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Catholic

2020-02-02T07:12:05-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Journey for People Away from Home or for People Already in Their ‘Promised Land’

Last updated on: February 2, 2020 at 7:12 am By Jack Hartjes

Israel’s journey to the Promised Land is a metaphor for life. So Israel could have hope for the future. Israel combined that hope with justice for the oppressed. God had commanded them to remember when they themselves had been slaves in Egypt. Episode 11 of the Rowing with Michael Series: A journey through the Jewish/Christian Scriptures in Verse and Commentary. Introduction and Contents for this series HERE. Michael, row the boat ashore. Alleluia…. The River Jordan was deep and wide. Alleluia. Milk and... Read more

Bible

2020-02-02T06:54:13-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Exodus and History, Israel’s and Ours

Last updated on: February 2, 2020 at 6:54 am By Jack Hartjes

The Bible’s second book, Exodus, tells about Israel’s beginning as a people. Is this a made-up story or real history or something between? What can we say, or guess, from non-biblical sources about Israel’s beginning? How did people in a collapsing civilization around the end of the Bronze Age find a way to go on? This is Episode 10, Part 2 of the Rowingwith Michael Series: A journey through the Jewish/Christian Scriptures in Verse and Commentary. (See Part 1 here.) Introduction... Read more

Bible

2020-02-01T15:51:34-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Exodus Story and Israel’s Pre-history, Part 1

Last updated on: February 1, 2020 at 3:51 pm By Jack Hartjes

How did the nation of Israel begin? Can we trust the Bible to tell us how it really happened? Was there an Exodus from Egypt? Did Moses exist? Did a million slaves wander for 40 years in the desert? Does it matter for Christians and Jews? This post and the next will dig into these controversial historical questions. Episode 10-1 of the Rowing with Michael Series: A journey through the Jewish/Christian Scriptures in Verse and Commentary. Introduction and Contents for this... Read more

Bible

2019-04-29T08:24:22-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Renewal of Baptismal Promises in Horrible Times

Last updated on: April 29, 2019 at 8:24 am By Jack Hartjes

In the Catholic Church we don’t re-Baptize, but we regularly renew our baptismal promises. In the Catholic Church we always baptize individuals not groups or collectivities. But sometimes our attention is drawn to a whole world of ills, to vast territories of horror. In this post I am imagining help for the world coming somehow from the sacrament of Baptism and specifically from a renewal of our baptismal promises. We renew our baptismal promises every time another person is baptized... Read more

Liturgy

2020-02-01T15:34:28-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Joseph of the Bible’s Dysfunctional Families

Last updated on: February 1, 2020 at 3:34 pm By Jack Hartjes

The Joseph saga in the last third of Genesis tells us something about how God works. It’s not the way we’d expect. God accomplishes great things with flawed human material, even through the flaws themselves. Instead of the tragic flaw of Greek plays, the Bible gives us the “happy fault.” Episode 9 of the Rowing with Michael Series: A journey through the Jewish/Christian Scriptures in Verse and Commentary. Introduction and Contents for this series HERE. Michael, row the boat ashore. Alleluia….... Read more

Bible

2020-02-01T15:25:21-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Isaac’s Near-Death Experience: Did an Editor Save Him?

Last updated on: February 1, 2020 at 3:25 pm By Jack Hartjes

Israelites may once have practiced human sacrifice, but that changed. This post looks for hints of that change in the story of Abraham and Isaac and asks some questions about any sacrificing to God. Episode 8 of the Rowing with Michael Series: A journey through the Jewish/Christian Scriptures in Verse and Commentary. Introduction and Contents for this series HERE. Michael, row the boat ashore. Alleluia…. Abe heard voices from the sky. Alleluia. Said young Isaac had to die. Alleluia. When they... Read more

Bible

2018-06-08T05:31:58-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“Sex Positive” and Ways to Play with a Truck

Last updated on: June 8, 2018 at 5:31 am By Jack Hartjes

The movement called “Sex positive” is part positive, part not, part gain and part loss. Positively, it pushes against historic and still operating patriarchy, intolerance, and prudery. Negatively, it operates from the same hyper-individualism that inflicts modern Western societies. This post imagines recovering what is lost in of modern sexual mores. There was a toy sword and all seven grandchildren in one house. Two of the children were in conflict. One was the owner of the sword. The other was... Read more

Uncategorized

2020-11-16T15:14:53-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Abraham: What Kind of Story is He Father of?

Last updated on: November 16, 2020 at 3:14 pm By Jack Hartjes

Is Abraham an imaginary figure or a historical person? If historical, what does a Catholic make of the fantastic stories the Bible tells about him. What can the rest of the world make of the god of Abraham? Episode 7 of the Rowing with Michael Series: A journey through the Jewish/Christian Scriptures in Verse and Commentary. Introduction and Contents for this series HERE. Michael, row the boat ashore. Alleluia…. Abraham was as good as dead. Alleluia. Still he believed what... Read more

Bible

2020-11-16T15:06:05-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Babel’s Ecological Warning

Last updated on: November 16, 2020 at 3:06 pm By Jack Hartjes

The Tower of Babel was meant to reach the sky. This post explains what a scary prospect that is and draws parallels with some of our frightening technological possibilities today. Episode 6 of the Rowing with Michael Series: A journey through the Jewish/Christian Scriptures in Verse and Commentary. Introduction and Contents for this series HERE. Michael, row the boat ashore. Alleluia…. The Tower of Babel was rising high. Alleluia. People bragged they would reach the sky. Alleluia. All at once the Lord came down,... Read more

Bible

2019-04-29T08:20:28-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Climate Change for the Conservative Temperament

Last updated on: April 29, 2019 at 8:20 am By Jack Hartjes

My last post was about rising seas (Noah and the Flood). The next one will be about technology’s dangers (the Tower of Babel). Both of them put me in mind of the theme for today’s break from the “Rowing through the Old Testament” series. Climate change is real, caused by human activity, and a serious threat. That’s the majority opinion in the world today. Many conservatives, including religious conservatives, don’t but it. This post explores my puzzlement about the connection... Read more

Ecology

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