What Did I Just Read...

I'm a sucker for an excellent podcast or book. Earlier this year the Bible Project podcast was recommended to me. I'll admit that it's not for everyone and it leaves me scratching my head at times. Lately, they've been doing a series on God and the supernatural world, and it blew my mind.

Christianity is a supernatural religion. That's hard to grasp coming from a western cultural mindset. The closest we may get is God of the Gaps for what we can't explain. Yet it's all tied together.

Then they interviewed a Ph. D and M.A in the Hebrew language by the name of Michael S. Heiser. He works for Logos Bible software and wrote a couple of books, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World - And Why It Matters and The Unseen Realm.

The first is like an overview of the spirit world according to the Bible and the latter is much more in-depth. Honestly, it helped that he works for Logos. It gave him cred. Otherwise, I was probably going to write him off as a quack.

While I read, I looked for bad doctrine. I also saw how Jehovah's Witnesses could get confused and say Jesus is an angel.

The books tied the Bible together for me. Some parts make me do the doggy head tilt. Like how demons or unclean spirits are the spirits of dead Nephilim.

I've been ruminating on what he calls the divine council of lesser spirits that God has in charge of other nations. Apparently, some went rogue. Other's didn't.

One question I have is, are they still ruling? How does that work? Who's over America? Can we tell by how that country acts if it's a good or bad ruler?

Ok, that's more than one question. The books have me thinking though...

Philosophical Musings from Superhero Shows

Superhero movies and shows have some pretty deep philosophical concepts if you pay attention. Here's a couple:

Why I don’t want to mind read after watching the Flash. If I could, then I’d always be thinking about what I just saw in their minds. I do that now with the books I read, which is literally thoughts on paper.

And some hidden secrets would mar relationships since I would have a hard time looking at someone the same again. I definitely don't want anyone looking in my head at that darkness.

An interesting theological point I just thought of is that God knows just how horrible we are, that I am. Yet, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

That's Romans 5:8. It wasn't a surprise to Him. He wasn't like "aww man, I bought a lemon."

Then I was watching Black Lightning and Khalil’s divided loyalties. Man can’t serve two masters, he’ll hate the one and love the other. That's in the Sermon on the Mount.

You will have to choose when they conflict. Even if it’s your own set of standards. This may be where situational ethics comes into play-or no right answer/good answer. It's why politics are so sticky.

A person says one thing, yet does another. We don't ask why they did it. We don't ask what did they know that we didn't.

Trouble also comes when we don't know who we are or what we stand for as individuals. You have to think deeply about things because it's nuanced. I've said a child's Sunday school theology won't work for an adult. It applies to life in this way as well, a bumper sticker philosophy won't cut it in real life.

It's only a foot wide and a millimeter deep.