Life on Planet Earth on The Ancient World

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No Natural vs Supernatural in the Ancient World

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That is, there is no concept of a “natural” world in ancient Near Eastern thinking. The dichotomy between natural and supernatural is a relatively recent one. Deity pervaded the ancient world. Nothin...

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Differences in Economics from the Ancient World to Ours

Author

Ben Witherington III

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At this point in the discussion some will remark that the Old Testament says a good deal about being prosperous and even occasionally speaks about wealth, but not about money per se. That is the case ...

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Author

Mark Scandrette

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In ancient cultures, people knew how to mourn. They tore their clothes. They poured ashes on their heads. They sat in the dirt and raised their voices in lament.

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Comparing the Genesis Creation Account with their Neighbors

Author

A. J. Swoboda

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Scripture

John 1:3, Psalm 104:24, Genesis 2:2-3, Genesis 1:27, Genesis 1:31

The Jews were not the only religious people in the ancient world. There were others, such as the Akkadians, Egyptians, and Phoenicians, and they had their own creation stories. When one compares the ...

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Thinking with Your Gut

Author

John H. Walton

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Scripture

Jeremiah 17:10, Proverbs 4:23

If cosmic geography is culturally descriptive rather than revealed truth, it takes its place among many other biblical examples of culturally relative notions. For example, in the ancient world, peopl...

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Naming and Creation

Author

Jonathan Walton

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Scripture

Genesis 2:19-20, Genesis 1:5, Genesis 1:10, Isaiah 43:1, Exodus 33:17, John 10:3, Revelation 2:17

Names in the ancient world were associated with identity, role and function. Consequently, naming is a typical part of the creation narratives. The Egyptian Memphite Theology identifies the Creator as...

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Humility Despised in Paul’s Day

Author

Jerry Bridges

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Scripture

Isaiah 57:15, Mark 10:43-45, James 4:6, Ephesians 4:2, Micah 6:8, Matthew 23:12

In the Greco-Roman world of Paul’s day, humility was a despised trait. They viewed it as a sign of weakness. And our culture today is no different from that world of two thousand years ago. Maybe it’s...

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Jealous Juno

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Isaiah 9:6-7, Hebrews 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-17, Philippians 2:6-8, John 3:16-17, John 1:1-4, Luke 1:30-35

In the ancient world, a place where the veil between the earthly and spiritual was easily pierced, rumors and gossip about great leaders being born of the gods, especially amongst royals, was somewhat...

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The Importance of the Royal Image

Author

Cyd and Geoff Holsclaw

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Being made in God’s image is also about God’s purposes in the world (God through us). In order to understand how image is connected with purpose, we need to understand a common practice in the ancient...

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The Creation of Light

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Genesis 1:3-4, John 8:12-20, 1 John 1:5-10, Psalm 27:, Matthew 4:12-17

In The Lost World of Genesis One , John Walton points out that the creation of light and the division of day and night is profoundly puzzling if we understand light in the modern way, as a material o...

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A Moral God

Author

Nahum Sarna

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Scripture

Genesis 18:25, Leviticus 19:2, Deuteronomy 34:2, Romans 1:18-20, James 1:17

This capriciousness of the gods is diametrically opposed to the biblical view. The God of Creation is not at all morally indifferent. On the contrary, morality and ethics constitute the very essence o...

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Keeping the Body from Overheating

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 2:16, Matthew 22:37, Proverbs 4:23, James 1:5, Colossians 3:2, Philippians 4:7, Romans 12:2

According to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, the function of the brain was to keep the body from overheating. In The Parts of Animals, he noted that that the brain was a “compound of earth an...

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What is Wrong with Us according to Traditional and Modern Cultures

Author

Timothy Keller

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Scripture

Luke 18:14, Proverbs 29:23, Isaiah 2:11, 1 Peter 5:5, Romans 12:3, James 4:6, Proverbs 16:18

Up until the twentieth century, traditional cultures (and this is still true of most cultures in the world) always believed that too high a view of yourself was the root cause of all the evil in the w...

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Author

Francis A. Schaeffer

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The ancients were afraid that if they went to the end of the earth they would fall off and be consumed by dragons. But once we understand that Christianity is true to what is there, true to the ultima...

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For years, Bible scholars have danced around

Author

Bryan C. Loritts

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Scripture

Exodus 21:16 , Deuteronomy 15:12-15, Isaiah 58:6, Philemon 1:8-16 , Galatians 3:28, Psalm 146:7

For years, Bible scholars have danced around the matter by saying slavery in Rome was far different from slavery in the first few centuries of American history. No doubt their observations carry a mea...

