Studying-Getting A Rich Spiritual Tan

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Do not think of it as a drudgery, "Ah man, I've gotta study now." Instead think of it as getting a rich suntan of wisdom on the endless beach of Jehovah's vast knowledge.

As our skin absorbs the sun rays so likewise we need to absorb the rays of knowledge & wisdom not just through reading, but through reflecting (meditating, contemplating) on what we read. Although physical tans can be hurried through various means, acquiring a luxurious spiritual tan takes time because it takes years for our brain to start making inter-relational connections with the things we read. In time, things we are currently reading in the Bible, will start to call back to our minds things we've read in the past.

That is one reason that associating with like-minded believers is so helpful. Listening to them express their faith helps us make new connections in the way we think and reflect on scripture. Learning from other's experience accelerates the learning process BECAUSE what may have taken us years to conclude now can be learned much quicker from others that have done this longer. After more than 40 years of studying the Bible, I can still very humbly admit that many of the new thought-connections I make are because of hearing the perspective of fellow believers. Indeed, more than few of the articles I've written here were because of a comment I heard that I expanded on.

So if you admire the deep spiritual tan (knowledge and insight) that others have, know that you can have it too. All you need to do is study, reflect, and associate with fellow believers.

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Bible Answers About Homosexuality

I was recently asked how the Bible feels about homosexuals (aka “gay” people).

Below, I consider the following three questions:

1. Does God discriminate against homosexuals?
2. If people can’t choose to live the way they want, how is that “free will”?
3. Some say homosexuals are “born that way.” How do you respond to that?

Lets start with an illustration: In "free countries" (my experience is only with USA), no matter which race or ethnic background, no matter which religious affiliation, no matter what your financial situation is, you can be equally accepted and respected as a citizen as long as you obey the laws. But say someone of a certain religion is caught in illegal financial ventures; or say that someone of a particular ethnic background is repeatedly arrested for reckless drunk driving? Or what if either a rich or poor person is caught shoplifting? In each case what got the person in trouble is not their skin color, beliefs or status, it was their actions, their conduct.

The same goes with our relationship with God. Acts 17:30 says that whatever past experiences we had in life, he is willing to overlook our past conduct as our having acted in ignorance of what God required. The apostle Peter (at 1Peter 1:14) wrote that those who have come to know God, need to conduct themselves as obedient children, transformed from their former life styles. What were some of those lifestyles? Paul, at 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 mentioned four different sex acts that were disapproved, two different financial wrongs as well as being greedy, a drunkard and other things. But then Paul wrote "but that is what some of you were." Yes, regardless of a person's past, if they truly want to be accepted by God and are willing to obey "the laws of the land" (the  Bible), he is willing to accept them on equal standing as anyone else.

So just as a former alcoholic or a person given to fits of anger can be accepted by God if they control themselves, so too a person who used to be actively homosexual can be accepted as a friend of God. I am not discounting that sexual urges and attractions are very strong and are different from being a drunk or brute. I know that controlling or changing sexual desires is not like a light bulb or light switch. For some I've known, they are never able to get over their attractions to the same gender. But the point is that they keep those feelings controlled by reflecting on how merciful & loving God has been to them and how much they appreciate being accepted by Him in spite of their inward desires. Note this statement by one of Jesus’ apostles recorded at Acts 10:34,35 "For a certainty I perceive that God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him." Yes, if we are willing to conform to God's direction, we can all be equal in his sight.

What then about the question: If God gave us free will and freedom of choice why can't someone choose to be homosexual? Again, by illustration, lets say a loving & caring parent tells their child to play only within fenced area of their yard and to stay out of the busy street. The parent doesn't put a dog chain on their child--they have freedom of movement. A child could choose to disobey and go out in the street. But would that be in their own best interests?  Also, how would the parent feel about the blatant act of disobedience? The child is risking his own life by being in the street & is straining his relationship with his parent. Similarly, God gave us sex & wants us to enjoy it--within the fenced area of heterosexual marriage. But he doesn't prevent us by turning us into robots and he doesn't chain us by preventing us from choosing wrong. If we want to go onto the streets of moral danger, away from the safety outlined by our Father, we can do it.

Question: I heard that people are born that way. What does the Bible say?

God wants to give everyone a chance to be at peace with Him, otherwise it wouldn't be fair. So since the Bible says that those practicing homosexuality cannot get God's approval, it would be unfair if God made them in such a way so that it would be impossible for them to win God's favor. There have been many reported instances of both men and women who were homosexuals and changed. True God did not make each of us individually. We are imperfect offspring from a long genetic line. But even people with strong dispositions toward sex, substance addiction and even mental diseases have successfully come to know and serve God. So it is not impossible to do what God and Jesus ask of us to prove our love for them.

So to recap the questions and answers from the beginning:

1. No, God does not discriminate against people based on their background. He does discriminate against acts of which he disapproves. However, those willing to conform to his direction, whether they were previously gays, drunkards, thieves, or whatever else the Bible says God frowns on, can be accepted as his friend.
2. Free will means that God does indeed grant people to choose their own course in life. However, just as drunk speeders choose to drive, doesn’t mean their conduct is without consequences. Rejecting God’s loving direction has consequences. It is much better to accept that what God wants of us is for our own good.
3. If it were really true that we have no choice in our sexual preferences, and that a homosexual has no choice, then, since God in his Word, The Bible, condemns the act, that would mean that God is not fair and intends to punish them even though they can’t help themselves. But God IS fair and anyone can change to meet his requirements.

