God, Aliens, and Other Stuff

  A 2021 report from the journal  PLOS One  tells how researchers from the University of Groningen used AI technology to detect very minute differences in the style, curvature, and shape of letters in the Great Isaiah Scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls (DDS). Scholars have dated the scroll to the second century BCE (before the common era, or BC before the birth of Christ). The AI scan found two different scribes, one who did the first half and another who finished it. That does not mean that these two scribes authored the scroll. Scholars argue about how many Isaiahs contributed to the writings of the book. A strong argument could be made for at least two, meaning that one or more of Isaiah’s followers or disciples may have written in his name. Critics, of course, will say all so-called “prophecies” are just reports after an event has happened. The trouble with all of that historical critique is that there are incredibly specific prophecies of the coming Messiah, Jesus Ch...

 When is a diamond not a diamond? I’ve blogged many times about the differences in the two creation stories in Genesis one and two. You can read about them here  and here . I’m married to a geologist. My coursework for my BA degrees included Geology courses, so of course Hubby and I are old earth Christians, which has caused gasps of shock from friends who think we are slipping away from Jesus. I’ve written about creation from the standpoint of the actual possible scribal authors, and yes, my postgraduate education made all the difference in my outlook. Before those studies, I asked the right questions, but afterward I confidently acquired the answers.   A quick rehash: Gen. 1 has a different style. Poetic, repetitive, orderly. Gen. 2 is more conversational and lacks a linear timeline. In Gen. 1, God’s title is Elohim. In Gen. 2, He is called Yahweh-Elohim. In Gen. 1, God “creates” by His word, out of nothing. Things poof into existence. In Gen. 2, God forms manki...

  First, the backstory, I Kings 11 We all heard in Sunday School what a wise man King Solomon was. He allegedly wrote the book of Proverbs and the lyrical Song of Solomon in the Hebrew Bible, and I suspect that he also wrote the somewhat cynical book of Ecclesiastes. I’ve no doubt he was a handsome fellow because his mother’s beauty caused King David’s heart and brain to turn to mush. David forgot everything he ever knew about God and committed murder and adultery, with the usual government coverup. Coverups never work with God. Bathsheba’s first baby died, devastating both parents. Solomon was the darling of the court, even though he was son #7. All of his older male half-siblings were from six different wives of David. When Solomon was born, sons #1-6 knew that they were screwed as far as inheriting the throne. Solomon began well, joining with his father in plans for a grand new Temple unto the Lord. When it was complete, miraculous manifestations demonstrated God’s approval of a...

 Using the correct numbers and manuscripts completes an ancient puzzle.  Image: Thutmose III Academics who take the biblical narrative seriously about the Exodus from Egypt are divided about when it happened. Mention of Rameses (Gen. 47:11; Ex. 12:37; Nu. 33:3) suggests a later date, which raises all kinds of conflicts with history and causes a cloud of doubt about the story. But those mentions may be an indication of when the narrative was put to scroll, not when the events occurred. If you take the Bible dates and numbers seriously, which I did in a very careful study, you come up with an Exodus date of about 1446 BC/BCE (before Christ or before the common era). That makes Amenhotep II, a militant king who often raided Canaan for slaves and concubines, the pharaoh of the Exodus, in which case, by around 1500 BCE Israel was a cohesive ethnic group with an identity worthy of mention along with other well-established groups and states. So although the question may never be set...

 And where was the Garden of Eden? Was there a UFO connection?   Image from Adobe Stock. Scriptures are pasted from biblegateway.com, NKJV. This post will make a lot more sense to people who have at least a smattering of Bible knowledge, especially a familiarity with the book of Genesis. WHEN For decades of my Christian existence, I thought it was a given that Moses wrote the five books of the Torah, Genesis through Deuteronomy. In the Christian Bible, the Torah is usually called the five books of Moses. My Lutheran Bible tells me that Martin Luther never doubted that Moses wrote Genesis, and the modern study notes state clearly that Moses wrote the book. That surprises me because Genesis itself makes no pretense that he wrote it, but rather tells us that it was written well after Israel replaced the Canaanites in the land. Moses never made it to Canaan so he couldn’t have testified to the Conquest. It’s almost as if I had to throw off my own literalist approach to...