Grumbling about food is about as bad as idolatry

1 Corinthians 10:1 Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5 However with most of them, God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 Don’t be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Let’s not commit sexual immorality, as some of them committed, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell. 9 Let’s not test Christ, as some of them tested, and perished by the serpents.

The above is a list of three sinful attitudes exhibited by the Israelites while they were traveling from Egypt to the Promised Land. So what's the next item on that list? Murder, theft, slander? No. Here it is:

10 Don’t grumble ...

That's right. Don't grumble. Why so important? Perhaps because, if I grumble, I'm not acknowledging God's goodness toward me.

What were the Israelites grumbling about? 

Exodus 16 tells us about the first episode of grumbling by the Israelites. They complained about the food -- they didn't see where they were going to get any, and when they did get it, it wasn't like the food they had in Egypt.

How many times have I complained about the amount and variety of the food I have to eat, or about how it was prepared, or about how much work I had to obtain it, or how much there was of it?

I recommend a previous post in this blog, which tells us that the Biblical attitude is forgiveness of anyone who has harmed us.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 990

 

Things I have spotted that may be of interest to others. Graphic from NASA.

Bible Scholar Ken Schenck on the different interpretations of early Genesis.

Schenck also has posted an analysis of what the Bible says about God's omniscience. It's not as straightforward as I thought..

Sojourners has an article on ministering to Christians with dementia (usually in their home). Sojourners allows you to read two articles a month, free.

Gizmodo has a chilling report on the firing of the Centers for Disease Control head, less than a month after she was confirmed, by Rober F. Kennedy, Jr., and how he is not using real science in his decision-making.  

Gizmodo also reports that a significant number of people say that they are in some sort of relationship with a chatbot.

Erika Kirk: forgiveness in the New Testament

Charlie Kirk was assassinated. At his funeral, his widow, Erika, the mother of their two small children, said that she forgave the assassin. A remarkable statement, and one I'm not sure I could have made, under similar circumstances. President Trump, who also spoke at the funeral, made clear that he believes in retribution, and not in forgiveness. (He ran partly on promising retribution.)

See here and here on the events above.

The Bible teaches forgiveness. Here are some scriptures that show that:

From the Lord's Prayer: Matthew 6:12b Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors....14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (all scripture from the World English Bible) This section is the only part of the Lord's Prayer that Jesus expounded on, apparently.)

Acts 7:59 They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 He kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Luke 23:33 When they came to the place that is called “The Skull”, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, 45a that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. 

Romans 12:19 Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”

Thanis for reading.

Sunspots 989

 

Things that I have spotted that may be of interest to others:

Gizmodo reports that spending too much time reading or scrolling while defecating increases your likelihood of getting hemorrhoids. 

Gizmodo also reports that some ant queens are capable of producing offspring of a different species.

Politico reports that Artificial Intelligence war games have a disturbing tendency to escalate into global war.

Biologos points out that several of the most important Christian thinkers of the past did not believe that the Genesis 1-2 were to be taken as describing literal 24 hour days, in sequence.   These thinkers included Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and B..B. Warlield.

Ken Schenck discusses the concept of creation out of nothing, and concludes that our current understanding of that idea has not existed (!) until recently.

Politico says that Apple is making a forthcoming artificial intelligence ability so that it's more likely to please Donald Trump.

Nature reports that scientists are discussing the possibility of producing "mirror life," organisms made from  molecules that are mirror images of those naturally occurring in living things.

Today is "square root day" -  9 + 16 = 25.

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 988

A Zdnet article tells us that most attempts to use Artificial Intelligence in businesses do not really help those businesses.

National Public Radio discusses the recent renovation of the White House rose garden.

Joel Edmund Anderson explains Ecclesiastes. 

The Evidence is Plain blog describes how the Answers in Genesis Ark Encounter departs from AiG's own supposed standard, of following literally what the Bible says. The Ark Encounter includes lots of made-up stuff about Noah.

Gizmodo reports that the Trump family has made billions in cryptocurrency.

NPR discusses the use of "um" in speaking.

Thanks for reading.

