This is part 4 of my reflections on what I believe. As explained in part 1 (found here), I wrote a blog post over two years ago titled “What do I believe?” I plan to look at that original post after I’ve finished this series. I have no idea how many posts I’ll write this round. My first post focused on my struggles with a bodily resurrection. The second focused on the Holy Spirit. The third focused on the Bible. For this post, I will focus on the other “world” I navigate: science.
Continue reading “What do I believe – 2 years later? part 4”What do I believe – 2 years later? part 3
This is part 3 of my reflections on what I believe. As explained in part 1 (found here), I wrote a blog post over two years ago titled “What do I believe?” I plan to look at that original post after I’ve finished this series. I have no idea how many posts I’ll write this round. My first post focused on my struggles with a bodily resurrection. The second focused on the Holy Spirit. For this post, I want to focus on a different topic: the Bible.
Continue reading “What do I believe – 2 years later? part 3”What do I believe – 2 years later? part 2
This is part 2 of my reflections on what I believe. As explained in part 1 (found here), I wrote a blog post almost two years ago titled “What do I believe?” I plan to look at that original post after I’ve finished this series. I have no idea how many posts I’ll write this round. My first post focused on my struggles with a bodily resurrection. For this post, I want to focus on a different topic: the Holy Spirit.
Continue reading “What do I believe – 2 years later? part 2”What do I believe – 2 years later? part 1
That’s kind of a weird title. Two years later from what? I’ve been going through my reflections the past few days to see where I need to create new tags to help me write my book. I noticed that almost two years ago I wrote a blog post titled “What do I believe?” Full disclosure, I’ve not read it in two years. I thought it would be interesting to first reflect on what I believe now and then compare the two posts to see if anything changed. I anticipate writing multiple posts on this topic.
Continue reading “What do I believe – 2 years later? part 1”Matthew 27-28
Matthew 27
This chapter starts with the chief priests and elders deciding that Jesus should be put to death and sent him off to Pilate. Judas hears of this, tries to return the silver, explaining that he betrayed an innocent man, and hung himself.
Jesus is questioned by Pilate. The only response he gives is when Pilate asks him if he is King of the Jews and Jesus replies “That’s what you say.” Pilate clearly wanted to release Jesus, knowing that Jesus was in front of him simply because of jealousy by the priests. Apparently it was the custom during this time of year to release a prisoner to the crowd, whomever they chose. He told the crowd to pick between Jesus Barabbas or Jesus himself. The elders and priests convince the crowd to ask for Barabbas and demand that Jesus be crucified. Clearly Pilate doesn’t want to do this, but this happens according to the text (27:24-26; CEB Study Bible, p. 60 NT).
Continue reading “Matthew 27-28”Matthew 26
Matthew 26: Just a quick little note, there’s a lot going on in this chapter. The text is just bouncing around from topic to topic.
This chapter starts with Jesus telling his followers that it was just a matter of time before he would die. The text then tells us that Jesus’ opponents were plotting to capture and kill him. We then see a woman pour expensive perfume on Jesus and his followers admonishing her because they thought the perfume could be sold and given to the poor and needy (honestly, this is what I would’ve done). Jesus tells them to back down, making it clear that what she is doing is actually preparing his body for burial. We then see reference to Judas approaching the chief priests asking what they would give him for betraying Jesus.
Continue reading “Matthew 26”Matthew 25
Matthew 25: This chapter starts with the parable of the 10 bridesmaids. They went out looking for the groom, each with a lamp. Only 5 brought extra oil. The 5 foolish ones (those that didn’t bring oil) ran out of oil, had to go buy more (because the other 5 wouldn’t share), and missed their chance to enter with the groom. The bridesmaids represent the people and the groom represents God. The notion here is that people need to remain faithful so they are always prepared. This means that people need to always follow Jesus’ teachings.
Continue reading “Matthew 25”Matthew 23-24
Matthew 23: Jesus tells the people to trust what the legal experts and Pharisees tell them, but don’t do what they do. He recognizes that they know what they are talking about, but their actions don’t reflect what they say. He then condemns the legal experts and Pharisees for all of their actions, calling them hypocrites. This chapter has a lot of examples of all of the bad things they’ve done.
Continue reading “Matthew 23-24”Matthew 21-22
Matthew 21: There’s a lot going on in this chapter and I’m struggling to unpack it. We first see a story about Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey and a colt. This apparently fulfills what was foretold in Zechariah. I sent off an email to Father Greg asking if the NT writers had access to the OT scrolls. I just wonder if since this was written AFTER Jesus’s death, did the authors add things like this to strengthen his story. For example, here’s what the notes say for this part of the text:
Continue reading “Matthew 21-22”Isaiah 28-30; Matthew 19-20
Isaiah 28: The Lord is a refuge and protection. Isaiah condemns the leaders of Ephraim and Judah for their drunkard actions and lack of trust in God. They have instead put their faith into others for their protection. According to Isaiah, God specifically says “One who trusts will not panic” (p. 1004 NRSV).