Dr. Michael S. Heiser on Bible Study

“I think we need to realize that Bible study is really not Bible reading… Bible study takes work; it takes thinking about the text… There really is no substitute for thinking about what you’re reading – thinking about it, spending real time and (I’m going to use the “C” word here) reading it critically.

Just because you ask a question about the text, doesn’t mean that God is offended; you don’t need to go repent for that, okay? God expects you to use the brain power that he has given you to think about what He has dispensed, what He providentially has preserved for you to read.

It’s the Berean thing going on.

It’s not just about reading; its about thinking – Lingering over it and really thinking it.  And, if you have good tools to compare things, you can go a long way if you’re just willing to put in the “seat time” and expose yourself to different sources, different speakers, different preachers.  And it’s a never ending process… To me, it’s an endless fascination…”

– Dr. Michael S. Heiser, question response during a talk on Genesis 1:1-3 (Quote located 1:08:00 in the video.)

Citation:

Heiser, M. S. [drmsh]. (2010, September 15). Genesis & Creation – Class 1 of 4 – September 15, 2010. Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/15110780

Periods, Pots, Purification Payment, & Perfection

“…How can we be saved?

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;

we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.

Yet, Oh Lord, you are our Father.

We are the clay, you are the Potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Do not be angry beyond measure, Oh Lord; do not remember our sins forever.

Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people.”{1}

These are the words of the prophet Isaiah – a lament for the falling away of God’s chosen people, Israel. And, what a striking picture!

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…”

Here, Isaiah is describing the deplorable condition of Israel’s sinfulness with a picture – filthy rags.

What does he mean by “filthy”?

Word Pictures

“Look at what you hear.”

For the past few years, my Biblical studies have been heavily influenced and guided by a desire to understand the Bible in the way it was understood around the First Century CE. I want to see how it fits together like Peter and Stephen and Paul saw. I want to have a fire in my heart like John the immerser. And, more than anything, I want to read and live out the Text like my Rabbi, Yeshua and be just like him.

This way of pursuit has radically changed my filters. Where before I read merely to find applicable content (which made much of the histories, genealogies, laws, and prophecies of the Old Testament seem incomprehensible or inconsequential), I now read for context. Before, I thought “the devil is in the details”; now, I see God there.

For example, reading Matthew 11:28-30 for applicable content doesn’t do much for me. I come away hearing that Yeshua gives rest, but not knowing how to get it. Why would he brag on his humility? What is his yoke? How do I encourage my weary friends who need rest? What do the previous paragraphs matter? I’m perplexed, so I move on…

On the other hand, reading the same passage for context reveals just how applicable his words are.

The Hayflick Limit

On the subject of a human age limit, dubbed “The Hayflick Limit” after a discovery made over fifty years ago:

In rich countries, more than 80% of the population today will survive past the age of 70. About 150 years ago, only 20% did. In all this while, though, only one person lived beyond the age of 120. This has led experts to believe that there may be a limit to how long humans can live…

…Other scientists used census data and complex modelling methods to come to the same conclusion: that maximum human lifespan may be around 120 years. But no one has yet determined whether we can change the human Hayflick limit to become more like long-lived organisms such as the bowhead whales or the giant tortoise.

(Via TheConversation.com)

 

On the subject of a human age limit, dubbed “Truth” after God declared it thousands of years ago

Then The Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

[Gen 6:3]

If the Bible is the Word of God, shouldn’t its claims match up with science?  Yes, it should; and, it does.  It just takes a while for science to catch up.

As a wise teacher once said, “There is nothing new under the sun…”

Father’s Day 2013

Fathers have been given a weighty role in the family. They bear on their shoulders the yoke of exemplifying that foundational facet of the relationship between Almighty God and His children. And, what a burden it is! Even among non-believers, I’ve never met a person who was unfamiliar with the idea that God is like a Heavenly Father. It’s the most prevalent spiritually-relational idea that I know. And, fathers feel its weight.

Mother’s Day 2013

‘Miss Pickerell Goes Undersea’ was written by Ellen MacGregor and first published in 1953. Written for young readers, its informative and accessible style makes for an entertaining read. Your child will certainly enjoy this story of a [librarian-or-something] whose quest for her lost mars rocks (she was an astronaut too?) takes her into the high pressure environment of deep sea diving (science facts!). It’s uh. It’s filled with facts and fish and adventure (ugh, this is stupid…).

 

The Cost of Following

[Mat 16:24-27]

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his execution-stake and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man gain in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels to reward each person according to what he has done.

This passage gets me every time.

If ever there comes a day when professing Yeshua warrants the death penalty, I hope my conviction makes for an expedient trial.