New Testament teaching on care of the environment

 New Testament teaching on care of the environment

Most of the usual teaching on what the Bible says about care of the environment is from the Old Testament. However, there are two passages from the New Testament that also argue that we should be caring carefully for the environment. They are indirect, but their urgency is important.
Romans 1:20 tells us that observing and learning about nature are part of God’s revelation to humans. (So does Psalm 19:1-4). If that is so, isn’t that another reason to try to preserve nature as well as we can? The Bible is one of the ways that God reveals Himself to us. For a long time, Christians have believed that the Bible should be translated into the language people are most familiar with, so that that revelation may be as clear as possible. Similarly, it would seem that God's revelation through nature should be as clear as possible. A person is more likely to see God in a pristine stream than in a polluted river. Probably seeing bison herds roam freely in Western North America gave people a glimpse of one aspect of God’s power and majesty that they can’t really get now. Therefore, helping to preserve nature in as good a condition as we can is one way to bring people to a saving knowledge of Christ. Not the most direct way, and probably not the most effective, for many people, but it is still a way to do this.

Colossians 1:15-20 says, of Christ, that “in Him all things hold together.” (ESV -- other versions have similar language.) That passage also says that He is working to reconcile all things to Himself, and working to make peace through the blood of the cross. As Christians, we believe that it is our duty to be His instruments in reconciling sinners to Christ, and to help Him in the ministry of making peace. In fact, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, tell us that:  18 But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Doesn’t it follow that we should also participate in Christ’s work of sustaining, or holding “all things” together, including endangered species and ecosystems or biological communities? (I realize that there are other places in the New Testament where reconciliation and peacemaking are mentioned, or implied, and this is probably the only one that mentions Christ's sustaining work. But that doesn't mean that His sustaining work can be dismissed, or that we have no responsibility to be His instruments in doing it.)

This is an excerpt from a post on July 16, 2009, modified slightly.

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 987

 

Quanta magazine on the 100 birthday of quantum mechanics.

Gizmodo analyzes the results of DOGE's activity. There wasn't much money actually saved.

MSN and other outlets report on a study of the singing patterns of leopard seals. They are a lot like nursery rhymes.

MSN a nd other sources report that a man stayed under water for almost a half hour, after ingesting pure Oxygen.

National Public Radio reports on a push to stop using the common Mercator projection map, which expands the apparent size of geographic features near the poles, and seriously downsizes the appearance of the African continent.

Thanks for reading.

The "Begats"

Some of you may be familiar with the King James Version of the Bible, which occasionally uses language that is not quite right for the 2020s. 

If you heard, or read, a lot of that Bible, you probably remember the begats, long lists  of who parented (almost always who fathered) whom, often with little or no comment on the individuals in such lists. Here's a sample, from 1 Chronicles chapter 1:

1:1 Chronicles 1:10 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be mighty upon the earth. 11 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

13 And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth,

18 And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber.

20 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

34 And Abraham begat Isaac. The sons of Isaac; Esau and Israel.

The Bible search web page that I use says that there are 139 instances of the word, begat, in the Bible, mostly in the Old Testament. That doesn't count different forms of the word, including a begotten in John 3:16. We don't use the word, begat, under ordinary circumstances. But, if used over and over again, as the King James does, it is likely to stick in our minds.

What lessons can we learn from the many begats in the Bible? One lesson is that the Bible accommodated the paternal society of the ancient Hebrews. It also has non-paternal features, such as the matter of the daughters of Zelophehad getting property - see Numbers 26-27, 36, Joshua 17:3, 1 Chronicles 7:15; the spiritual leadership of Moses's sister Miriam; the leadership of Deborah (Judges 4-5); Jesus respecting his mother in association with his first recorded miracle; the teaching ministry of Priscilla;  and the spiritual leadership of Samson's mother. God uses both paternal and maternal features. in the unfolding story of the Bible. God allowed the paternal structure of ancient societies -- He adapts His messages to His audiences.

Another lesson is that everyone is important to God. All those names were of people who were important to themselves, and important in relationships with others. They had parents, children, other relatives, and co-workers and friends. The Bible will  endure, and, at least by name, so will the Ludim and Heth and the others.

Another lesson is that God dealt with families, such as the Levites, or the descendants of David, or the Rechabites.

Another lesson is that God is not in a hurry. Presumably, He could have used a condensed list of people, making, say, Shelah and Hazarmaveth unnecessary. But He didn't.

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 986

Gizmodo reports that potatoes are descended from tomatoes.

Newsweek, and other outlets, report a lightning event that was over 500 miles long.

     ScienceAlert reports that peacocks have lasers in their feathers.

Gizmodo (and other sources) report that Robert F Kennedy jr, Secretary of Health and Human Services, has cut funding for vaccinations based on mRNA. This is a dangerous move. One of the achievements of the first Trump administration was the rapid development of mRNA -based immunization. This probably saved hundres of thousands of lives, perhaps yours or mine. For a more detailed discussion, see here.

