So let’s talk about prayer, which at least one dictionary describes as “a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.” It’s described variously in the bible as seeking God’s favor, pouring out one’s soul to the Lord, crying out to heaven, drawing near to God, and…
Bless me, Father, for I have… um… uh…
So what is sin? And if you sin against someone, who is it that you sin against? One dictionary defines it as “an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law,” and adds this strange phrase: “a sin in the eyes of God.” Another, stating that this is the “true definition of sin”…
The Meaning of Life
What is it? An age-old question asked by everyone from Adam to Charlie Brown. When asked, Albert Einstein answered: “What is the meaning of human life, or of organic life altogether? To answer this question at all implies a religion.” Well, yes and no. What he should have said is “Do you mean the meaning…
Yes, Veronica. there is a god.
Okay. If you read my article titled “Where We All Came From,” you know that in it I proposed the suggestion that DNA, very much like modern computer programs, is capable of receiving data, analyzing it, and making decisions based on that information. All creatures have their own version of DNA, which, of course, we…
World dominion? Let me think about that.
So let’s talk about God, and the Devil, and what to do about it. Let’s say you’re at the end of your rope. Your house burned down, your wife/husband left you, your kids don’t like you, you’re out of a job, and your dog died. And the devil appears. “Sell me your soul,” he says,…
Pairing Up: connecting with your higher power
Maybe you don’t believe you have one. A higher power, that is. Maybe you’re convinced you do, and pray daily to it. Maybe you try to reach your higher power through meditation. Or medication. Or magic mushrooms. Or whatever. The truth is sometimes you connect; sometimes you don’t. Or as the vested clergy say, sometimes…
Searching for my faith, Part Two
I don’t know what I believe, only that I believe. I don’t know what I believe in, only that I believe in something. Perhaps because the human mind (or at least my human mind) can’t fathom a being that created the world and everything in it, and watches over each of his creations every minute…
Searching for my faith, Part One
I started this project a few years ago to read – really read – the bible, to ask questions that occurred to me, and try to answer them in my own way. Unfortunately, the more I read, the less I began to think of the bible and the god of the old testament. Fortunately, I…
36. The Levite and his concubine
Lastly, in Judges 19, we again encounter the story of the Levite and his concubine, which we referred to in another article. Let’s review. A Levite from Ephraim has a concubine who is unfaithful to him. Wow, what a shock. Anyway, she returns to her home, Bethlehem, and the Levite goes and gets her. (In…
35. Samson
Years pass, a few minor leaders follow, and then “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.” And along came Samson. And, of course, another great story. A man named Manoah had a wife who was unable to…