Biblical Heritage Center Blog

  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