Picture the Bible's Relatability

 Without being irreverent, I have caught a case of the giggles while doing my Bible study this past week. 

The more I study the Bible, the more I am able to get in the swing of the Ye Olde English language of the KJV. Because I am more engaged and interested as I read lately, I sometimes can't help but picture some of the events as scenes in my head.

The first time I realized how humorous the Bible could be was when reading about Joseph's brothers' jealousy. A while after Joseph has shared his dreams about his brothers bowing down to him - and you know how his brothers had to love that - Jacob sends him to find and check on them one day when they are out feeding the flocks.

Now, I know how most siblings today are. I have had 4 brothers and a sister and, being the second youngest, I was sometimes a tattletale. In general, I could be annoying. So, as I read about Joseph and his brothers, I am just picturing in my head how they might have felt about the young boy telling how they will bow to him someday. It's when I got this part that my giggles started:

 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. (Genesis 37:19)

If you have any imagination and can translate that to a modern scenario among siblings, that is funny stuff.

I admit that the part about slaying Jospeh isn't funny in the least but that one line was comical and very relatable to me.

Just when I calmed my funny bone down, I got to the part of Potiphar's wife trying to seduce poor Joseph. That woman was what I think the kids today would call "thirsty". Whatever you call it in slang, she was after Joseph without an ounce of shame or subtlety. I was picturing the scene in my head and when I got to this part, I was so tickled, I just about broke a rib laughing:

And she caught him by his robe, saying, Lie with me. And he left his robe in her hand and fled, and got out. (Genesis 39:12)

Dude was noping out of there like Wile E. Coyote and there she is left holding his robe. Talk about not being able to take "No" gracefully!

There are several other places in the Bible that are so vivid to me that I find myself reacting as I would to an opera. I'm either laughing or crying or nodding my head in complete empathy. 

I think what I have learned during the recent re-reading of the Bible is that every part of it is relevant to life today. It's 66 chapters of history and poetry and the sort of "Roots" of humanity. 

In the past, I struggled with some parts - including genealogies and census records. But I am learning that those parts just take a different type of understanding that I haven't yet learned to vibe with. 

I owe a big thanks to Chuck Missler's encouragements to look deeper at the Bible. I've always tried to read the Bible as a citizen of the world; I am learning to read it as a child of God and a future citizen of Heaven.

I will leave you with something that I find very interesting. Chuck Missler posed a sort of "challenge" once during one of his videos and I couldn't find it again until the other day. I shared it on Reddit and got the usual Redditor arguments and self-congratulatory brilliance about how not to dabble in such things. That's Reddit for you: Redditor's rarely comment for substance but usually are trying to show off their humor, sarcasm or "smarts". Still, the challenge is to "Try designing a genealogy—even from fiction—that meets the following criteria":

• The number of words in it must be divisible by 7 evenly, (in each of these constraints, it is assumed that the divisions are without remainders.)
• The number of letters must also be divisible by 7.
• The number of vowels and the number of consonants must also each be divisible by 7.
• The number of words that begin with a vowel must be divisible by 7.
• The number of words that begin with a consonant must be divisible by 7.
• The number of words that occur more than once must be divisible by 7.
• The number of words that occur in more than one form shall be divisible by 7.
• The number of words that occur in only one form shall be divisible by 7.
• The number of nouns shall be divisible by 7.
• Only 7 words shall NOT be nouns.
• The number of names in the genealogy shall be divisible by 7.
• Only 7 other kinds of nouns are permitted.
• The number of male names shall be divisible by 7.
• The number of generations shall be 21, also divisible by 7.

"A remarkable evidence of the numerical structure of Scripture: These are met in the first 11 verses (in Greek) found in Matthew Chapter 1. Based on the insights of Dr. Ivan Panin (1855 - 1942)."  (Apparently, Missler got it from Panin.)

I don't think that the point is numerology but the idea of how intricately the Bible is designed - with "design" being the important part. 

Peace

--Free

The Genealogy Challenge

The first time I heard this was from Chuck Missler in one of his Bible study videos. I wasn't feeling well at the time and forgot to take note of which video. I have been searching for it and found it in written form on another webpage. 

