Redeeming Scripture Archives - Page 51 of 59

Do you think the world was created over millions and billions of years? Or do you think that everything that exists was created in six 24-hour periods?

In this episode of the One Verse podcast, we will look at Genesis 1:5, I will share my view.

And just as a fair warning, if you hold strongly to one view or the other, you will probably be somewhat offended by what I say.

The text of Genesis 1:5

Genesis 1:5. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

In this discussion of Genesis 1:5 we look at:

Why Moses borrowed from Pagan Creation Myths to tell the story of Creation
The truth about why and how God redeems the darkness
The theological importance of “naming”
Whether the days of creation were 24-hour days or not.

Resources:

Logos Bible Software
Free Book of the Month at Logos
Sailhamer on Genesis – Buy it on Amazon or at CBD
Victor Hamilton on Genesis – Buy it on Amazon or at CBD
Gordon Wenham on Genesis – Buy it on Amazon or at CBD
Read The Enuma Elish for yourself
Compare Creation Accounts from other religions
My New Categories for Theology
Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Do you like learning about Scripture and theology through my podcast? If so, then you will also love my online courses. They all have MP3 audio downloads, PDF transcripts, quizzes, and a comment section for questions and interaction with other students.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

How you Can Review my Podcast on iTunes

By Jeremy Myers

1 Comment

If you aren’t already subscribing to podcasts (regularly scheduled audio recordings) via iTunes, now’s the perfect opportunity to get started. The beauty of using iTunes (and the Podcast app for iOS) is that by subscribing, each time there’s a new episode from your favorite podcaster, you’ll automatically get it!

Since most podcasts are free, there are two ways you can support your favorite podcasters.

First, tell others about the show through email, Facebook, Twitter, or as you simply interact with friends.

Second, you can leave a rating and review on iTunes.

These reviews are seen by other people and may help them decide whether or not to give a podcast a shot. They’re also considered by iTunes and help a show’s ratings, so your review of the One Verse Podcast will mean a great deal to me!

If you’ve never left a review on iTunes before, there’s just a few steps to walk through, so let’s get started!

How To Write an iTunes Review

First, head on over to my Podcast channel here: One Verse Podcast on iTunes

This is what my iTunes Preview looks like:

Look for the blue “View in iTunes”button in the left sidebar and click on that to open iTunes on your computer.

That will open the One Verse podcast channel within iTunes.

(Note: If you are on a PC and you haven’t installed iTunes yet, you’ll be prompted to install it which is quick and easy. Next you’ll need an AppleID and this is also very quick to get started)

Second, you will want to subscribe to the Podcast (if you have not done so already).

Thanks for subscribing!

Finally, click on Ratings and Reviews. This will reveal all of the current ratings and reviews that our fans have so generously left, and provide you with an opportunity to do the same.

Above the existing reviews you’ll see a series of stars where you can rate the show from 1 to 5 stars, with 5 stars being the best — “It’s great!”

Since you’re logged into your personal iTunes account, Apple will know that rating is from you.

After leaving a rating, click on the Write A Review button. This will bring up a brief pop-up window in which you can type a title and text of your review. If you haven’t already chosen a star rating, you can do so here as well.

Write in what you want to say about the show and click on Submit. And that’s it! Apple will review the comment for appropriateness, and then publish it within 24 hours generally.

Don’t panic if you don’t see your review immediately, it takes some time.

What to Say in an iTunes Review

I’m not going to tell you what to say in a review about my show, nor am I going to tell you it needs to be a positive review (though those are appreciated!). Constructive criticism is certainly welcome too.

However, if it’s your intention to support my (or someone else’s) show, it might be helpful to review the kinds of things you could say for greatest effect.

First, explain the benefit. What is it that you get out of these shows that’s so great?

Second, mention who you think might be interested. Are these shows for business owners? Parents? Pastors? The average person who wants to learn the Bible? Whomever you think would benefit most, mention them.

Third, if you can, pull in a quote or line from one of your favorite episodes. If the speaker said something once that really impacted you, share that with other readers.

Finally, encourage readers to subscribe to the podcast. That’s the one thing they can do for themselves right at that moment that’s going to help them the most long-term. So remind them!

Note that reviews are limited to 300 words. Also avoid one-word reviews, profanity, comments unrelated to the show, or inserting of links. Reviews with those aspects are likely to not be approved by Apple. Other than approving or disapproving, there is no editing done by Apple on reviews, so also take the time to check your review for appropriate spelling and grammar. Since these reviews are public and associated with your iTunes account name, they reflect as much on you as the show you’re reviewing.

