The first eleven chapters of Genesis consist of important pre-historic oral traditions included in the Torah because of divine inspiration. They express the efforts of early humans to understand why things were the way they were, how they came to be, how they were to live. In the Bible, recorded human history begins in Genesis […]
Twelve Torah-Rooted Theological Truths There is one and only one God. (A radical idea at the time considering the multitude of gods typically worshipped in Biblical times. Exodus 20:1-8) God created the universe and all that is in it. (We don’t know how He did that, but scientific investigation has revealed much about how it works, how […]
Bible verses read without pertinent context may be misleading. Sometimes, important verses are at the end of a passage and might be surprising, like a punch to the nose, not making us laugh like a punch line to a joke, but hitting us with simple statements of theological truth! Consider these two verses: Bible Punch […]
Yes, there are six Herods in the New Testament. I’m not sure that has any theological significance, but does have some historical significance with respect to getting things in the right order and understanding who did what. And it may have some value in trivia game competition and crossword puzzle solving. I started out to […]
Fulton John Sheen (1895-1979) was a renowned theologian and Catholic Bishop who became famous through radio and television exposure from 1930 to 1968. Life is Worth Living was on television in the 1950’s, and The Fulton Sheen Program in the 1960’s. Bishop Sheen taught theology, emphasizing the common ground all Christian faiths share. His programs […]
You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; – Matthew 5:21-22 NRSV In the United States, murder is illegal and […]
The accusation, “You are either with us or against us!” has been used for centuries to divide and conquer, to build commitment, to arouse emotion, to win elections, etc. Republican President George W. Bush and Democrat Senator of New York Hilary Clinton both used it in September 2001 to encourage the support of other nations […]
This post may not be of much theological value but could come in handy in a game of Bible trivia. The phrase in the title above appears 61 times in the writings of the classical prophets in the NRSV Bible. It appears 49 times in Ezekiel, 10 times in Jeremiah, and twice in Zechariah. There […]
Recent Mass readings from Ezekiel bring the inspiring phrase, the glory of the LORD, to our attention. It shows up 41 times in the Bible, only 3 of those in the New Testament. It is in Ezekiel 10 times, more than in any other bible book. Here are the New Testament instances. In that region […]
The Gospel Mass reading for August 14, 2024 is Matthew 18:15-20. In the NABRE it begins with, “If a brother sins [against you]” and ends with “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” It seems to me that an issue is that the […]