Biblical Heritage Center Blog

On March 31, 1492, King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain issued the Alhambra Decree, which ordered the expulsion of Jews from Catholic Spain. . . .  the Alhambra Decree  declared that all Jews must leave Spain before the end of July.  “We order all Jews and Jewesses of whatever age they may be, who live, reside, and exist in our said kingdoms and lordships … that by the end of the month of July next of the present year, they depart from all of these our said realms and lordships … under pain that if they do not perform and comply with this command and should be found in our said kingdom and lordships and should in any manner live in them, they incur the penalty of death and the confiscation of all their possessions,” it stated. Read  complete article at -- http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/March/Jews-Banished-From-Spain-During-Spanish-Inquisition.html The Spanish Inquisition began with a papal bull issued by Pope Sixtus IV. King Ferdin...

They could be the earliest Christian writing in   existence, surviving almost 2,000 years in a   Jordanian cave. They could, just possibly,   change our understanding of how Jesus was   crucified and resurrected, and how Christianity   was born. . . .   A group of 70 or so "books", each with between five and 15 lead leaves bound by lead rings, was apparently discovered in a remote arid valley in northern Jordan somewhere between 2005 and 2007. . . .  The director of the Jordan's Department of Antiquities, Ziad al-Saad, says the books might have been made by followers of Jesus in the few decades immediately following his crucifixion. "They will really match, and perhaps be more significant than, the Dead Sea Scrolls," says Mr Saad.  Read complete article at -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12888421  

Simcha Jocobovici, the host of the History Channel's   Naked Archaeologist program, produced a great   program about the earliest Christians with Dr. Robert   Eisenman. The program has been uploaded   on YouTube in 3 parts. This is a great discussion and   BHC's work has reached a number of the same   conclusions through it research.   Part 1 -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqlOyfIVNDc&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL  (5 Min. 18 sec.)  Part 2 -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVSID9zVxn8&feature=BF&list=UL8Lzlaf22...   (5 Min. 19 sec.)  Part 3 -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xRs7UZdOOk&feature=BF&list=UL8Lzlaf22...  (6 min. 51 sec.)  Lots of good info on these videos.

What limits our desire and capacity to take in new ideas – even when we hold an intention to transform and grow? How can we shift a paradigm that we see as flawed and incomplete without understanding the barriers to changing our minds and behaviors? And how can we develop habits that allow us to explore and reveal our own biases and intolerance of ideas that refute our prevailing beliefs and opinions? These are tricky questions, but ones that are lighting up many science labs around the world. New discoveries and new thinking in neuroscience, social psychology, and anthropology offer provocative insights into the barriers to transformation. They show us that our views of reality are embedded largely in our unconscious mind. Operating below the threshold of our conscious awareness, our beliefs and assumptions shape our experience – even while we’re busy making other plans. Read complete article by Marilyn Schlitz at -- http://www.noetic.org/blog/rejecting-uncommon-beliefs-how-worldvie...

The witnesses, laying their coats at the feet of Saul, were the men that would cast the first stones at Stephen in Acts 7. Why did they all lay their coats at Saul’s feet? The Talmud contains a very interesting account of the act of stoning that may provide the answer. “When the trial was over, they take him [the condemned person] out to be stoned. The place of stoning was at a distance from the court, as it is said, ‘Take out the one who has cursed.’ [i] A man stands at the entrance of the court; in his hand is a signaling flag [Hebrew   sudarin = sudar , ‘scarf, sweater’]. A horseman was stationed far away but within sight of him. If one [of the judges] says, ‘I have something [more] to say in his favor,’ he [the signaler] waves the   sudarin , and the horseman runs and stops them [from stoning him]. Even if [the condemned person] himself says, ‘I have something to say in my favor,’ they bring him back, even four of five times, only provided that there is some substance to...

Radio host Frank Stasio examines public perception of new religious movements with James Tabor, chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Sean McCloud, an associate professor of religious studies and American studies affiliate at UNC-Charlotte; Benjamin Zeller, an assistant professor of religious studies at Brevard College; and Lisa Kerr, founder of the Web site www.mycultlife.com. Listen to this interesting radio interview at -- http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Examining_Cult_Culture.mp3/view Have you been involved with a group that is a cult or exhibits :cult-like" tendencies?  Share your comments.

Rabbi Leynor discusses Jewish views of death, mourning and   funerals in this three part video series.   Part 1 (5 min. 2 sec.) -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxa0k-H07wQ   Part 2 (7 min. 30 sec.) -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBZZAifTckw   Part 3 (11 min. 42 sec.) -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep3iI7Riw1c   Visit Rabbi Leynor's page and check out all of his videos at -- http://www.biblicalheritage.org/rabbi_leynor.htm  

Which is the greatest commandment? Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.    One of them, an expert in the Torah, tested him with this question:  “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Torah?” Jesus replied: “‘Love YAHWEH your ELOHIYM with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [i]  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [ii]  All the Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” [iii] Why did Jesus say that “all of the Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments?” What did “hang” mean to his ancient Jewish audience? In order to understand the moral of his story we must know how the ancient scribes wrote the Hebrew letters on the scrolls. The first thing they did after the writing material had been prepared and was ready to be written on was draw lines. Take a close look at the picture of...

