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Were the plagues that struck Egypt in Exodus Divine intervention or natural events? This is a question that is raised by those who present natural explanation for these plagues. But, things that follow laws of nature are God speaking, just as things that do not seem to. The real question is: what distinguishes these events in Exodus from just any other things that happen? Because the difference will not be found in whether they are natural or not.
And there is a difference in what it meant for God to speak and unfold these plagues, both in what they communicated, and how God was communicating them. For the first nine plagues were primarily about communication, rather than punishment. How these plagues unfolded would have meant something very clear and specific for the ancient Egyptians who experienced them. And God was speaking not only to human beings, but to things in Nature, to unfold these events. For though everything is God speaking, God also speaks to everything.
Join me this episode to explore what I mean.
Also, thank you for waiting during this long, unplanned hiatus! Your continued support and encouragement really does keep this series going!
[Note Jul 1, 2024 : The first section, discussing the Pharaoh's motivation was removed to shorten the episode, since it was largely review of the previous episode. It seems this change isn't being updated though on most apps though, for some reason--the episode should be just 40 minutes long otherwise. ]
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One of the more perplexing and disturbing part of the Exodus account is when God hardens Pharaoh's heart so that he does not listen to Moses and let the people of Israel go. But then, God punishes him it by unfolding disasters--the plagues--upon Egypt. But, this seems profoundly unjust! What is the idea that the Bible is presenting about God? That nothing we do matters?
However, it turns out that the message is in fact the exact opposite. There is something far more that is going on in this account. How Pharaoh's heart is hardened describes how we relate to reality, or fail to, what leads to that failure, and then locks us in.
3:12 Channels of truth available to the Pharaoh
14:18 What it means for the heart to be "hard" to truth
23:50 What actively "hardening one's heart" does to you
32:00 When God actually hardened Pharaoh's heart
34:20 What is really happening when God hardens the heart
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God that spoke to Moses is "Yahweh," unfolding everything around him. But, the question was: will reality unfold what this voice spoke to him? What if things go wrong? What if Moses was deluded, or mistaken, or deceived?
How Moses, and people who hear God speak to them, find out whether what they hear is true--whether God really is speaking with them--is actually a step-by-step process. Rarely do we make some heroic leap of faith, at least at the start. We embark on that journey, one step at a time. And sometimes, the first step can be very, very small.
But, the question that reality confronts us with--question that God asks--is "What will it take for you to take that step? And will you when that path opens before you? Whether we do or not separates people like Moses and those who aren't.
3:03 God's name points to reality unfolding around us
11:38 Wavering between following or ignoring God’s voice
17:47 What it means for anger of God to burn against you
24:00 The question is, what it make you take the next step?
31:48 Taking the next step when stakes go up
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Consider what it means for things to have names. Names point to things, and at least to some extent, tells us what they are. But, what could possibly be the name of God? After all, it would need to "point to" all of reality as a whole.
According to the Bible, the name of God spoken to Moses is "I am that I am," which in turn is presented as the meaning of the Hebrew name of God, "Yahweh." This passage has fascinated theologians and philosophers, because of the concept of "Being" and "existence" that it presents. However, this meaning presents something more immediate to our lives; it points to our experience of reality that unfolds around us, and invites us to a journey to find out what will unfold in our lives.
3:59 What it means for God to speak from the burning bush
9:47 How Moses can know whether God really spoke to him
16:51 Why "miracles" God shows Moses is only the first step
23:07 What does it even mean to name God?
32:16 It / He Just IS, and what that means
37:30 Name of God calls us to see what reality unfolds
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It is an iconic scene in the Bible: God calls Moses from the burning bush. But, why the burning bush? After all, God can speak through an immeasurable number of things.
It is because the bush that does not burn up, and the flame that blazes, yet will not burn itself out, means something to Moses--and to us--which connects us to how God, speaking all of reality, can speak to human individuals in a powerful and personal way. We'll explore what that is in this episode.
