THE BONDING A cold and listless season, And full of cheerless cheer, When hopes are raised and dashed again And joy dissolves in tears. The search for endless family The search for one true Friend Leaves questers tired, disconsolate With questions without end. Best find some potent pleasure quick Some superficial thrill Than search for everlasting love When none can fill that bill. So hide yourselves in shopping And eating ‘til you burst, Use endless... Read more
A beautiful Christmas original, penned by the former lead singer of Mr. Mister— Richard Page. Read more
Under a convent near the modern Basilica of the Annunciation, lies an ancient home, possibly first century, which archaeologists are considering possibly the home of Jesus’ family. Here is a link to an article about the work of archaeologist Ken Dark there. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a34826099/jesus-childhood-home-unearthed/ What makes this a real possibility is that clearly no one would make up the notion that a messianic figure came from this town in Galilee. There were no prophecies about it, and yet consistently Jesus is... Read more
MENTAL WINTER Mental winter Very cold Thoughts are frozen Seeming old. Can’t get started Can’t break free Breaking ice Is breaking me. No warm feelings No warm thoughts Always fishing Nothing caught. Stuck in neutral Stuck in place Hardly moving From this space. Inspiration Dead and gone No new notions Woebegone When’s this ending Did I go wrong Always singing The same old song? I’m left wondering What’s the point? Why’s my brain... Read more
BEN: In some ways it does not matter whether we call the dramatic work of God in the OT the work of the spirit or living presence of Yahweh, or the work of what later believers called the Holy Spirit. Either way, it was God who empowered the miracles, inspired the prophets etc. And I think it is important that we NOT read back into the OT later Christian theology about the Holy Spirit, because that does a disservice to... Read more
BEN: Have you read Clayton Croy’s excellent book on Mark 16.8 not being the original ending of Mark’s Gospel, the end being mutilated, but that perhaps we can parse it out from Mt. 28, omitting the guards at the tomb story, and referring to an appearance to the women in Jerusalem and one to various disciples in Galilee. This is based on the observation that Matthew follows Mark quite closely, including 95% of his Gospel with a 52% verbatim rate.... Read more
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