Biblical Heritage Center Blog

Thanks to one of Jesus’s disciples, billions of Christians have prayed and still pray a common prayer. It is probably the most widely known prayer in history. In this blog I want to focus on the Jewish view of prayer. It is very different from the way I was taught to pray in my church. One thing Jesus did not have to teach his disciples was how to pray. They were all Jews, Hebrew speakers and had participated in the Shabbat and synagogue services as a regular part of life. Read the complete blog at --  https://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2018/10/learning-how-to-pray-lords-prayer.html

The foundational institution of a “ Society of Shalom ” is “ the Family .” It is the most important and most sacred institution of a Society of Shalom . When God blessed the first two humans He created “ the family .” His blessing revealed His vision of the kind of family the humans are to create, with instructions for males and females to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. Read the complete blog at -- https://lives1st.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-foundation-of-society-of-shalom.html

The Sixth Day of Creation is packed with instructions, principles and wisdom most Bible readers are completely unaware of. Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor and Jim Myers discovered the things below, and more, embedded in the Hebrew words of the account of the Sixth Day of Creation in Genesis 1 . ● Humans share an Earthly soul with the animals. ● “The image of God” is a “them” -- not a “him” or a “her. ● God’s model of “parenting.” ● Gender equality in the ancient text. ● “Impulse control” and “self-discipline.” ● God’s model for exercising power. ● Purposes of life. ● Jewish & Christian “images of God” are different. ● Judaism & Christian Religions view history differently. View the discussions between Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor and Jim Myers about the Sixth Day of Creation by clicking on the links below. ● Creation of Animal s   (6:37 minutes) ​ ● Creation of Humans # 1   (6:41 minutes) ​ ● Creation of Humans # 2   (6:31 minu...

From the moment we awaken in the morning, we are surrounded with a rush of light and sounds and smells. Our senses are flooded. All we have to do is wake up every day and without thought or effort each of us is immersed in his or her unique irrefutable reality . We naturally assume that our “ irrefutable reality ” is “ the reality ” of the entire world. Why would anyone ever stop to consider there’s something beyond that reality? The brain controls the organs that make us aware of the world outside of our bodies. They combine to produce the navigation system that guides us through life and keeps us from or causes us to bump into each other. Read the complete blog at https://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2018/10/realities-elephants-riders.html

Humans are created “ in the image of God ” is a very important tenet of Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity; but their understandings of what “ in the image of God ” means are very different. Since both views are based on the same scripture, we decided to examine the ancient Hebrew text in which the phrase first appears. It is found in the opening account of Genesis (1:1-2:4a), specifically in the events of Day Six. Let’s allow that context to define the ancient meaning of “ in the image of God .” 24 And God said, “Let the Earth cause to bring forth a living soul according to her kind; a large animal (cattle, oxen), small moving creature, and wild predatory beast of the Earth, according to her kind.” And it was so. The first thing God does on the sixth day is command the Earth to bring forth a “ living souls according to her kind .” The Hebrew word NEFESh is the word translated “ soul .” The presence of a soul indicates the presence of life and the soul is the source of ...

An important goal Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor and Jim Myers shared at the beginning of our journey was discovering how our religions, Rabbinic Judaism and Protestant Christianity , began as two sects of Second Temple Judaism and became two mutually exclusive monotheistic religions . ● Mutually exclusive means a person can belong to one but not both religions. ● Monotheistic means both religions believe that only one God exists. From my (Jim Myers) perspective the primary difference between our religions was that they have very different beliefs about God. From Jeffrey’s perspective beliefs about who God is are less important than doing what the God of his Scriptures instructed and commanded people to do. Read the complete blog at -- https://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2018/10/tracing-histories-of-our-religions.html

In the midst of political campaigns, including the last election season, one often hears appeals to the American founding principles and the political visions of the founding fathers. Which political traditions and thinkers shaped the ideas and aspirations of the American founding? Late eighteenth-century Americans were influenced by diverse perspectives, including British constitutionalism, classical and civic republicanism, and Enlightenment liberalism. . . Another, often overlooked or discounted source of influence is the Bible. Its expansive influence on the political culture of the age should not surprise us because the population was overwhelming Protestant, and it informed significant aspects of public culture, including language, letters, education, and law. No book at the time was more accessible or familiar than the English Bible, specifically the King James Bible. And the people were biblically literate. . . The phrases and cadences of the King James Bible infl...

We are experiencing a society unlike any generation has ever experienced before. It is the product of an evolved democratic society, groundbreaking scientific discoveries and powerful new computer driven technologies that are placing new power options in the hands of the masses – and delivering relentless attacks of weaponized memes against them . Old Realities institutions are incapable of, not only protecting Americans, but also of making sense of life in America today. Only a New Reality model can protect us from these new dangers and equip us to take advantage of the new opportunities we have to make our lives much safer, better and happier . ● The first step for equipping ourselves to survive and thrive in this new world is by becoming aware of the 21 st century scientific model of what humans are -- Humans are creatures that are genetically structured, memes driven and socially dependent for survival . ● The next step is to become aware of the roles genes, memes a...

Watch discussions between Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor and Jim Myers about the ancient wisdom principles and values embedded in the Hebrew texts of the first creation account in Genesis. Genesis 1 Part 1 consists of eight very short videos that cover the first four days of creation. They have been posted on Facebook, but you do not have to be a Facebook member to watch them. When you click on the play button of each video, a “Sign Up Screen” will pop up -- just click on the “ Not Now ” option and the video will play. Go to the TOV Center Videos Page to find links to the eight short videos online – CLICK HERE .

Everyone has a right to believe and say what they want in America. Those who value the teachings of Yeshua have the responsibility of making his voice and Gospel are heard too . Make sure you understand what Yeshua, the Jewish Jesus, actually taught. Read the complete blog at -- https://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-christian-doctrine-that-destroyed.html

To speak about the books of the Bible is misleading on more than one account . Historically, the Hebrew Bible is a collection of scrolls, and scrolls cannot be simply equated with books. The difference between the two is not merely a matter of form; it affects the mode of writing, editorial strategies, and the way in which readers use the text. 1 The ancient world was a world without books. Reading and writing were restricted to a professional elite; the majority of the population was nonliterate. If we are to understand the making of the Hebrew Bible, we must familiarize ourselves with the scribal culture that produced it. They practiced their craft in a time in which there was neither a trade in books nor a reading public of any substance. Scribes wrote for scribes . 2 Reading was an oral activity . In order for the message to reach its destination, however, the written text needed a voice. Texts were for the ears, rather than the eyes. Written documents were read aloud, e...