Jesus' DNA

"Using the latest advances in DNA technology Oxford University geneticist George Busby and biblical scholar Pastor Joe Basile are investigating the world's most famous holy relics including the Shroud of Turin, The Sudarium of Oviedo and the newly discovered bones of Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist (www.history.com)."

The foregoing excerpt from the History Channel's website explains a recent program I watched which I am highly recommending. Make sure to watch! Below is the relevant link.

http://www.history.com/specials/the-jesus-strand-a-search-for-dna








Source:

 http://www.history.com/specials/the-jesus-strand-a-search-for-dna

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Feast of Christ the King

In the liturgical calendar of the Western Church today is The Feast of Christ the King. In celebration, I simply wanted to share a reading from the First Epistle to the Corinthians by Saint Paul. 1 Corinthians 15: 20-28 reads as follows:

"20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.[a] 21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end,[b] when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God[c] has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all (NRSV)."

Footnotes:1 Corinthians 15:20Gk fallen asleep1 Corinthians 15:24 Or Then come the rest1 Corinthians 15:27Gk he


Source:

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible

This Blog Turns Nine Today

Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday Dear Blog
Happy Birthday to You.

From good friends and true,
From old friends and new,
May good luck go with you,
And happiness too.

How old are you?
How old are you?
How old, How old
How old are you?

This blog turns 9 years old today!

Happy Birthday, and many more, God willing.

Museum of the Bible

The following is an excerpt from the article, The Museum of the Bible in the Spotlight by Robin Ngo and Megan Sauter for Biblical Archeology Society.

"A new museum dedicated to the best-selling book of all time will open next month in Washington, D.C.—just three blocks from the U.S. Capitol. The Museum of the Bible is large and impressive. With a total square footage of 430,000, the museum boasts six floors, including part of a recreated first-century C.E. Jewish village, a ballroom, a performing arts hall, a rooftop garden with Biblical plants, and a 140-foot-long LED screen on the ceiling of the museum’s lobby. It would take a visitor 72 hours to see every artifact, read every placard, and participate in all of the museum’s activities (biblicalarchaeology.org)."

Well, it sounds like this will be a fascinating museum to visit the next time we are in Washington, D.C.. Hope you enjoy reading the full article at the following link. Blessings!

The Museum of the Bible in the Spotlight - Biblical Archaeology Society

Source:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/artifacts-and-the-bible/the-museum-of-the-bible-spotlight/mqsc=E3916960&utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=BHDWeek%20in%20Revie%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=ZE7A 

Acts of God, or by God?

                                                                                 Photo: NASA.GOV.

"In insurance circles, an act of God is defined as any accident or event not influenced by man. They are accidents caused by nature. Hurricanes, floods, hail, tsunamis, wildfires, earthquakes and tornados are all considered acts of God (www.dmv.org)."

Acts of God! So, even the insurance companies call them acts of God. How do we really know these catastrophic events are acts of God, and by God? Has anyone ever actually spoken to God, and God responded with a “yes.” I can actually visualize someone asking, and having God respond by saying: “yep, that was me!” Of course, it is really not so funny because people are dying because of these events such as hurricanes Maria or Irma, and the earthquake that recently took place in Mexico. The magnitude of these events has many questioning if this is the apocalypse.

And, some may think it's probably the end of days, but I say we probably haven’t seen anything yet. Well, what if insurance companies started going bankrupt because of these catastrophes, one after another, and one had no one to go to for assistance and repairs from damages. In my mind, I even recently pictured Joel Osteen saying to himself: man, I've been teaching these people for years and they still can't think positive enough to keep this hurricane Harvey out of Houston. Of course, I really don’t know what Mr. Osteen was thinking, and Harvey was a tropical storm by the time it actually hit Houston; however, it sure caused a lot of flooding and damage. The question still remains, are we in the last days? Well, that is a difficult question to answer. According to livescience.com, "Earth could continue to host life for at least another 1.75 billion years, as long as nuclear holocaust, an errant asteroid or some other disaster doesn't intervene, a new study calculates (www.livescience.com)." So, we get an estimated guess from them, but no definite answers. There is nothing wrong with asking questions.

