And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 1 Corinthians 15:49

Sunday, January 16, 2022

Why Aren't Dinosaurs In The Bible?

I got an email with an interesting title that caught my attention. That title was "Why Aren't Dinosaurs In The Bible?" The answer was contained in an animated video produced by a ministry called Aleph Beta written by a Rabbi named David Fohrman. I have watched several of his videos, and have read a couple of his books after I first heard him recommended by Marty Solomon on the BETA podcast, I have talked about in earlier posts. 

I wondered if the question caught your attention as much as it did mine? Have you not wondered that same thing? I have even heard teachings that suggest the book of Job talks about dinosaurs as Leviathan. However, the Rabbi gives a very important understanding to his answer, which also answers very many similar questions that many Christians get asked.

He explains that he read a book called "How To Read A Book" which provided the answer, and it is really simply this: You have to understand the "Genre" of the book first. What was the purpose the book was written? What kind of book is it?

The way he explained it, is that if you read a Chemistry book, you should not expect it to contain Poetry. And if you read a poetry book, it is written in poetic form, and should not be taken literally! It is important to understand the purpose and reason, and genre of the book that you are reading first!

So while the Bible has history within it's pages, it's genre is NOT a history book. The writer of a letter to the editor in the weekend paper says with certitude: "The whole universe was created in 4150 B.C. So, do the math!" He goes on to say Noah's flood was in 2495 B.C. and the earth experienced an ice age that lasted a 1000 years from 2494 - 1494 B.C.

That kind of thinking comes about when genre, and the purpose of the Bible are ignored! The bible was not written to prove the age of the earth, or even the exact age of mankind, or if dinosaurs did or did not roam the earth. (However, I did see a LIVE dinosaur at a Reptile land exhibit a few years back! Turns out we call it a chicken!")

I am on a rather uncomfortable journey for me right now to learn more about the purpose of Genesis, and am trying to sort through a book about the creation of Adam, and evolution. I have not got enough understanding yet to write about that in detail, however I have been long aware that the "days" of creation written in Genesis is more complicated than just taking them literally. As a matter of fact, you can't take them literally, because they were never written in that form, manner, genre, context! We do damage to the biblical text to try to shape it's meanings into literal form. No different than trying to literally say: "The cow jumped over the moon.." just because it says so, and ignoring genre!

So why aren't there dinosaurs mentioned in the bible? Simply because it serves no purpose to the genre the bible was written for. That purpose has to do with Man's relationship to God and to others! The purpose of the bible is to provide an understanding of our relationship to our Creator, and how that relationship extends itself to those whom He created. That is why Jesus says "the greatest Commandment is to Love God with your whole heart... and to love your neighbor as yourself."  Relationship to God, and relationship to others! Many of the stories show ways to walk those relationships out in practical ways, and of course the consequences when those proper ways are ignored. 

When you are searching for the meaning of biblical text, it is important to understand context and genre, That is what is called Hermaneutics. the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts. Don't force the bible to say something that it is not saying! Otherwise, you might come up with some strange answer as others have, trying to explain the answer to the question "Why Aren't Dinosaurs In The Bible?"


Saturday, January 8, 2022

Time Is Funny That Way

This day has almost come to an end as I write this post. What sets this day apart is that it is my 65th birthday. I usually don't get that excited about my birthday, but this one does mark the unofficial retirement milestone. Which is not to say that I am retired as of now, for we have talked about working for another year first, to be more financially secure. 

And so, while I suppose I could retire from my job at any point after this date, I am still healthy enough to continue working, and might only stop out of frustration more than any other reason. As I said in an earlier post: The rest of the story has not been written yet, and we would have to visit in a year from now to see if I am still working, or what happened between now and then. And while I have to live out the day to day for the next 365 days, and anyone following this blog would have to wait it out; anyone else not reading it until a year from now or more for the first time would find out in a matter of a few minutes the answer to what happened.

Time is funny that way. So many Podcasts that I have listened to over the past year; most of them have been recorded live from since 2017, and I have been able to listen to them all up to date without having to wait the 5 years to pass week by week. Although I still went through the same 5 year period, but it is like starting a race 5 years late, and catching up. 

