the Branch Davidian movement<\/a> during the 1993 siege in Waco, Texas, that eventually culminated in the deaths of 87 people.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were aware that the group\u2019s leader, David Koresh, was fixated on \u201cthe seven seals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
They thought that these were pinnipeds, of the kind that you would see swallowing buckets full of mackerel at Marineland or Sea World.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
When they were told that the \u201cseven seals\u201d were religious symbols for periods of human history, they wanted to know if there were a book in which they could read about these \u201cseals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
They had brought a religious scholar in to advise them during the standoff. \u00a0(I heard this story from him.)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
He directed them to the Bible.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where, they wondered, could they find a Bible?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their advisor told them that they could almost certainly find one in a drawer in their hotel room. \u00a0They were to look for the \u201cseven seals\u201d in the biblical book of Revelation.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Mesa, Arizona<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 http:\/\/www.breakpoint.org\/bpcommentaries\/entry\/13\/29153 \u00a0 Reading this piece, I couldn\u2019t help but recall the clueless FBI agents\u00a0who tried\u00a0to deal with the Branch Davidian movement during the 1993 siege in Waco, Texas, that eventually culminated in the deaths of 87 people. \u00a0 They were aware that the group\u2019s leader, David Koresh, was fixated on \u201cthe seven seals.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
"Not 'Getting' Religion: Boogeymen and Misunderstandings"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" http:\/\/www.breakpoint.org\/bpcommentaries\/entry\/13\/29153 Reading this piece, I couldn't help but recall the clueless FBI agents\u00a0who\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Not 'Getting' Religion: Boogeymen and Misunderstandings"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" http:\/\/www.breakpoint.org\/bpcommentaries\/entry\/13\/29153 Reading this piece, I couldn't help but recall the clueless FBI agents\u00a0who\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-04-16T08:23:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/files\/2016\/04\/800px-Elephant_seal_colony_edit.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html\",\"name\":\"\\\"Not 'Getting' Religion: Boogeymen and Misunderstandings\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-16T08:23:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-04-16T08:23:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\" http:\/\/www.breakpoint.org\/bpcommentaries\/entry\/13\/29153 Reading this piece, I couldn't help but recall the clueless FBI agents\u00a0who\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“Not ‘Getting’ Religion: Boogeymen and Misunderstandings”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Not 'Getting' Religion: Boogeymen and Misunderstandings\"","description":" http:\/\/www.breakpoint.org\/bpcommentaries\/entry\/13\/29153 Reading this piece, I couldn't help but recall the clueless FBI agents\u00a0who","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Not 'Getting' Religion: Boogeymen and Misunderstandings\"","og_description":" http:\/\/www.breakpoint.org\/bpcommentaries\/entry\/13\/29153 Reading this piece, I couldn't help but recall the clueless FBI agents\u00a0who","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2016-04-16T08:23:26+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/files\/2016\/04\/800px-Elephant_seal_colony_edit.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html","name":"\"Not 'Getting' Religion: Boogeymen and Misunderstandings\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-04-16T08:23:26+00:00","dateModified":"2016-04-16T08:23:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":" http:\/\/www.breakpoint.org\/bpcommentaries\/entry\/13\/29153 Reading this piece, I couldn't help but recall the clueless FBI agents\u00a0who","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/04\/not-getting-religion-boogeymen-and-misunderstandings.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“Not ‘Getting’ Religion: Boogeymen and Misunderstandings”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32740\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Seven](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/04\/800px-Elephant_seal_colony_edit.jpg\")
<\/a>