The Unwritten Ethics of Mutual Responsibility
General Introduction The Yahwist principle of mutual responsibility comes from the transactional nature of the various covenants described in the Miqra. One principle might be openly stated, but the responsibility of the other person in a transaction is often assumed...
Jesus vs Paul #3: What did Paul know about Jesus? (My Reaction to Bart Ehrman’s 4th & 7th lectures)
General Introduction This is the third in my series of ‘reaction articles’ to the recent set of lectures given on 27-28 May 2023, by Dr Bart Ehrman, on the topic of ‘Jesus & Paul: The Great Divide’ (you can read my very first article in this series by...
Why Reincarnation is inconsistent with the Ethos of the Israelite Faith
Some forethoughts I remember an episode of Stargate SG1 ('Avatar', S8 Ep6), where Teal’c had to re-live the same day over and over again – a day of battle inside the SG1 base, each time correcting all the mistakes that he had made in the previous incarnation of the...
Jesus versus Paul #2: Yeshua’s Message and Mission (My Reaction to Dr Bart Ehrman’s Third lecture)
General Introduction This is the second in my series of ‘reaction articles’ to the recent lectures given on 27-28 May 2023, by Dr Bart Ehrman, on the topic of ‘Jesus & Paul: The Great Divide’ (you can read the very first article in this series by clicking here)....
The Difference between Apocalypticism and Tribulationism
How the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible understood Times of Tribulation If you read the books of the biblical prophets, you’ll see that they criticise Israelian and Judean society for various kinds of social injustices (e.g. oppression and exploitation of the poor,...
Jesus versus Paul: My Reaction to Dr Bart Ehrman’s First 2 lectures
General Introduction This will be the first in my series of ‘reaction articles’ to the recent lectures given on 27-28 May 2023, by Dr Bart Ehrman, on the topic of ‘Jesus & Paul: The Great Divide’. In those lectures, my overall view is that he successfully managed...
Where was the Location of the City of Sodom?
Shalom everyone, I have recently been watching various documentaries on YouTube about the supposed location of the biblical city of Sodom, and they all came up with different locations. Some of them even tried using the text of the Torah to pinpoint the location, and...
Rediscovering One’s perfect Heavenly Self, to better connect with the Presence of God
Shalom my brothers and sisters, In my last blogpost, I tried to get across to you the ancient Israelite understanding of the very nature of God – of Yahveh. Not just some impersonal, obscure or vague theological definition of God, but the real, living Yahveh of Moses...
Israelite Mysticism: The Anatomy of the Human Soul
Shalom everyone, Becoming aware of the anatomy of your soul is analogous to suddenly becoming aware of the complex biome of tiny creatures, bacteria and fungi that live on the outside of your body, as well as the bacteria and fungi that live inside...
Returning to Eden: Theophany Day & the Meaning of Salvation
Shalom my dearest sisters and brothers, We will soon be coming up to Theophany Day, when we celebrate nothing less than the manifestation of the Glory of God on Mt Horeb (‘the Theophany’), and the giving of the Torah. This year, it is due to fall on the 9th to...