More information is available at: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/s/r1/lp-e?q=homosexuality&fc[]=g&p=par

Is God Cruelly Vengeful?

In Exodus 32:10, God gets angry at the disobedient crowd that Moses is leading and suggests to Moses that he (God) exterminate the crowd and build a nation from Moses' offspring. After Moses expresses sincere concern over that idea, verse 14 says: "And Jehovah began to feel regret over the evil that he had spoken of doing to his people."

Since Jehovah is perfect and cannot make even a mistaken judgment, how can it be that after Moses appealed to Jehovah, he (Jehovah)  “began to feel regret over the evil that he had spoken of doing”? This is particularly a good mental challenge because an online Jewish Bible of this verse renders this passage as:  “And HaShem [God] repented of the evil which He said He would do unto His people.” 

That would definitely make it sound as if God had done something wrong, which he needed to correct. The version of the Bible that website claims to be using is the Tanakh, which is the Jewish Bible. This includes all the books Christians know as the Hebrew / Aramaic writings (aka “old testament”).

However, I have a copy of the Tanakh that I bought more than 20 years ago. It was printed by The Jewish Publication Society with a copyright of 1985. It renders that verse as: “And the Lord renounced the punishment He had planned to bring...” This conveys the idea of rescinding an official decree. Further, one of the reference works the online version says it used renders that verse as: “God refrained from doing the evil that He planned for His people.”

Those two works together most probably carry the closest rendering to convey the correct idea to the English reader--God rescinded the decree, held back his decision, calmed his heart. According to W.E. Vine's "Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words," the original Hebrew word, "nacham," meant to have a change of heart, a change of mind, a change of action-plan.


In complete harmony with this research is the comment in the October15, 2010 Watchtower, which states: “In Hebrew, this expression can simply mean that Jehovah did not bring about the calamity he stated that he was inclined to bring upon the whole nation.” It then cites that a similar passage that occurs in Numbers 14:20, which, according to the New World Translation reads: “Then Jehovah said: ‘I do forgive according to your word.’” Yes, Jehovah was moved by Moses' unselfish concern for the peoples and his concern that God's name not be besmeared by those that would wrongly conclude that God's righteous judgment was a sign of weakness--inability to provide for the people and control his temper. Although God was fully justified and capable of carrying out his will either way (to use Moses as a foundation for a new society or continue using the crowd following Moses), as the Watchtower notes, it more likely that God was testing out Moses to see how he would react to the proposition.


So why then do our English Bibles use words & phrases like "felt regret" or  "repented"? There are several possible reasons. The King James version is one that uses the word "repented." Perhaps in the 1600's that word was understood to merely mean a change without implying a wrong that needed to corrected. Another contributing factor is knowing which manuscripts were used in any particular English translation. It is interesting that the NIV uses the word "relented" (to soften or relax) and the Amplified renders it that God "turned from the evil" he had mentioned doing.

All this reminds me of the need each person has to accept the personal responsibility to gain accurate knowledge of God and not merely accept things at the superficial level and thus make wrong conclusions. For me, the basis I examine any confusing scripture on is the belief that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and that he is dependable. (Speaking of God's stalwart determination being as solidly fixed as a rock (like the Rock of Gibraltar), Deuteronomy 32:4 says: “The Rock, perfect is his activity, For all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; Righteous and upright is he.”)


Another lesson learned: Although God is Love, and a God merciful, abundant in loving-kindness and slow to anger, he is also a God that exacts justice on those stubbornly wicked. (Exodus 34:6,7) So we would never want to turn God's patience and undeserved kindness into an excuse for behavior that God disapproves. (Jude 4)

Reasonableness In Translation

I am impressed with the Publisher’s Forward of the Amplified Bible. The translation itself is worthy of inclusion in any serious Bible student’s library. But it wasn't until a few years ago that I actually stopped to read the Forward (1965 printed edition).

I was surprised they felt the need to defend their decisions in the way they rendered their translation. It seems that even in our modern day they anticipated criticism for the rendering. Why? In short, instead of just dogmatically choosing one modern-language word to render a Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek word that may not completely and accurately convey the nuances of that word, they chose to insert all the colors and flavors needed in our language to convey the most accurate meaning  of the original text.

Apparently the naysayers might ignorantly (and wrongly) charge them with "adding to" God's Word when, in fact, they were providing what the English reader so desperately needs--again, an accurate & well-rounded presentation of what is truly intended by the original writers.

So if you are one who enjoys digging deeper and willing to reflect just a little longer on Bible reading, try at least reading one of the gospel accounts all the way through using the Amplified Bible. See if your understanding isn't increased considerably. If you agree, try reading this translation just for one complete reading of the Bible. I think that, like me, you will find yourself returning to this translation time and time again.

Online copy of Amplified at Studylight.org: (Click here)
Online copy of Amplified at BibleGateway.com (Click here)
Purchase hardcopy from Amazon here.

(This article updated 10/30/2014)