The Covenant of Circumcision

person crossing street reading cell texts to indicate lack of awareness

Why Westerners don’t understand the Iran – Israel conflict
It's about strong religious beliefs

Islam, Something from the news

I heard someone on the news talking about the “decades old conflict between Iran and Israel”. The current conflict between Israel and Iran may be only decades old, but the conflict between Islam and Judaism has been going on almost since Muhammad’s visions. But lukewarm Westerners don’t understand the Iran – Israel conflict.

Why Westerners don’t understand the Iran – Israel conflict
It's about strong religious beliefs More

Is predestiny about who we are or free will choices? Calvinist beliefs.

Is predestiny about who we are or free will choices? Calvinist beliefs.

Predestiny versus Free Will

Predestiny and free will are two choices given to us by Christian denominations. By people, really. Those who influence what denominations believe about what God said. But are they choices given to us by God? You know, the One who gave the words to the people who actually wrote the books in the Bible? What if God’s words, not men’s words, say that predestiny is about the free will choices we make? We begin with Calvinist core beliefs.

Is predestiny about who we are or free will choices? Calvinist beliefs. More

A man looking up at the stars at night, illustrative of God's promise to Abraham. But what religion was Abraham? was Abraham the father of three religions? And what about Abram?

What religion was Abraham?

Artisanal Bible Study

What religion was Abraham? After all, he is claimed as the father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Two of those religions took one path to get from Abraham to their religions that exist today. However, the other one took a different path to get from the man who used to be Abraham to that religion today. Notice, I worded that very carefully. Let’s find out why. And learn what those two paths are.

What religion was Abraham? More

do all religions lead to the same God

American beliefs – do all religions lead to the same God?

American Theology is mixed up

Do all religions lead to the same God?  When Americans were asked to react to the statement, God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, more than half agreed, with 46% strongly agreeing.  Just based on an approximate 70+% of Americans claiming to be Christian, that number is surprising. 

And disappointing.  It means, right or wrong, only about two-thirds of American Christians even think they know enough about their claimed religion to have a strong response to the statement.

American beliefs – do all religions lead to the same God? More

Blessed are the poor in spirit - from The Beatitudes

Blessed are the poor in spirit

The Beatitudes

Blessed are the poor in spirit.  Seriously?  The poor in spirit are blessed?  That sounds so backwards!  It’s even more strange when it’s translated as happy are the poor in spirit!  It seems like it should be blessed are the rich in spirit.  And yet, that’s not what Jesus said.  So what did Jesus mean when He said what we now call the first of the Beatitudes?

Mt 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

When we read the whole verse, it sounds even more backwards.  How can the kingdom of Heaven be for those who are poor in spirit?  Isn’t it for the “good Christians” who are “rich in spirit”?

Blessed are the poor in spirit More

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