Burl

Limey is a Brit. I heard it started when The British navy started quartermastering limes to prevent scurvy.

Africa; arr. Paul Hillier. Haunting melody and striking 18c lyrics.

Will the Circle be Unbroken. Nitty Gritty Dirt band and friends.

I was thinking of original or non-conformist morés. One cannot judge these without an external reference. If one reads the bible authentically they will come up with non-conformist ideas so they need a method to evaluate their new idea.

I have put years into studying Islam and work almost weekly with imams on biblical issues that come up in their dawa. Jesus is critical in Islam. We should discuss this more.

Yes. Which is why I always use the bible as a reference and insist on proper hermeneutics. Reading the bible is not a simple task. There is not much original thought in Ehrman’s work. Everything he writes has been taught in seminaries and universities for decades. He is an excellent teacher and author who has brought this scholarship into the popular press.

Tradition is certainly one external reference that helps to avoids self-deception. Scripture is another, as is experience.

Paul, split that hair however you please.

Yes, I meant it exactly as I wrote it. Thank you for pointing that out. Everyone misreads at times.

The big issue here is avoiding self-deception. One needs an external reference to use as a criterion or they end up chasing their own thought butterflies.

Good question. Probably because we don’t have much else in common.

KJV bible? That’s a beautiful work of English literature, but it is antiquated. We now have better translators, have found more texts and our understanding of Koine Greek has advanced tremendously. It is absolutely sufficient for salvation, but not for academic work.

It will be interesting to hear what Ehrman has to say. The cultural ideas I hear often don’t come from the bible but are derived from Milton and Dante. I find the idea of an eternal fire in the bible but not eternal torment. It’s more like being thrown into an incinerator than living in one, and the idea of any eternal life beyond the grave is only for the saved. Biblical heaven is more like a waiting room for the resurrection of the dead. Looking forward to the book reports.

Welcome aboard!

I’m not talking about entertainment. A well written book is a transformative spiritual experience. Sometimes you get a glimmer of that on screen, but visuals force you into an abbreviated experience. In books you can meld the author’s imagination with your own. It’s a different thing entirely. Watch an episode of Lonesome Dove then read just the first chapter. It’s at used bookstores for 50¢.

Quality literature is the highest octane spiritual fuel I know of. If you like westerns, try Pulitzer winner Lonesome Dove. The shimmering screen is ok, but only literature will really put you inside a different personality.

I’ll have to read the link later. Hope it is not about art, because then it would be an art link later 🙃 Appreciating, sharing and examining these spiritual experiences is a rare treasure. It always reminds me of Scrooge trying to explain away Marley’s ghost as a bit of bad beef. As an aside, what fiction are you reading these days?

It’s good to hear you confess you are not a Christian. At least you are being honest.

I think if we had past lives or were recycled in order to learn lessons or some such thing we would vividly retain those memories. Forgetting everything between lives makes no sense to me. It defeats the purpose. I think people are attracted to the idea of karma because it explains why good people suffer.

You call me an ignorant pretender who is lacking in integrity? I merely stated my own beliefs and opinions, and only at your multiple and insistent requests. You push and push for my thoughts on matters I clearly stated I consider trivial, and then you insult me for answering? Take a hike.

God can, but it is not likely that he did. God did communicate to Moses through speech, but God did the writing Himself. You need to be careful and not add your own ideas. Remember when Jesus taught he always spoke in parables so that the people would not understand. Daniel was a Hebrew fable (not a real person), and John of Patmos was not spoken to but rather had dreams. May I ask about your church and your Christian education? Who is your teacher? (Acts 8:26-39)

As I said, evolution is not a particular interest of mine. I suggest getting in touch with that group of Christians who are professional scientists. There are certainly people there more knowledgeable than I.

No, Piriripi. Moses did not write those books, but you are now correct in that God did not write them either. They are of human origin. Moses dies before the end of Exodus, and he certainly wrote nothing after he died. Genesis has at least four redactors of the Hebrew mythic history. The two incompatible creation myths in Genesis show that the authors were fairly including all versions and not attempting to create a single, cohesive narrative. This increases their credibility.

I think interaction with the environment certainly had an influence on the development of Homo sapiens. We are now a little taller and less hairy. When I compare the evolution of other species evolution is only a minor influence. It can explain only physical traits. Mankind has developed capabilities that are orders of magnitude beyond anything demonstrated by evolution. Written language alone is so far beyond anything explicable by evolution that additional forces must be at work. Detail from Berdadini marble. The expression and apparent suppleness of this rock demands a better explanation than natural selection alone.