To participate in Ratings & Reviews or Questions & Answers, you must agree to the Apple Community Terms of Use.

So if you haven’t already, please stop by my One Verse Podcast at One Verse Podcast and subscribe and leave me a review, and you’ll have my eternal gratitude. And while you’re there, be sure to catch up on any old episodes you might have missed!

If you have any questions at all about leaving a review or subscribing to the One Verse Podcast please let me know in the comments below.

How to Review a Podcast on the iPhone or iPad

Some people have asked me how to leave a rating and review on the iPhone or iPad. Here is a short video tutorial explaining how:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugCnjXnBjMc

Here are some images on how to do the same. Of course, make sure you search for the One Verse podcast!

1. Search for the One Verse Podcast in the iTunes Store (or simply click the image below)

2. Click on the One Verse Podcast in the iTunes app

3. After you subscribe to the One Verse Podcast, click the “Reviews” button

4. Click the “Write a Review” Link.

5. Leave a Rating, enter a title for your review, and then type your review. Don’t forget to click the “Send” button!

[#04] Genesis 1:4 – God Divided Light from Darkness

By Jeremy Myers

3 Comments

Do you live separate from the world? As a follower of Jesus, Scripture instructs you to have nothing to do with deeds of darkness and the ways of this world. But how are you to do that?

Does it mean you should stay away from non-Christian people, and never attend non-Christian parties, and shun all non-Christian activities and places? Some Christians think so.

Of course, the religious mentality which says we must avoid all sinful people and sinful places is nearly impossible to consistently practice, which tells us that this is probably not what God had in mind.

In this episode of the One Verse Podcast, we look at Genesis 1:4 and see how God separated light from darkness on the first day of creation, and from this, draw some tentative conclusions about how you and I can separate from darkness without falling into the trap of religion.

The Text of Genesis 1:4

Genesis 1:4. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

In this discussion of Genesis 1:4 we look at:

What does it mean for God to “see” the light?
How God wants us to view this world (contrary to what many religions teach).
How God “defeats” darkness, both in creation and in our life.
How you can live as a light in the darkness of this world.

Resources:

Logos Bible Software
Free Book of the Month at Logos
Sailhamer on Genesis – Buy it on Amazon or at CBD
Victor Hamilton on Genesis – Buy it on Amazon or at CBD
Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

These 11 verses turn Christians into Atheists. How do you explain them?

By Jeremy Myers

206 Comments

I was recently having a discussion with an atheist who had grown up in a Christian family and had gone to church for the first twenty years of her life. But she became an atheist in her 20s.

When I asked her why she became an atheist, she said, “I started reading the Bible.”

We Christians often tell people that if they would only read the Bible, they would come to see that God is real and that He loves them. We hear testimony after testimony about how drug addicts and hookers were considering suicide but somehow got a Bible and started reading it and ended up giving their life to Christ.

I am not in any way denying such accounts or stories.

But I think it is also time to admit that while many people decided to follow Jesus as a result of reading the Bible, there are many others who turned away from God after reading the Bible.

Part of this, I am convinced, is because we Christians have said that the entire Bible is the Word of God, but then we sort of ignore, gloss over, conveniently forget, or are simply dishonest about some of the more troubling portions of Scripture.

And there are many troubling portions of Scripture! (If you don’t believe me, read this book: Drunk with Blood).

I call these troubling texts “Atheist Maker Verses.” They are verses that do not point people to God, but lead people away from Him instead. Here are a few of the more blatant Atheist Maker Verses:

Genesis 19:8

“See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”

As a father of three daughters myself, I cannot imagine offering my daughters to get raped so that I could protect the strangers under my roof.

And yes, I have heard the Christian explanation of this text that this was how the ancient Middle Eastern people valued hospitality. But how does that make it okay? It doesn’t.

Rather than trying to explain away Lot’s behavior according to “hospitality laws” we must condemn his behavior as horribly barbaric.

Exodus 21:20-21

“And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property.

This was a favorite verse of slave-owners during the period of slavery in our country. In fact, all of Exodus 21 talks about the rules for treating slaves.

And apparently, you can beat your slave all you want, even within an inch of their life, because the slave is your property.

Of course, even if you kill your slave, you won’t be put to death yourself, but only punished.

This sort of verse about slaves has caused many people to turn away from God and Christianity.

Leviticus 25:44-45

And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have– from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property.

