Quarrelsome scriptures: passages that lose you every time
The room works through Mike's question about scripture they thought they understood and then lost again. Mike's example is Exodus 4, where the Lord tries to kill Moses on the road to Egypt until Zipporah circumcises their son. The hosts add Revelation, the back half of Matthew 24, and the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel as books that need reorienting. Discussion ranges over Philemon and Onesimus (Paul never says 'free the slave' outright), cognitive dissonance in estranged families, Joseph fleecing Egypt in the famine, polygamy as described-but-disastrous, the Bible as a character guide rather than a rule book, the Code of Hammurabi ('Ham Sandwich'), Jethro's judges, Leviticus as disobedience-driven law, Jesus' love-God/love-neighbor summary, anxiety and self-focus in modern life, kids afraid to make phone calls, Ephesians as 'Jesus words' that don't click, and James 1:27's pure religion of caring for orphans and widows, with a Zimbabwe orphanage comparison.
More on Old Testament
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Does God speak more now? Indwelling Spirit versus prophets
- Does God talk to people as much now as he did in the Old Testament or New Testament?
A host asks whether God talks to people as much now as in the Old and New Testaments. Ben's key distinction: the indwelling Holy Spirit means more people can have the experience…
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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Ben's three questions: is he real, is he good, is he capricious?
- Is God even real?
- Is God good?
Ben frames three reasonable reactions to Old Testament violence: (1) maybe God isn't real; (2) maybe he isn't good; (3) maybe he's capricious.
From No. 540 · Justice is Mine
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Ask the pastor: why does Daniel keep his Hebrew name while Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego don't?
- Why does the narrative revert Daniel to his Hebrew name while Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego keep their Babylonian names?
Boova's question: Daniel is given the Babylonian name Belteshazzar, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego receive Babylonian names too — but the narrative reverts Daniel to his Israelite name while the other three keep theirs throughout.
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Ask the pastor: Ezekiel 39:17 — God telling a prophet to speak to birds and beasts
- In Ezekiel 39:17, why would God tell a prophet to speak to birds and beasts, and is there precedent for God interacting with animals this way?
Boova was struck by Ezekiel 39:17, where Ezekiel is told to speak on God's behalf to the birds and beasts, inviting them to feast on God's defeated enemies.