Die The Text

1. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my anguished cries?
My God, by day I call to you, but You don’t answer; likewise at night, but I get no relief.

2. “Yeshua went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane… Grief and anguish came over him, and he said to them, ‘My heart is so filled with sadness that I could die!’… he fell on his face, praying, ‘Abba! All things are possible for You. Take this cup away from me! Still, not what I want, but what You want'”

“Nevertheless, You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted, and You rescued them.
They cried to You and escaped; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.
But I am a worm, not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me jeer at me; they sneer and shake their heads;
‘He committed himself to Adonai, so let Him rescue him! Let Him set him free if he takes such delight in Him!’

3. People passing by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! So you can destroy the Temple, can you, and rebuild it in three days? Save yourself and come down from the stake!’

More On Identity

A while ago, I was thinking about identity and how it applies to my belief systems. In a nutshell, I was trying to define to myself the identity of God. Then, I got to wondering: if identities are derived from constants, how can anyone define something that is infinite? God has been around since before there was past tense. He’s seen every change everywhere. So, if my way of thinking about identity is right, the only thing that could define God is God himself. Then I remembered reading about a dialogue between Moses and God that takes place in Exodus 3 {1}.

So, Moses is a little freaked because this bush that’s on fire is telling him that God has heard the anguish of the slave nation of Israel, and it’s time for the Israelites to go to some sort of utopia occupied by a bunch of crazy barbarian types.
Then, God says, “Go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Moses flips. He basically says, “Are you serious, God? I’m pretty lame at parties and things and I don’t have any cool talents.” (that’s a paraphrase, guys) God replies, “Don’t sweat it. I’’ll be with you. And, I’m freaking awesome.” (also a paraphrase) So, Moses knows he has to do what this bush-burning God says. He still has questions, though. Says Moses, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

Then God says something really monumental. I had never really paid attention or understood the significance before. He says, “Ehyeh asher ehyeh.” which means “I am that I am” or, if you prefer, “I shall be that I shall be.”

Do you see how perfect that answer is? He defines His existence using only His existence. Saying just three words, God is implying a whole bunch of things.

1. God is eternal. To most Christians, this seems like a no-brainer, but I bet there are many who require proof. Here’s your proof, doubters. If God wasn’t eternal, he would have defined His existence in reference to something else.
2. God’s viewpoint is the only one that matters here. He wasn’t given a name by others because He’s existed since there were no others.
3. God never changes {2}.

It seems then, that this eternal God is the ultimate point of reference. All things can be defined by subsequently higher powers, but the ultimate definition is based on the relationship with God. The New Testament makes it very clear that the only thing that really matters, when everything is said and done, is a person’s relationship with God. That’s pretty obvious. But, “Ehyeh asher ehyeh.” seems to imply that there was a form of Christianity before Jesus.

It makes sense. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all had very close relationships with The Almighty.

“I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”{3}

So did Elijah.

“Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.”{4}

So, it seems like God was the same before and after Jesus came. To get to heaven before Jesus, a person had to do a bunch of draining rituals and, most importantly have a good relationship with God. After Jesus, it gets easier, but the relationship is still the important thing.

I’ve chosen to define myself by my loving relationship with Ehyeh. If my beliefs are right, this is the best possible choice. If they’re wrong, it doesn’t matter anyway. If you’re reading this and you haven’t chosen yet, I encourage you to do so very soon.

---

Notes & References:

{1}: Exo 3

{2}: Mal 3:6

{3}: Mat 8:11

{4}: 2Kin 2:11

Consciousness

What is it like to be a bat?{1}
I know it’s a strange question, but I assure you it’s relevant. So, what is it like? Can you imagine it? I doubt it. I can’t even imagine it. I’ve tried and failed each time.

When I try to imagine what it would be like to be a bat, I think about being in the body of a bat. Rather, I imagine I’m blind and I have excellent hearing and can fly and like mosquitoes more than pizza. But, I’m limited in that I can only imagine what it would be like for Curtis the human to be a bat. I’ve never been Curtis the bat. And, I have no frame of reference from which to draw any sort of inference about what it’s like to be a bat.

The problem is consciousness.

It is obvious that organisms have physical properties and observable behaviors. Properties and behaviors can be described with a universal sort of clarity we refer to as objectivity. But, consciousness is not such an objective property. In fact, I believe consciousness to be an entirely subjective character of experience. I can describe in depth what a bat does. I can describe in depth what physical properties a bat has. But, I am at a total loss of words to describe what it is like to be a bat to that bat.

Consciousnesses are entirely subjective and unique reference frames through which the world is experienced. I think that consciousness and the mind are linked. Maybe consciousness is the mind…