This article links papal infallibility to the Fifteen member leadership of the LDS Church. I thought this was an interesting perspective on the role of the leadership in the Catholic and LDS Church.
Finished term
So, I finished the second term of my MA in HIstory program. This term, I took Ancient Semitic Backgrounds on the Old Testament (Dead Sea Scrolls was the focus) and I took Historical Concepts. Next term, I’ll be taking a Social and Intellectual History of the 1920s and a Ancient HIstory class on the Mediterranean world. I’m quite excited about both classes. After a book didn’t get sent that I had resent, I have most of my books and look forward especially to the parts focusing on Ancient Egypt. I don’t have my grades for this term, but I think I made a B for both classes.
Storm the Hill and other stuff
Recently, Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran’s of America had their 2013 Storm the Hill event. this is a lobbying effort of sorts by Veterans for themselves, rather than using professional lobbyists. The IAVA brings in Veterans from all across the country from many walks of life in order to change a few issues in Veteran’s policy. The main issue this year was ending the VA backlog for compensation and pension. I wasn’t accepted, but as a digital stormer from Storm the Hill 2012, I stayed active on Twitter to make these issues known. We did pretty well, culminating with a broadcast on Rachael Maddow’s show on MSNBC. There is a lot of buzz on the internet from Vets and Veteran’s groups.
I just became aware of the issue of nym rights. A nym is a pseudonym and with my experience as a hacker, I always went by Grymstone since I was 15 or so. I’ve been to a few major hacker conferences and know many of the people by their pseudonym rather than their real names. This works for other people who may prefer not to use real names on the internet, prefer a females name (in case of LGBT issues), or just doesn’t like their real name. The name we go by in government doesn’t have to be our “real” name because nyms are better for these issues. My name is a bit complicated because I always went by Jeremy but that is just an adjustment of my middle name. It’s led to some confusion when people want to know why I go by Jeremy. Maybe I should go by Grymstone more. 
Anyway, everything is going good. Life is well. I’m in my second term on my Graduate degree in history and am enjoying it.
“There is one w…
“There is one way to end mass persecution, and that is apostasy.” –John Loeffler
John Loeffler points out that the way to end persecution has often been to cave to other religious methods.
My drawing board
So, as I’ve made clear, I believe in Jesus Christ as Lord of all. However, I differ from credal Christianity with one major issue: The Trinity. The Trinity seems to have been an idea brought up later in order to make sense of some of the contradictions in the Bible. It’s influence by Greek thought differs from records of Second Temple thought, according to Margaret Barker, Alan Segal, Larry Hurtado, and Michael Heiser. The threefold formula of Matthew 29:19 doesn’t necessarily mean that the Holy Spirit is God. The Trinity is mentioned by some early church fathers, yet later in a period closer to Constantine after he destroyed made the Church a state institution. I would offer that Binitarianism (a la Segal) and Tritheism makes more sense. Not that these two are simultaneous, but likely one or the other is true.
This comes after close study of Margaret Barker’s books on Temple Theology. I don’t find these as crises of faith. Sola Scriptura has likely been detrimental to original Christianity and so much has been lost (Barker) in the history of Christian theology. Greek thought through Platonic forms has changed belief in God. Through Sola Scriptura, many have influenced each other to define the Bible by itself. The problem is that with CONTEXT, nothing matters and some context goes to what was widely read by early Jewish peoples.
I’m not denouncing my Christianity, though likely some will read this and call me something other than Christian. I’m not having a crisis of faith, as I’ve never really believed in the Trinity, but have had a “smile and nod” operatus that works when people mention the Trinity.
Boom! #AskFLOTUS hashtag hijack: Michelle Obama asks for questions; Happy warriors deliver
Boom.
Michelle Obama announced via her Twitter feed that she'd be taking questions this morning at 11:05 a.m. EST on her always-absurd "Let's move" campaign.
https://twitter.com/FLOTUS/status/310857841814675456
Ask, and ye shall receive. Since they are givers, happy warriors got the questions rolling early. Let's move? Let's move toward truth and accountability.
And so it began, kicking off with questions about Benghazi. Yes, once again Twitter users are doing the job that most in the media won't do.
First Lady's Let's Move questions on Twitter get hijacked.
Why didn't the female angels have sex with man?
Today, this Google query ended up here. It's an interesting question, given that the rich reception of Gen. 6.1-4 only depicts male angels having sex with human women.
But the answer is simple: there are no female angels. In early Jewish literature, all angels are male.
Update 1: This important issue seems to have provoked interest. Jack Collins (
The reason in Genesis 6 that female angels didn't have sex with men!
William Tarbush photo
William Tarbush photo
about.me
William Tarbush
William Tarbush; Grad Student at Wayland Baptist U
William Tarbush received his Bachelor's degree in Christian Ministry (BCM) at Wayland Baptist University. He also minored in Applied Science/Computers. His interests include practical Christian living, Second Temple period Judaism, and Christian eschatology. He formerly was in the U.S. Army as an 11B Infantryman. There, he worked for his lieutenant as an Radio and Telephone Operator before being discharged honorably. He is an avid reader and internet junkie. He lives with his wife and daughter. He started his Master's of Arts in History in Winter 2013.
