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I dreamed that my wife bought 4 baby weasels. I was unhappy because I knew they would eventually kill ALL the other animals, and was considering getting rid of them. But... they're really cute: The lesson here is... baby weasels are too cute to put down. I think. Maybe there's a better lesson?

Leviticus and Deuteronomy do have a lot of "thus saith the LORD." The former seems to be intended mainly for the priests, and the latter for all Israel. Also, these are BY FAR the two LEAST charitable books in the Bible. Leviticus essentially directs the Levites to act as morality police...

That's true for the 10 commandments. Probably for a bunch of the other 603 commandments, though I haven't gone through them all looking to see if the text puts the words in God's mouth. I do know that Moses created a system of judges. I know they created some case-law. I would surmise that...

In Isaiah, the woman in question is one who has been devoted to the temple. As such, she would have had a vow of chastity. Cf Jephthah's daughter. Here, "virgin" is not only an adjective to describe her, it's also her title. Her job is "temple virgin." That may seem like a subtle...

There are so many... a full answer to that would be a doctoral thesis. I don't have the time/space to do that right here. I gave 2 examples in my previous post of the NT making reference to Enoch. If that isn't enough, I might recommend doing your own research. I'm sure somebody has already...

It matters because the New Testament makes repeated references to it.

The 8th day of the week is a real thing in early Christian thought. Justin Martyr has a section on it... can't remember which book it's in rn. The Bible usually operates in generations rather than years. Matthew enumerates 6 "weeks" of generations in Jesus' genealogy, making Jesus the...

There are several places where the Masoretic interpretation of the Hebrew text doesn't agree with the Septuagint translation of it. The New Testament follows the Septuagint where they diverge. The classic example is Matthew quoting Isaiah "the virgin shall be with child." The Septuagint has...

First, good post. The anti-Christian bias of the Masoretes and how it has influenced our Bibles in a bad way is something that is rarely recognized. However, the undermining of Biblical chronology should be a relatively minor concern. The New Testament ALSO undermines the chronology of the...

I am reminded of Marcion of Sinope, who in the 2nd century found the God of the Old Testament to be tyrannical and the God of the New Testament to be magnanimous. He concluded that they must not be the same God! I wonder... does the same problem causes you any cognitive dissonance?

Of all the humans that have ever lived, you're telling me I should be upset to be in the top 99.9% and not at 100%?

Then they aren't very aware of history. The standard of living for an average American today is comparable to that of the King of England 400 years ago. That is, the quality of life here is similar to that of the single wealthiest, most powerful man on earth just a few hundred years ago.

Certainly. I just don't think America is going to be redeemed. God will eventually call us to account for our sins. The cycle will continue with some other country as the hegemon. In the meantime, I have been blessed to live at the best time in the world so far.

Talk is just talk. Everyone justifies themselves... or tries to, anyway. I find it useful to ignore the words of politicians and media. Look at actions, instead - actions rarely lie. Every dominant empire in the history of the world is hated, sooner or later. This phenomenon is so common...

I wish I shared your optimism. I find it hard to believe that there are angels of light operating in the shadows. Those things tend to be incompatible.

Who is we? I assumed he meant America. America should side with Israel over Syria, if a choice must be made. (Neutrality is better than siding with anyone, but it may not be a real option).

Israel, duh. A dangerous ally is still better than an enemy. Probably. The war-mongers seem to have the best lobbyists. Some of those 3-letter agencies have been supplementing their budgets with funds raised through dealing arms (and drugs).

The US government doesn't have any moral standing. We've done more terrible things than just about anyone else. Also, I do not care about a "moral right" where it comes to matters of diplomacy, and neither should you. A country's government is there to defend its people from threats, period...

Nobody claimed he was a good dude. I just think it's more constructive to talk to your enemies than to pretend they don't exist.

Trump has done some things I don't like since taking office. This isn't one of them. Why would meeting with your enemies and talking to them be a bad thing?