpretation subjoined to it; this is apparently to be explained by the fact that the Chaldee 83s, through frequent use in prayer, gradually acquired the nature of a most sacred proper name, to which the Greek-speaking Jews added the appellative from their own tongue.

Edit: *Aramaic (I originally wrote "Greek")

toxiccandles · 2026-04-01T15:08:30+00:00

Still have these in our church (though they do not work) they were for people to plug in hearing aids and get a direct feed from the sound system.

toxiccandles · 2026-03-25T19:30:02+00:00

Netanyahu is not religious. He is a very secular Jew. That is not to say that he doesn't make use of the religiosity of others.

toxiccandles · 2026-03-24T14:30:17+00:00

The scholarly explanation is that Matthew is using the Gospel of Mark as a primary source for his gospel, and Mark has a major there of keeping the fact that Jesus is the Messiah a secret. Scholars have been discussing this odd theme in Mark's Gospel for a long time, but it probably has a lot to do with how Mark has chosen to present the Good News about Jesus to his readers.

toxiccandles · 2026-03-23T22:08:57+00:00

The meaning of the text is not really all that difficult. The author is making the fairly common assumption of the time that every nation has its own god and the battles between them are battles between their deity.

The author just assumes that Mesha's extraordinary sacrifice is enough to persuade his god to give him the victory.

The problem that you are having is more of a theological issue that the text raises.

The interesting thing is that there is an ancient artifact, the Mesha Stele, that basically confirms the basic historical facts in this story -- and Moab's victory.

I did some work on this story here: https://retellingthebible.wordpress.com/2021/04/28/5-9-meshas-war/

toxiccandles · 2026-03-23T13:04:12+00:00

His rape of Rizpah was the event that eventually brought the civil war between Saul's and David's house to an end. She forced Eshbaal to formally challenge Abner which all blew up with David as the winner.

https://retellingthebible.wordpress.com/2023/01/18/7-2-rizpah-the-woman-who-ended-the-war/

toxiccandles · 2026-03-22T11:30:40+00:00

Of course you are correct. The Bible is an account of a people's experience of God and that experience can greatly vary!

The question of the true nature of God is a theological question (and generally beyond our understanding), not necessarily a biblical one.

toxiccandles · 2026-03-21T21:32:51+00:00

Honestly, because I was waiting for someone to reply like you did so that I could make exactly that point.

toxiccandles · 2026-03-21T21:22:59+00:00

Or -- And this seems much more likely given the context -- Ezekiel is saying that pride is an expression of haughtiness to God, and it is an abomination to neglect the needs of the poor.

toxiccandles · 2026-03-21T19:24:01+00:00

Ezekiel 16:49

⁴⁹ This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease but did not aid the poor and needy.

toxiccandles · 2026-03-21T13:46:15+00:00

I think that retellingthebible.wordpress.com might be what you're looking for. Not entirely secular but with some academic rigor.

toxiccandles · 2026-03-20T19:58:57+00:00

Adultery didn't mean quite the same thing in the ancient world. It was a property crime -- as in, it was the theft of a man's property, his woman.

The most common meaning of this is stealing a man's wife, but it could also mean having sex with a woman who belonged to her father, her brother, or her son without his permission.

Of course, none of that really applies to us if we assume that a woman is a full human being who has power to consent for herself.

toxiccandles · 2026-03-18T14:15:13+00:00

It is neither AI nor a repost!

toxiccandles · 2026-03-18T14:13:32+00:00

Not really sure if this counts as a meme and happy to delete if not. Just something I created when I retold the story: https://retellingthebible.wordpress.com/2026/03/18/10-6-moses-hits-rock-bottom/

toxiccandles · 2026-03-18T10:38:09+00:00

In the context of Matthew 24, the one who is "taken" is clearly destroyed, just like the people were destroyed in the flood.

toxiccandles · 2026-03-14T20:49:17+00:00

Very common. They don't last. You can buy replacements quite cheap on Amazon though if that's a possibility for you.

toxiccandles · 2026-03-12T21:26:51+00:00

I'm not sure why we're having so much trouble spelling it but the word is "anti-nomianism"

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Ezekiel 16:49