As promised—more alleged biblical discrepancies to address.Let us begin by taking a look at 1 Chronicles 10:6. This scripture tells us that Saul, his sons, and his house died all together. Compare that with 2 Samuel 2:8, which mentions another son of Saul, Ishbosheth, after Saul and his sons, and his house had all died. How could there be any one remaining from Saul’s house in 2 Samuel?

Back in October 2022, a study was published by Stanford researchers reporting that scientists had transplanted clusters of human neurons into the brains of newborn rats. The cells even grew and formed connections. The purpose of the study was to learn about human brain development and diseases affecting the brain.

The clumps of human cells, known as "organoids," grew into millions of new neurons and wired themselves into their new rat nervous systems. Once the organoids had plugged into the brains of the rats, the animals could receive sensory signals from their whiskers and help create command signals to guide their movement.

One of the criticisms some nonbelievers make about the Bible is that it has contradictions and discrepancies. In my years of bible study, I have learned that this is not the case. The alleged discrepancies in the Bible can be resolved.

What I will begin doing in some of my future blog posts is to address some of these alleged discrepancies and their resolutions. The first one I will address has to do with King Ahaziah of Judah.

The discrepancy centers around II Kings 8:26 and II Chronicles 22:2. In the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible II Kings 8:26 tells us that Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became King, and he reigned in Jerusalem for one year.

A January 2020 poll of more than 1,300 US adults finds that about one-third (32%) of US adults say their ideal relationship is non-monogamous. Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) (43%) are particularly likely to say their ideal relationship is non-monogamous, though an equal percentage (43%) of Millennials say that their ideal relationship is entirely monogamous.

According to YouGov data, when asked in September 2016 about their ideal relationship, 61 percent said it would be completely monogamous. In January 2020, that number dropped slightly to 56 percent. With these statistics in mind, it is not surprising that Ethical nonmonogamy (ENM) is growing in popularity.

We are probably all aware that when we are baptized, we have hands laid on us, and prayer is provided to imbue the Holy Spirit within us. God's Spirit in us then helps us understand that we are God's children (Romans 8:16). The hope is this will lead to our eventual transformation into a Spirit being when Christ returns (1 Corinthians 15).

During the most recent Feast of Tabernacles, a question was posed to our panel of elders during a Bible study in Ohio. The question was about the Holy Spirit. The questioner understood that the Holy Spirit is God in us (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), but they wanted to know what else we get from the Holy Spirit.

On September 25, Italy voted for Giorgia Meloni from the Brothers of Italy party as the new Prime Minister. This is significant because Meloni is the first Italian leader from a political party with a fascist lineage since the time of World War II.

Due to the instability in Italian politics, Meloni is able to rise to the top because her party just needed to get a plurality of the voters. Her party only needed about a quarter of the voters to prevail due to forming a coalition with other parties on the right. Infighting between parties on the left has also helped.

In Hebrews 6:2, we read about some of the elementary teachings about Christ. One of the items mentioned here is the laying on of hands. Let us get a better understanding of this teaching.

To begin, we read about the use of hands in religious ceremony back in Leviticus 8:14-23 and Numbers 8:10-14. We learn that the priests would lay their hands on certain animals before sacrificing them. The laying on of hands here symbolizes transferring the sin of the people to the animals to be offered (Leviticus 1:3-4).

Another Old Testament example of the laying on of hands takes place when blessings are bestowed. In Genesis 48:14, Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, are blessed by Jacob after he lays hands on them.

To answer our question, we need to define the word kosher. This article will define kosher as the laws that the Jews use to determine what food they can eat. These laws deal not only with the food but how the food is prepared. Some of these laws come from the written Word of God (Old Testament), but others are part of an oral tradition.

