Biblical Heritage Center Blog

[ As you read the following article, keep in mind that the Nazis acquired power in a democratic nation with a population that was 94% Christian. Neither democracy nor Christianity is enough to prevent something like this from happening again.  Individuals must also have shared core values that place life as the highest value and top priority, along with a shared standard to judge human actions by – we recommend the TOV Standard. ] According to his interrogator at the Nuremberg war trials, the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, appeared “normal,” “like a grocery clerk.” Prisoners who came across him at Auschwitz confirmed this view, adding that Höss always appeared calm and collected. There is no record of him ever personally hitting – let alone killing – anyone at the camp. Höss lived with his wife and children in a house just yards from the crematorium in Auschwitz main camp, where some of the earliest killing experiments were conducted using the poisonous insecticide Zykl...

I suppose when you are someone who is intimately close with nature and who depends on the earth garden to provide sustenance, there is a greater understanding and respect for the earth and the creatures with which we share space and resources.  But, many of us today do not have those strong connections with the land and sea. We don't farm, fish, raise animals, or hunt. We have the power to choose to reveal the image of the Creator or the image of a wild animal through the choices we make. Read Rabbi Leynor’s blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/01/let-animals-teach-us-tov.html

Before the 4th century it is misleading to refer to Christian "heresy" because there was no dominant orthodoxy before this time.  It is also misleading to use the terms apocryphal and canonical because the New Testament canon was not closed until the 4th century at the earliest. [i] [i] Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism: A Parallel History of Their Origins and Early Development By Herschel Shanks © 1992; Biblical Archaeological Society, Washington DC; p. 315.

Eusebius (b. 265 – d. 339/340 CE; aka Eusebius of Caesarea and Eusebius Pamphili ) was Bishop of Caesarea and the personal historian of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great . In his Church History , Eusebius wrote the first surviving history of the Christian Church as a chronologically-ordered account, based on earlier sources, complete from the period of the Apostles to his own time. 1 Many questions have been raised about his agenda, since he was the emperor’s personal historian and a bishop, and the accuracy of the information. But, the sources he used often provided information that should not be ignored. Read complete blog at -- http://fromonejesus.blogspot.com/2015/01/yeshua-jacob-and-simeon.html

I saw a quote on FB which really struck a chord. It said; " Whatever life takes away from you, let it go. " Much of the time life does take people and things away from us. These are things we have no control over. It is more than just death -- sometimes it is family feuds, sometimes it is other relationships where we cut ourselves off, or we are cut off from family or other close ties. Other times it is a career, or a business or even our dreams . Read Rabbi Leynor’s blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-do-we-keep.html

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day -- marking the 70 th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Visit the Yad Vashem website and remember. Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953. When Yad Vashem came into being, a core goal of its founding visionaries was to recognize gentiles who, at personal risk, and without a financial or evangelistic motive, chose to save their Jewish brethren from the ongoing genocide during the Holocaust. Those recognized by the State of Israel as Righteous Among the Nations are honored in a section of Yad Vashem known as the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations. After the Western Wall, Yad Vashem is the second most-visited Israeli tourist site. Its curators charge no fee for admission and welcome approximately one million visitors a year. The Hall of Names is a memorial to the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. The main hall is composed of two cones: one ten meter...

What is the difference between a Master and a Beginner? The Master has failed more times than the Beginner could ever even imagine. One becomes a "Master" (M/F) by constantly practicing their skills and abilities in their lives. They see themselves as a work in progress because they understand that in the process of mastering something there is failure, defeat and loss, whether they are in competition with others or with themselves. However, they use those things to learn and grow from the failures, because they reframe the situation and figure out a different approach or tactic which enables them to progress. Read Rabbi Leynor’s complete blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/01/want-immediate-gratification-do-tov.html

(The format of this study is to present the material through the mouths of guides, instead of an article format.) Guide #1 :        An important critical juncture in history took place when the Romans crucified Yeshua (Jesus). Suddenly his movement found itself without a leader and knew there were limits to Rome’s tolerance. Guide #2 :        Yeshua’s brother Jacob became the new leader.  For some reason, many translators of English New Testaments chose to call him “ James ,” even though they translate the same Greek word “ Jacob ” when it refers to others. Jacob , along with Peter and John , became the senior leaders of the group. Guide #1 :        The center of the Yeshua Movement was Jerusalem, specifically the Temple. The fact that its leaders, specifically Peter and John, continued to be actively involved in daily Temple rituals reveals that it was clearly ...

Two terms used to describe Yeshua have been completely misunderstood by Gentiles from the beginning of Christianity – Christ and Son of God . In Gentile minds, these terms are exclusive titles that apply to no other person than Yeshua (Jesus). He, they believed and taught, was the only “ Christ ” and “ Son of God .” As time passed, the titles also became linked to deity – Christ and Son of God were titles of God. Read the complete blog at -- http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2015/01/yeshua-another-christ.html

This title is meant to be funny and serious at the same time.  It is meant to be funny because in the time of Moses there was no such thing as a “church.”  It is meant to be serious because the Greek text of Acts 7:38 uses the Greek word evkklhsia ( ekklēsia ) that is often translated “church” in the New Testament. KJV Acts 7:37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. 38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us. The American Standard Version also uses “ church ” to translate the word.  Read Dr. Tennison’s complete blog at -- http://bhcbiblestudies.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-first-church-of-moses-in-wilderness.html