I say, ask the hard questions, I don't think it's heretical to try to talk to God and ask the hard questions. My question for many people is, however, what makes them so certain that because they believe or think they know something that makes it true? If you know you have empirical evidence for something, it is believed to be factual. However, having faith in something does not make something a fact, although it provides us with hope. Faith is wonderful because it has always given us hope, and answers to the hard questions, which still remain unanswered in the same way they have remained unanswered since humans have been asking them. The Scriptures provide us with hope, but that is all we get from them. The thing is that in these United States which was the breeding ground for Post-Reformation Sola Scriptura thought, some people think they know all the answers because they know the word or the Scriptures. But, as I heard someone say once, “the Bible is the word of God, but it isn't necessarily the words of God."

Regardless of what I think, I think the Scriptures do reveal something about these catastrophic events like hurricanes and earthquakes. In the Book of Genesis, God allows the flood that wiped out every living being except for those on Noah’s Ark, it seems. In the Book of Job, God allows Satan to torment Job. The Scriptures provide a rationale for both foregoing instances, although that doesn’t mean we have to understand. Personally, I do not fully understand even if both outcomes were seemingly positive, because I always end up questioning in all cases, BUT WHY? In my opinion, I think that true humility is also often admitting that we don't have all the answers, especially in understanding the Scriptures. In fact, making the assumption that one fully understands the Bible often leads to fundamentalism. One could write almost endlessly on this subject, and still wind up where one began. So, to not go on forever, I want to close with two verses from the Bible that sound comforting in these times of uncertainty.

“…So it is not the will of your [a] Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost (Matthew 18:14, NRSV).”

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, [a] I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me (Psalm 23: 4, NRSV).”

Blessings and I hope you enjoyed reading!

References:

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), Bible

https://www.dmv.org/articles/acts-of-god-car-insurance-coverage/

https://www.livescience.com/39775-how-long-can-earth-support-life.html

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/geocolor-image-of-hurricane-irma

Last Minute Decisions for a Post

I hope everyone is doing well, and having a good summer. Well, Labor Day is only a few days away, and for many that is the end of summer. Of course, down here in South Florida, I think summer is actually over on the first week of November…lol. If you live down here, you know what I am talking about. As I always tell everyone, it stays hot and muggy for a long time here. Anyhow, I noticed that tomorrow is the end of the month, and I had not posted anything. I have to post something, at least once a month, so this is it. This is an apologetics blog, and I was thinking that maybe I should write something about the images of coins in the eyes that show up on the Shroud of Turin image. That may be a great idea and theme, but I don’t really think I have done enough research to just write something about it at the last minute. Okay, I decided what to write about. It probably isn’t the first time I write in reference to this, and it probably won’t be the last. I am going to share a reading from the Gospel of Matthew that I always enjoy, and make a brief comment. In fact, it was the Gospel Reading at church on the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, and it is found in the Gospel of Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43. It reads as follows:

“”24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn....’”

...36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears[a] listen (NRSV)!””

I always enjoy reading the Scriptures, and I hope you just did, as well. This parable is one of those that seems very clear and to the point. My take on it has always been very similar to the homily given by the Dean at church on that day of the liturgical year, I will still share my views, regardless. Obviously, in this passage, the weeds are growing together with the wheat; however, it appears that it is difficult to differentiate one from the other. Hence: “The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.” Basically, if one applies this passage to our time and age, we also do not know the difference; therefore, it is not our job to pull the weeds. Jesus said: “40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers.” The emphasis is that “Son of Man will send his angels,” and they will do the job. Well, that is my post whether you agree or not. Either way, I am not into interpreting Scriptures, and I really do not recommend it to anyone because the assumption that one literally and wholly understands what is being read is often made during interpretation…to me that is being slightly arrogant. Of course, that is just my opinion! Hope you enjoyed reading! Blessings!

Reference:

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), Bible