Category: Religion
April 8, 2020 / / Religion

Dashing babies upon the rocks. Why would anyone wish that?

Psalms 137:9 is truly horrific verse, in which the author celebrates the idea of babies being dashed upon the rocks. It’s jarring to say the least.

Why would anyone wish for that? Well, it was because the author was lamenting. His world turned upside down and he was overcome by grief. That doesn’t make the passage okay, but in this video, I look at the context.

In the end, I think most can understand the feeling their, even if we don’t agree with it.

To check out more of my work, you can go to http://belzian.com/ or to connect with me go to https://www.facebook.com/amateurscholar/
April 8, 2020 / / Religion

Don’t suffer a witch to live. What is Exodus talking about.

Exodus 22:18 is one of those famous verses. It is the verse that tells us that we shouldn’t suffer a witch to live. But why were the writers of Exodus so against witches?

The context really creates this verse. In this video I dive into the history of this verse, as well as what sort of witch we really are talking about. It isn’t some nice little witch of the forest, who gives out peaceful remedies. It’s a witch who is sinister, and will make you do things you don’t want. And we see that idea form within the context.

To check out more of my work, you can go to http://belzian.com/ or to connect with me go to https://www.facebook.com/amateurscholar/
April 8, 2020 / / Religion

Does God Endorse Genocide? no not really. Looking at 1 samuel 15:3

The Old Testament contains some very barbaric passages. There are some horrendous things in that history, that we shouldn’t try to justify or excuse.

But we can dive into these verses and examine the history behind them. By doing such, we see the flaws in humans, and they don’t necessarily reflect commands and views of God.

In 1 Samuel, we have Samuel claiming to speak on behalf of God and claiming that Saul needs to commit a genocide. But who really is speaking here? I argue that it’s Samuel, and it may be that Samuel is on a bit of a power trip.

In the discussion, I also jump into the history behind the text, and it’s formation, which is quite fascinating.

To check out more of my work, you can go to http://belzian.com/ or to connect with me go to https://www.facebook.com/amateurscholar/
April 8, 2020 / / Religion

Is Paul Sexist? 1 Timothy

Paul is often called sexist, and part of the reason for that is this passage, 1 Timothy 2:12. Yet Paul wasn’t the author of 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy directly contradicts what Paul truly said.

So in this episode, I dive into the verse, and see what we can pull out. In the course of that, I also go which letters are authentic to Paul, and which ones are later forgeries, and how we know that.
March 6, 2020 / / Religion

Reading through Job and the chaos

Job is a difficult work to get around. The author combines an older folktale with their own poetic material in order to argue against the traditional wisdom of the day. God is challenged in the work, but in the end we do get some answers, even though they aren’t the ones that were sought for.