For example, the Bible tells us in Leviticus 11:7 that we are not to eat swine. This is considered part of the kosher laws of the Jews. The Jews also teach we should not prepare meat foods on the same plates we prepare dairy foods. This law is also kosher, but it is not found in the written Word of God. So it is essential to understand what people mean when they use certain words

Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Is that not the truth? The Bible is full of examples of how pride led to ruin. I'd like to address some of that here and provide this as a reminder for all of us to check our pride meter. If we are not checking ourselves on a consistent basis we may fall into these negative mindsets like pride.

Pride can be defined as a sense of satisfaction in one's own achievements. It can also be defined as the consciousness of one's own dignity. Neither definition sounds too bad, but there are other definitions. How about this one?: "a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority." Now we are beginning to see what Proverbs 16 is talking about. Let's look at some biblical examples.

Monkeypox is an infectious viral disease that can occur in humans and some other animals. Symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash that forms blisters and then crusts over. The time from exposure to symptoms can be between five to twenty-one days, and the symptoms usually last two to four weeks.

The origin of the disease is believed to be from animals. The disease most likely enters the human population from contact with the blood, bodily fluids, or cutaneous or mucosal lesions of infected animals. In Africa, monkeypox virus infection has been found in many animals, including rope squirrels, tree squirrels, Gambian pouched rats, dormice, different species of monkeys, and others.

Former Google engineer Blake Lemoine began talking to LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) last fall as part of his job at Google's Responsible AI organization. He had signed up to determine if LaMDA used discriminatory or hate speech.

In talking to the chatbot about religion, Lemoine noted the chatbot talking about its rights and personhood. In another discussion, LaMDA changed Lemoine's mind on Issac Asimov's third law of robotics.

In the most recent Gallup Poll on Values and Belief (May 2022), a mere 20 percent of Americans said they believed in the Bible being the literal Word of God. This number is down from the previous poll of 24 percent in 2017. This polling was first conducted in 1976, and the highest score for belief the Bible was the literal Word of God was 40 percent in 1980 and 1984. Is it possible the belief in the Bible as the literal Word of God may drop to single digits in another 40 years? It sure is possible whenever you reach percentages that are this low.

The recent Supreme Court ruling on June 24 overturning Roe v. Wade is just one example of the Court's support for Christian principles and ethics. This ruling will not stop abortion in America, but it will certainly reduce the number of abortions. Thirteen states plan to outlaw abortion within 30 days with "trigger bans" that were designed to take effect as soon as Roe v. Wade was overturned.

This is not the only Supreme Court decision this term that has provided a pro-Christian theme. On June 27, the Court ruled in favor of a Washington state high school football coach who was suspended for refusing to stop leading Christian prayers with players on the field after games. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that assistant coach Joe Kennedy's prayers are protected by the Constitution's guarantees of free speech and religious exercise. The school board's discipline was wrong despite their concern of violating the separation of church and state.

Many times scriptures about prayer are used in such a way as to lead people to think all we need to do is have faith and believe, and our prayers will be answered. For example, take a look at this scripture in John 14:13-14: "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it" (NIV).

Some think this scripture means just praying to Jesus will get you the results you desire. But it is saying much more than that.

On May 14 in Buffalo, New York, an 18-year-old gunman killed ten people at a supermarket. On May 24, another 18-year-old gunman killed 21 people at a school in Uvalde, Texas. There are a number of issues as to why these events occurred, and I'd like to focus on some of these reasons.

To reiterate, I'm just looking at these two incidents and nothing else. Let's start with the age of both of the shooters. Having been an 18-year-old at one time, I can tell you I had a few crazy thoughts in my mind at that age. Luckily for me, I was also focusing in on the Bible in trying to make sense of the world I was becoming aware of. Science makes it clear our brains are not fully developed until we are about twenty-five years of age. Should we let eighteen-year-olds buy guns, or should we raise the minimum age of purchasing a firearm?

In early May, a draft of a Supreme Court opinion was released that stated the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion would be overturned when the Supreme Court rules on a Mississippi case (Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization) dealing with abortion in June or July. The Mississippi case was looking to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The draft opinion also rejects the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision in 1992, which reaffirmed the Roe ruling.