The Spirit of the Law “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts, not your garments” (Joel 2:12‑13 ESV). — Matt Kerry God wanted Israel to love Him. He wanted them to understand His purposes, the reasons for His laws, and the effect that sacrifices were supposed to have on their hearts. Instead, they viewed God’s laws as a series of traditions, and many persisted in aiming to achieve worldly success. In […]
Narratives with Meaning “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). — John Bivol Not only the apostles and disciples saw the spirit of God in our Lord, but even temple officers remarked, “No one ever spoke like this man!” (John 7:46 ESV). It is difficult to understand why anyone would not follow such a man if invited. The time his disciples spent with him was their greatest experience in life. However, they still […]
Religious The embattled Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany became the eighth diocese in New York to seek bankruptcy protection as it faces hundreds of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse. The Albany diocese, like others in the state, is dealing with a deluge of lawsuits dating to when New York temporarily suspended the statute of limitations to give victims of childhood abuse the ability to pursue even decades-old allegations against clergy members, teachers, Boy Scout leaders and others. — Religious News Service, 3/17/2023 Thirty-nine […]
Artificial Intelligence “The LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6 NASB). Science fiction at the beginning of the twentieth century created a fascination with artificially intelligent robots. As computer technology advanced, the term artificial intelligence (AI) appeared in 1956 from the pen of American computer scientist John McCarthy, who defined it as “getting a computer to do things which, when done by people, are said to involve intelligence.” Today AI has become a catchall term for applications […]
Our Goal “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat” (Matthew 23:2). — Micah Hess Despite witnessing the ministry of Jesus first‑hand, the hearts of most Pharisees were not moved. Instead, they sought ways to stumble and test him. In Matthew 23 Jesus directly addresses the obstinance of the Pharisees by exposing how their faith had drifted into a mere form of religion. They had transformed the Law into a set of ostentatious rules that could be used to exalt themselves […]