Month: March 2020

Dead Sea Scrolls Fakes?

It seems like forever ago, but I used to work for LifeWay in their retail stores. I acquired a whole lot of business and general life skills in my time there. While on my journey there, I read and learned a lot about the Bible, other manuscripts like the Apocrypha and also the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Let’s fast-forward circa 12-15 years later. Yesterday morning I read in my almost-daily general news briefings that the newer set of Dead Sea Scrolls (let’s call them “DSS” for short) were identified as forgeries (or fakes).

Yes, I know the DSS are not piece for piece in or are the Bible, but the connection here is simply this: since the latest DSS are fakes, they’re still a “Christian related” entity and so the Bible and Christians are going to get more credibility flak than normal.

Here’s one takeaway you can safely rely on:

I wholeheartedly believe that God provided to the Bible writers the perfect, proper, and exact words that make up the Bible as we know it today — from Genesis to Revelation — as is expressed in 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:20-21. Don’t let the (likely) fact that the DSS are fakes ruin the fact that the Bible is accurate and will stand the test of time.

What the USA Wants it Gets: A Biblical Flashback to the Future We’re Headed For.

Right now I’m reading the book of Isaiah in the Bible. Earlier in the week I came to chapter 19 which, in my particular version and medium (NIV, YouVersion), is titled “A Prophecy Against Egypt”.

Here's a link to the chapter in NIV, NASB, and KJV.

The TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) of this is because the Egyptians were acting like fools, God set them against themselves (v.2). Basically, the land is ravaged, natural resources get wasted, people are against one another, and the people are looking for or towards leaders but they are no different than the common people and are using them (v.13). Then finally, Egypt is returned to the Lord (v.22).

Normally nor historically in my blogs, I don’t blog about Bible passages as a whole –nothing wrong with it, I just ironically haven’t — but the reason I’m writing this post today is because we are repeating history — regardless if it was ~2000 years ago or 5 minutes ago — and there is a Biblical cause and effect for this which we can and should learn from pronto. You’ve probably heard a phrase something along the lines of “the end times are near” or “we’re living in the end of days”. Sure, that’s true, even Paul thought so back in the Bible days and here we are ~2000 years later. Again, it doesn’t matter the duration, what matters is the issue and the lesson to learn from it.

At the time of this writing, there is a huge Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic swooping across the globe. I’m not saying this is a plagues-level event that causes an equal cataclysm politically or socially, but it could and sort-of feels like it. I’m just saying that the coincidence of this chapter –and there are other chapters in this and other books of the Bible like this — aligns right up with how the USA and world are acting right now.

I’m more focused on the USA in the conversation. Specifically with how we let every little thing affect us in this country. You can’t say, look, or do something without offending someone; forget being PC as that’s even flamed against for one being overdoing it or somehow being snooty. Also, how we desecrate sacred church teachings and activities — no I couldn’t care less what happens to the Catholic church, different issue, their problem — I mean the Christian church’s morals, teachings, and overall standards are being shunned in favor of self-centered humanism and one’s own thoughts and feelings being fact. If we do not find some way to get our country back to its Biblical roots we will be in more dire straits than we are today — the crazy laws, ignorant lawmakers, pandemic viruses, none of this will compare to the untold to come.

I could go on and on, but I’ll end here and hope my point is at minimum made even though it’s not perfectly articulated.

Old Memories … Sold!

You might look at the title and think “What!? That doesn’t make any sense.” Let me fill you in. The neighborhood Danielle and I live in did a once-a-year (I think) community yard sale this past weekend. I don’t remember them ever doing once since we’ve lived here 3 years now, but maybe the luck of the draw we were not here or didn’t hear about it. Either way, we had a crap-ton of stuff to sell — things like toys, games, books, arts and crafts, and some electronics.

Well, part of that process was first deciding if I wanted to part with most of my old toys — Power Rangers, G.I. Joes, wrestlers, Hot Wheels, Batmans, and other misc toys. I decided yes because I do not have the same sentimental relationship I had with them when I was much younger, plus we’re moving later this year and that’d be unnecessary extra baggage to tag along for no reason.

Friday I was not here (working) but Danielle sold reasonable lot of them. Some whole sets of things went completely. Saturday, in between being on-call at work, I was able to negotiate selling the rest of the lot of Power Rangers to an enthusiast/collector guy … after letting a couple kids pick a few they were super excited to get. So, all in all, I got my enjoyment out of the toys long ago, and the memories that are in my mind are hopefully there forever.

I’ll rest easier now knowing that all of these various toys can make a new master happy and have a purpose again of getting played with or outwardly displayed in some way.