It was the same thing as I mentioned before about when I first watched a video tape in 1993 of Willie Hinn preaching a message in 1987 called "Mistaken Identity". I had the advantage of catching up to most of the sermons he had preached since then to "feed" my desire to know more. That same desire has been renewed this past year, at an accelerated pace having many more hours in a day to listen to these podcasts while driving.

We are shortly going on vacation to an all inclusive resort in Mexico for a week, and we are looking forward to the time of rest. I have plans to use all of my saved up vacation this year to take much needed breaks from work, and hopefully provide me more endurance to continue working through the challenging days of driving for 8 hours a day back and forth across the State into Ohio and back. 

The plan today was to fly this morning to an airport in Mifflin County Pa, KRVL for their monthly breakfast. It was sunny today, and would have made a nice entry in my log book that I flew on my birthday, but it was very cold; in the low 20's, and since there was some snow on Friday, the runway was rated as poor braking conditions. And considering that it would be a short flight during such cold conditions, that would have taken much of the fun out of the trip. 

Instead, we drove to Denny's for breakfast, for the first time since before COVID hit. It was kind of a celebration setting the day apart, and then with a steak dinner Cindi cooked for us, my "birthday meals" were taken care of having an excellent sufficiency!

I did spend several hours today reading a new book I bought written by Peri Zahnd, wife of Brian Zahnd, pastor of Word of Life church, based on their trip a few years ago on the El Camino del Santiago; a 500 mile 40 day walking pilgrimage in Spain. I have heard Brian preach a number of times telling stories of their experiences on this sabbatical they took, and the book is pleasantly enjoyable reading. To highlight the reading experience I have also watched a couple of programs on people walking the Camino so I can get a visual of the sights that Peri describes so well.  Not that there is any plan to ever do so myself.

However, I do get to read the highlights of their pilgrimage in a few hours time on a weekend, that took them 40 days to complete. Time Is Funny That Way.


Sunday, January 2, 2022

Teeth Will Be Provided

Teeth will be provided! Did the title spark your curiosity, and grab your attention? I have been reviewing some of my earlier posts, and came across this writing which was never posted, and only kept as a draft because I did not finish writing it at the time, however I do think it is something worthy to post, even if only for the comical value, though there is truth in that humor. 

What I am going to share here in this post is not a new understanding to me, it is something that I have known for many years, but at the same time I am aware that it is not common knowledge among most Christians. The reason I can say that with the assurance of the truth is because if it was understood by those whose claim it is to believe the WHOLE Bible, then they would of necessity have to change their WHOLE theology about God.

The reason I can say that is simply because, it is not uncommon for many Christians to read the bible with an already pre conceived idea of interpretation of what a verse means before they even begin reading. The reason I can say that, is because I counted myself among those many Christians. Not when I was one of them of course, but in retrospect. As you can imagine, this presents a big problem regarding Biblical Hermenutics. The word Hermeneutics means "the art or science of the interpretation of literature."

Now it is one thing when someone is found to be wrong with their interpretation of the meaning of a verse of Scripture, but it is another thing to be willfully ignorant!  It could be that because you have been told what to believe and never researched it yourself, you just accepted it as fact and moved on. But, it is when someone who is confronted with facts contrary to what they have believed, and yet they would rather stay in their ignorance rather than search for the truth at any cost.  There is an adage that says: "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." And if that is the case against clear evidence to the contrary, then they become a great danger to others!

You might think it is an over statement to suggest that a willfully ignorant person is a great danger to others, but consider the fact that they will not cease to teach and preach and share their ignorance, thus spreading their errors like a plague, infecting everyone they touch!

Consider this humorous story as an example:
A preacher of the old school was describing the events of Judgement Day and, of course, he used Biblical phraseology whenever he could.

"Oh, my friends," he intoned, "imagine the suffering of the sinners as they find themselves cast into the outer darkness, removed from the presence of the Lord and given to eternal flames. My friends, at such a time there will be weeping, wailing and a great gnashing of teeth!"

At this point, one of the elders of the congregation interrupted to say, "But Reverend, what if one of those hopeless sinners has no teeth?"

