Biblical Heritage Center Blog

  “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights. . . . ” These Rights are not individual rights or a Free ticket to do anything. There are responsibilities attached to them. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/0470657e501e/are-unalienable-rights-civil-rights-and-human-rights-the-same

  How did the Declaration of Independence acquire ideas from the Hebrew Scriptures? In 1492 the Jews of Spain were expelled by royal decree; five years later the Jews of Portugal faced a similar fate. They were educated, wealthy, and had many contacts with Muslim and Christian communities. Over a century later, Christian colonists arrived in America with Hebrew Scriptures and ideas linked to forming a new government. Sadly, this part of our history didn’t make it into our history books or Sunday School classes. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/e419edd294e9/another-forgotten-jewish-messianic-movement

  Those words are clearly linked to the Hebrew Scriptures . So how did they get in America’s founding document? Jews didn’t appear in the American history books I read in public school. The link is there, and a great deal of information is available online. The story began when Queen Isabella asked Pope Sixtus IV for permission to set up an Inquisition to weed out heresy. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/dbc4c1a511dd/discovering-the-missing-hebrew-link

  Covenants were a common institution in the ancient Near East. The covenants of the Hebrew Bible are most similar to the covenants made among the ancient Hittites . These were made between powerful, sovereign kings and less powerful, subordinate vassals. The Hittite covenants provided protection in return for allegiance. They were always voluntary and just. They were made under oath and included no termination clause. In other words, they were meant for all time . Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/5215794c91fc/understanding-covenants-and-the-jesus-movement

  When you have been Exploring the Bible and Biblical Heritages for decades with the same associates, we do many things subconsciously without mentioning them. As I looked back over previous emails, I realized I had not been pointing them out to readers. The most important one defines what we are actually doing. I will use this email as an example -- Jesus and The Kingdom of Elohim . The correct title should have been this: Belief Models about Jesus and the Kingdom of Elohim. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/9006aa07349a/do-not-forget-we-are-talking-about-belief-models

  Being in the Kingdom of Elohim has nothing to do with salvation rituals, praying to be saved, or believing in anyone or anything. Elohim’s highest priority is human lives . A key to understanding the Kingdom of Elohim is to understand the meanings of “peacemakers.” Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/9bfa38214af2/jesus-and-the-kingdom-of-elohim-part-two

  One of the most distinguishing differences between the group led by Jesus and the other groups (Sadducees, Essenes, Pharisees, and Hasidim) is his teachings on the Kingdom of Elohim . In English translations it is called “ The Kingdom of God ” and “ The Kingdom of Heaven .” But as you will later understand, the name comes from the first story in Genesis. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/8b5665473275/jesus-and-the-kingdom-of-elohim-part-one

  As many of you already know, the teachings of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, and Luke are very different from John – and Paul’s Christ . Christians have a difficult time seeing that, but Jewish rabbis usually instantly recognize the importance of the teachings of Jesus. Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor was one of those rabbis. He said, “I think the Jewish Jesus would be much more comfortable at my synagogue than any church. Jesus was a Jew. He was raised in a Jewish home by Jewish parents. I will always remember the night Jim Myers walked into my class carrying a lot of books, and asking just as many questions.” Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/6928676d31e9/why-do-the-images-of-god-continue-to-kill-each-other

  Trillion-dollar tokens traded. Trades valued in billions of dollars made in seconds without any paperwork and without government regulations. The democratization of investing: expanding prosperity in more places, for more people. You have until 2030 to decide or there could be costly consequences. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/e42cfdc0f2fb/is-tokenization-tov

  Two of the major reasons for the poor translations is that between the 13 th century and 1560 CE chapter and verse markers were inserted into the biblical texts. I had been reading English words that I had been speaking all of my life. Genesis, however, was not written in English. The scribes did not live in Cleburne, Texas. Continue reading at – https://mailchi.mp/d200886823f6/decreasing-religious-chaos-by-having-better-bible-reading-skills

  We are now launching the BHC Lives 1 st Teams & Networks of Safety Nets Program . Its purpose is to “ empower people to create overlapping sources of Safety Nets, which will increase order and decrease chaos .” We will use this model. Each of the circles represents centers of different sources of chaos. The first kind is linked to the Bible. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/5ca09305d985/identifying-primary-sources-of-chaos-in-america-today

