Aug 1
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thebassman added a text contribution Goliath Wasn't That TallThe annotation about the height of Goliath from the Greek version and the Dead Sea Scrolls is very interesting. I always found the "9 feet tall" thing a little unbelievable. Not only is that practically unheard of, but especially back then when people were generally shorter than today. 6'9" makes it a lot more believable... to most people, he would still seem giant like (even if David was a tall 5'3", Goliath would have been 1.5 feet taller). It makes sense that… Read more »
Jul 11
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thebassman added a text contribution The End is NearNot infrequently, we are seemingly given the impression that "the end is near." Here in 1 Peter, we are told "the end of the world is coming soon." I know "soon" isn't exactly quantifiable, but one would think soon would have meant in a lifetime, or a couple of lifetimes. In the context in which it was written, they seemed to think that some alive then would live to see that day. Yet here we are, hundreds of generations later - almost 2,000 years later - an… Read more »
Jun 29
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thebassman added a text contribution Noah is a Boy's Name!Just found it interesting that Noah was originally a boy's name, yet many generations later, is also a girl's name. Today it's still commonly used as a boy's name... I wonder why the "girl" version of Noah never took off. ;) Read more »
Jun 26
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thebassman added a text contribution Foolish DiscussionsIf you hang around churches long enough (some times long enough is 1 service), you'll inevitably find people discussing different "takes" on various parts of the Bible. From creation, all the way to judgement day, we argue about different interpretations of scripture. Yet right here in scripture, Paul tells us it's useless and a waste of time. I wonder how much further we'd be if we stopped our petty arguing and instead put all the effort into furthering the Kingdom? Read more »
Jun 15
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thebassman added a text contribution There To This DayI wonder if those stones are there to THIS day... Now wouldn't THAT be a cool find... Read more »
Jun 2
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thebassman added a text contribution Make It EasyThis verse about not making it difficult for Gentiles to turn to God so easily translates to today. We need to make it "not difficult" for non-Christians to become Christians. Why make them jump through a bunch of hoops? Why give them a seemingly endless supply of obstacles? Show them the love of God first, then, down the road, teach them the things that would have been obstacles previous to them knowing God. Why make it harder? Read more »
May 30
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thebassman added a text contribution Not To the General PublicThis one always bothered me. Why did Jesus only appear to a select few? Other accounts say he appeared to as many as 500... wouldn't it make more sense to appear to thousands, if not hundreds of thousands (or millions?) of people after rising from the dead? It would have made the resurrection a lot easier for people to accept if many more people witnessed Jesus resurrected. Read more »
May 21
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thebassman added a text contribution 9am is Too Early to be Drunk'Nine o'clock in the morning is much too early for that." Quote from Peter, as he explains that the people speaking in tongues are not drunk... but not because getting drunk is wrong or anything... but merely because it was 9am, which is "obviously" too early to be drunk. LOL. Read more »
May 16
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thebassman added a text contribution Judas the Thief?So not only did Judas betray Jesus, but he also stole money from the other disciples? Is this something John added in afterwards, or who knew that Judas was doing this? If the disciples knew before the crucifixion, don't you think they would have guessed at the last supper that Judas was the betrayer, if he was already known to them as a thief? Since Judas shortly thereafter committed suicide, it seems to me the statement of Judas being a thief is one that would have to be speculation on… Read more »
May 15
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thebassman added a text contribution Morning Sunshine = Curse"A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!" Never expected something so menial, yet so true, to be in the Proverbs. Solomon must have been a night owl, too. ;) There's nothing worse than wanting to sleep in a little in the morning, only to be woken up by a "morning person." It does, indeed, feel like a curse! Solomon was a wise man... no doubt about it. ;) Read more »
May 13
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thebassman added a text contribution Jesus Calls Them LiarsI found this verse, and indeed the last half of this chapter to be a little unsettling. It reads as if Jesus was angry and mocking the crowd (albeit they got mad enough to try to stone Him at the end). I just have a hard time picturing Jesus baiting and name calling a crowd. John certainly reads differently from the other 3 gospels... Read more »
May 8
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thebassman added a text contribution Young Virgins - Keep Them For YourselvesNot really a verse you'd expect to come out of the mouth of Moses, eh? Kill everyone, except the young girls who are still virgins - keep them for yourselves... If a prophet were to come around today and give instructions like that, they wouldn't last very long... Read more »
May 2
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thebassman added a text contribution Slaves and MastersWhen reading this text, it seems to me that, while we don't have slavery any more, this could easily apply to an employee/employer relationship in just the same way. Don't slack off when your employer isn't watching. Work with enthusiasm. Work for your boss sincerely as you would if you were working for Jesus Himself. Employers, treat your employees the same way - don't be harsh with them and treat them with respect. Sounds like this passage does translate well to the mo… Read more »
