Are the Palestinians descended from the original Canaanites?
Shalom my sisters and brothers, Among people in the West, especially those who are anti-Israel, there is the general perception that after Roman times, Jews were always a tiny minority of the population of the Holy Land, and that Arabs were always in the...
Some Personal Thoughts on the Present Hamas-Israel War
The Purpose of this Article I am basically writing this piece to make my personal position clear: I am against those who spread violence and death, whoever they are, and whatever religion they might belong to. I support anyone who is innocent in times of war, whether...
A Detailed Examination of Sin, Forgiveness and Expiation (’atonement’)
Introduction: The Purpose of Yom ha-Kippurim The majority of this article is taken from the Introduction to the Prayerbook for the Day of Expiations. For a shorter, condensed version of the content in this article, see this blogpost. The whole purpose of the Day of...
I am not a special or enlightened being
Shalom everyone, There are some religious preachers who will threaten or shame you into following their teachings. I‘m not going to do that. There are some religious teachers who will wow you by proclaiming that they are spiritually evolved beings, who have been...
The Unwritten Ethics of Mutual Responsibility
General Introduction In the run-up to Shavuot, I put out an article about the very first covenant God gave us, the Universal Covenant. This is the covenant that is instilled within us at the creation of our souls, and gives us the natural but unspoken, unwritten rules...
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...