Lives 1st

  We explore the Bible and biblical heritages. Explore means we examine and investigate information related to the histories of writings in the Bible, as well as the histories of institutions linked to the Bible. Bible study is an important part of Exploring the Bible and biblical heritages, however, we place the appearance of Bibles, institutions, beliefs, doctrines, creeds, and statements of faith in chronological order on a timeline. This often reveals some very interesting historical and theological nuggets. Continue reading at – https://mailchi.mp/c12f590e40d4/the-pope-or-the-bible

  After the Civil War, “the rise of liberal Protestantism in the North” created a backlash in the ranks of most evangelical denominations against the Enlightenment, Deism, and Unitarianism. Southern evangelicals agreed with the Northern Liberal Christians that America should be a Christian nation, but the Southerners disagreed about exactly what that meant and how it could best be achieved. The Southerners viewed their Northern Liberal Christian brothers and sisters as a major barrier to reaching God’s goal. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/bb6a40b608ca/why-understanding-history-and-biblical-heritages-are-important

  Prominent leaders, teachers, and blue-collar workers collectively let their hair down to talk earnestly about their faith, and to ask penetrating questions about how science and faith can contradict or reinforce each other. For a good hour of discourse, goodwill filled the room. And then one church member asked the senior pastor whether he believed that the first chapter of Genesis was a literal, step-by-step, day-by-day description of the origins of the earth and of humankind. In an instant, brows furrowed and jaws tightened. Continue reading at – https://mailchi.mp/53153bb595bb/how-science-and-faith-could-reinforce-each-other

  For the ancient writer and readers of the Hebrew account of creation, Elohim’s existence is as self-evident as life itself. There is no notion of the birth of Elohim and no biography of Elohim. It does not even begin with a statement about the existence of Elohim. Such speculation would have been unthinkable at that time. The Hebrew concept of Elohim is implicit in the narrative, not formulated abstractly and explicitly. Continue reading at – https://mailchi.mp/e5fc16d8925d/elohim-pagan-gods-humans-and-morals

  “ Ethnocentrism ” comes from two Greek words:  "ethnos" (“ nation ”) and  "kentron" (“ center ”). It means “ people believe their culture is central to the universe .” It is a tendency to use our culture -- values, ideas, and rules — as a starting point for thinking about and judging other people . “It is a tendency to believe that our ways are right and those without our ways are less right. https://mailchi.mp/33d9ecde378e/get-into-the-ancient-mindset-before-you-read-the-bible

  The Hebrew word BARA is translated “created” in Genesis 1:1. The options in the graphic involve changing a heart, changing a body, changing the landscape, and changing the ground . Therefore, the first question we ask is, “ What is available to change? ” The choices are in the next verse. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/798584d8ac70/elohim-the-creator-the-mysteries-of-the-beginnings