Biblical Heritage Center Blog

Educating people about Belief Systems is an important part of the TOV Center’s mission. Why? Beliefs drive behaviors. When beliefs change behaviors change. If you were born before 1980 you know the way people behave in America has changed dramatically in your lifetime. However, very few people consider the changes in belief systems that produced those behavioral changes. Continue reading at -- https://mailchi.mp/d0f5379abcc0/why-american-democracy-does-not-work-for-citizens-today

Both stories in Genesis are about “ the ADAM, ” but the ancient author uses differences between what that word means to teach the very important lessons – and there are some “ very big differences .” Read the entire story at - https://mailchi.mp/cbb8ca380d61/two-very-different-adams-in-the-creation-stories

“ God ” is the “ big elephant in the room ” in many conversations and relationships. Everyone knows the elephant is there but no one talks about it – even though it is often a key factor in disagreements over some very important things . In order to have those conversations people need a “ God Talk Vocabulary! ” https://mailchi.mp/d0d195350eed/building-a-god-talk-vocabulary

I had always been taught at my church that the two stories at the beginning of Genesis were two versions of one creation account. We were wrong about that too. By the time we finish reading the Garden in Eden Story you will be amazed at the number of differences between it and the first creation story. https://mailchi.mp/7dcc752a08e5/two-polar-opposite-creation-stories

One of the most famous, and for Christians, theologically important stories in the Bible is the account of the “ Garden of Eden .” However, because chapter and verse breaks were inserted over a thousand years after the story was written, it is very difficult for modern readers to see the words in their original context. Continue reading at -- https://mailchi.mp/88c602473c35/a-surprise-beginning-of-the-garden-of-eden-story

One of the foundational principles of the first account in Genesis is this -- God is divine and man is human . This contrast underlies all biblical thinking. The “ likeness of God ” is “ the likeness of Him who is unlike man.” The words “ image and likeness of God ” conceal more than they reveal. https://mailchi.mp/590323b8c830/do-not-forget-that-god-is-divine-and-man-is-human

The first account in Genesis begins and ends with mysteries. The first mystery is that before the beginning, the unidentified god (the Creator), darkness and deep waters existed. The account ends with the second mystery --  Creator’s blessing of the Seventh Day. in the eyes of ancient readers the Seventh Day would have be seen as the most important of the seven days. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/635982a9bfc9/the-mystery-of-the-third-blessing

The blessing of the Creator reveals His vision for humanity – and He empowered humans to make that vision a reality. It is a vision (game plan) for “The Perfecting of Humanity.” Continue reading at -  https://mailchi.mp/1640d7885be3/the-creators-vision-for-human-lives-and-societies

One group pictures themselves as people created from parts of a dead god. The other group views themselves as individuals with the presence of a living god. Which way do you view yourself? Read the complete email at -- https://mailchi.mp/707bfb43fcf4/all-humans-are-spiritual-equals

How many of us have spent a lot of our lives being wrong -- not about everything – but about some important things. Now let’s expand that thought to generations of people who lived their whole lives being wrong about some big things ? Continue reading at -- https://mailchi.mp/e35c5751ab8d/but-what-if-a-lot-of-us-have-been-wrong-about-a-lot-of-things-maybe-about-life-after-death

As we study the words of the opening accounts of Genesis we will help you see the its words through the eyes of the scribes too – and you will be amazed by the ancient wisdom embedded in stories you may have heard all of your life . Continue reading at -- https://mailchi.mp/b99891c5fd90/discovering-ancient-wisdom-embedded-in-the-words-of-genesis

For most of my life, when I read or heard the word “ Earth ” – anywhere -- the picture that popped into my mind was the familiar photograph of the Earth that has been taken from space. How could it be anything else! Well it did!!! Continue reading at -- https://mailchi.mp/946fb111c5e9/when-my-bible-became-a-time-machine

To invoke the “ Creator” as the only basis of the “‘ truths” of the new nation would be a very authoritarian and religious approach to truth. In his original rough draft, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “ We hold these truths sacred and undeniable . . .” But that is not what we find in the Declaration of Independence. Continue reading at -- https://mailchi.mp/11d59e91da3a/knowing-the-difference-between-self-evident-truths-and-religious-truths

Who is the “ Creator ” in the Declaration of Independence ? Most people mistakenly believe that Thomas Jefferson wrote the above words so it must be his God. But Thomas Jefferson did not write the Declaration of Independence and present it to the Continental Congress. Continue reading at -- https://mailchi.mp/da40bbd467a9/thomas-jefferson-and-the-creator-in-the-declaration-of-independence

Abraham is a key figure in three monotheistic religions whose members make up over one-half of the world’s population today. That makes him a central figure in Jewish, Christian and Muslim beliefscapes ( belief systems ). Continue reading at -- https://mailchi.mp/e6cf8d173293/abraham-was-not-jewish-christian-or-muslim

The TOV Standard is found in the first chapter of Genesis . Its presence is reflected in stories throughout Jewish and Christian Scriptures . However, benefiting from the TOV Standard does not require belief in any theology or relationship to any organized religion. The TOV Standard transforms the ways people make decisions, judge human behaviors, create relationships and work with others to change things . Continue reading at -- https://mailchi.mp/b6a511f779c9/how-the-tov-standard-can-change-your-life-and-relationships

The Bible opens with some radical new ideas for the ancient world: ● The god that created the Heaven and the Earth “used a standard” to measure its work. ● “ Human life” was the highest value on that divine standard. ● That god also “created all humans in its image.” But one of the most radical ideas of all was this – continue reading at – https://mailchi.mp/aed027ba0477/hating-with-a-divine-standard

The English word “ prophet ” is a transliteration of the Greek word προφήτης which means “ an interpreter of oracles or of other hidden things .” The Greek meaning is the one many people attach to the word “ prophet ” in their Bibles. But it is very different from the Hebrew meaning -- which is the one that the Jewish Jesus and his first generation of followers had . Learn more by clicking on -- https://mailchi.mp/33ebc7fba5fd/prophets-and-prophecies

Read this  quick rundown of major Christian beliefs about what is required for one to “be saved” in chronological order at --  https://mailchi.mp/b7d40ba9a19a/how-christian-beliefs-about-salvation-have-changed-bhc-quick-notes