Annual Meeting of Society of Biblical Literature I’ve been a member of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) since 1999. During this time, I’ve attended all of its Annual Meetings except one. They are always held the weekend before Thanksgiving. Last weekend, I attended it at the large San Diego Convention Center in downtown San Diego, which is located near the Pacific Ocean. Every year, this gathering of thousands of Bible scholars takes place in about eight different cities in... Read more
The 1973 Oil Embargo The traditional two-state solution for the now sixty-year old Israeli-Palestinian conflict has always been a non-starter. I decided this fifty years ago, right after I became an interested observer of this conflict due to the 1973 oil embargo that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries foisted upon all nations that traded with Israel. That greatly affected the U.S. because it was Israel’s #1 ally and trading partner. The result of this oil embargo, which was greatly... Read more
4B Movement A female movement has started in South Korea called “the 4B movement. It is a radical feminist movement that opposes male dominance and overall mistreatment of women by advocating “4 Nos: (1) no dating men, (2) no sex with men, (3) no marriage with men, and (4) no children with men. It seems to be an extension of women refusing to have children. Low Birth Rates There is a serious problem in much of the world in which... Read more
Just about all Christians celebrate two rituals no matter what church denomination they belong to: (1) water baptism once and (2) communion service often. Jesus instituted the latter at the so-called Last Supper, which was the Passover meal. All three synoptic gospels of the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—tell about it. The Gospel of John does not record it, and this omission suggests that its author knew that previous writings had been circulating among believers—such as perhaps one or more... Read more
Nearly all nations are presently being represented at the United Nations’ climate change conference, called COP29. It is being held from November 11th to the 22nd in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Nations are discussing items about the increasing temperature of earth’s atmosphere that has been caused mostly, or entirely, by humans burning fossil fuels since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, in the mid-1850s. Climate scientists claim that this temperature increase of about 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit is worsening weather... Read more
Jack Graham is the senior pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano (suburb north of Dallas), Texas, a 50,000-member Southern Baptist congregation. He was a strong supporter in reelecting Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency. Shortly before the November 5th election, Pastor Graham attended the National Faith Advisory Board summit in Georgia, a group of church leaders who gathered to pray for Trump to become president. Mr. Graham prayed there, “We love you, Jesus, and we also love our country.... Read more
Many Arab American Democrats voted against Vice President Kamala Harris for president—either not voting at all or voting for Republican Donald Trump—due to anger toward her for not taking a more Palestinian position about the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza against Hamas. I believe Ms. Harris had made an important mistake when asked if she disagreed with anything President Joe Biden had done during his presidency. She paused before answering, as if she had not thought about that question. She... Read more
Democrats and others have been scrambling for the past week to understand how the Republican and former President Donald Trump defeated, and decisively so, Democrat and present Vice President Kamala Harris. I’m one of those others. The pollsters had it wrong again, saying this election was going to be really close, especially in the seven swing states. It was not close at all. Trump won all seven swing states, he won the popular vote which pollsters said would not happen,... Read more
America apostatizes! “What’s that?” you say. It means the USA has fallen. “Fallen from what?” you say. Fallen from that which is good. It’s in the Bible, well, sort of. During Passion Week, perhaps two or three days before Jesus was arrested, condemned, and then crucified, he delivered a famous sermon about the future to his apostles while they all sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem and the beautiful temple buildings below. Jesus predicted concerning those buildings made... Read more
Harris Calls for Unity One more day until Election Day, which is Tuesday, to decide our president for the next four years. Experts are saying it’s the most important presidential election in several decades, and I agree. Both candidates–Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican and former President Donald Trump have been traveling about the country holding political rallies to gain votes in these closing days of their political campaigns. And there is quite a contrast between their two messages.... Read more
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