  I was a banker before I became a preacher and later the co-founder of the Biblical Heritage Center. Banking is in my blood and when financial markets go crazy, that always gets my attention. So that’s what I have been doing instead of writing these emails. Interestingly, I discovered something I had been looking for in my biblical research as I analyzed a bunch of financial statements. Continue at - https://mailchi.mp/3ce09c728038/chaos-or-order-the-choice-is-ours-to-make  

  In the modern world we want to know precise definitions and be able to view comprehensive legislation . However, the cultures of the scribes of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, and the Israelites shared a “ way of thinking ” that is unknown to us. Their writings have “ lists of legal sayings ” that are “ aspective .” The first story in Genesis contains some of the most important aspects. Continue to read at - https://mailchi.mp/706049fdacc0/identifying-key-aspects-to-discover-wisdom-and-create-order

  Why do we do the things that we do? Robert Morris Sapolsky, professor of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford University, has spent a career doing research on that question. I am sharing this information with you to simply make you aware of these very important facts . The information he provides also relates to the limitations of algorithms. Having an awareness provides a degree of protection from predators lurking in cyberspace. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/79256d6f062f/facts-about-our-relationships-and-futures-with-algorithms

  It is not clear what Americans mean when they talk about God. Yet references to God are everywhere. It is the rare presidential speech that doesn’t end with “God bless America.” The phrase is all over bumper stickers and billboards. The Pledge of Allegiance informs us that we are “one nation under God,” and U.S. currency assures us that “in God we trust.” Yet the philosopher Charles Taylor offers an important caveat. “Belief in God,” he writes, “isn’t quite the same thing in 1500 and 2000.” The main difference is that belief in God used to be assumed. Now, it is consciously chosen. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/8474b3574d43/protecting-our-minds-from-predator-algorithms-and-polluted-information

  The earlier internet was a human-driven relevance engine, shaped by live interactions between people. But as social media evolved, algorithms began to drive the engine. Today they gather identity signals of others and deliver them precisely to those whom they can alarm and agitate the most. Algorithms are rewriting the cultures in which we live. Culture guides what is right and wrong and what our customs, traditions, laws, and values should be. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/be4e593db3c2/algorithms-are-rewriting-our-cultures

Before : In 1983, 90 percent of what Americans called the news, plus other things they saw, watched, and heard were controlled by 50 corporations. After : By 2012, 6 corporations controlled 90% of what Americans called the news, plus other things they saw, watched, and heard on traditional media – plus social media with data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system . Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/42d8b71cf2fe/imagine-a-consensual-hallucination-experienced-daily-by-billions  

  In order to provide readers with the resources needed to understand and discuss subjects in these emails at a much deeper level , I will be uploading a series of modules. Today I uploaded Module #1 with these Key terms: social creatures, social organizations, social interaction, identities, nations, complex belief structures, religions, and science . This is foundational information required for any political, social, economic, scientific, or religious discussions. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/ab73d1a0ee5c/from-social-relationships-to-nations

  At our meeting last night, I used a new example to explain the meaning of the words of very well-known prayer. They liked it so I thought I would share it with you today. It was a Jewish prayer in the first century, and became a Christian prayer later. It was a prayer that Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor and I talked about many times. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/c6d7bf2f6230/what-would-life-on-earth-be-like

  The Hebrew University in Jerusalem posted this article today: “First burials: Compelling evidence that Neanderthal and Homo sapiens engaged in cultural exchange.” The first-ever published research on Tinshemet Cave reveals that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in the mid-Middle Paleolithic Levant not only coexisted but actively interacted, sharing technology, lifestyles, and burial customs. For more information - https://mailchi.mp/e8c211cdf163/formal-burial-customs-appear-in-israel-110000-years-ago

  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ , the Son of God. The verse above is Mark 1:1 from the New King James Version. It contains two titles of Jesus that are found throughout the New Testament . Readers of most English translations cannot see the meanings of two key words because the translators transliterated the Greek words instead of translating them. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/59d4bdaaa330/do-you-know-what-christ-and-son-of-god-mean

