Biblical Heritage Center Blog

Before we can deal with that question, we must have an awareness of who is asking it – and what their agendas are! Gods and goddesses were embedded in the daily experiences of life in the ancient world. In science, gods and goddesses don’t exist. But in societies around the world there are billions of people who do believe. Therefore, “What questions about God are worth asking?” is not only worth asking – it must be asked. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/ba04c801db48/what-questions-about-god-are-worth-asking

The words “ The Son of God ” have confused and polarized Gentile Christians for over 1,900 years. BHC strives to identify, truly and accurately, the thinking in the ancient world , the thinking in the world of the Bible , and to take that where it leads us – whether toward solutions or into more problems. Our approach does not provide “ the definitive answer ” to the question. It provides information about what the words “ The Son of God ” meant to different people over those 1,900 years . This email is about what they meant to the Jewish Jesus and his Jewish followers . In the Jewish world in which Yeshua, the Jewish Jesus lived, everyone understood what the words “ The Son of God ” meant – they just disagreed over whether Yeshua was that person . Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/1764d99fc180/was-jesus-really-the-son-of-god

The Beginning of Supernatural Power and Wisdom is an ancient text we now call the first ten chapters of Genesis . The purpose of this story is to focus on the wisdom it reveals. The Creator used its Supernatural Power to reveal its Supernatural Wisdom. Continue reading at – https://mailchi.mp/be61d99d72ec/the-beginning-of-supernatural-power-and-wisdom

The starting point for understanding how Yeshua became Jesus begins in Acts 7:45 ( 1769 King James Version ): Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses , that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen. Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David . The point I want to make here is that “ Jesus is in a story with Moses and David .” There was over a thousand years between the dates in which they lived (based on the tradition). So how did Jesus get into that story? Find out at - https://mailchi.mp/85e70ee03b5a/how-yeshua-became-jesus

Is there a direct connection between Jesus and Christianity? Find the answer at – https://mailchi.mp/08642cc7d375/the-beginning-of-christianity

"Believing in Jesus" is a basic requirement for being a member of a Christian denominational church, nondenominationl church, many cults and as well as individuals that "self-identify" as Christian. We created the  Real Yeshua Project  to share  factual, cultural and linguistic-based information  about  Yeshua  --  the original Jewish Jesus .  http://www.biblicalheritage.org/real-yeshua-project.html

I was raised in a religion in which “ the Bible ” was “ a book of answers .” The words below came from a bumper sticker I saw and it describes what we believed perfectly: The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it! Being surrounded by people that believe the same things you do is a very comfortable situation . Everyone shares the same beliefs and knows the “ right answers ” – and, most importantly, they know the questions that shouldn’t be asked ! When you study the Bible with a group of “ Explorers of Biblical Heritages ” it is a very different experience. People have different beliefs, conflicting answers and ask lots of questions . Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/8c89f8b9d9f7/are-you-seeing-the-questions-the-bible-raises

Before the coronavirus unleashed the most severe health crisis in a century, experts were already focused on preparing for two major storms that will hit America in 2020s. The first storm reappears every fifty years in America’s history. It unleashes a major economic crisis. In every previous cycle, this has been a very painful and wrenching experience for many Americans . ● Policies that worked for the previous fifty years stop working and became the cause of significant harm to the society. ● As the crisis intensified, what had been regarded as “common sense” is discarded as leaders grasp for straws to save them. ● Members of the political elite class insist that nothing is wrong with the economic institutions they created and control. They tell people to just hang on, the “old normal” will return, and the institutions that caused the problems will save them. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/4d55934f1baa/emerging-successfully-from-three-major-storms-that-w...

The human brain is a powerful belief engine. It processes massive amounts of information flowing into it, but we can use it until the brain chooses a belief model. We perceive what the belief model it has allows us to see. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/369c4bdc7685/how-changing-a-belief-changes-what-you-actually-see

Our realities -- waking lives and dreams -- emerge from the brain’s billions of zapping cells and trillions of synaptic connections . It is from this inner universe of synaptic constellations that human decisions arise and imaginations are forged. All of our life experiences take place in storms of activity within the computational material of our brains . 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 we are immersed in our irrefutable reality . It is our awareness of everything we sense, believe and think. It includes the ways we perceive ourselves, others and our world, as well as our appetites, desires, longing and fears. We all assume our “irrefutable reality” to be that of the entire objective world . We all live in our own bubbles of rightness , in which we are the ultimate standard for determining what is right . ...