(edit: Jan 30, added ~1 minute of content from 26:26, and revised sentences that were too long the final 5 minutes )
2:21 Moses is “born” twice – his birth narrative
8:28 Moses as a failed “Zorro / Batman”
16:51 Moses’s life before the Burning Bush
24:43 What was the fire, and "The Angel of the LORD"
32:33 What did the burning bush mean?
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The fourth Season opens to explore the question of the people of Israel described in Exodus. Who were they? What is the significance of their story, regarding their oppression and slavery? What remnants or echoes, if any, remain of their story in the records and memory of ancient history, and what are their significance?
And where are we headed from here?
2:21 Biblical stories as "Myth that has become History"
14:43 Opening of Exodus and the oppression of Israel
19:45 Egypt and the Hyksos, the Shasu, and Israel
27:46 Who were the Hebrews, 'Apiru, and why this matters
35:03 The Slave Bible and Exodus story as timeless truth
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Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
To celebrate(?), here is the trailer for Season 4 of "What do you mean, God speaks?"
God awaits in the desert
The prologue, "They were born in the desert"
Music : "Exodus" by Tenacious Orchestra - Licensed from PremiumBeat.com
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The final 3rd Season’s post-season episode returns to some issues to wrap up before we move on to Season 4.
First, part of this Season wrestled with the question that historians today has raised regarding the historicity of the life-stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their family—as they are recounted in the book of Genesis. But, what do I personally believe regarding the position held by most historians today? Here’s why the answer to that is somewhat complicated (and oddly, why it is related to how I deal with the question of the multiverse raised by some scientists today).
Second, we will return to explore two of the stories in Genesis we didn't cover in this Season—the stories of two women: Dinah, and Tamar. Listen to why we did not cover their tales in the main season, and why they are nevertheless quite important. And lastly, check out how the word, “sex,” was said more times in this single episode than the entire series so far put together!
0:00 Why would I leave things out of an episode?
3:09 What I believe about “historicity”… and the multiverse
18:28 Story of Dinah
28:54 Story of Tamar
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There’s this adage that says, “Don’t talk about religion or politics unless you want to get in trouble.” Well, this series is all about religion, so we might as well go the rest of the way this episode, and talk about politics!
Now, politics is not what we usually explore in this series. But, it might be good to listen to me thinking aloud on topics outside my area, especially if these ideas are based on some of the insights and ideas this series has examined in the main episodes.
In this case, the importance of the person, the character of the people we select as our leaders, over what they supposedly stand for. Here are some reasons--from the Christian perspective--why you might want to vote for a person even if they hold views or position you disagree with!
0:33 To examine who we are is to examine our relation to reality - God
6:53 Why democracies are vulnerable to ourselves
17:28 My proposal : Vote for a person, not a party
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It seems, at least from popular conversations in the News, opinion articles, or the constant postings on SNS, we are labeling more or more things or people as racist. Now, racism does remain a significant problem even in countries and societies that have made significant progress against it, and strands of it do seem to have been woven into the societies and institutions we have inherited. But, I also think that we have been too indiscriminate in labeling things or people simply as "racism" or "racist," with neither nuance or reflection--at least, at the popular level.
So, as a post-season extra episode, here's my rough and partial reflections on the issue of racism. To be specific, why I've concluded that we should distinguish two closely related things that are often identified together: prejudice, and racism.
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Thank you for listening and following this series!
But, what does it mean for me to tell you this? These simple words mean much more than you may know. It has to do with what I've experienced, the fears I've faced and the encouragements I received in doing this series. To a very important extent, it has to do with, like the rest of this series, what God seems to speak and how that moves me to write what you hear.
So, thank you for listening to what it means for me to say those words. What that means in the larger journey of this series so far.
And stay tuned for the upcoming set of post-season episodes, and then the 4th season trailer.
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We have finally arrived at the final main episode of the third season. Here, we will survey what it means to believe in God, formed and expanded through the journeys of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and then Joseph. However, this account reveals that there will be times when those who are on this journey, become suspended between belief and unbelief, fear and faith.