I have been calling this Genealogy Challenge while searching for it. I have not tried doing the challenge nor have I checked the Bible to verify every part but I find it interesting and wanted to share. I have copied and pasted that challenge from this page. Here it is:

Try designing a genealogy—even from fiction—that meets the following criteria:

The number of words in it must be divisible by 7 evenly, (in each of these constraints, it is assumed that the divisions are without remainders.)

• The number of letters must also be divisible by 7.
• The number of vowels and the number of consonants must also each be divisible by 7.
• The number of words that begin with a vowel must be divisible by 7.
• The number of words that begin with a consonant must be divisible by 7.
• The number of words that occur more than once must be divisible by 7.
• The number of words that occur in more than one form shall be divisible by 7.
• The number of words that occur in only one form shall be divisible by 7.
• The number of nouns shall be divisible by 7.
• Only 7 words shall NOT be nouns.
• The number of names in the genealogy shall be divisible by 7.
• Only 7 other kinds of nouns are permitted.
• The number of male names shall be divisible by 7.
• The number of generations shall be 21, also divisible by 7.

A remarkable evidence of the numerical structure of Scripture: These are met in the first 11 verses (in Greek) found in Matthew Chapter 1. Based on the insights of Dr. Ivan Panin (1855 - 1942).

Did you try it out? How did it go for you? If anyone checks the Bible for the sourcing, I would love to hear about that too.

I am still searching for some of the info Missler pointed out to show the intricacy of the 4 gospels. Be sure I will post it when I find it again.

Peace

--Free

Anything But God

 I am stunned by the people who call the Bible 'silly' and say they can't believe that Christians (including me) believe. 

This is some of what I have heard people say about the Bible and/or about Christians:

• How can you believe in some 'old man' in the sky (or - 'old white man' from those with a problem with a 'white' God')?
• You believe that a man was swallowed by a fish and lived? Or: you believe in talking snakes and talking donkeys? Or: `insert a comment here~.
• You believe that a "loving" God will send people to Hell?
• You believe that a virgin had a child and that child grew up to become a Savior for the world?
• You believe in a flood that killed everyone except for one man and his family?

I could go on for a while. I can answer a lot of those questions but I won't in this post. What I will say is what I always think when someone makes such a comment and that is this: You laugh because I believe in God and in a Bible that is a history of people. Then why do you believe in aliens or witchcraft or that you can think your way to what you want or attract your way to success? Why do you believe that everything came from nothing? And why do you want or need so badly to believe that there is no God?

By the way, the comment I personally have heard - and not always from people being mean - is Do you just need to believe in a God because you're afraid not to?

Sounds legit

I will answer that one. I believe in God because this world, the universe, nature, and human life testifies to a Creator God. 

The other day, I was listening to a podcast (love a good podcast!) about a man (and other people) who pretty much dedicated his life to a study of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. (I recently mentioned how much I like stories about Holmes.) Some of the people mentioned in the podcast are those who are so extreme in their fandom that they have clubs and meetings. The main subject of the podcast was a man who even recreated Holmes' Baker Street home in his own home. (Oh my.)

There are people who fall under the spell of gurus to the point of risking or losing their lives to follow them. There are people who believe in some of the most inane things but they have a problem with my belief in God?

I. Just. Can't. 

Back in Anchorage where everybody talks to just about anybody in the store or on the street, I ran into a lady who believed in angels but not in God.  I know a lot of people who believe in demons and ghosts and the like but don't believe in God.

There are lots of people who believe in reincarnation and the like. 

Here is the one thing that has always confused me: if God is not real, then why do so many people try to dispute his existence? I don't see people picking on the gods of any other religion. Scientologists believe in the most ridiculous things I could ever imagine. 

So, yes, I believe in the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. I believe in the Son and I believe in the Holy Spirit. And until you or your god can speak life into existence from nothing, leave me alone.

Peace

--Free

P.S.: I saw this old title of an article after I initially wrote this post: Why you don't need God. In the search engine, this was the teaser: "Without God, life is still meaningful (Opinion)". My immediate reaction was to think: "But is death?" And that, in my opinion, is what so many people miss. Life could be good or bad for people, but it's death where eternity comes in. That's the part they should be thinking about.