If you have been reading along, you may be concluding I am one of those “Bible people”—yeah, I am. After all, I just told you I believe the Flood really happened. Here’s the deal. If I am going to take that sort of a stand, then I better be willing to deal with some of the strange parts of the Bible—like the verses we read today. So just what is going on in this part of Genesis 9? Noah proclaims a curse for what Ham did to him because he “uncovered his nakedness” or “saw his father’s nakedness.” The tricky thing about that is how best to understand what this phrase means.
Read MoreI am a dad. My shortcomings are ever-present in my mind. Please, don’t try and talk me out of them. Partly it is how I am wired: seeing what could have been and lamenting what wasn’t. Partly it is this “bit in me” that wants to not duck my responsibility. Partly it is being raised on TV shows that portrayed families in such an idyllic way, that my sense of reality is warped. (Right now you are probably thinking you need to pray for my wife—you should.) I have written about family before, here, and here, and here, and here… Family is important. Noah and his three sons begin the human family again—or do they?
Read MoreI sailed in the Merchant Marines. When I first went to sea, I had to “get my sea legs” which is a polite way of saying that I did not get sea sick. It takes some getting used to, being at sea. I remember my first time on dry land after a 20-day crossing—it was a weird sensation, walking around and not having a ship move under my feet. Today we read about Noah and his crew coming ashore, on solid ground—and what’s the first thing they do? Thank God!
Read More“EVERYTHING IS WRONG!” I would cry as a young child, when my world was upside down. My mother would often point out that perhaps—as I was throwing my tantrum inside a heated home with a non-leaking roof, and only after I had eaten my latest meal—that perhaps everything was a bit of an overstatement. However, when in Genesis 6, God says, “the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” …when God says everything is wrong, perhaps we need to have the courage to look in the mirror.
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