God's promise to Abram about the land of Canaan is the foundation for a conversation about the challenging history and complicated present of this land and its people that leads to two resolutions: (1) The Jewish people have a right to live in this land, (2) everyone else who lives in this land deserves basic human rights and freedoms ..read more

Following the Tower of Babel incident, when God dispersed a human effort to establish his presence among humanity, the narrative of Genesis turns toward the family line that leads to Abram, the man whom God will choose to begin his relationship with one particular people, and through them bless the world. God asks a lot of Abram, to leave his homeland and trust that God will make him into a great nation despite the lack of children in his marriage with Sarai.  But God also promises amazing things to Abram, going far beyond what any connection to a God in the Ancient Near East would expec ..read more

Sometimes it is difficult for us to connect with the purpose behind why a particular portion of scripture was included in the sacred text.  Lists of names are probably high on that list, and so too is the story of the Tower of Babel given how often it is misunderstood. These two episodes in chapters 10-11 of Genesis are there to set the stage for God's work in calling Abram in chapter 12.  The 70 nations show the diversity that God had to choose from, emphasizing as always that salvation is God's grace not human effort, and the Tower of Babel illustrates this principle in action.&nb ..read more

For whatever reason, I can't share this link directly to Facebook; it was removed as spam.  So I'll write a quick block post and encourage anyone who clicks on my post to go to the webpage below and look at this long list of unethical and unacceptable behavior on the part of the current administration. Why does this topic matter to me?  Cornerstone University was deeply influential on my intellectual and spiritual development, it was a major step in the road that led me to where I am today as an ordained minister serving the Church.  As such, watching this institution that I l ..read more

In our only glimpse in Genesis into the lives of Noah's 3 sons, a family incident involving Noah being passed-out drunk leads to one son, Ham, choosing to spread the news about Noah (gossip) rather than help him, and the other two, Shem and Japheth, doing their best to show respect to their father even in his current state. In the narrative of Genesis, this brief story functions as a device to frame the upcoming judgment of God against Ham's symbolic descendants, the Canaanites.  It also reminds us that issues within our families are some of the most difficult moral questions and charact ..read more

Symbols can be powerful, they can evoke love or hate, assurance or fear.  They can be put to righteous purposes, or evil ones.  In Genesis 9 God chooses to make a covenant with Noah and promises that no other cataclysmic flood like the one that had just ended will occur in the future.  In doing so, God begins a pattern of making covenant with humanity, offering promises to help us navigate this life in connection with him.  God also offers a sign of the covenant, the rainbow, a fitting reminder that one can only see a rainbow when the sun is shining in the midst of a stor ..read more

  Building an End Times chronology on the pseudepigraphal (i.e. the Apostle Barnabas had nothing to do with writing it so it lacks any genuine authority) Epistle of Barnabas. Predicting that we are about to be in the last 1/7th of God's redemptive program based on the combination of Young Earth Creationism (i.e. the Earth is 6,000 years old) and the Epistle of Barnabas. Using brackets, {In the Messianic Era} and {In the World to Come} to change the meaning of the book of Hebrews away from its intended target of comforting the Church today. Admitting t ..read more

  The literary structure of the Flood narrative in Genesis draws the reader to 8:1 where we read, "But God remembered Noah." Just as the first half of the story highlighted God's provision for Noah, his family, and the animals during the coming and executing of his wrath, the second half highlights God's provision for them during the time of the waning of the effects of God's wrath. Through it all God cares for his people, for the righteous, and through it all Noah demonstrates tremendous patience and trust ..read more

  Here's what American universities should teach instead of activism Industry and moral skills are essential for our students and the future of our country By Gerson Moreno-Riaño Fox News Published July 27, 2024 Honestly, when my alma mater, Cornerstone University sent me an email touting this essay by President Moreno-Riaño and asking me to share it on social media, I don't think they had this in mind.  However, the excellent professors of the Humanities Department, the one that President Moreno-Riaño demolished this year {The Cornerstone University I graduated from is no mor ..read more

  The Straw Man in action again, these texts are not what prove that Jesus' death and resurrection canceled the sacrifices, but plenty of others do just that. Three statements on one page claiming the animal sacrifices must continue to be made. A question that assumes the false premise that there is a "lack" of sacrifices. God does indeed delight in obedience more than sacrifice, but in the New Covenant nobody needs to "compensate" for not giving the latter with the former. I think this line of thought will seem rather bizarre to most of the world ..read more