  The laws of nature govern many of the physical changes of your body, but the primary factors in determining your identities at different ages are stories that you hear, believe, and retell . Human institutions are also formed from stories, and over time, their stories usually change, too . These changes are usually linked to specific events, for example when Jesus became the Son of God. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/597431f22651/what-difference-does-the-story-you-tell-make

  Aspects lists are found in multiple ancient cultures of the Middle East. This accumulation of aspects serves to produce a sense of understanding of the field as a whole and provide wisdom for making decisions and judgments. These lists are part of legal documents called Alliances and Covenants. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/44968bc59f36/the-universal-genesis-alliance

  The last positively identified Akkadian text comes from the 1st century CE. The ability to read the Akkadian language faded into the distant past until 1767 CE, 9 years before the Declaration of Independence. The Stele of Hammurabi was discovered in 1901. It would be another century before it before its relationship with the Bible would be heard by people outside the circles of scholars. Today it is helping us better understand the Bible. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/5043d3d7d828/establishing-justice-and-maintaining-order-together

  One can point to multiple trends that knocked down our wiser selves. Traditional institutions that have drawn us together around more noble purposes have been overtaken by political messages. The “ Greatest Generation ,” which filled our country with a sense of moral purpose after World War II, is gone. Civility has largely broken down. Differences of opinion have now become occasions for unleashing vitriol, identifying those holding alternative views as not just misguided but evil and dangerous. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/b99fa33b82f3/how-did-we-get-here

  The first major conflict in the Jesus Movement was resolved by   the Jerusalem Council (50 CE). Even though all but one apostle had been personally taught by Jesus, the council led by Jacob (James), the brother of Jesus, and included “elders.” Their ruling became an “institutional truth” of the Jesus Movement. The councils of the Roman Catholic Church also created “institutional truths.” A major change occurred in the 16 th century. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/d59c303e43f8/know-the-difference-between-institutional-and-individual-truths

  I was working on an email about Martin Luther’s movement beginning on university campuses in 1517 CE. I took a break to write recommendations on two books -- Your Professors Are Lying to You About Israel and The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust . The first book deals specifically with five false accusations. The second book deals with Postmodernist claims that “An author didn’t actually know what was meant in a text that he or she had written, so readers were therefore free to create their own meaning for a work, unrelated to all previous interpretations.” Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/059f0dd40025/the-age-of-transparency-has-arrived-in-america

  Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor and I talked about death a lot. When we first met, besides being a pastor, I was the chaplain at the Sheriff’s Department. Later he became a chaplain at a local police department. So delivering the message, “your loved one is dead,” was one of the things we both understood. So, as an Informed Bible Reader, I learned to insert myself into Bible stories, understand what they meant to the original audiences, and then apply I discovered to my life today. I was reading the story of Cain and Able. The first thing that popped into my mind was – Who delivered the “your loved one is dead” to Adam and Eve? Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/e6afa82391a2/your-loved-one-is-dead

  Being an Informed Bible Reader makes it possible to discover things many Bible readers miss. I was updating our notes on Genesis 5 and wanted to share this one with you. The words in italics are the Bible verses. In the day that Elohim created ADAM , He made him in the likeness of Elohim . He created them male and female, and blessed them and called their name “ ADAM ” in the day they were created. (Be sure to note that “ ADAM is the name of two people ” – usually called “ Adam and “ Eve .” ) Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/28a8ced649f2/when-did-adam-and-eve-die

  Jesus did not teach people to have the right beliefs. Jesus taught that those who feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, gave shelter to the homeless, gave clothes to naked, visited the sick, and went to those in prison will enter into eternal life . Jesus taught people to use the Tov Standard the Creator used when He created the Skies and the Earth. He did not give people “Right Beliefs” Standard. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/89a6e55bc093/right-beliefs-or-life

  We explore the Bible and biblical heritages. Explore means we examine and investigate information related to the histories of writings in the Bible, as well as the histories of institutions linked to the Bible. Bible study is an important part of Exploring the Bible and biblical heritages, however, we place the appearance of Bibles, institutions, beliefs, doctrines, creeds, and statements of faith in chronological order on a timeline. This often reveals some very interesting historical and theological nuggets. Continue reading at – https://mailchi.mp/0598d1359581/the-pope-or-the-bible