Apr 30
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thebassman added a text contribution No KiddingThis is so true. I am guilty of this all the time - covering up feelings with laughter. But after I (or we) are done laughing, the real feelings are still there. Read more »
Apr 24
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thebassman added a text contribution ExplanationNow why didn't these men write this stuff down? The same day Jesus rose from the dead, he walks a couple of guys "through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." Now THAT would be a fantastic book in the Bible. Sure we can piece a bunch of it together from the various gospels and Paul's books, but having a full-blown, play-by-play of "the things concerning" Jesus would be fantastic! Read more »
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thebassman added a text contribution Then They RememberedWhen someone, specifically Jesus, predicts His death and then mentions that 3 days after He dies, He's going to rise from the dead, is that something you're really going to "forget" - especially after most of it had already come to fruition? Did the women really have to be reminded by the "two men... clothed in dazzling robes"? It would seem to me that they didn't FORGET that He said He would rise from the dead, but they merely didn't BELIEVE Him when He… Read more »
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thebassman added a text contribution A Permanent LawThis phrase is used over and over throughout the Pentateuch. "This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation." Of course, when Jesus came, all the old laws were kinda thrown out the window... but what about these ones that God decreed to be a "permanent law." I wonder why/how we decided that these ones are no longer necessary as well... Read more »
Apr 21
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thebassman added a text contribution GiantsMakes you wonder how tall these "giants" were. People 4,000+ years ago were probably a lot shorter than we are today, and Jewish people aren't generally know for being tall. I'm taller than the average person at 6'4"... would I have looked like a giant to the scouts as well? Were these "giants" 6+ feet tall, while the scouts were probably only around 5 feet tall? Or were the Goliath-sized people wandering around? Read more »
Apr 15
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thebassman added a text contribution Not Going To Tell YouSo Jesus traps the religious leaders in a lose-lose question. They answer one way, they look like they're not fit as religious leaders, they answer the other way, and the people will stone them. They either lose their job or their life. So they decide not to answer the question. So instead of answering their question, Jesus just does the same thing and tells them that he won't tell them by what authority his does "these things." Seems kinda stubborn. Why not just tell t… Read more »
Apr 6
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thebassman added a text contribution Jesus = Bad Party GuestBased on this verse, and the subsequent verses in the rest of Luke 11, I'm pretty sure Jesus wasn't the most popular of house guests. As he sits down for the meal, he calls his hosts fools, and goes on a bit of a tirade about how they look the part, but are really "full of greed and wickedness." Talk about putting a damper on a party before it even got started... Read more »
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thebassman added a text contribution Hiding Your LampThis verse is certainly analogous to our lives as Christ followers... how can we go about life with our lamp hidden from sight? We know the love of Christ - how can we go about life - do anything - and not show the lamp to everyone... seems kinda silly to hide this light under a basket... Everyone who enters our house (interacts with us in life) should see the lamp "placed on a stand." Read more »
Apr 2
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thebassman added a text contribution Jesus Contradicts Himself?In Luke 9 & 11, Jesus first says that who ever isn't against Him is for Him, yet in Luke 11, he says anyone who isn't for Him is against Him. The logic doesn't add up... you can't have it both ways unless there is no one in the group that is neither for or against Him.... confusing. What conclusion do we draw from this seeming contradiction? Read more »
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thebassman added a text contribution ContradictionsThis has always bothered me, yet it happens right in the same chapter in Luke. In once instance, Jesus tells the previously demon-possessed guy to "go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you," and a couple of verses later, possibly a couple of days later, Jesus either "wakes up" or raises the young girl from the dead, and he insists "that they not tell anyone what had happened." What gives? Why let some people spread the news and not ot… Read more »
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thebassman added a text contribution Seeds in Rocky SoilEvery time I read or hear this parable, I always think back to the 100 Huntley Street/Circle Square cartoon about it. My parents had it on VHS when I was younger. I saw it recently, and the video was awful, but for some reason, it really stuck with me. Now that I'm older, it's these people, the ones represented by the seeds that fell on rocky soil - the ones who hear the message and receive joy, but since they don't have deep roots, they fall away - that my heart aches for. We… Read more »
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thebassman added a text contribution Showing FavoritesIf there's one thing that's evident in the OT, is that God certainly showed favoritism towards the Israelites... in so far as to say that the Israelites were allowed to purchase slaves from all other nations, except other Israelites - "they must never be sold as slaves.... However, you may purchase male and female slaves from among the nations around you." I find it a little disconcerting that God seemed to care so little for non-Israelites... grouping them more in with anim… Read more »
User Info
Name: Tim Walker
User Since: September 2008
Location: Barrie, ON
Website: www.thebassman.ca
Contributions: 94
Tags: 118