Otherwise entitled, "Why Do We Seem to Exchange One Idol for Another?"

Update:The weekend of Jan 10-13, Tim Hegg visited our group in San Antonio. While he was here, he addressed some of the concerns we initially aired in this article. We revised the article and reposted after some clarifications were made.

In the Fall 2012 issue of Messiah Journal from First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), Boaz Michael makes an impassioned plea to his readers that they reconsider and reject One-Law and Two-House teachings as particularly insidious forms of anti-Semitic replacement theology.

He is right.

Some "One-Law" groups disregard the fact that the Torah itself makes distinctions between different groups.  This is a form of idolatry in which Torah observance becomes the object of desire regardless of what the Torah and the apostles actually say.

"Two-House" theology ignores the fact that that the apostles rejoice at Gentiles (rather than "lost tribe members") coming to salvation.  This is a form of idolatry in which biological heritage in Israel becomes the object of desire regardless of what the Apostolic Writings actually say.

BUT... 

Today’s Word of the Day from Merriam-Webster is hagiography.

It means (1) a biography of saints or venerated persons; (2) an idealizing or idolizing biography.

Their “Did You Know” section on the word caught my eye:

Like "biography" and "autograph," the word "hagiography" has to do with the written word.  The combining form "-graphy" comes from Greek "graphein," meaning "to write."  "Hagio-" comes from a Greek word that means "saintly" or "holy."  This origin is seen in "Hagiographa," the Greek designation of the Ketuvim, the third division of the Hebrew Bible.  Our English word "hagiography," though it can refer to biography of actual saints, is these days more often applied to biography that treats ordinary human subjects as if they were saints.

The Ketuvim is labeled Hagiographa in Greek but it also means a biography of saints (or holy ones).

Who knew?

When we consider the whole of Scripture as "The Word" and the Word is G-d (John 1:1) then Scripture is His story: the story of the Messiah, the Word made flesh, and His creation of and interaction with humanity.

All of Scripture is a "biography" of sorts of the truly Holy One.

<><

"Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so!"

The famous childrens' song might have another verse: "Pork is yucky this I know, for the Bible tells me so!"

And modern studies are bearing out that fact.  A recent Consumer Reports study found "significant amounts of harmful and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, along with low levels of a growth hormone used to promote growth in pigs..."

FoxNews.com ran the story in detail.

Check it out.

As usual, the Bible said it first:

The pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, it is unclean for you. You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses.  (Deuteronomy 14:8)

Jesus loves me this I know.  Pork's no good, He told me so!

<><

Jeff let out a shrill whistle and Sarge charged the first obstacle, leaping over it.  He low-crawled under the next barricade and then sprinted on to the next challenge.  Running, jumping, crawling, and balancing his way through the course, the three year old German Shepherd constantly watched his trainer’s hand signals and listened to his voice.  The bond of love between master and dog was plain to see.

...

George knocked on his neighbor’s door then rang the bell after nobody answered.  Eventually, a disheveled, tired looking man opened the door and grumbled, “Whadda ya want?  I was watching the game.”  George handed the man a rope and replied, “I believe this belongs to you.”  At the end of the rope was a dirty, scruffy looking mutt.  “He got out again?”  “Yes, and this time he tore up two more pillows on our back porch chairs.”  The man jerked the rope, yanking the whimpering dog inside the house.  “This stupid pooch is more trouble than he’s worth.”

...

As part of my day job, I read articles about business, innovation, and technology. Recently I read this rather insightful article on TheAtlanticCities.com that contained this pithy observation:

If you ask most people, they’ll tell you facts are facts. But the reality of the matter, as Samuel Arbesman points out in his brilliant new book, The Half-Life of Facts, is "[f]acts change all the time." To cite just a few of Arbesman’s most compelling examples: We used to think that the earth was the center of the universe, that Pluto was a planet, and that brontosaurus was a real dinosaur.

I don't fault Mr. Arbesman for overlooking one caveat to his statement. I think most people would have done the same thing.

"Facts change all the time" is a true statement for facts that are uncovered and related by humanity. 

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

The truth revealed by our eternal, unchanging G-d is eternal and unchanging because the Word of G-d is G-d (John 1:1).

<><

My daughter’s cry pierced the darkened hallway.

"Daddy, don’t leave!"

I turned back to her room and sat back down on her bed. "What’s wrong, sweetie?"

"I can’t go to sleep if you aren’t here."

Joyful tears well up in my eyes as I remember that moment from a decade ago. It seems like only yesterday. It was the day that the Lord taught me the meaning of the word "abide".

The other day my son texted me after one of his late-afternoon college classes:

Power went out at home.  How do I reconnect Netflix on the TV?

I responded:

Wrapping up at work now.  Will fix it when I get home.  20 minutes.

Traffic was light and I got home quickly.  My wife was running errands and wasn’t home yet but my son’s car was in its normal spot.  As I walked into the house, however, things seemed anything but normal.

The shades were still drawn and the house was dark.  School papers were scattered all over the kitchen.  A cup, rolling slightly on its side, was empty on the counter; its contents dripping onto the tile floor in a syncopated rhythm to the ticking of the kitchen clock.  The appliances in the kitchen mindlessly flashed their repetitive message: 12:42... 12:42... 12:42.

Tick... drip-blink.  Tick-blink... drip.  Blink-tick... drip.

The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day for July 27th was verbatim. This is their definition:

in the exact words : word for word

This was the additional information they provided on the word:

Latin has a phrase for "exactly as written": "verbatim ac litteratim," which literally means "word for word and letter for letter." Like the "verbatim" in that Latin phrase, the English "verbatim" means "word for word." As you may have noticed, there's a "verb" in "verbatim" — and that's no mere coincidence. Both "verb" and "verbatim" are derived from the Latin word for "word," which is "verbum." Other common English words that share this root include "adverb," "proverb," and "verbose." Even the word "word" itself is related. "Verbatim" can also be an adjective meaning "being in or following the exact words" (as in "a verbatim report") and a rarer noun referring to an account, translation, or report that follows the original word for word.

An interesting anecdote came to mind when I saw this word.

If you ever get into a conversation with an anti-missionary ask them one question after visiting this website: What do the Rabbonim say about Moshiach?

http://moshiachontheweb.com

Update: that site is down but the content is contained in this PDF: What the Rabbonim Say About Moshiach.

The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day for July 21st was nyctalopia. Though it might seem so, this word isn't weird compared to the previous word for thought.

M-W provided this definition:

reduced visual capacity in faint light (as at night) : night blindness

This was the additional information they provided in the "Did you know?" section:

"Nyctalopia" comes to us from the Latin word "nyctalops," which means "suffering from night blindness." It is ultimately derived from the Greek word "nyktalops," which was formed by combining the word for "night" ("nyx") with the words for "blind" and "eye" ("alaos" and "?ps," respectively). English speakers have been using "nyctalopia" to refer to reduced vision in faint light or at night since the 17th century. We added the somewhat more pedestrian "night blindness" to the lexicon in the 18th century.