Bible Bard podcast episode BB-162 How to Live According to Animal Sacrifice. The Bible is literature; therefore, sometimes it does not directly tell readers what God wants, it shows them! God outlines to Moses three (3) animal sacrifices that are to be made in sequence by a priestly class for the benefit of themselves and the people. Modern readers often find the idea of animal sacrifice repugnant. Today we look at these three sacrifices as literature to see what the text is teaching about approaching God.

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Bible Bard podcast episode BB-161_Spiritual Guidance in the Bible. As a human being, how do you decide what you are going to do not only today, but for the rest of your life? You make choices, but modern psychologists suggest that emotional responses help guide decision-making, so feelings are one source of information people access by thinking. Biblical writers recognize six (6) sources for human decision making. This episode discusses this text.

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The Bible does more than discuss slavery as an ancient social practice, the Bible also uses servitude, bondage, and slavery as metaphors for the human spiritual condition. In today’s episode we want to look at that metaphor. Jesus presents humanity as a servant standing between two possible masters. Service is not a neutral transactional activity. It is allegiance. if one master is loved the other is hated. If one master receives devotion, the other is despised.

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The Bible describes the components of a failed, human culture in 2 Kings 23. The contrast in the text is between what was present in the local culture of that day and what was written in the Law of Moses that it should be. The expression usually attributed to Marshall McLuhan, states:

“One thing about which fish know exactly nothing is water, since they have no anti-environment which would enable them to perceive the element they live in.”

When Josiah became king, he was six years old and the culture of Judah had degenerated in comparison to the law of Moses. Early in the story, Josiah gains a copy when the priest of the Temple of God, Hilkiah, said to Josiah,

“I have found the Book of the Law in the Temple of the Lord.” 2 Kings 22:8 (NIV)

When Josiah heard the content of this book, he tore his clothes with grief.

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Bible Bard podcast BB-158 God’s Experiment on Human Being. We speak of God’s view of humanity as an experiment. Here are the texts that provide God’s intention toward humanity: God wants to dwell among and with human beings!

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Bible Bard podcast BB-157 Public and Private Human Events in the Bible. The literature of the Bible is filled with great, public events, wonderful dramas. But there are quieter stories also. Stories where private thoughts change secret ideas, where unspoken questions are answered by whispers, people make changes that are unnoticed by others, what is interior in the heart remains undisclosed and unpublished. Most human beings live here where feelings are unspoken, thoughts untold, and an anonymous person lives a private life. Today's episode discusses where most of us live and how the Bible addresses our private feelings and faith.

Support the Bible Bard podcast on Patreon at BibleBardUSA. Give at GoFundMe or at the website www.BibleBard.org/Donate tab. Send the Bible Bard any questions or remarks you care to offer to BibleBardUS@gmail.com. Glad to hear from you!

Bible Bard podcast BB-156 (There Are) Unhappy People in Heaven. Most people associate the word “heaven” with a future, post-death place of conscious happiness in the presence of God. The Bible actually says that is not true for everyone who gets into heaven: some people in heaven are seen crying, ashamed, waiting impatiently, or suffering a tremendous sense of loss and failure.

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Bible Bard podcast BB-155 Why the Number Three Keeps Reappearing in the Bible. Biblical literature was practicing this motif of the rule of three before most other literary traditions. This episode looks at numerology inside and beyond the Biblical text.

Support the Bible Bard podcast on Patreon at BibleBardUSA. Give at GoFundMe or at the website www.BibleBard.org/Donate tab. Send the Bible Bard any questions or remarks you care to offer to BibleBardUS@gmail.com. Glad to hear from you!