What's wrong with this picture? 1,210 individuals own $4.5 trillion of the world's wealth. 3,010,000,000 people own $8.2 trillion of the world's wealth. What makes it possible for so few to have so much & so many to have so little? Read the article at -- http://toomuchonline.org/ceo-pay-bashing-tea-party-style/

In biblical Hebrew there are about 20 different words which denote “sin,” but basically sin signifies a failure of mutual relations . It corresponds more with the modern idea of “ offense ” rather than the Christian concept of “sin.”   The Jewish understanding of sin is very different and sin is viewed as an external substance that adheres to an individual that is viewed as good. An example is that of a child playing outside and gets muddy. The mud is sin and the goal is to remove the mud and clean up the child. These are two very different views and they influence how people view themselves and others. The rabbis rarely speak of sin in the abstract; they usually address a specific violation. There are two types of offenses: offenses of commission transgression of negative precepts) and offenses of omission (failure to perform positive precepts). In addition, understanding who the offense was committed against is essential. Was it an offense committed against God or against peop...

“Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the hem of his garment.” Luke 8:43-48 preserves an account that is well-known by modern Christians, but not understood in the way that the original audience understood it. Rabbi Leynor discusses what this account would have meant to a Jewish audience in the first century. Click on -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPVfZzuzFsU

"In an emergency our psychological template is different. We are anxious and fearful. We accept the authority of a leader; we do as we are told."* Wouldn't it be very beneficial for those in authority to create  pseudo -emergencies to accomplish their goals? Maybe people should view the claims of potential threats in a different way and ask a few questions before bowing to the authorities that have the most to gain from their submission. (1) What is the potential threat? (2) Who is threatening us? (3) Who is the one proclaiming that there is an emergency? (4) What do they want us to do? (5) If we do what they want, who will financially benefit from it? (6) What benefits will those in authority receive? (7) Who will be harmed? (8) Who will pay the money that others will receive? Puppets react when someone pulls their strings. The spin-doctors are master puppeteers who maintain their power by pulling the strings of the uninformed. The next time someone pulls one of your ...

Watch Rabbi Leynor's discussion about the   word Lucifer that is only found in Isaiah 14   in the the King James Version of the Bible.   Rabbi Leynor will read the ancient Hebrew   text and explain what it actually says -- and   what it does not say.   Is the source of the beliefs held by many people the Bible -- or is it writings from 17th & 18th century England?  See this short 10 minute video by clicking on -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX70-ONILgI  

What does “holy” mean? Webster’s Dictionary defines “holy” as: (1)         exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness. (2)         divine (for the Lord our God is holy [Psalms 99:9 KJV]) (3)         devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity (a holy temple; holy prophets) (4)         having a divine quality (holy love) (5)         venerated as or as if sacred (holy scripture; a holy relic) The Hebrew root word translated “holy” is QDSh (QADOSh / QODESh) (1)         Removed from common use, subject to special treatment, forfeit to the sanctuary (2)         To transform someone to the state of holiness, dedicate. (3)       ...

Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor, a Conservative rabbi, continues the series, "A Jewish Perspective on the Jewish Jesus." Rabbi Leynor does not belong to a Messianic church and he is not a Christian. He believes that his religion is much closer to that of the Jewish Jesus. In this series Rabbi Leynor discusses how beliefs about Jesus changed from the first through the fourth centuries as Gentiles took over the leadership of his movement. He also points out how books in the New Testament present very different views about Jesus; not simply one consistent view as traditionally thought by many.  Something that Rabbi Leynor brings to the study of the Jewish Jesus is that he is committed to the BHC Primary Guideline -- "Our beliefs must be large enought to include all of the facts . . ."   He is not promoting any religious belief, but working to discover as much as possible about the Jewish Jesus. He doe...

Listen to a great study by Dr. Ike Tennison   about the different accounts in the New Testament   about the death of Judas. Clearly they seem to   contradict each other. You will probably be   surprised by Dr. Tennison's conclusions.   Dr. Tennison also used his expert knowledge of Greek to reveal the meaning of the famous parable of Jesus -- The Good Samaritan. It is very insightful and will probably transform your understanding of the message of the Jewish Jesus.  Listen to this study at -- http://www.biblicalheritage.org/tennison.htm  

How one views the serpent in the famous biblical account of the “Garden in Eden,” reveals a great deal about one’s beliefs about God, as well as how one sees oneself, views women and understands how history is to unfold. Read the complete article by clicking on --  http://www.biblicalheritage.org/BHC%20Newsletters/bhcnews.htm