 

Sunspots 985

 

Gizmodo reports that lightning kills more trees than we thought.

CBS News, and other sources, reports that corn plants release water vapor into the air, which contributes to the uncomfortable humidity you may be feeling now.

Sunspots 984

 

Gizmodo reports that ICE is adding the DNA of immigrants, including of children as young as four, to a government database.

LiveScience considers the question of how birds know how to get to their migration endpoint.

Earth.com tells us that men may lose their Y chromosomes. Hmmm.

Ken Schenck has posted a fine essay on the interaction between Christianity and politics. "The church does its best work not when it commands the government, but when it reminds the government who it’s supposed to serve. Not when it demands special privilege, but when it loves its neighbor – especially the ones the world would rather forget. The credibility of the church has never come from controlling the culture. It has come from resembling Christ."

Trump vs. Musk, or the other way around, in light of Matthew 18

Matthew 18:15 “If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother. 16 But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector. 18 Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 19 Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”

21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”

22 Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven. 

I don't know who started this, Trump or Musk. There's probably enough blame to go around.

When looking at recent news broadcasts, which spread the attacks posted on-line even further, I was reminded of Matthew 18. Applied to today, it says that believers, if there's a dispute among them, should go to the other person involved, and get the matter settled, first, before tellling others about the situation.. Putting the quarrel in public view on Facebook, X, Instagram, or whatever is the opposite of what Jesus taught. It should come last, if at all.

Are Musk and Trump believers? Possibly. Perhaps not. But the principle still stands, and follows from the Golden Rule, which says that we should do to others as we wish they would do to us. 

So, what's the lesson. First, there's the question of pride. Both of these men seem full of it. But, unfortunately, so am I. (After all, I didn't start an internet shouting match!) Pride seems to have fueled both of these powerful men.

God help me to avoid pride, public disputes with other believers, and did I say pride?

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 983

 

Things I have spotted that may be of interest to others:

The BBC has fact-checked President Trump's meeting with the President of South Africa. His claims don't stand up. Other sources have published similar findings.

Earth.com reports on breakthroughs in identifying long-dead North American megafauna (mammoths, giant sloths, etc.)

The BBC discusses the so-called Golden Done defense system.

The BBC also discusses the noise associated with Bitcoin mining (whatever that is!). Apparently it's quite annoying and pervasive.

Gizmodo reports on a study of how giant sloths disappeared.

Gizmodo also reports that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's recent paper on Making America Healthy Again refers to health studies that were never carried out.

Gizmodo also reports that two different species of termites are mating and producing hybrids, which may be really destructive.

Bears in the Bible

Image from Pixabay.

A search for the topic, bears (animals) in the Bible, is complicated by the abundance of occurrences of the word "bear," used to describe carrying something, physical, or mental, as in giving birth (bearing a baby) or laboring because of emotional stress (bearing grief).

This post is concerned only with bears as animals. There are a few such references in the Bible.

For more about the biology of bears, see the Wikipedia article. From that article, it appears that the bears mentioned in the Bible, which must have lived in Eurasia, were similar, or even part of the same species, as those found in North America. There is also a Wikipedia article on cultural depictions of bears, as for instance, in the story of Goldilocks and the three bears.  

The first Bible reference to bears is in the dialog between Saul and David, with David stating that, since he was able to defeat a predatory bear, he could defeat Goliath.

In 2 Samuel 17, warning is given that attacking David and his followers is like attacking a bear with offspring. Proverbs 17 has a similar idea, about a female bear protecting her offspring. So does Hosea 13.

In 2 Kings 2, Elisha apparently causes two female bears to attack some boys who were mocking him.

In Job 9, the constellation known as the Bear is mentioned, along with other groups of stars. (The King James version uses Arcturus, not bear, whereas the World English Bible has "bear.") Job 38 repeats the use of the Bear as a constellation.

In Proverbs 28, a wicked ruler is compared to an angry bear, or to a lion.

In Isaiah 59, the Israelites, who have lost their way spiritually, are compared to frustrated bears.

In Daniel 7, Daniel is asked to interpret a dream that the king had, in which an animal like a bear appeared.

In Amos 5, a bear is symbolic of putting oneself (or one's people) in danger.

There are no uses of the bear, an animal, in the New Testament.

I previously posted a study of the use of the word "lion" in the Bible.

Thanks for bearing with me in this study.