Tag: Babel
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Theology and Economics: Having the Mind and Heart of God. (Part 2)
Jesus gave vivid images in Matthew 25 to describe what he expects of his followers between his ascension and his return: We are to have the mind and heart of God in everything we do. We are to care passionately about the things God cares about and act on those passions. Paul wrote regularly about…
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Theology and Economics: Vain Illusions
Genesis 4 tells of humanity's descent into delusional behavior. It begins with the story of Adam and Eve's sons, Cain and Abel. The two sons offer sacrifices to God, but Cain's sacrifice is rejected for some unstated reason. Cain becomes jealous and angry towards his brother rather than adapting his behavior to whatever God expects…
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Leaving Babel to Fill the Earth
Many people have described the Christian walk as a journey. One of the more widely read magazines in Evangelical circles is Sojourners. I can't count the number of times I have heard or seen "sojourn" or "journey" in the title of songs and poems written by Christians, in church and organizational names, and a host…
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Stairway to Earth
Gen 28:10-22 NRSV 10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there…
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Between a Rock and a Hard Place
"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time; and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and…
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Tale of Two Cities
The first eleven chapters in Genesis tell us about two important cities. Enoch was built by Cain, and Babel by Nimrod. Both were cities built as shelters by cursed people wandering the Earth. Cities throughout most places and times have been places not only of shelter but of power and worship. They have been the…
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Church of Babel
Our English word "Church" comes from the Greek word ecclesia, which means "the gathered." Genesis 11:1-9 talks about another ecclesia or gathering—the church of Babel. Gen 11:1-9 NRSV 1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east,* they came upon a plain in the…
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Cain Returns
Genesis 10 follows the story of Noah and the flood. It is possibly one the most "scintillating" chapters in the Bible, complete with Hittites, Hamathites, Girgashites, and Mosquitobites (Okay. I made up the last one.) When reading the Bible, I always considered chapter 10 to be one of those canonical speed bumps on the way…