Recent content by RedFan

Mi dispiciace, ma non capisco. True it is that A's weakness and failure is not B's weakness and failure. The question on the table, however, is about and a relevant distinction between our insolence and offending God by that insolence.

I'd like that explanation as well. I've never seen insolence that wasn't offensive.

Religion and theology don't lend themselves easily to empiricism.

In matters of theology, my beliefs have been shaped by a host of influences. Candor compels me to admit occasional confirmation bias, but in my better moments I think I manage to put that aside, and rely on my own study. The Trinity is a good example. I was raised a Trinitarian, and I still...

Things are as they were. The same stridency you remember, and undoubtedly must miss so dearly. I stick around to get my fair share of abuse.

Here is a slightly tongue-in-cheek version of Exodus 3:13-14: But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM – and just...

Clear skies right now in New Hampshire. I am optimistic.

I'm waiting for someone to surmise that this is one of the signs in Luke 21:25 ushering in the end times. ☺️

Nazareth was close enough to the bilingual cities of the Decapolis that he could have picked up Greek in his travels there. John 7:35 has the Jews wondering whether Jesus is heading off to teach the Greeks! Maybe that was rhetorical, or hyperbole. Maybe not.

I'm wondering how fluent Jesus was in Greek. His exchanges with Pilate -- and all for gospels relate such exchange -- may well have been in Greek. I doubt Pilate was fluent in Aramaic. Far easier for a Latin speaker to master Greek than any semitic language.

He would need to be speaking Greek to do so. I doubt that happened very much. So once again, a gospel author writing in Greek can use a bit of license in order to give his Greek readership a more familiar hook (to the LXX) when rendering Jesus's actual Aramaic or Hebrew words.

I'm leaning toward the author (I don't necessarily say it was Matthew the apostle) mistranslating whatever Aramaic or Hebrew word Jesus may have used -- maybe לעדת

Certainly a possibility. The Catholics are going to be all over you, though.

The word ἐκκλησίᾳ -- used in the LXX to refer to the assembly of Israel – is almost always translated in the NT as “church.” It literally means “assembly” or “gathering,” typically of a governing body (like a legislature or an official group of decisionmakers) culled out from among the general...

Pre-planned vengeance is a tough concept for me to wrap my head around. To me, vengeance is spawned by more or less contemporaneous anger over another's actions. Knowing a year or two ahead of time that someone will offend me so greviously as to spark my vengeance (I hope that never actually...