That was how it was for Jacob—who had been named Israel. After he lost his son, Joseph, and likely even earlier, his life and his journey became frozen in place, until God spoke again. So, join us as we continue to follow the life-stories of the family of Abraham to its closing of the book of Genesis.
For most of October, I will be in Korea. Then, I will be back with a post-season episodes, featuring my commentary about the past season and some issues that were not included in this season. Following that will be a trailer, which will introduce the Fourth Season, and reveal its title.
2:05 Fundamental analogies that relate us to reality
8:02 Believing in God is about which analogies to live by
13:55 What overturns our deepest beliefs and analogies
21:27 Jacob frozen with fear until God speaks again
29:48 Limbo between belief and unbelief, fear and faith
35:50 Though frozen, here we wait until God speaks again
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What began as a supplemental episode has become a rather long and hefty discussion about the question of suffering or evil in a world spoken forth by God. This is far from a complete answer. What this episode is doing is to outline a larger framework, along with a set of prior questions and considerations in order to really understand this question.
Too many of us today think this question in terms of whether we can still believe that there exists a benevolent, super-powerful entity, if he will not prevent bad things from happening. But, that actually isn’t the question. It is about how to understand reality, how to understand what it really means for God to speak forth a world, so that we can understand what it means for something bad to happen as a part of what God speaks.
And the answer to that is not as simple as we’d think (hence the length of the episode).
1:03 Return to the question, "Why is there suffering if God is good?"
8:45 What "part" of what happens is God, and what "part" is us?
17:31 The speech-like character of reality as God speaking
27:20 So, why -is- there something like a famine?
35:10 Why we've got it backwards
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The series is back again, as it nears (steadily and slowly) the completion of Season 3! Thank you everyone for waiting!
This episode will explore, as we conclude the life of Joseph, this perplexing question. If everything that happens is what God speaks forth, could God not have spoken something else? Could God not have brought about different happenings, different things, different life, a different world? If our reality unfolds like a story, and God is like the Author, is God also the author of our suffering?
Did Joseph have to go through the painful years of slavery, and wrongful imprisonment, just so that he could save the world around him and his family from the famine? Why?
Note: the discussion of Creation in this episode draws significantly from the first half of Season Two.
3:05 Idea of God as the "Speaker" and Reality that could be
10:50 Asking if God could have "done better"
19:43 "Other people are living lives just as real as mine."
27:53 The story of Joseph's brothers
35:11 How what we do, what Nature does, become part of God speaking
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We are often faced with the question of ambiguity in our wrestling with God. That was the question Joseph faced alone in prison. What was God speaking to him? Had God ever really spoken to him? God spoke to him insights into dreams and wisdom to lead people. Yet, he was in prison, seemingly forsaken and forgotten by God.
However, God was doing something during those years, which would prepare him to be the kind of person he would need to be. For the dreams in his youth where his brothers were bowing before him were not about him ruling over them. It was about saving them, even when they had hated him and betrayed him. That was who God was forming him into in the pit--someone who would be able to do so. That is what God is speaking forth into the lives of those who follow the footsteps of Joseph.
0:00 Question of ambiguity of God for Joseph
9:55 Who Joseph was becoming in the prison
15:44 What God spoke through the Pharaoh's dream
24:57 Joseph leads Egypt through the famine
30:50 Joseph's brothers come to Egypt
34:40 What God had really spoken to Joseph in his youth
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We’ve now started the final set of episodes of the 3rd season, as we explore the life-story of Joseph, and the question he confronted: what happens when what God has spoken to you, seems to have been proven false? What do you do when listening to God seems to have thrown you into a pit? How does your journey with God continue from there? What can you still hold on to?
Also, I was recently interviewed by Dr. John D Wise in his podcast, “The Christian Atheist”. You can check out the podcast here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-atheist/id1553077203(Also check out the rest of their content, which starts by detailing a philosophy professor’s journey away from Christianity to atheism, and then from atheism back to Christianity, 25 years later.)