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The Origin of the Word "Sincere"

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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I don’t know about you, but I’ve always enjoyed hearing stories about the origins of certain words. One of these words is the “sincere.” While there are some questions about the history’s authenticity...

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A Triumphal Procession

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:8-11, Luke 19:36-44, John 12:16-19, Revelation 19:11-16

Two thousand years ago, triumphal processions were massively popular. It was, in all likelihood, the only chance most people would have to see the leaders and heroes of the day. For the Romans they t...

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The Biblical Helper: Ezer

Author

John Mark Comer

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Scripture

Genesis 2:18–25 , Exodus 17:8–13, Ecclesiastes 4:9–12, John 14:16–17 , Romans 16:1–4, Psalm 118:6–7

Adam was called by God to take care of Eden. But it was too much work for one man. Eden was massive. Adam was incapable of gardening the whole thing. He needed help. That’s why God created Eve. Go...

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5 Quotes on Summer

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Looking for inspiration for your summertime sermons? Here are five quotes that highlight different themes about summer. Quote 1 Comment: I love The Office , but in this short quotation...

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Author

Kenneth Leech

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In order to speak of the crucified God we need a theology of abandonment, of dereliction, of an alienation so profound that it can only be expressed in language marked by paradox and by great daring a...

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Pearls of Great Price

Author

Jacob Traeger

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Scripture

Matthew 13:45-46, Proverbs 3:13-15, Isaiah 55:1-2

Pearls were of much greater value in Jesus’ time than they are today. Queen Cleopatra is reputed to have had two pearls which together were worth around 15 million denarii. A denari was roughly a day’...

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Biblical Meditation

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Psalm 1:null

Biblical scholar Nahum Sarna (in On the Book of Psalms) points out that the mediation mentioned in Psalm 1 (The man who “meditates on [God’s] law day and night”) is “not engaged in meditation and cont...

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A Visitor In A Household Of Tranquil Prayer

Author

Jim Forest

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Archbishop Theophilus of Alexandria, one of the principal cities of the ancient world, once traveled to the monastic colony at Skete in the Egyptian desert. The younger monks were distressed that thei...

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Plus Ultra: There is more Beyond

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 2:9, John 10:10, Hebrews 11:8-10, Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 3:20-21, Isaiah 43:18-19, Psalm 16:11, 2 Corinthians 5:17

Before Columbus crossed the Atlantic, many believed the world ended somewhere beyond Gibraltar, reflected in Spain’s royal motto: “Ne Plus Ultra,” meaning, “there is no more beyond.” But when Columb...

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Ancient Creation Accounts Were Functional, not Material

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:1, Genesis 1:14, Psalm 33:9, Isaiah 45:18, John 5:17

John Walton argues in The Lost World of Genesis One that rather than concerning material creation, the creation account in Genesis one concerns functional creation, because that is how ancient reade...

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The Art of Waiting: Sermon Illustration Tuesday

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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This week, we have chosen two illustrations that describe the nature of waiting, and perhaps can inspire each of us to wait well as we long for life to return, at least in part, to normalcy: Hope y...

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The Economics of Child-Sponsorship

Author

Bruce Wydick

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While I was at a concert in college, I responded to a flyer requesting volunteers to sponsor a child overseas. For years I read the letters from this little girl in El Salvador. Ruth seemed happy to b...

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A Roman’s View of the Jewish Faith and Its Interaction with Egypt

Author

Tacitus

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In this excerpt by the Roman historian Tacitus, we get insight into the Jewish faith from an ancient, extra-Biblical account. We also see how the Israelites took the first commandment seriously: The...

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He is Coming: A Triumphal Entry

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:8-11, Luke 19:36-44, John 12:16-19

Just under 80 years ago, a crowd gathered on a humid August day to commence what was to be an unparalleled event for its time. Hundreds of thousands of spectators, police officers, and soldiers gather...

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Author

Robert E. Webber

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Scripture

John 4:23-24, Matthew 25:35-40, Romans 12:1-2, Psalm 96:7-9, Matthew 6:9-13, Hebrews 10:19-20

Ancient worship . . . does truth. All one has to do is to study the ancient liturgies to see that liturgies clearly do truth by their order and in their substance. This is why so many young people tod...

life on planet earth on The Ancient World

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