It is quite hard to believe that it was 43 years ago that John Lennon was shot and killed outside the Dakota apartments in NY. So many of us were in shock. How could this happen? Answer– a deranged fan with easy access to a weapon. It is the plague that continues to destroy our country. On a much happier note, this past Wednesday my wife and I got to go here the Fab Four re-create on the original instruments... Read more
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/08/opinions/christmas-cancelled-bethlehem-palestinian-christians-rabie/index.html The news is both sad and bad. I received an emergency email from a Palestinian Christian shop owner last month after the fight between Israel and Hamas had begun. All tourism had dried up suddenly, and his shop needed funds to stay in business. His is an olive wood carving business. I take tour groups to his shop when I am there, and the last time I was there, he gave me this—– Last year we went to the... Read more
https://www.andymilleriii.com/articles/sola-scriptura-with-ben-witherington-iii Read more
A clear sign that Christmas, or the end of the world. must be at hand is that my North Carolina doughnuts, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, have been embraced in France. Now back in 2013 when I was on sabbatical at my alma mater, Durham University in England suddenly a Krispy Kreme shop opened in downtown Durham amidst all the old shops. And was mobbed. Here below is the proof that Krispy Kreme is sign of the endtimes, or at least Christmas... Read more
On our tour of sacred sites we went to one small Protestant Church, St. Paul’s Episcopal which is parked next to a military base, and has a very transient congregation composed mostly of soldiers and their families. Here are a few pictures of this little church. Not surprisingly, all the major basilicas and larger churches in the old downtown area are Catholic. The largest one of all is quite spectacular, but let’s start with a shot of Christmas tree decorated... Read more
THE SECRET Hidden reality Like life in the womb Hidden reality Like death in the tomb Hidden away For the appropriate day A tale that’s never told, A trail that’s long gone cold, A mystery unrevealed, A truth that is concealed, Seems useless on first glance. Who said there was a secret, Who told us we must keep it Who set the search in motion And stirred up our devotion If ‘clueless’ was our stance? Call... Read more
MOTHER LOAD From the very beginning The burden was clear Sometimes bearable Sometimes severe Ate from the apple Shared it with him Disobeyed the order Indulged the whim. What was the outcome? The fruit of the act? She ‘knew’ good and evil? She experienced it in fact? Did the earth creature join her? Did he crumble into dust? Did he die in an instant? Or just tumble into lust? To love and to cherish Becomes ‘desire and dominate’ Objectify... Read more
Temple Beth-el is indeed a very old synagogue. Here’s an old snapshot….. Synagogues are places where history is highly valued and treasured and rightly so. In the cabinets in the hallway of the synagogue we find all sorts of things ancient and modern including an historic Torah scroll rescued from the Warsaw Ghetto before the Nazis destroyed things. But there are also modern gifts to the synagogue for instance….. Read more
Continuing with our tour of Temple Beth-el (i.e. house of God), there are many other spectacular features to take note of, for example the gorgeous tapestries woven and framed and hung to the right and left of the high altar. Th The top one shows images of creation with the word Hallelujah (as in Praise Yahweh) above it in Hebrew, and the bottom one was the same superscript but below it images of the various festivals of Judaism. Outside the... Read more
There are some spectacular churches and synagogues in San Antonio and we fortunately got to take the sacred sites tour while at the SBL last month. This post will be about the largest of the synagogues— Temple Beth-el… This is in fact a huge synagogue which indicates a very large Jewish community in San Antonio. It was quite difficult to get pictures of the outside of the synagogue so I had to settle for a stock image, while concentrating on... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In