Beliefs play key roles in dividing people today. One fact has become very clear to me as I studied religious, political and economic belief systems over the past thirty-five years is that beliefs change . Something I didn’t know until a few years ago is that the biology of beliefs doesn’t change . Until the 21 st century, science had not discovered “ how people know .” But, today we have a growing body of factual evidence about “ how people know ” and it is called “ The Biology of Beliefs .” “ Believing ” is a biological process and it is the same in all people. The first step in understanding it is learning what it means to be a genetic creature. Understanding the Biology of Beliefs will play a key role in bringing people together . Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/6fde43dae5a4/before-we-can-have-successful-talks-about-beliefs-we-must-be-able-to-talk-about-this-we-are-all-genetic-creatures

When Christians have “ God Talks ” they always end up having a “ Jesus Talk ” too. That’s when they usually experience those “ fight or flee ” moments. I know that because I have experienced it many times! One fact that is very clear is this -- over the past 2,000 years there have been many different beliefs about Jesus . So, let’s begin by considering which of the statements “ feels ” the best to you. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/df3da6333f90/creating-transparency-and-how-to-have-a-jesus-talk

My church was a Southern Baptist Church . An image that was burned into my mind as a kid was the preacher holding his Bible in the air and saying something like this, “ This is the inerrant infallible Word of God . It contains all truths ! ” For people sitting in the pews with me, this was “ the man of God ” delivering “ a message from God ” to us. It was “ God telling us what he was ” and “ God telling us what the Bible was .” Since God will also be the one that decides whether we spend eternity in Heaven or Hell, who would consider disagreeing with “ the man of God ”? Read more at - https://mailchi.mp/a9ac6c1f4a44/one-little-fact-that-wasnt-in-the-preachers-sermons

In my story the primary source of my “ God beliefs ” was my church . Every week we gathered at “ the house of God ” and heard stories about God told by the “ man of God ” – an ordained minister . My church belonged to Southern Baptist Conference . It was the primary source of my beliefs about God – and I knew absolutely nothing about it . . I don’t know about others, but since that was where I heard about God and Jesus, I assumed it was very old institution. It had to be! The story of John the Baptist was in my Bible. He was the person that baptized Jesus! Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/6c016ff0ecb4/i-have-a-baptist-story-what-about-you

In my last email I talked about how Experiencing the world leads to an “Awareness of God.” One of the most important scientific discoveries in history, in my opinion, is the biology of beliefs – the role the brain plays in creating what individuals view as reality . Two people can be standing side-by-side observing the same thing, but experience it through very different realities. Reality is a narrative played out completely inside the skull. The brain serves up a narrative — and each of us believes whatever narrative our brain tells. This is something that most people do not know, but their lives are being affected by it every day. This is based on facts and it will sound crazy to billions of people, but in the near future, it will be something everyone knows – like the earth rotates as it orbits around the sun! Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/046a031a1f7a/having-the-god-talk-part-3

Everybody is struggling with something. To turn the topic around just a little bit, when somebody’s struggling, the right response is not to jump into the middle of that person’s suffering, to commiserate and deal with it, or worse yet, to try to solve it. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/5d73661bbb95/how-to-help-someone-thats-in-the-deepest-darkest-spot-in-their-life

Historically, during difficult and uncertain times, people suddenly turn their attention to God or spirituality. It also does something else; it gets everyone focused on finding out what caused this bad thing to happen. At the top of list in religious circles is Satan , often followed by “ the Jews ,” “ the rich ,” etc. Conspiracy theories sprout like weeds . I have been seeing all of these things on social media and in other places. People who never used to talk about God are bringing God (and things like those above) into their conversations – a lot of innocent people often get blamed or hurt – so, that’s another reason to have a “God Talk” now! Continue reading at -- https://mailchi.mp/2823525cd273/having-the-god-talk-part-2

America has changed dramatically since the coronavirus arrived . Not only are we living with a very dangerous health threat, we are facing very serious economic challenges. No one has ever faced a “ double black swan event ” like this before. A “ black swan ” is “ a major challenge that was completely unexpected .” Historically, during difficult and uncertain times, people suddenly turn their attention to God or spirituality. I am already seeing waves of people who never used to talk about God bring God into discussions about the virus and the economy. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/d23d3c6bdbfc/it-is-time-for-america-to-have-a-god-talk-part-1