This is another verse about slaves, but this one includes the children. According to God, it is okay to buy and sell children. So apparently, everybody today who is trying to raise awareness about the human trafficking of children just needs to shut up. Apparently, God’s in favor of it.

Note as well that it is not just the Old Testament which says these sorts of things. Here is a quote from 1 Peter:

1 Peter 2:18

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.

So if you are a slave, and your master beats you harshly, the slave should just accept it. After all, fear of your master is a good thing.

As a little side note, what I find most interesting about the numerous verses all over the Bible about slavery is that modern Christians almost unanimously condemn the practice of slavery, even though the Bible condones and accepts in in numerous places.

And yet when the Bible condemns homosexuality in three verses, Christians are divided over whether or not we should follow these verses. “God’s Word said it; that settles it!” we are told. My response is, “Really? So can I meet your slaves?”

But the Bible is not just wrong about slaves. Certain texts about women are also quite appalling.

Deuteronomy 22:20-21

But if the thing is true, and evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

So if a woman has pre-marital sex, she should be stoned. Other texts lay guilt on the man as well, but the guilty male gets less attention than the guilty female.

Deuteronomy 23:1

“He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the LORD.

So if your penis is cut off or your balls are crushed, God does not accept your worship. God only accepts worship from people whose genitals are in good condition (minus the foreskin of course … that sort of mutilation is required by God).

The thing that gets me about such verses is how people knew who could go in to worship God and who couldn’t.

Did they have a little “inspection station” at the front door? And we complain about the TSA groping us when we get on a plane…

Deuteronomy 25:11-12

If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals, then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not pity her.

So two men are fighting and a woman steps in to defend her man, and ends up grabbing the genitals of her husband’s opponent. Rather than discipline the men for fighting in the first place, the proper response in this case is to cut off the woman’s hand.

That sounds fair.

I also wonder how this law came about… Was it a common thing for women to grab the balls of their husband’s enemy when they were fighting?

Maybe this verse had something to do with the previous one about not getting to worship God if your balls are mangled. Maybe a man could no longer pray to God because some woman crushed his balls, and so they had to make a rule against that sort of thing.

Of course, now that the woman has no hand, she can’t worship God either, because God doesn’t allow deformed people into his presence either. On other hand, He doesn’t care too much for women either…

Of course, it’s not just women God hates. He is also not fond of dwarves and hunchbacks, people with eczema, and those who have a limb that is too long…

Leviticus 21:18-19

For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch.

To approach God, you apparently had to be a perfect male specimen, with a working penis. Everybody else could not approach Him.

But it is not just the dwarves and the blind that God was against. He also was not a big fan of children.

Leviticus 20:9

For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him.

How is this even remotely justified? I don’t care if a kid cursed his parents with the worst curses ever uttered, does he deserve to get stoned to death for it?

Frankly, if a kid has parents who would be willing to stone him to death for cursing them, they probably deserved getting cursed.

But no, God, apparently, sides with the parents.

And it is no wonder that the #1 sin Christians are terrified of committing today is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I get dozens of emails about this sin every single week, and without fail, the people who think they have committed this sin feel that because they said something mean about God, God is going to burn them forever and ever in hell.

And where does such an idea come from? It comes (partly) from a verse like Leviticus 20:9 where God tells parents it is okay to kill their children if he curses them.

So sad.

But God doesn’t always have children killed by stoning them. Sometimes He kills them with bears!

2 Kings 2:23-24

Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

Apparently, even though God doesn’t want people to worship him who are blind in one eye, or have a limb too long, or have eczema, He is a big fan of bald men!

These youths learned that lesson the hard way. Bald men shall not be mocked! Especially when that bald man is a prophet.

And when God cannot get children stoned or mauled by bears, He just pronounces blessings on those who bash babies’ heads against rocks.

Psalm 137:9

Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock!

Happy? The word here could also be translated as “blessed.”

But try to picture the scene. Was this like baby piñata day?

Imagine a soldier coming home from a day of baby-smashing. His wife greets him at the door with a kiss. “So how was your day, honey?” she says.

“Great! God was really at work in me today! I got to smash babies against a rock wall! We all praised God as we did it. The Spirit was really moving! I must have killed ten or twelve, but that Joash, he got over twenty! He’s a beast! The best part is that now we are going to be blessed because of all the babies we killed. I’m standing on the promises of God!”

How to Handle Atheist Maker Verses

I could go on and on with these sorts of verses.

