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Was Paul Against Circumcision, Or Not?
Most Christians assume that the Apostle Paul was adamantly against circumcision. After all, this is the man who warned the Galatians that receiving circumcision could make Christ “of no advantage” to them (Gal 5:2). He even declared that those who accepted circumcision were obligated to keep the entire Mosaic Law (Gal 5:3). Those are strong words! So, the matter would seem straightforward: Paul opposed circumcision. But then we continue reading the New Testament and discover something surprising. Paul personally circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:3). Not only did Paul circumcise him, but he did so immediately after participating in the Jerusalem Council, where the apostles had just decided that Gentile believers did not need to be circumcised. At first glance, Paul’s actions appear inconsistent. Was Paul against circumcision or not? Why would he refuse to circumcise Titus but then turn around and circumcise Timothy? Was he compromising his convictions? Or was something…
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The Feast of Booths, the Transfiguration, and the Kingdom of God
The Feast of Booths is not something we often take the time to study because understanding it requires spending considerable time in the Old Testament. Yet the New Testament assumes that its readers are familiar with it. In fact, knowing about the Feast of Booths helps us better understand the Transfiguration in Matthew 17 and, even more, the Kingdom of God. What Is the Feast of Booths? The Feast of Booths (Sukkot in Hebrew) was an important celebration in both the Old Testament and New Testament eras. It was one of the three annual feasts during which all the males in Israel were required to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem (Deut. 16:16). The Feast of Booths was an eight-day celebration (beginning on Tishri 15 on the Jewish calendar), which falls around September or October on our calendar. During this feast, the people lived in temporary shelters (booths) and presented…
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Is It Wrong to Eat Human Flesh?
Okay, weird title. But this is a question that came up recently, and it is an interesting theological exercise. Is eating human flesh wrong? We are not talking mainly about overt cannibalism, where one commits murder in order to eat human flesh. That is clearly wrong. We are mainly talking about a survival scenario, such as being stranded on a boat or in the mountains, where survivors eat humans who have already died in order to survive. For example, the survivors of the 1972 plane crash in the Andes ate their companions to survive. Is it wrong for a Christian to eat human beings who have already died? Although this question may seem bizarre, it actually helps us think through some deeper biblical realities. Sometimes strange ethical questions force us to ask what we really believe about humanity. Are human beings merely biological organisms? Are our bodies just empty shells…
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How Tall Was Goliath? 9 Feet or 6 Feet?
David killing Goliath with a sling is one of the most beloved and well-known Bible stories. In fact, sports announcers will still sometimes use the phrase, “It is a David versus Goliath story” to describe an underdog taking down the favorite. Those who grew up in church quickly became familiar with the story of the little boy David killing the mighty Philistine giant, Goliath. However, some of the details of the David vs. Goliath story need fleshing out. For one thing, it is likely that although he fought for the Philistines, Goliath was likely a descendant of Anak. Another issue is whether Goliath would qualify as a giant or not. This is actually a bit of a text-critical issue in the book of Samuel! Compare the following English translations. CSB Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall. NET Then a champion came out…
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The Distant Starlight Problem and Genesis 1
A common objection to the young earth creation position is the distant starlight problem. This starlight problem is usually framed with the following information. First, starlight travels approximately 186,000 miles per second. Therefore, the distance starlight can travel in a year is approximately 6 trillion miles, and is referred to in astronomical measurements as a light year. Thanks to the Hubble Telescope, we are able to see many stars that are invisible to the naked eye. One such star, named Icarus, is 9 billion light-years from Earth. In simple terms, the above information means the light from Icarus took 9 billion years (traveling at 186k miles per second) to reach earth. That is a long distance and a long time! However, at the same time, this seems to be incongruent with a young earth creation position, which posits a young age for the earth (usually defined as 6-10k years old).…
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Was Elijah Afraid of Jezebel? A Closer Look at 1 Kings 19:3
One of the most dramatic stories in the Old Testament is Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. On Mount Carmel, Elijah stands alone against 450 prophets of Baal. Then, in a stunning display of divine power, Yahweh answers by fire and proves that he alone is the true God. In the aftermath, Elijah commands that the prophets of Baal be executed (1 Kgs 18:40). After that, Yahweh sends rain on the land and ends the long drought. Ahab witnesses all of it. But when he returns to Jezreel, he reports everything to Jezebel, his Baal-worshiping wife. Jezebel responds with a death threat: she vows to make Elijah like the prophets of Baal by the next day. So what did Elijah do? That question matters because 1 Kings 19:3 is debated. Many English translations say Elijah became afraid and fled from Jezebel. That reading has led…
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Why Does God Call Ezekiel Son of Man So Much?
Anyone who reads the Gospels understands that one of Jesus’ favorite titles to use of himself is the son of man. Interestingly, the son of man moniker is used 79 times in the Gospels, and once in Acts (7:56), but in each case it is Jesus using the phrase of himself. Nobody calls Jesus the son of man, nor is anyone else called the son of man. Although there is debate about where the New Testament title son of man comes from, it almost certainly comes from the backdrop of Daniel 7:13-14, where “one like a son of man” comes before the Ancient of Days and is given dominion over the entire world with an everlasting kingdom. Daniel 7, which was understood as Messianic even before the time of Christ (cf. 4 Ezra 13), provides the vocabulary that Jesus could appropriate for himself, indicating He is the Messianic representative of…
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Did the Prophets Understand What They Said? (1 Peter 1:10-12)
Sometimes it is claimed that prophets in the Old Testament did not fully understand their own prophecies. This is often used as an argument for sensus plenior, which is the idea of finding a “fuller meaning” behind the text—a meaning which the original author may not have known. One of the key texts used to support the idea that the prophets did not fully understand their own prophecies is 1 Peter 1:10–12: 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you…
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Was the Passover Lamb Boiled or Not? A Hebrew Lesson for Skeptics
Many people constantly accuse the Bible of having contradictions within it. One such alleged contradiction concerns the command not to boil the Passover lamb. In Exodus 12:8-9, Israel is forbidden to eat any of the lamb raw or to boil it in water. Similarly, in Deuteronomy 16:5-7, Moses’ instructions on eating the Passover include the command to cook it and eat it. Although the apparent contradiction is not present in many English translations, the issue is that the Hebrew of Exodus 12:8-9 says not to “boil [מְבֻשָּׁל] in water,” while Deuteronomy 16:7 uses the same verb while saying, “boil [וּבִשַּׁלְתָּ] and eat.” In other words, Exodus 12 says NOT to boil, and Deuteronomy says to boil and eat. What do we do with that? Resolving the Alleged Contradiction To answer this issue, we need to clarify that the Hebrew verb used (בשׁל) does not inherently mean “to boil.” It means…
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Was Caleb the Kenizzite Born a Native Israelite?
Who was Caleb, the Son of Jephunneh? Although I think we often assume he was a naturally born Israelite, there may be evidence to suggest his family had joined Israel at some point. This might explain the unique references to the title, Kenizzite. Brief Background on Caleb, the Son of Jephunneh Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, is a captivating character in Scripture. Caleb is most well known for being one of the 12 spies who explored the land of Canaan after the Exodus (Num 13:1-16). Out of the 12 spies who entered Canaan, only Caleb and Joshua trusted in God’s power to deliver the land to Israel (Num 14:6-10). They were faithful to Yahweh, while the rest of the spies gave a discouraging report and the people wanted to return to Egypt (Num 14:4). Caleb is well known for a variety of other reasons as well. Because of Caleb’s devotion…