A blog by Tom Sheepandgoats (aka Tom Harley)
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Burn Up Sons in the Fire? Atheists Strike Again
At a home Bible study, the kind that Jehovah’s Witnesses offer, Darrel had a question. He brought up Exodus 22: 29-30. “You shall give me the firstborn of your sons. You must do the same with your oxen and your sheep.” (New International Version) This meant, he worried, that you burn up your firstborn child for God, same as you would your ox and your…
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Sometimes Life Sucks: Psalm 88
There are 18 verses in Psalm 88. Save for verse 13, not a single positive thought is expressed. Everything is disastrous. Nothing good anywhere. Plus, the psalmist all but blames God: ‘When are you going to pour out your loving-kindness—when I’m dead?’ He makes the point repeatedly. Look those verses over. You can’t find a positive thought. Except for 13: “But I still cry to…
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“Frankly, in some of those congregations, I’m not even sure they believe in God:” It’s no joke with theologians.
When a full-time-service couple moves into town, they may have several congregations to choose from. I try to woo them into mine. ‘Frankly, in some of those other congregations,’ I tell them, ‘I’m not sure they even believe in God.’ It’s a joke. Everyone knows it’s a joke. They laugh. But in the world of theologians, it’s no joke. Theologians may not. And if they…
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Psalm 73: Nothing so Corrosive as Envy: Asaph Escapes
Here is someone who gets right to the point. After a quick little genuflect to show he still had the overall picture—“God is truly good to Israel, to those pure in heart,” (Psalm 73:1) he relates how he almost lost it. As for me, my feet had almost strayed; My steps had nearly slipped.” (vs 2) The problem? He became envious! Few things are as…
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An Insular People: No Part of the World: Part 7
See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Upon the release of his movie, The Passion, Mel Gibson was asked whether it was true that the Jews killed Jesus. “Well, it wasn’t the Scandinavians,” he replied. No, it wasn’t. But neither was it the Jews, per se. It was the religious leaders of the Jews that did the deed. Jealous…
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An Insular People: No Part of the World: Part 5
See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 Those brought up with the Bible narrative are super impressed with that account of the angel halting 185,000 Assyrian troops in their tracks. How could they not be? The unstoppable Assyrians toppled one city after another, sweeping in from the north, but after a long siege, they were stopped at Jerusalem. Literally, they were stopped dead.…
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An Insular People: No Part of the World: Part 3
See Part 1, Part 2, ‘Insular,’ a charge that is leveled against Jehovah’s Witnesses, bears a relationship to ‘no part of the world.’ Alas, the name of that relationship might be ‘identity.’ What is insulation if not material to keep one substance ‘no part’ of another? To stay ‘no part of the world’ is part of the mission statement of Jehovah’s Witnesses today. From that…