This morning, I am inspired! I usually have my coffee and check out FB and news. There was a video posted about a young man that blew me away! He was bullied and made to feel like an outcast in his HS. His mom saw that he was beaten down and heartbroken by his treatment. She decided to move him to a larger city school, not knowing what would happen. Find out what happened by reading the rest of Rabbi Leynor’s blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-awesome-power-of-choosing-life-and.html

Scientists have succeeded in reading parts of an ancient scroll that was buried in a volcanic eruption almost 2,000 years ago, holding out the promise that the world's oldest surviving library may one day reveal all of its secrets. The scroll is among hundreds retrieved from the remains of a lavish villa at Herculaneum, which along with Pompeii was one of several Roman towns that were destroyed when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79. “The papyri were completely covered in blazing-hot volcanic material," said Vito Mocella, a theoretical scientist at the Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems (CNR) in Naples who led the latest project. Mocella and his colleagues decided to try a method called X-ray phase contrast tomography that had previously been used to examine fossils without damaging them. See picture and read article at -- http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article7716425.html

Long identified as part of the country’s minority Arab population, Israel’s Christian community has recently begun asserting its own unique identity—one that is deeply tied to the Jewish State of Israel. Meet the Arameans. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strode into a banquet hall in the northern Galilee town of Upper Nazareth on a mid-December evening in 2014, approximately 1,000 people rose to their feet and gave Netanyahu a standing ovation. Was this typical election-year enthusiasm? It was enthusiastic for sure. But it was hardly typical. The crowd consisted of Arabic-speaking Christians who insist that they are not Arabs. Instead, they consider themselves “Arameans,” and the event, hosted by the Forum for Christian Enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces, was a Christmastime coming-out party for a community that is celebrating a recent Israeli decision to   legally recognize their old-new identity. Read complete article at -- http://www.thet...

Since the terrorist attacks in France last week, I keep waiting for" the other shoe to drop." I'm waiting for the backlash against Muslims. In fact, last Sunday the Dallas Morning News had an article called, " Muslims Wait and Worry ." Mosques across France have been hit by bullets or small explosive devices. Many have been defaced by racist graffiti. Fire bombings and marches against the Islamization of Europe. Muslim individuals report daily insults and attacks in the streets. The news is also filled with stories of all the violence which Muslims are perpetrating upon one another. Read Rabbi Leynor’s complete blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-are-values-of-your-god.html

The story of the “ Rich Man and Lazarus ” is a well-known parable of Yeshua (Jesus). New blog posted at -- http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2015/01/an-unnamed-rich-man-and-poor-man-named.html

A September   2014 Pew report   found that 50 percent of American adults say Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence among its followers. Looking both domestically and internationally, Republicans are more concerned than Democrats about the rise of Islamic extremism. About eight-in-ten Republicans (82%) are very concerned when it comes to Islamic extremism in the world and 71% are very concerned about the U.S. specifically; among Democrats, about half (51%) are very concerned internationally and 46% nationally. Worries about Islamic extremism in the U.S. especially have grown among older adults. Two-thirds of adults ages 50-64 (66%) and about seven-in-ten of those 65 and older (71%) are very concerned about Islamic extremism domestically, up about 25 points from 2011. Read the complete article at -- http://www.people-press.org/2014/09/10/growing-concern-about-rise-of-islamic-extremism-at-home-and-abroad/

I was listening to KRLD radio and they had an interesting segment about women and guns. There has been a large increase in the number of women who are taking concealed weapons training classes. The person being interviewed was an ex-military gun instructor who made some very important points. He said that he felt, from what he's heard from many of the women he teaches, that the increase in those who are getting training and gun licenses is a reaction to the violence perpetrated against women today! Read Rabbi Leynor’s complete blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-is-real-man.html

Read the TOV Center Blog and start today -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/01/do-you-have-emergency-preparedness-plan.html

A primary part of the TOV Center’s mission is to assist people in the creation and maintenance of value-based relationships and communities . Beginning in the 1970s, and with the passage of each decade, fewer Americans are actively involved in face-to-face communities and loneliness is becoming an epidemic that has deadly consequences. Today, I want to share some quotes from three books I have recently read that are related to this topic. Read the complete blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/01/our-future-depends-on-our-ability-to.html

I was reading Short Stories By Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi by Amy-Jill Levine and found eight great tips for studying the parables of Yeshua – and for Bible study in general . Read them at -- http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2015/01/eight-great-tips-for-studying-parables.html

Around this time of year, many people make "resolutions." Most of the time, however, they never carry through on those resolutions. What does the word "resolution" mean? Webster's defines resolution as -- "the act or process of reducing to simpler form, the act of analyzing, the act of answering: solving, the act of determining, to find an answer." The first thing we learn about "resolution" is that it involves some type of action. But, the way we use the word "resolution," it is more like a promise instead of an action. Obviously, passive promises, are more times than not, are easily broken. Read Rabbi Leynor’s latest blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/01/new-year-actions-instead-of-resolutions.html

Modern readers are prone to project their beliefs and cultures on the characters and events recorded in their Bible – and  aren't  even aware of it . Are you ready for a shock? The original Hebrew Scriptures were not written to be read by the public at large. The text of the Hebrew Bible was not part of the popular culture. To the public, the scrolls of the Hebrew Scriptures were icons of a body of knowledge accessible only through the oral instruction presented by religious experts – the Temple scribes . Scribes wrote for scribes and studied it in the scribal workshop of the Temple. They used special linguistic devices and techniques to make and highlight important points. Many of these were lost or became unrecognizable in modern English translations. Today, we are going to attempt to take a trip back in time to the Temple in Jerusalem and the scribal workshop and take another look at one of the best known sections of the Hebrew text – the Garden in Eden . When the scribes ...