1:30 When your 'map' is being questioned
10:03 The dreams God spoke to Joseph
17:42 Joseph's life is thrown into a pit
24:50 What do you mean God is with Joseph?
31:28 Why Joseph still listened for God
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Full title: "Questioning the Bible, and Risking Belief for Faith"
Thank you for the loooong wait!We continue from the previous episode, which followed the trail of questions that begin when I thought to myself years ago, “Maybe there is no God.” In the previous episode, we followed how I wrestled with the questions about what we really mean by “God,” what it is to try to understand all of reality as a whole, and how this eventually led me to a book, written by those very people who came to relate to reality as a whole, as “Who,” that speaks with us.
This book, the Christian Bible, is the focus of my next set of questions, which this episode explores. It will recount how I wrestled with the questions of what it means for the Bible to be “the Word of God,” and how anything we can put into words and write on a book can meaningfully be God speaking, and the central role of the figure of Jesus in it all. We will follow how I tried to think through some of the questions posed against the Bible from science and history, and where I eventually arrived afterward.
And what I found was: to take a journey of faith, you have to risk your beliefs.
2:02 How we’ve gotten our question of God backwards
8:25 How can a book ever be God “speaking?”
13:33 How life of a person is God speaking
19:43 Question about morality of the Bible
25:20 Question about science and the Bible
32:32 Question about history and the Bible
40:15 Bible is a map; follow at your own risk
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We’re back for 2023. This is the first part of a two-part episode, which explores how today, in our modern, secular society, we wrestle with our belief in God. These two episodes will detail how I’ve thought through the questions and issues years ago when I seriously asked myself, “Maybe there is no God.”
Because of that, these two episodes are a kind of alternative overview of this series so far, because this entire series was borne out of a journey that began with that very question.
So, this episode and the next will revisit the key questions and ideas that had been presented throughout this series so far in the past episodes, but describe them from a different angle. They are what I learned by having faced the question, “Maybe there is no God,” and wrestling with my beliefs regarding God.
This episode follows how my thinking about the general idea of God has changed, while doing so, and where this eventually led me to. Next episode will follow what questions then confronted me, and why it led me to examine what the Christian Bible testified.
0:00 Wrestling with our belief in God
2:49 What does it mean to ask, "Maybe there is no God"
9:50 What is really meant by “God”
16:37 What is the question to ask, to find if there is no God
21:15 How to begin thinking of reality as “Who”
28:11 Where all these questions led me
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I'm back for 2023, and here is an extra episode to update what is being worked on. Next episode, "Risking belief to keep your faith" will air around mid-February.
In the meanwhile, you can listen to this unscripted episode--if are so inclined--as I bemoan my troubles, trying to figure out which publisher would be appropriate for my book, and figure out how to write up a proposal that'd get them interested. I'll also comment about the next episode, and what is coming up next season, slated Spring of this year. (not very surprising spoiler's alert: it's titled, "Exodus")
The website for the conference I mention is here: https://mcmasterdivinity.ca/transcendence/
I will be giving a talk in its 4th parallel session, which will be titled, "Recovering God: Mapping and Translating the Journey."
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Many people are surprised that the name of the people of God, "Israel," means to "wrestle with God". But, that was the name God gives to Jacob, who is a character full of faults and failures, and that became the name of everyone who are called God's people in the Bible ( Christians are called "new Israel" in the New Testament). So, in this episode, we will explore how Jacob received this name and how we are to understand the relationship between humanity and God.
This episode is also a milestone of sort, as it was it was originally meant to cap the second phase of the series (the first phase being the first season). As such, the episode will reference many of the key ideas in the past episodes.
P.S. If I sound somewhat different in this episode, it's because I'm currently recovering from Covid; so please stay safe and healthy, everyone!
0:00 The name, “Israel” means to wrestle with God
2:55 Overall recap of what “God speaks” means
10:25 Jacob’s ladder and God’s promise
19:05 Jacob’s life, struggling with family
25:09 Jacob's struggles and God's promise
31:57 Jacob wrestles with his fears and hopes
36:06 To live, is to wrestle with God
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