Building on the Foundation

  Are you Jewish? That question is one I often get asked upon someone learning that I don't eat pork, that I celebrate the Biblical Festivals instead of the pagan ones, or that I keep a Saturday Sabbath.  It seems common knowledge that all the things the Bible commands in the Old Testament, were for the Jews, and that we modern people (after 30 AD.) are not required to observe such rites, and especially if we are not Jewish. Before we delve into that though, we need to define some terms:  A “Jew” is someone that is ancestrally descended from the tribe of Judah. Judah was one of the twelve sons of Jacob (later named “Israel”)    The line-up went like this: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin.   Joseph's two sons; Manaseh and Ephraim each became a tribe and replaced the tribe of Joseph.  Thus there were thirteen “tribes of Israel” that were enslaved in Egypt, and released at Passo...

No, not that kind of alien.   Did you know the Bible says that there is no God? It’s true! In both Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1, we find the phrase, “There is no God.” But — and this is a huge but — the context of the verses changes the meaning entirely. Here’s what both verses actually say: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘ There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good’” (Psa. 14:1; nearly identical in Psa. 53:1). Ah! It is the fools, those who are corrupt and do abominable works, who say that there is no God. They wish to convince themselves that there will be no reckoning for their wickedness. Context is critical! Now, this is admittedly an extreme example. Virtually no literate person would read these passages and believe that the Bible is telling us God doesn’t exist. However, you’ll see many examples of people taking Scriptures out of context and causing them to say things they simply don’t say. I’m sure all of us have done t...