Why Does God Sometimes Act So Temperamental?

If God never changes, then why does he seem so different in the New Testament than the Old? Everyone sees it. Readers new to the Bible are disturbed by it. Experienced Bible readers develop reasoned explanations for it which seem sound in general but which tend to become strained when looking at specific...

The Testament That Comes After the New Testament

By the time of Jesus, the Old Testament was closed, i.e. it was determined that nothing new would be included in the sacred writings of the Hebrews. The Torah was five books, not six; Moses was dead, so how could there be more anyway? Besides, five is all that is needed, they said. Psalms? There are a...

Why You Should Stop Reading the New Testament

You should stop reading the New Testament. Just stop it. Not forever, mind you. Just for a while. Just long enough to read the Old Testament. Several times. Then you can go back and read the New Testament, and when you do you’ll find that it makes a whole lot more sense. You’ll find that some things that...

How to Not Follow Jesus and Still Be Biblical

Yes, you can do the opposite of what Jesus says and claim to be perfectly biblical, quoting chapter and verse, and do so without violating the integrity of the passage you are quoting. That’s because in the Old Testament, there is an argument going on. In ancient Israelite religion, there are two paths that...

“No Mercy” No More

The theme of the book of Joshua could be stated as, “Show no mercy.” When the walls of Jericho came a tumbling’ down, the Israelites “devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.” (Joshua 6:21) No mercy. Then they moved on to...

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