But here’s the point: What are we to do with these sorts of “Atheist Maker Verses?”

There are three basic Christian responses.

1. We can stick our head in the sand.

Many Christians look at these difficult and troubling texts and say, “God is good all the time, and He gave us His Word to show us that He is good, and so while I don’t understand how these texts can reveal a good God, we know they must, and so I believe they do.”

It is this sort of response that does not help people at all.

In fact, I would say that, more than the verses themselves, it is this response that causes people to become atheists. Such a response is so irrational and ignorant, that most of the world simply cannot accept it.

Nor should they.

God cannot be both good, kind, and loving, while at the same time commanding genocide, praising the smashing of babies’ heads against walls, and sending bears to maul children because they made fun of a prophet’s baldness.

If Christians want people to see God as He truly as, as the God revealed in Jesus Christ, rather than sticking our heads in the sand, we must find some way to side with the world in condemning such texts of terror. This leads to the next two ways of responding to these texts.

2. Call them Errors in the Bible and be Done with It

Probably the simplest way to handle these troubling texts in the Bible is to handle them the same way we handle violent texts like this in Greek Mythology, in the Qu’ran, or in ancient historical documents.

How is that? We say that the people were flat-out wrong in what they did and the reasons they gave for doing it.

And while this approach is increasingly common with many Christians today, it makes many others quite uncomfortable, because then we are admitting that there are errors in Scripture, and that maybe God didn’t inspire it after all.

So while this helps explain the violence in Scripture, it does so at the expense of Scripture itself. We are left with something that, in my opinion, is less than Scripture.

This is why I prefer the third approach:

3. Realize that the purpose of the text IS condemnation

There is a way to both affirm inspiration and inerrancy while at the same time denying that God had anything to do with it.

I am working on writing a more thorough explanation for a future book on this subject, but the short explanation is that we can view the Bible as a divinely-inspired text which inerrantly reveals human error. In this way, we get a glimpse into our own hearts by reading Scripture.

We see ourselves on the pages. We see our tendency to demonize our enemies. We see our desire to take what is not ours. We see our addiction to blaming God for our own evil actions. We see our habit of scapegoating the outsider. We see how easy it is to excuse our own sin and turn a blind eye to our moral failures.

When we approach Scripture this way, we can agree with the Atheists about the moral repugnance of these violent texts, but then turn around and say that the reason God inspired these texts to be written in Scripture is not to justify such behavior and actions, but to challenge us to not do such things ourselves.

Study the Bible with Atheists

At least, this is the way I have been learning to read Scripture, but it is still something I am working on

How about you? How do you read these violent and gruesome texts? How do you understand them? What would you say to someone who has rejected God because of verses like these? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

[#03] Genesis 1:3 – Let there be Light

By Jeremy Myers

The text of Genesis 1:3

Genesis 1:3. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

In this discussion of Genesis 1:3 we look at:

How can there be light before God created the sun, moon, and stars? The answer is that this is the wrong question.
The light that God spoke into existence in Genesis 1:3 is in response to the darkness that existed in Genesis 1:2.
Moses is continuing to make distinctions here between Yahweh and the gods of other Ancient Near East religions.
Learn how we can fight against darkness in the world today.

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

[#05] Genesis 1:5 – The First Day of Creation

The text of Genesis 1:5

In this discussion of Genesis 1:5 we look at:

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Schedule Jeremy for an interview

Click here to Contact Me!

The text of Genesis 1:5

In this discussion of Genesis 1:5 we look at:

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

How To Write an iTunes Review

What to Say in an iTunes Review

How to Review a Podcast on the iPhone or iPad

The Text of Genesis 1:4

In this discussion of Genesis 1:4 we look at:

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Genesis 19:8

Exodus 21:20-21

Leviticus 25:44-45

1 Peter 2:18

Deuteronomy 22:20-21

Deuteronomy 23:1

Deuteronomy 25:11-12

Leviticus 21:18-19

Leviticus 20:9

2 Kings 2:23-24

Psalm 137:9

How to Handle Atheist Maker Verses

1. We can stick our head in the sand.

2. Call them Errors in the Bible and be Done with It

3. Realize that the purpose of the text IS condemnation

Study the Bible with Atheists

The text of Genesis 1:3

In this discussion of Genesis 1:3 we look at:

Resources:

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Theological Study Archives

Bible Study Archives

Advertise or Donate

Search (and you Shall Find)

Get Books by Jeremy Myers

Schedule Jeremy for an interview

Click here to Contact Me!