The preacher crashed his fist on the pulpit, "My friends, the Lord is not put out by details. Rest assured... teeth will be provided!"
How is it any different than any other lie gossip or rumor that is spread about every day? Suppose you found out someone was twisting facts around about you, that made you seem to be guilty of something you never did. Everyone that person talked to told someone else what they had been told, until it was believed by everyone who heard it as the truth. Now, you come along and try to set the facts straight, but it is now just your word against all those others who would rather believe what they heard to be true more than the truth itself.

Keep in mind this indisputable truth: A person who is honestly mistaken, when confronted with the truth, ceases to be either mistaken or honest.

I say all these things, not to put anyone under any sort of condemnation, because I was ignorant to the truth for the same reason for many years. It is only by the grace of God that He opened my eyes to see some truths not commonly revealed to others. And I am aware when I say that, that anyone promoting any kind of nutty, weird, or insane thing could say their eyes have been open to the truth as well! So, all I can say is that it is alright to not believe me, and as a matter of fact, I encourage you not to believe me (isn't that what got us all in trouble to begin with?) just because I say it doesn't make it right, and you must find out from God for yourself whether these things be true. Some times, He just witnesses to your Spirit. And when that happens then you can be free! Jesus did not say the truth will set you free. What He did say in John 8:31,32 
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” It is in KNOWING the truth that sets you free!

And so you might ask, who can you trust? My answer is to trust those you consider trustworthy until they prove they are not. And perhaps they just do not know either, and so our final authority for truth Jesus tells us in John 16:13 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."

It is also important to grow and learn and mature in the faith and in your knowledge of God. Paul sets that standard in 1 Cor.13:11 "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

You will do well to put away childish beliefs about God, otherwise you too might find yourself in a position to defend your childish beliefs with childish statements, and you will know that is the case if you ever hear yourself say: "Teeth Will Be Provided"






Drinking From My Saucer

Greetings to any who would take the time to read my blog post. And Happy New Year. I do not really promote it at all except to share with a few friends on occasion. And so if you are one of the few who came across this particular post, I do think the writer of this poem; that my wife shared with me; has much wisdom for life as it should be lived. I am giving all the credit to the author, and am including it here for your enjoyment, and my own point of reminder every time I will re read it. 

Drinking from My Saucer
by John Paul Moore

I’ve never made a fortune and it’s probably too late now.
But I don’t worry about that much, I’m happy anyhow.

And as I go along life’s way, I’m reaping better than I sowed.
I’m drinking from my saucer, ‘Cause my cup has overflowed.

I don’t have a lot of riches, and sometimes the going’s tough.
But I’ve got loved ones around me, and that makes me rich enough.

I thank God for his blessings, and the mercies He’s bestowed.
I’m drinking from my saucer, ’Cause my cup has overflowed.

I remember times when things went wrong, my faith wore somewhat thin.
But all at once the dark clouds broke, and the sun peeped through again.

So God, help me not to gripe about the tough rows that I’ve hoed.
I’m drinking from my saucer, ‘Cause my cup has overflowed.

If God gives me strength and courage, when the way grows steep and rough.
I’ll not ask for other blessings, I’m already blessed enough.

And may I never be too busy, to help others bear their loads.
Then I’ll keep drinking from my saucer, ‘Cause my cup has overflowed.


As of this posting, it is past midnight of New Years Day 2022,which makes it Jan.2nd. I do not need to remind anyone of the difficult times that has taken place over the past couple years. Last January the excitement for the new year of 2021 was that 2020 was finally in the rear view mirror, after a time of turmoil because of the Covid pandemic, as well as the presidential election results. The hope is always that a New Year provides a clean slate, with hope for the opportunity to make things better. For some this past year has not been much better, and now their hope is once again put into the possibilities for 2022

I would have to say however, for me, this past year has indeed been MUCH better. The previous few posts have been a good indication for the proof of that. And because of those changes I have made, it has put me on a path to being more in touch with a closer relationship with God, and ended a long time in the spiritual wilderness. 

I do hope to write down more insights into deeper spiritual truths and experiences as this next year continues, and again to be more self aware of the fact that I do have a cup of the blessings of God  overflowing with His Grace and Peace and Joy, and Goodness, and Mercy, and Kindness, and Faithfulness, which is allowing me to get more than my fill from the overflow, even just  Drinking From My Saucer.