White evangelicals have rejected Jesus and chosen their false Messiah (Donald Trump)... woe to the church in the hose of USA!

Judgment against the church is coming... 

Woe to the church in the house of USA, woe to the house of white evangelicals, you are in danger of your candle being removed.

You have rejected The Way of Yeshua, you have chosen Ahab, prepare accordingly.

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did evil in the sight of Yahweh (2 Ch 21:6)

You have wearied Yahweh with your words, but you ask, “With what have we wearied him?” You have done so when you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and in them he delights,” or “Where is the God of justice?” (Mal 2:17)

W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).

Shalom שָׁלוֹם: Live Long and Prosper!

Darrell Wolfe

Storyteller | Writer | Thinker | Consultant | Freelancer | Bible Nerd *Written withs some editing and research assistance from ChatGPT-4o

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Class Discussion Post: Aretaic Ethics applied to the Chris Rock/Will Smith slap heard around the world.

Attribute: Wall Street JournalWatch: Will Smith Strikes Chris Rock at the Oscars, Then Wins Best Actor

Watch: Will Smith Strikes Chris Rock at the Oscars, Then Wins Best Actor Play video: Watch: Will Smith Strikes Chris Rock at the Oscars, Then Wins Best Actor

RESPONSE

A response to the Wall Street Journal article "Will Smith’s Oscars Slap of Chris Rock Prompts One-Liners and Worry From Comedians", 

#A - Thank you for making me go back and re-read a section of the book I had only skimmed. It was an interesting analysis. 

"Fourth, aretaic ethics is a category of ethics that focuses on the virtues produced in individuals, not the morality of specific acts."

Scott B. Rae, Moral Choices: An Introduction To Ethics, Third Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 16.

#B. I've only read snippets of the event. So the following is an analysis based more on what I know of these individuals and the industry(s) involved than the event itself. But I thought I'd try my hand at the same analysis you demonstrated so well. 

1. Action. Commedians regularly make jokes about sensetive topics, and many only know they've crossed the line based on reactions of their audience. A comedian who wants to remain ethical should consider ahead of time which topics or methods may be out of line.
2. Motive. Most commedians just want a laugh, to be liked, and make money from their craft. Was there any personal beef between these two individuals? If so, that may have played a role. Otherwise, the motive wasn't maliscious.
3. Consequence (Risk/Reward). In this case, one consequence is clear (a slap in the face and many people taking sides). A comdeian always take the risk of going too far. He could also run the risk of being cancelled from future shows; or, being invited to more shows because of his edgeyness. There is a man and woman who feel embarrased or attacked, that is a consequence. There was an event that was interrupted and people who wanted to feel relaxed and laugh then had to face hard things and feel confronted and tense, that is a consequence. There are watchers of the event (media, individuals, social media memes, and more) that have now taken the situation far beyond control as the story spins out. These are just a few of the unintended consequences. 
4. Character. For people of the book, we have two high callings "Love Yahweh. Love Yahweh's other kids". If we are poking gentle fun at someone's idiosyncrasies and they are enjoying it, then we are acknowleding the messy human qualities, that is acceptable. If we are using someone else, taking laughs at their expense, that is neither loving Yahweh or his children. Dry Bar Comedy has done a fabulous job or gathering various comedians (secular and religious) who work that line between funny and crass. If our involvement with other humans does not leave them feeling loved, seen, heard, and valued, then we have failed in the area of Character (even if it was in the name of comdey).

I didn't know what I would say until I sat with the textbook open and pondered each one, then started typing. But that's my thoughts after processing. Interesting. 

Darrell Wolfe

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NEWS: Divine Name ( יהוה / YHWH) and curses at Mount Ebal

While not something to get too excited about until after scholars have reviewed the evidence and published their findings in peer reviewed materials, this is an interesting claim by the ABR. 

Theoretically, they've found a proto-alphebetic script of the Divine Name ( יהוה /  YHWH) and curses at Mount Ebal, which is significant because it comes from Joshua 8:30. 

If the item is legitimate AND if the dating is sound, this could push back secular/skeptic scholar's dating of the Exodus Event by about 200 years.

For those who don't know, the dating of the Exodus Event is debated in biblical scholarship. 

There are three camps on the Exodus debate:

1. Minority View: It never happened, Israel became a people later and needed a meta narrative to legitimize their presence, so they made this up under the kings as king propaganda, a common practice in the ancient world.

2. Majority view: It happened in the 1,200s BC. Based on various textual, archeological, and other evidence. Timeframes given by biblical authors are exaggerated for emphasis, a common practice in the ancient world.

3. Minority view: It happened in the 1,400s BC, primarily driven by 1 Kings 6:1 claiming 480 years between the Exodus and Solomon. 

Dr. Michael Heiser breaks down the textual evidence for these dates in: Naked Bible 273: Exodus 12 Part 2b. 

****Clip from the ABR article:

Dr. Scott Stripling, director of excavations for the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR) at ancient Shiloh, presented Thursday recent revelations about what he said might be the most significant discovery in biblical archaeology in recent years. 

The discovery comes in the form of a lead amulet measuring two centimeters square found by wet-sifting material taken from a site on Mount Ebal excavated by Prof. Adam Zertal more than 30 years ago. A square altar dated to the 13th century BC had been built on top of an older circular altar Zertal believed was built by Joshua upon entering the land of Israel, as described in the Bible:

“At that time Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal” (Josh. 8:30).

Read More:

https://m.jpost.com/christianworld/article-702243

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