SY passage 18: How can salt’s saltiness be restored?

Apr 4, 2024

The eighteenth passage of the Sefer Yeshua is based primarily on Lk 14:34-35, but it is very similar to Mt 5:13-14 and Mk 9:50a. The Lucan version is used in the Sefer Yeshua, while the Matthean version is used in the Scroll of the Preaching (which is my...

The Death of any Innocent in Wartime is a Tragedy

Apr 3, 2024

When any innocent person is killed in wartime, it is a tragedy. Regarding the aid-workers who were recently killed in Gaza, I am absolutely certain that there will be an inquiry in Israel as to what happened, and I hope that any person responsible will be brought to...

Is God a genocidal Tyrant?

Mar 31, 2024

How do we cope with passages in the Bible, where God commands the genocide of various peoples? The first point to make is that before the formation of scripture, the general guidance to Yahwists was, ‘Know YHVH’ (cf Jer 31:34, 1Chron 22:19, Hos 2:20, 6:3; in Yahwism,...

Is God to blame for Evil?

Mar 31, 2024

A Talmidi friend recently asked me, “How do we cope with the presence of evil in our world, and not fall into a state of mind whereby we blame God for allowing evil and heinous things to happen?” Let’s approach this problem from the extreme position....

SY Passage 17: The plank in one’s own eye – Religious Hypocrisy

Mar 22, 2024

The seventeenth passage of the Sefer Yeshua is based on Mt 7:3-5 and Lk 6:41-42. The likely origin of the pericope is the Q-gospel. 17. 1There were some who were hypocrites, and judged others without examining their own actions first. 2And Yeshua said to them, ‘Why do...