  After the Civil War, “the rise of liberal Protestantism in the North” created a backlash in the ranks of most evangelical denominations against the Enlightenment, Deism, and Unitarianism. Southern evangelicals agreed with the Northern Liberal Christians that America should be a Christian nation, but the Southerners disagreed about exactly what that meant and how it could best be achieved. The Southerners viewed their Northern Liberal Christian brothers and sisters as a major barrier to reaching God’s goal. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/e15112fa386d/why-understanding-history-and-biblical-heritages-are-important

  Prominent leaders, teachers, and blue-collar workers collectively let their hair down to talk earnestly about their faith, and to ask penetrating questions about how science and faith can contradict or reinforce each other. For a good hour of discourse, goodwill filled the room. And then one church member asked the senior pastor whether he believed that the first chapter of Genesis was a literal, step-by-step, day-by-day description of the origins of the earth and of humankind. In an instant, brows furrowed and jaws tightened. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/879b881c7d90/how-science-and-faith-could-reinforce-each-other

  For the ancient writer and readers of the Hebrew account of creation, Elohim’s existence is as self-evident as life itself. There is no notion of the birth of Elohim and no biography of Elohim. It does not even begin with a statement about the existence of Elohim. Such speculation would have been unthinkable at that time. The Hebrew concept of Elohim is implicit in the narrative, not formulated abstractly and explicitly. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/759d68d66175/elohim-pagan-gods-humans-and-morals

  “ Ethnocentrism ” comes from two Greek words:  "ethnos" (“ nation ”) and  "kentron" (“ center ”). It means “ people believe their culture is central to the universe .” It is a tendency to use our culture -- values, ideas, and rules — as a starting point for thinking about and judging other people . “It is a tendency to believe that our ways are right and those without our ways are less right. https://mailchi.mp/5cb15c4f4352/get-into-the-ancient-mindset-before-you-read-the-bible

  The Hebrew word BARA is translated “created” in Genesis 1:1. The options in the graphic involve changing a heart, changing a body, changing the landscape, and changing the ground . Therefore, the first question we ask is, “ What is available to change? ” The choices are in the next verse. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/b25f6e176519/elohim-the-creator-the-mysteries-of-the-beginnings

  I know that modern Christianity is very different from the original Kingdom of Elohim Movement led by Jesus. But since Christians normally “pray in the name of Jesus,” I think it is important for Christians to understand what prayer meant to Jesus, the people that followed him, and the Jewish people, too. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/4152ad3b4d9d/understanding-the-meaning-of-prayer

  The first story in Genesis is about the creation of the Temple and Kingdom of the Creator. The Creator is the God of the Temple, and the Creator is the King of the Kingdom. Other cultures have their stories about the relationships between gods and humans – and temples and palaces. One is the Divine Right of Kings to rule. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/f9e3aad503f3/the-kingdom-of-the-creator-on-earth

  Israel’s wisdom was part of an international movement that also found literary expressions in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Such wisdom was mainly concerned with human relations and humankind’s place within creation. Jews today have a clear idea about their covenant with Abraham and Christians have a clear idea about their link to Jesus. But the Alliance in Genesis 1was made long before Abraham and Jesus were born. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/34257eb74220/understanding-gods-trust-in-us

  Today neuroscientists know how important stories are to humans. Story is the human brain’s default mode . We are genetically hardwired be listeners and tellers of stories. Our meanings and realities of the world emerge from the stories we have about the world . How do you feel when you read these words: “ “We are created in the image of Elohim the Deity of this Temple and King of this Kingdom.” Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/b1aa8571c013/let-me-tell-you-a-story-about-wisdom

  The significance of the two appearances of the Hebrew word translated “ rested ” has not been understood for over 2,000 years . It wasn’t known until scholars discovered how to translate ancient cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia, specifically tablets from Babylon. The Ezra and the other Jewish scribes knew many of the stories on those cuneiform tablets. In Genesis we find a number of verses that are linked to those ancient clay tablets. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/5ceaeac488c5/the-eternal-temple-and-kingdom-of-elohim